AKA: Indian tobacco, trailing lobelia bladder pod, emetic herb, emetic weed, gagroot, vomitroot, vomitwort, pokeweed, wild tobacco, asthma weed

Named after the Sixteenth Century Belgian botanist, Matthias de Lobel, Lobelia, which is commonly called Indian tobacco, is a biennial (although sometimes an annual) indigenous plant that is 1 to 2 feet high. The root is fibrous and yellowish-white, the stem is angular, erect and very hairy and the lower leaves are fleshy. The small stalked flowers are pale violet blue with a tinted yellow inside and originate from the axil of smaller leaves. People began to breed the wild flower more than two centuries ago around the Cape of Good Hope and the original plant has been bred to bloom more profusely.

The commercially prepared product is yellowish green in color and has an irritating odor and taste. When chewed, it tastes a lot like tobacco with a burning acrid taste and promotes the flow of saliva. The powder is green and the seeds are brown and can stain the paper with grease. The Shakers of New Lebanon harvested and compressed the plant into oblong packages and import it to England where it was used as a tobacco substitute and purgative.

Benefits and Uses

• purgative
• expectorant
• muscle relaxant
• tobacco substitute
• laxative
• herbal remedy for respiratory disorders

Lobelia inflate, or Indian Tobacco, was historically used as an herbal remedy by the Native Americans to treat numerous respiratory ailments like asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and coughs. It was generally smoked for this desires effect. The plant is also known to induce vomiting, earning the moniker of “puke weed” and Nineteenth Century American physicians would prescribe it as a purgative in order to remove toxins from the body. Lobelia is also an effective expectorant and can help clear mucus from the respiratory tract.

Midwives sometimes use Lobelia  as a sedative to help relax the muscles of an expectant mother during childbirth, it is also an effective blood cleanser and it is rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C and manganese. It can help reduce a cold or flu and can help break a fever by cooling down the body. It has also been used to treat mild depression, as a mild laxative and as way way to help stop smoking.

Side Effects

Lobelia is actually considered a poison (much along the lines of nicotine) and should be used with the utmost amount of caution. Excessive amounts can induce depression, nausea, cold, sweats, vomiting, diarrhea, mental confusion, convulsions, rapid heartbeats tremors, coma, and even death. Pregnant and nursing women should avoid it as should people who have a history of high blood pressure, heart disease, sensitivity to tobacco, or seizures. Also do not take it if you are recovering from shock or a shortness of breath.

Drug Interactions

There have been no well documented interactions of Lobelia with other drugs.

Dosage

As a liquid extract take .2 to .6 ml three times daily. If you are using a dried herb, steep ¼ to ½ of a tablespoon for 30 to 40 minutes and take three times daily. As a tincture, take .6 to 2 ml three times daily.

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