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| Departments » Herbal Medicine » Materia Medica » Tropaeolum majus |
Note - the monographs are provided for informational purposes only, and are not to be used for self-medication.
Tropaeolum majus (Nasturtium)
| Botanic Name | Tropaeolum majus |
| Common Name | Nasturtium, Indian Cress |
| Family | Tropaeolaceae |
| Habitat | Waste places near built up areas. A native of Peru, nasturtium is widely grown in Australia and sparingly naturalised around Syndey, Brisbane, and Adelaide. (RD) |
| Description | A sprawling, succulent annual growing up to 30 cm tall. The blue-green rounded leaves 5-15 cm across, are carried on long fleshy stalks attached to the centre of leaves’ undersides. The showy, orange, red or yellow flowers, are trumpet shaped, with a nectar-filled spur at the base. |
| Similar Plants | |
| Parts Used | Seed, unripe fruit, flower bud, flowers, leaves and 5cm down stem from leaf; whole arieal plant. Young plants are most active. Stems are less active and the root is inactive (Bushell). |
| History | Introduced
to Spain from Peru in the 16th Century(Stuart)
Reached Gerard in the 1590s(Stuart) Unknown in central Europe until 1684 when Bewerning promoted it as a vegetable and medicine(Stuart) |
| Constituents | Vitamin C (Hoffmann)
Glycoside – glycotropaeline, a number of glycisidases, an antibiotic substance called tromalyt (Bushell) Volatile oils (Bushell) Flavonoids (Bushell) Acids of chlorogenic acid group (Bushell) Carotenoids (Bushell) Cucurbitacins (Bushell) Proteins, amino acids, sulpher, iron, manganese, phosphoric acid (Bushell) |
| Actions | Anti-microbial
(Hoffmann)
Antimycotic (McCarthy) Exepctorant (McCarthy) Purgative (McCarthy) Aphrodisiac (McCarthy) Vulnerary (McCarthy) Rejuvenative (McCarthy) Antineoplastic (Bushell) Whole Aerial Preparation Demulcent (Bushell) Fruit, Flowers, 5cm stem, Leaf Antibiotic & Antimycotic (Bushell) Green Fruit Very antimycotic (topically) (Bushell) |
| Applications | Bronchitis,
influenza, influenzal pneumonia (McCarthy)
Common cold – where any respiratory bacteria (McCarthy) Urinary tract infections (McCarthy) Wounds (McCarthy) Skin fungi (Topically) (McCarthy) Opthalmologic infections (McCarthy) Whole Aerial Preparation Good for general respiratory tract infection where soothing action is needed (Bushell) Fruit, Flowers, 5cm Stem, Leaf Thrush (Bushell) Chronic throat problems (Bushell) Opthalmic conditions (Bushell) Green Fruit (Topical) Ringworm, tinia, fungus in fingernails (Bushell) Good for wound healing (Bushell) |
| Dosage | Whole
Aerial Preparation – Medium/High Dose (Bushell)
Fruit, Flowers etc – Medium Dose (Bushell) Green Fruit – Topical use only (Bushell) |
| Combinations | Thrush - Pau D’arco (Tabebuia impetiginosa) |
| C/I Cautions | Sensitive
stomachs may be irritated (McCarthy)
Care should be taken in handling – may cause blisters (McCarthy) |
| BHP S/I |