False Unicorn
Powerful herb for normalizing female reproductive hormones
False unicorn root (Chamaelirium luteum) is a native plant of the Mississippi Delta region. It grows in low, moist and well-drained soil. It gets its name due to its gently curved root that resembles a unicorn’s horn. It is also known in the herb trade as helonias root.
Native Americans used the plant primarily as a reproductive tonic for women, but it has also been used to treat impotence in males. It contains steroidal saponins similar to the compounds in ginseng, but these compounds appear to have a stronger action on female hormones.
False unicorn exhibits an amphoteric or normalizing effect on female reproductive hormones. This means it helps the body create a balance of estrogen, progesterone and other female hormones to regulate the female reproductive organs. For instance, it encourages regular menstrual cycles and has been traditionally used for irregular, delayed or absent menstruation (amenorrhea). It has proven to be a valuable remedy for increasing fertility in women who are not ovulating properly.
Another benefit of false unicorn is in treating dysmenorrhea or painful periods. It is particularly helpful for ovarian pain associated with ovarian cysts and relieves congestion in the pelvic area.
A major use of false unicorn has been to prevent miscarriage. Many midwives have found false unicorn to be helpful in cases of threatened miscarriage or spotting during pregnancy. The dose for this purpose is about 6-8 capsules per day or 2 capsules three to four times a day. It combines well with capsicum and lobelia for this purpose, the dose being one capsule of lobelia and one to two capsules of capsicum three to four times daily. Vitamin E is also a good addition to this program.
False unicorn has also been used to relieve morning sickness. It has a tonic effect on the digestive organs and has been used as an appetite stimulant. Interestingly enough, large doses will cause nausea and vomiting.
The eclectic physicians used false unicorn in a formula called “mother’s cordial,” which was used during the last two to three weeks of pregnancy to promote a healthy delivery. So, false unicorn could be taken along with 5-W or blue cohosh in the final weeks of pregnancy in order to promote normal delivery.
One of the important materia medicas of the eclectic physicians was King’s Dispensatory. Here is what King said about false unicorn.
“Chamaelirium is tonic, diuretic, and vermifuge; in large doses, emetic, and, when fresh, sialagogue. …it has been found very beneficial in dyspepsia, loss of appetite, and for the removal of worms. It is more especially applicable in indigestion, dyspepsia, and mal-assimilation, where the trouble is reflex from, or associated with wrongs of the female reproductive apparatus. It is said to render the urine alkaline. It is reputed beneficial in colic, and is valuable in atony of the generative organs.
“I have found this plant to possess a decidedly beneficial influence in cases of sexual lassitude in both sexes, and of nocturnal emissions, the result of excesses, especially in those instances where there are symptoms of gastric derangement with impaired memory, mental apathy, or indifference, and an enfeebled condition of the general system, with weakness or dull pain in the renal, or lumbo-sacral region. In diseases of the reproductive organs of females, and especially of the uterus, it is one of our most valuable agents, acting as a uterine tonic, and gradually removing abnormal conditions, while at the same time it imparts tone and vigor to the reproductive organs. Hence, it is much used in leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, and to remove the tendency to repeated and successive miscarriages. A particular phase removed by it is the irritability and despondency that often attends uterine troubles.
“In painful menstruation it has been found especially adapted to those cases in which there is pelvic fullness, a sensation as if the womb and rectum were distended with blood, and the aching, bearing down organs feel as if they would fall out of the body. Its action here is very decided when the smaller doses are employed. It is considered useful by some for the relief of the vomiting of pregnancy. Chamaelirium is a decided tonic to the urinary tract and has exerted some benefit in diabetes insipidus.”
Obviously, this plant has wonderful benefits for the female reproductive system, but because it is becoming rare in the wild, we recommend it be reserved for threatened miscarriage or female problems where other herbs have failed. As a general tonic for female reproductive problems the suggested dose is 2 capsules twice daily.
Selected References
The American Dispensatory by John King, M.D. (1883)
Herbal Therapy and Supplements by Merrily A. Kuhn and David Winston
The Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine by Andrew Chevallier
PDR for Herbal Medicine published by Medical Economics Company.
Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar.
The Natural Pregnancy Book by Aviva Jill Romm.
