Uva Ursi
Urinary Infection Fighter
Description: This low-growing, evergreen ground cover, native to the Pacific Northwest and northern Europe, grows especially well in elevations above 6,000 feet. Bears enjoy eating the red berries, as did many of the early American Indians.
The trailing stems of the uva ursi are woody, while the roots are long and fibrous. This perennial has alternate, oval leaves which are leathery and thin. The tops of the leaves are shiny while the undersides are more pale in color. The leaves are the part of the plant used in healing. The flowers, shaped like an urn, are clustered in colors ranging from pale pink to white. The fruit is small, globular, succulent and almost scarlet, with a rather mealy pulp and five angular seeds.
Medicinal Properties: Uva ursi is a diuretic, astringent, antiseptic and a mild stimulant. This herb has also been used as an antilithic (preventing stones), carminative, emetic, lithontriptic (dissolving stones), nephritic, parturient (inducing labor), purgative and acts as a renal sedative. Uva ursi is also useful for those suffering from diabetes and prostrate problems.
Traditional Uses: Uva ursi has been used to treat all bladder and kidney infections, bed-wetting, bronchitis, cystitis, diabetes, dysentery, female troubles, gallstones, gonorrhea, hemorrhoids, kidney stones, obesity, pancreas, profuse menstruation, rheumatism, spleen, uterine ulceration, vaginal discharge and venereal disease.
Over a dozen American tribes used this herb almost as a panacea (a medicine said to cure all diseases). The leaves were preferred for medicinal purposes. Although the Roman physician Galen used uva ursi leaves to treat wounds and stop bleeding, this herb was largely ignored by Western herbalists. During the 13th century Marco Polo reported Chinese physicians using this herb as a diuretic and as a treatment for kidney and urinary problems.
American colonists found that the Indians had independently discovered uva ursi and mixed its leaves with tobacco in order to create the smoking mixture they called kinnikinnik. Over the years uva ursi remained popular with the colonists as a tea and was listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia as a urinary antiseptic from 1820 to 1936. Chemists isolated the herb’s active constituent, arbutin, in 1852.
Modern Uses: Uva ursi strengthens the urinary passages and is good for inflammation in any part of the urinary system. This herb is also useful for arthritis and inflammation throughout the body. In addition, this herb helps balance the pH of urine which is high in acid.
Uva ursi is also known to be a remedy for excessive sugar in the blood. This herb contains allatonin, which spurs the healing of wounds.
Since animal studies show that uva ursi stimulates the uterus to contract, pregnant women should not take it. The herb contains a large amount of tannins which could cause stomach upset in large quantities. As a result, uva ursi should not be given to children under the age of two. Begin with smaller amounts of uva ursi and increase if necessary. You may notice that the herb often turns urine a dark green. Do not become alarmed, this is normal.
This herb contains vitamin A, iron and manganese. It also contains such high tannin levels that it has been used to tan leather.
Take one capsule between meals twice daily. For urinary tract infections, make a tea using the contents of two capsules with one cup of boiling water. Drink 1/2 cup of the tea, twice daily in between meals.
Sources
King’s American Dispensatory, Vol. 2, by Felter and Lloyd.
Textbook of Advanced Herbology, by Terry Willard, Ph.D.
The Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman.
The Healing Power of Herbs, by Michael Murray.
The Wild Rose Scientific Herbal, by Terry Willard, Ph.D.
