Latin Name: Hydrastis canadensis L.
Family Name: Ranunculaceae
Common Names: Goldenseal, Ground Raspberry or Orange root.
Parts Used: Root

Botanical Description:

A low perennial herb with a knotty, yellow rhizome from which arises a single leaf and an erect, hairy stem. In early spring, it bears two 5-9 lobed, rounded leaves near the top, which are terminated by a single greenish-white flower. The rhizome is yellowish-brown, about 5 cm (2’’) long and 1 cm (½ ") thick, knotty and twisted, wrinkled longitudinally and encircled by leaf scars. Rootlets frequently present in abundance. Taste is very bitter; odour strong, characteristic and disagreeable.

Distribution:
Native to Canada and eastern United States; found in shady woods and the edges of woodland on rich, moist soil.

Cultivation:
Wild, but becoming rare. Some commercially grown in Oregon and Washington. Propagate by rootlets planted in the fall or by division when dormant. Plant in rich moist well-drained soil in the shade. pH 6.0-7.0. Germination from seed is slow and difficult (seeds must be freshly stratified).

Harvest:
Rhizomes are lifted in the autumn after the foilage has died down, then dried.

Constituents:
Isoquinoline alkaloids, mainly hydrastine, berberine, and canadine (=catrahydroberbe) with lesser amounts of related alkaloids.
Miscellaneous; fats, acids, resin, polyphenolic acids and a small amount of volatile oils.

Properties:
Tonic, Alterative, Stimulant

The price of Hydrastis has soared to such a height that many practitioners have been tempted to use a substitute. We can only advise the student to use the agents they need, no matter what the price, as nothing builds up a practice like getting results. We have lost this plant because of not having sufficient shade when seeking to grow it and because of over zealous wildcrafting. The root should be four years old before taking up for use.

This root has been well named the king of tonics to the mucus membrane. It has been largely used since about 1820. It received its name from the Thompsonians. It is claimed that the aborigines of North America discovered this agent and used it as a tonic. It is intensely bitter and somewhat unpleasant to the taste. We have, however, in spite of the price and unpleasant taste, used it freely for years, and can assure the practitioner that it is a very reliable article.

It is extremely useful in dyspepsia, gastric catarrh and gastric ulceration. It will improve the appetite and aid digestion. In cases where the gastric membrane is clogged with congestion, and all the above troubles, give your Goldenseal in small and frequent doses.

It may be used in infusion, decoction, fluid extract or substance. The fluid extract has been much used in recent years and can be procured at any drug house. We prefer ourselves to use the root. It is a very good remedy in the vomiting of pregnancy. It is eligible for a combination with almost any other remedies where a tonic is needed.

Hydrastis canadensis is one of the very few agents which will tone and sustain the venous circulation. It can be made to specially influence the stomach, bowels, bronchi, urinary tract or generative organs by combining it with agents which specially influence the given part.

Combined with Mitchella repens (Partridge Berry) its influence will quickly be manifest upon the genitalia. Used with Juglans cin. (Butternut) you have a powerful intestinal tonic. If combined with Eupatorium purpureum (Gravel Root) the kidneys will soon feel its influence.

A very fine tonic to the spinal nerves is made as follows:
Hydrastis (Goldenseal) 1 ounce
Humulus (Hops) ¾ ounce
Scutellaria (Scullcap) ½ ounce

Infuse in 1½ pints of boiling water. Cover till nearly cold. Strain and give as freely as the case demands from a wineglassful three times daily.

The above may be given in substance. Two or three capsules every two hours, or as the case demands.

The infusion of Hydrastis is a good wash for inflamed or sore eyes and ulcers in the mouth. In the eruptive diseases, as smallpox, measles, etc., where itching and burning of the skin are a trouble, and in scarletina to prevent scales spreading from the patient, use the following wash.
It will relieve the patient.
Fluid Extract Hydrastis 1 ounce
Ol. Lini. (Linseed Oil) 9 ounces
Mix and apply as required.

Dr. Cook, an old time practitioner, now dead, says of Hydrastis:

"I would also particularly commend a decoction of it as a wash, to a part of the whole of the surface in the maturing stage of variola, in which it at once allays the itching, relieves the nervous system and so tones the new cuticle under the postules as greatly to lessen the danger of pitting. It may be used several times a day upon the face and hands, each application being followed with a light dressing of sweet oil, and my eighteen years of experience with it in this form justifies me in speaking of its value in the highest terms."

In granular opthalmia, with ulceration of the cornea, the following will be of decided value:
Hydrastis (Goldenseal) 1 ounce
Lobelia Herb. ¼ ounce
Capsicum 20 grains

Infuse in 1 pint of boiling water. Cover till almost cold. Strain and use a wash. In some cases it may be preferable to use the powdered Gum Myrrh in place of the Capsicum.

Hydrastis is one of the finest agents in powder form for the treatment of irritable chancres and buboes, and in treating labial ulcers in syphilis, used as follows, will give the physician every satisfaction.
Powdered Hydrastis (Goldenseal) 4 drachms
Powdered Commiphora (Myrrh) 1 drachm
Powdered Capsicum (Cayenne) 5 grains

Rub up well in mortar and fill the ulcers several times a day.

The decoction, fluid extract or tincture, is a good local application for ringworms. In purchasing the fluid extract the practitioner will find there are two kinds offered for sale. The ordinary fluid extract and the colorless extract. We advise the physician not to accept the colorless, even though he may be told it contains all the therapeutic value of the root. This is not so.

Finally, we believe this agent to merit all that is said concerning it and much more. We know from personal experience how valuable a remedy it is. We have paid as high as thirty dollars a pound for it during war times. This will be sufficient, we think, to satisfy our students that we think it a worthwhile article.

Contraindications:
Berberine and berberine-containing plants are generally non-toxic at recommended doses. However, berberine-containing plants are not recommended for use during pregnancy, and high dosages may interfere with the metabolism of B vitamins. - National Chaplain's Assoc. of New York State