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Goldenseal Herb
Hydrastis canadensis
Ezekiel 47:12 "And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."
Nicknames: Goldenseal;[1] Orangeroot;[1] Yellow puccoon;[1]
Classification: Perennial;[1]
Parts used: Roots, Rhizomes;[4] All parts of the plants including the leaves are used too, but it is mostly prized for its root. It's sort of like Echinacea in this sense, all parts of the plant are good, but people obsess over the root.
Plant Family: Ranunculaceae;[1] Genus: Hydrastis;[1] Species: H. canadensis;[1]
Ethnobotany: Goldenseal is indigenous to North America.[4] It was considered sacred by the Native Americans, and they used it for healing, as well as for body paint or dye for war dances.[4] It's considered an endangered species now.[4] On that note I will sell the seeds and live plants to protect the species. Native Americans used it to treat whooping cough, liver problems, eye sores, and more.[4] It produces something called berberine which activates white blood cells called macrophages, which destroys viruses, bacteria, fungi, and tumor cells in a process known as phagocytosis.[4] It's considered an immunostimulant, while another phytochemical called hydrastine, is a potential gastric anti-inflammatory drug.[4] Berberine has a pharmacological actions that seems to reside solely in the gut, almost as if it is made for the GI specifically.[4]
Natural Habitat: North America;[4] It's a Native American favorite, as they viewed it as sacred.[4]
Mixes well with: Echinacea, coltsfoot, mullein, yarrow, yucca, pau'darco, frankincense, myrrh, passion flower.
OG Observations: To me, Goldenseal is as close as you can get to being Echinacea without actually being Echinacea. The two are used primarily in the same way, and share a lot of the same properties in my experience. I find they work good together. Goldenseal is on the top of my list of favorite medicinal plants.
What is Phytochemistry? What are Phytochemicals? Phytochemistry is the study of the pharmacological phytochemicals that plants produce. These chemical components of herbal remedies is what gives them their medicinal qualities. Each component works together synergistically to provide the ultimate medicinal properties, which is often referred to as the "entorage effect", when in reference to cannabis, but it applies to other botanicals as well. Other plants produce terpenes than Cannabis also, and this dance of complex chemical combinations, is what makes each species unique, and medicinally superior to man-made modern pharmaceutical drugs. In a great book on Pharmacognosy that I own, it talks about how there is a huge market for these phytochemicals in Germany, and they call it "phytopharmaceuticals"[8], which is basically a fancy way of saying "a market of isolates". An isolate is a pure phytochemical that is God-made, and naturally occurring/recurring. It's separated from dried plant material by phytochemist in the lab. The studies conducted on Goldenseal have been done so by phytochemist.
Phytochemicals: canadine, Palmatine, coptisine, and jatrorrhizine;[6] isoquinoline;[2] Sanguinarine, chelerythrine (two benzophenanthridine alkaloids), and Protopine;[2] It also produces: berberine and β-hydrastine;[2] Two isoquinoline alkaloids, berberine and β-hydrastine, were identified as the active constituents.[2] One study found that: "Three synergists from goldenseal were identified, sideroxylin (1), 8-desmethyl-sideroxylin (2), and 6-desmethyl-sideroxylin (3). These flavonoids synergistically enhance the antimicrobial activity of the alkaloid berberine (also a constituent of H. canadensis) against Staphylococcus aureus by inhibition of the NorA multidrug resistance pump"[5] Several of these isolates were studied for their anti-microbial properties, and one such source concludes: "Of these isolates, berberine, showed antimicrobial activity when evaluated against the oral pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Fusobacterium nucleatum."[7] Two new C-methyl flavonoids were found in Goldenseal.[7] 6,8-di-C-methylluteolin 7-methyl ether, and 6-C-methylluteolin 7-methyl ether, were isolated from a commercially available sample of the roots of Hydrastis canadensis, along with canadaline, isocorypalmine (canadinic acid (and β-sitosterol 3-O-β-D-glucoside))[7] Hydrastine is white or creamy powder in appearance, odorless, bitter, and hydroscopic.[8] Berbine is soluble in water and almost insoluble in ether. The salts of berbine form bright yellow crystals![8]
Pharmacological / Medicinal Properties: Goldenseal is used for gastrointestinal ailments[2], and is antibacterial[2]. Studies were conducted to test Goldenseal against the Helicobacter pylori bacteria, with positive results. "The rhizome extracts, as well as a methanol extract of S. canadensis suspension-cell cultures inhibited the growth of H. pylori in vitro, with a MIC50 range of 12.5–50.0 µg/ml."[2] Just so that you know, "Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a type of bacteria that causes infection in the stomach. It is the main cause of peptic ulcers"[3] This means that the science backs up the claim that Goldenseal is good for people with ulcers, or a history of them(especially recurring). The study goes on to give more detail, "The Phytochemicals Sanguinarine and chelerythrine, two benzophenanthridine alkaloids, inhibited the growth of the bacterium, with an MIC50 of 50.0 and 100.0 µg/ml, respectively."[2] "Protopine, also inhibited the growth of the bacterium, with a MIC50 of 100 µg/ml."[2] Goldenseal is also known as a vasoconstructor.[8]
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Buy Hydrastis canadensis
Academic citations:
[2] Mahady, Gail B., et al. "In vitro susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to isoquinoline alkaloids from Sanguinaria canadensis and Hydrastis canadensis." Phytotherapy Research 17.3 (2003): 217-221.
[3] https://medlineplus.gov/helicobacterpyloriinfections.html
[5] Junio, H. A., Sy-Cordero, A. A., Ettefagh, K. A., Burns, J. T., Micko, K. T., Graf, T. N., ... & Cech, N. B. (2011). Synergy-directed fractionation of botanical medicines: a case study with goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis). Journal of natural products, 74(7), 1621-1629.
[6] Weber, Holly A., et al. "Chemical comparison of goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) root powder from three commercial suppliers." Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 51.25 (2003): 7352-7358.
[7] Hwang, B. Y., Roberts, S. K., Chadwick, L. R., Wu, C. D., & Kinghorn, A. D. (2003). Antimicrobial constituents from goldenseal (the Rhizomes of Hydrastis canadensis) against selected oral pathogens. Planta medica, 69(07), 623-627.
[4] Swerdlow, Joel L. Nature’s Medicine : Plants That Heal. Washington, D.C., National Geographic Society, 2000.
[8] Robbers, James E, et al. Pharmacognosy and Pharmacobiotechnology. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996.
Encyclopedia Sources:
[1] Wikipedia contributors, "Goldenseal," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenseal (accessed December 15, 2024).
Other resources:
M.A.P.S. Ethnobotanical Studies By Scholars
PubChem - pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov