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Crow's foot plantain

Crow' s-foot plantain, also known as stag's-horn plantain, monk's beard and capuchin's beard, is a plant whose parts growing above ground are used to make medicine. Crow's-foot plantain is used to treat colds, fever, coughs, bronchitis and inflamed airways. Some people gargle with crow's foot plantain for sore throats or apply crow's foot plantain to the skin to treat swelling, to help wounds heal or to stop bleeding. Crow's-foot plantain leaves should not be confused with digitalis leaves. These leaves look similar, but digitalis leaves are not safe and harmless. For this reason, crow's-foot plantain should only be obtained from reliable sources. There have been reports of crow's foot plantain products contaminated with digitalis.

How does crow's-foot plantain work?

Crow's-foot plantain contains tannins and mucilage-like substances that may help relieve painful and inflamed swollen areas.

How effective is crow's foot plantain?

There is not enough scientific data to assess the effectiveness of crow's foot plantain for colds, coughs, fevers, bleeding, bronchitis, inflammation of the throat and mouth, and applied to the skin for wounds, bleeding and swelling. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of crow's foot plantain in these applications.

Safety and side effects

Crow's-footplantain may be safe and harmless for most people when taken orally and applied to the skin in medicinal doses. In sensitive people, crow's-foot plantain may cause allergies.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: It is not safe for pregnant women to take or apply crow's-foot plantain to the skin. There is evidence that crow's-foot plantain may affect the muscle tone of the uterus.

As there is not enough information available on the safety of crow's-foot plantain during breastfeeding, it is better for breastfeeding women to refrain from using it.

Interactions

At this time, there is no information on interactions of crow's foot plantain with medications or supplements.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of crow's foot plantain depends on various factors such as age, state of health and others. At the present time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for crow's foot plantain. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.

References

  1. Shipochliev T. Uterotonic action of extracts from a group of medicinal plants. Vet Med Nauki 1981;18:94-8.
  2. Tyler VE, Brady LR, Robbers JB. Pharmacognosy. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lea and Fibiger, 1981.
  3. Whitmore A. FDA warns consumers against dietary supplement products that may contain Digitalis mislabeled as Plantain. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington DC, 1997.