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What was pennyroyal tea used for?
Despite serious safety concerns, pennyroyal is used for colds, pneumonia, and other breathing problems. It is also used for stomach pains, gas, intestinal disorders, and liver and gallbladder problems. Women use it to start or regulate their menstrual periods, or to cause an abortion.
Can you drink pennyroyal tea?
The lower concentration of toxic chemicals in these teas are less harmful than pennyroyal oil. It is recommended that people only drink pennyroyal tea periodically, as it is taxing on the body and should not be drunk on a regular basis. Consumption of pennyroyal tea can be fatal to infants and children.
Is pennyroyal tea toxic?
Pennyroyal tea and leaf extracts have been used without serious side effects. Pennyroyal oil, however, is highly toxic, and even small doses (one tablespoon, 15 mL) can cause syncope, seizures, coma, cardiopulmonary collapse, acute liver injury, renal insufficiency and multiorgan failure.
Is pennyroyal tea an abortive?
Pennyroyal tea has long been used by herbal medicine practitioners as an abortion herb. When steeped in water and mixed with other abortive herbs, pennyroyal can be used to cause the body to reject an early pregnancy.
Why is pennyroyal toxic?
Pennyroyal oil contains pulegone, which is highly toxic, particularly to the liver. Ingestion can lead initially to gastrointestinal distress such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Later on, it can lead to failure of the liver and kidneys, resulting in bleeding, seizures, multiple organ failure, and death.
How much pennyroyal tea is too much?
Toxicology. The toxicity of pennyroyal oil is well recognized, with many documented reports of adverse events and fatalities. In humans, consumption of 10 mL of the oil has resulted in moderate to severe toxicity, with case reports of fatalities 1 to 2 hours after consumption of 15 mL.
How long should pennyroyal tea steep?
On average, they require several cups over a few days or weeks. I put a tablespoon of pennyroyal and mugwort into a coffee cup and poured one cup of boiling water over it. I let it steep for twenty minutes, and then strained out the herbs.
Where is pennyroyal grown?
Pennyroyal is native to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and is hardy in zones 6 through 9. It is related to mint, with a smell similar to spearmint. It grows in a mat and makes an excellent groundcover that will crowd out any weeds.
What were pennyroyal pills?
Pennyroyal has always been associated with women’s bodies and sexuality: it was used in love potions, served as an obscene metaphor for female pubic hair, and was employed as a symbol of illicit sexuality. It has also been known since antiquity as a powerful abortifacient.
What are the effects of pennyroyal?
It can cause serious liver and kidney damage, as well as nervous system damage. Other side effects include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, burning of the throat, fever, confusion, restlessness, seizures, dizziness, vision and hearing problems, high blood pressure, lung failure, and death.
What pennyroyal means?
Definition of pennyroyal 1 : a European perennial mint (Mentha pulegium) with small aromatic leaves. 2 : an aromatic North American mint (Hedeoma pulegioides) that has blue or violet flowers borne in axillary tufts and yields an oil used in folk medicine or to drive away mosquitoes.
How do I know if I have pennyroyal?
American pennyroyal is an annual mint with small, oval leaves arranged opposite each other on a square stem. Leaves are entire and may be sparsely-toothed or smooth on the margins. The erect stems grow to 1 ft (31 cm) high from a many-branched root system.
Is pennyroyal a contraceptive?
Pennyroyal, we came to learn, is an abortifacient, an old friend to “luckless girls in need,” as the Nebraskan novelist Mari Sandoz once wrote. Too much of it can damage the liver and cause convulsions, coma or even death. A little less can end a pregnancy.
How do you use pennyroyal as an insect repellent?
To keep flies, gnats and mice away, colonists planted pennyroyal around their farms and homes. To use as an insect repellent, rub the leaves on your clothing rather than on your skin. Because of its strong oils always always wash your hands after working with pennyroyal.
Is pennyroyal a perennial?
A member of the mint family, pennyroyal is best planted in early spring will grow quickly, spreading aggressively if not kept well-contained.How to Grow Pennyroyal. Botanical Name Mentha pulegium Plant Type Herbaceous, perennial Mature Size 6–12 in. tall, 3–6 ft. wide Sun Exposure Full, partial.
What is tincture of pennyroyal?
Pennyroyal has been found helpful in easing coughs and congestion from colds and other respiratory infections. An expectorant, it alleviates dry, hacking coughs and helps expel phlegm. As a diaphoretic, Pennyroyal herbal tincture may help to reduce fevers by inducing perspiration.
Is mint toxic to humans?
Like many herbs, mint can adversely affect some people. People with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) should not use mint in an attempt to soothe digestive issues. According to a 2019 review , mint commonly acts as a trigger for GERD symptoms. Taking peppermint oil in large doses can be toxic .
Who wrote Penny Royal Tea?
What is pulegone used for?
Pulegone is a clear colorless oily liquid and has a pleasant odor similar to pennyroyal, peppermint and camphor. It is used in flavoring agents, in perfumery, and in aromatherapy.
Is Penny Royal invasive?
Mentha pulegium (pennyroyal) is a perennial mint (family Lamiaceae) with a variable habit, ranging from low-growing, spreading plants to lanky, upright sub-shrubs. Although pennyroyal is considered moderately invasive in wetlands its ecological impacts are not well documented.
