Contents
Uses
The long rhizomes of A. canadense were used by Native Americans as a seasoning. It has similar aromatic properties to true ginger (Zingiber officinale), but should not be used as a substitute because it contains an unknown concentration of the carcinogen aristolochic acid and asarone. The distillate from the ground root is known as Canadian snakeroot oil. The odor and flavor are spicy. It has been used in many flavor preparations.
Native Americans used the plant as a medicinal herb to treat a number of ailments including dysentery, digestive problems, swollen breasts, coughs and colds, typhus, scarlet fever, nerves, sore throats, cramps, heaves, earaches, headaches, convulsions, asthma, tuberculosis, urinary disorders and venereal disease. In addition, they also used it as a stimulant, an appetite enhancer and a charm. It was also used as an admixture to strengthen other herbal preparations
Benefits
Asarum canadense (Snake root) was widely employed as a medicinal herb by a number of native North American tribes who used it to treat a wide range of ailments. It is still occasionally used in modern herbalism. The root is anthelmintic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, irritant, powerfully stimulant, stomachic and tonic. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. It is used in the treatment of chronic chest complaints, asthma, coughs, colds, dropsy, painful spasms of the bowels and stomach, scant or painful menstruation, infantile convulsions. The fresh leaves are applied as a poultice to wounds and inflammations, whilst a decoction or salve is applied to sores. The root contains antibiotic substances effective against broad-spectrum bacteria and fungi. It also contains aristolochic acid, which has antitumor activity. The root and rhizome were slowly boiled in a small quantity of water for a long time and the resulting liquid drunk as a contraceptive by the women of one N. American Indian tribe.
Cautions
None are recorded.
Interactions
Please read the medicine’s instructions and consult your doctor!
Other names
Canada wild ginger, Canadian snakeroot and broad-leaved asarabaccais,
References
Source: NaturalMedicinalHerbs, http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/a/asarum-canadense=snake-root.php
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asarum_canadense