Aka: Chelidonium majus

Other aliases: Common Celadine, Garden Celandine, True Celadine, Swallow Wort, tetterwort

Not to be confused with: Lesser Celandine ( an entirely different plant with completely different properties)

A member of the Poppy family, Greater Celandine is native to Europe and Asia, but has also found its way to North America. It is a herbaceous perennial with a thick fleshy root, and a slender, fragile stem that is round, hairy and branching. Like the Lesser Celandine, it produces a yellow or orange flower, but that is where the similarities stop. The plant can reach about three feet in height and has yellowish green leaves. 

Where any of the plants stems or leaves are broken, a bright orange acrid juice is emitted that has a strong, disagreeable odor, nauseous taste and considered to be a powerful irritant.  The plant is almost is always found in areas settled by people: growing by aged walls, waste lands, or in hedges. It can throve in most types of soil and does well in either sun or shade.

Benefits and Uses

• System cleanser
• Liver purifier
• Gall bladder stimulator
• Relieves spasms
• Aids digestion
• Helps improve jaundice, eczema and other scrofulous conditions

Being a powerful irritant, supervision by a physician is strongly recommended when using Greater Celandine. The plant is considered to be an alternative, meaning that taking it can help alter the course of an ailment, placing it back on the path of recovery. It can help change the processes of nutrient absorption and excretion. It can restore bodily functions back to normality and acts as a cleansing agent, efficiently removing waste product from our system.  Its active agents include alkaloids chelidone chelerythrin, homochelidonine A, homochelidonine B, propotine, coptisine, sanguinarine and the neutral bitter principle chelidoxanthine.

These alkaloids help stimulate the production of pancreatic  of pancreatic digestive enzymes and bile making ideal for use in cases of inflammation of the gall bladder and biliary duct. This property also is good for juanduce, hepatitis, gout, arthritis, eczema, rheumatism and scrofulous diseases. It also has the potential to help with impaired liver function, but more research is needed and professional supervision is needed. Laboratory studies  have also found that the whole plant extract  works as an antispasmodic , helping to relieve gall bladder spasms and stimulate a underactive bladder.

The presence enzyme nd bile producing alkaloids along with the bitter principle, is most likely responsible for Greater Celandine’s ability to aid in problems in the digestive tract. People in Eastern Asia value the plant for treatment of peptic ulcers and also employ it antispasmodic properties to help relieve abdominal cramping, nausea and indigestion.

The plant can also be used externally and has been a traditional treatment for calluses, warts, corns for hundreds of years. Recent trials in the clinics of China and Russia indicate that a tincture of the plant has antiviral properties that helps to remove warts. The herb has also been used for inflammations of the eye, cataracts, bruises, sprains, ringworm, psoriasis and malignant tumors.

Dosage recommendation

Take one capsule three times a day with food and water.

Warning

Greater Celandine can be dangerous and has been known to cause severe irritation of the mucous membranes. Some countries even restrict its use and it is recommended that it should only be used by healthcare professional with strong discretion. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use the herb, Children and people who suffer from liver disease should also stay away from Greater Celandine. The containing alkaloid chlerythrin is considered a narcotic and may cause excessive sleepiness or coughing.

coming soon....