Poke, Phytolacca americana; (Phytolaccaceae)

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(Phytolaccaceae)</B></I></div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="e0636d10.jpg" border=0 width="310" height="209" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">DESCRIPTION</B></I></div> <div> Poke is a handsome plant growing from three to nine feet tall. It is perennial, with a root of large size, frequently exceeding a man's leg in diameter, usually branched, fleshy, fibrous, whitish within, easily cut or broken, and covered with a very thin brownish bark or cuticle. When young the stem is green, but as the plant matures it becomes more or less purple. The stem is annual, about one inch in diameter, much branched, smooth, stout, and hollow. The leaves are opposite, scattered, ovate, entire, 5 inches long by 2 or 3 inches wide, smooth on both sides with ribs underneath. The flowers are numerous, arranged in long racemes opposite the leaves. There are no petals, but 5 rounded, incurved, petaloid sepals, whitish or greenish-white in color. Stamens are low, shorter than the sepals. Styles 10, recurved. Ovary of 10 carpels, green, and united in a ring. The fruit is a handsome, flattened, black or blackish-purple berry, 10 seeded, and contains a beautiful crimson juice (Felk:1471).</div> <div> <I><B>GENERAL</B></I></div> <div> Poke is one of the more important medicinal plants in America. It is a wild plant rarely cultivated and yet it is known all over America and in many European countries (Hyl:537). It also grows in the Mediterranean countries, North Africa, China and in the Sandwich Islands (Felk:1471). It grows commonly in the Eastern United States growing in hedges, along the borders of fields and clearings, along roadsides and in uncultivated fields and moist grounds. An early American writer commented, “Pokeweed is a native American, and what a lusty, royal plant it is! It never invades cultivated fields, but hovers about the borders and looks over the fences like a painted Indian sachem.” Thoreau coveted its strong purple stalk for a cane and the robins eat its dark crimson-juiced berries (John Burroughs, A Bunch of Herbs, 1881).</div> <div> Poke was much used by the American Indians but it should not be confused with a plant called Indian Poke, which is Veratrum viride. The name has an interesting Indian origin. At first glance this looks like an everyday descriptive sort of name as the plant Pokes up out of the ground, bigger and taller than any other sprouts nearby and Pokes along until it has grown as high as a bush. The name, however, comes from the Virginian Indian pokan which meant any red-juiced plant which yields a stain or dye. Pokan came from pak which meant blood. (Puccoon, from the same source, was an early word for Bloodroot.)</div> <div> The Mohawks told Cadwallader Colden, a physician, botanist and statesman and a great friend of the tribe, that the root of the plant would restore the spirits if chewed upon while traveling and fasting. They claimed it was a cure for cancer. Colden was convinced enough to communicate this information to Benjamin Franklin. He also claimed that the Poke root would remove corns within twenty-four hours (Vog:45).</div> <div> The botanical name comes from the Greek word for plant (phyton) and crimson lake (lacca), a reference to the plant's dyeing qualities, one of the few botanical names referring to a dye use. The plant has so many common names that it is confounding. There are many variations of the Phvtolacca designation; Phvtolacca root radix, berry, vulgaris, americana and so on, including branching Phytolacca. It was called Pigeon berry because in the days when passenger pigeons were still an important method of communication they loved to eat the berries. It was called Bear's Crowberry, Jalap, and Cancer-root, because although many medical sources deny the possible use of the plant as a cancer remedy, it is firmly in the Indian and folk tradition. It is called American Nightshade because of its poisonous qualities, which we discuss below. It has various European names such as Herbe de la Laque. It's also called Virginian Poke and Poke Berry and Poke Weed and Poke Root.</div> <div> During Polk's presidential campaign in 1845 Pokeweed twigs were worn by his followers and later it was said that the plant got its name from the President. But Pokeweed was named long before James Polk. Another nickname for the plant is Inkweed because in former times some ink preparations were made from it.</div> <div> “When the juice of its berries is put upon paper or the like, it dyes a deep purple which is as fine as any in the world and it is a pity that no method has as yet been discovered of making this color last on woolen and linen cloth, for it fades very soon. Mr. Bartram mentioned that having hit his foot against a stone he had gotten a violent pain in it. He then bethought himself of putting a leaf of the Pokeweed on his foot, by which he had lost the pain in a short time...The English and several Swedes make use of the leaves in spring, when they just come out and are still tender and soft and eat them, partly in the manner we eat spinach...Great care has to be taken for if you eat the plant when it is large and its leaves are no longer soft, you may expect death as a consequence, a calamity which seldom fails to follow, for the plant has then got a power of purging the body to excess” (Peter Kalm, Travels into North America, 1748-1751). Thus wrote one of the earliest American writers to describe conditions in the wilderness.</div> <div> The plant was much used in former times for the inflammatory condition of cow's udders known as “garget”, and is sometimes known by that name.</div> <div> In Portugal the juice of the berries was formerly used to color wine. However, because this imparted a disagreeable taste to the wine a law was passed that any plant found must be cut down before the berries formed to assure that no wine would be thus adulterated. The Turks would sometimes use the juice of the berries to color sweetmeats.</div> <div> It is said to be a plant that every nature lover should get to know and to enjoy the fall beauty of, for no color is more beautiful and striking than the sun shining through the foliage as stems, leaves, and berries become crimson (Coon:207).</div> <div> Poke was official in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1820 to 1916, and in the National Formulary from 1916 to 1947, where it was listed as a slow emetic, purgative, and alterative (Elt:94).</div> <div> <I><B>POWERFUL ALTERNATIVE</B></I></div> <div> Poke is said to be one of the most superior alteratives if properly gathered and prepared for medicinal uses (Hut:281). It works principally upon the skin, the glandular structures and most markedly upon the mammary glands. The green root is said to be especially good for enlargement of the glands, especially the thyroid gland and also enlargement of the spleen (Beth:135). It is said to be wonderful for congestion of the lymphatic system. Malstrom tells of a young man from Salt Lake County who had been suffering from congestion of the lymphatic system for a period of time. It began from a cold that would not leave and developed into a period of tension in which he slept very little. This caused adrenal exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes over most of the body. He was listless, had no energy and could work only a few hours a day, but only inefficiently. Dr. Malstrom told him to take a mild fast, to use green drinks for a week or so and then only take raw root vegetables with the green drink and some seeds. After a time he could take some fruit. After three months of this strict regimen along with the use of Poke root and other herbs to clear the lymphatics, he got strong again and could live a normal life once more (Mal: 196).</div> <div> Because it is an alterative the plant is often used as a spring tonic. The green root is said to be a most useful herb. Scrofulous, syphilitic and rheumatic conditions are invariably benefitted by it (Felk:1473). It is especially useful for chronic rheumatism alth ough quite large doses are said to be necessary. The Pamunkey Indians of Virginia introduced this use of the herb. They drank a tea of the boiled berries for the illness. They also used the plant as a tea for the same purpose (Lewis:167).</div> <div> The skin is an indicator of toxicity in the body. Poke is a good remedy for skin problems. It is also good for “the itch” in cases of scabies. Anytime you have skin which doesn't eliminate properly along with vitiated blood, you can well use Poke. It is said to be a great eliminator of toxins out of the system (IIut:36). Usually the glands are not performing properly in these conditions so the herb works on both areas. It is often used in chronic eczema, syphilitic eruptions, psoriasis, varicose veins and leg ulcers (Felk:1473). Mixed with iris it is used in boils, carbuncles, skin abscesses and all ulcerations of outlets of the body. It relieves the pain of burns and promotes rapid healing. For skin problems it should be used internally and externally (Felk:1473).</div> <div> It is a dependable herb to treat breast swelling, from which so many women suffer following childbirth, making nursing impossible. Dr. Kloss described this use. He said to grind fine the fresh root and roll this out into a poultice to cover the breast completely, cutting out a hole for the nipple. Using a piece of cheesecloth or other thin (cotton) material to cover the breast, apply and once daily moisten the poultice with Poke root tea made fresh each time. Do this for three days, each time putting on a fresh poultice. You can continue the treatment for fifteen days which should pull little sores filled with pus. In some weeks, he said, the hardness should leave the breast although we consider that it works much faster in many cases (Klo:298). This same treatment has worked wonders in cases of breast cancer. We have also noted, in the problem of mastitis, that a calcium deficiency in the body is sometimes a cause. A midwife informed us of this and said that if we would saturate the body with a good quality calcium supplement such as the Calc tea or perhaps Dr. Christopher's eggshell formula, using Vitamin C and blood-cleansing herbs to eliminate infection, we would quickly get over any breast infections. Dr. Christopher made his eggshell formula by covering clean eggshells, with their inner lining removed, with apple-cider vinegar allowing this to set for several days. He then strained it and combined it with honey and water for a pleasant source of good calcium.</div> <div> The plant is said to be good for goiter if taken internally or it can be applied as a poultice or liniment (Mal:99).</div> <div> Poke root has been recommended for other women's ailments. Sore nipples and breast tenderness during the menstrual period will be remedied by the use of Poke root. It is a good remedy for ovaritis. Subinvolution of the uterus, vaginal leueorrhea and some cases of membranous dysmenorrhea are cured by this agent (Felk: 1474).</div> <div> In diseases of the mouth and throat it can be highly effective. It can help in acute or chronic mucus affections such as tracheitis, laryngitis, influenza, catarrh and especially illnesses that tend to form false membrane such as diphtheria. It can help in tonsillitis and simple ordinary sore mouth. Coughs resulting from inflamed or irritated sore throats are cured by it when they arise from lymphatic congestion (Ibid.).</div> <div> The herb is much employed for venereal disease afflictions both internally and externally.</div> <div> In cases of granular conjunctivitis the eyes can be bathed daily with a decoction of the root (in distilled water, well-strained), applying it to the affected conjunctiva with a camel's hair brush at the same time administering the tincture of the fresh root internally (Ibid.).</div> <div> Sick headache, which may result from exhaustion and congestion of the system, responds to the tincture.</div> <div> The root roasted in hot ashes until soft, mashed and applied as a poultice, is unrivaled in felons and tumors of various kinds. It dissolves them rapidly or, if they are too far advanced, hastens suppuration (Ibid.).</div> <div> Authorities differ as to its value on cancer. Great relief towards the close of a difficult case of cancer of the uterus was obtained by an external application of 3 ounces of Poke root and one ounce of the tincture in the strength of 1 tablespoon to three pints of tepid water for bathing the part (Gri:649). Hutchens reports that “the juice of the berries dried in the sun until it forms the proper consistency for a plaster, applied twice a day, has cured cancer” (Hut:282).</div> <div> It has been used as an emetic but its use is generally discouraged because it takes so long for it to begin to work. Its use as a cathartic is similar and causes more problems because once it begins to work it doesn't easily stop, although it works without griping.</div> <div> It is said to be a specific for throat conditions especially when the throat membrane is dark in color, the tonsils swollen, with shooting pains through the ear. With difficulty in swallowing it should be used at the first indication of irritation or inflammation of the throat and combined with other herbs as needed (Cly:105).</div> <div> It has been reported that birds, eating the berries, lost their excess fatty tissue. Therefore some have tried using it in cases of obesity although this use is not well-proven. Some have used it for fatty degeneration of the heart (Felk:1474).</div> <div> It has been applied topically as an ointment for swellings and skin affections and also for relief of hemorrhoids.</div> <div> In China the plant is used for dropsy and as a counter-poison especially in abdominal parasites. Externally it is used for foul sores of all kinds. The flowers are prescribed in apoplexy (Shi:319). The berries are used as a remedy for relieving the pains of rheumatism and arthritis. The tincture is used for this and it is borne out by Western use. One woman suffered intense pain from arthritis so much that she dreaded the winter months that would bring dampness, cold, and pain. She started taking a teaspoon of Poke berry tincture in a small glass of water twice a day and this completely cured her rheumatism (Luc:Secrets:106)</div> <div> The Doctrine of Signatures suggests that the root resembles the human form which commends it as a useful alterative. The red berries remind us of the blood and the hollow, moist stems remind us of the systems of elimination serving as a diuretic and laxative to cleanse the system (Har:Complete:148).</div> <div> <I><B>POKE SALET</B></I></div> <div> The young shoots are commercially canned in some parts of the American South where they are known as “Poke salet”. Many novices hear the name as Poke salad and are very disappointed by the taste of raw Poke in a salad. The term “salet” usually means a wild green to be cooked, most often in the southern tradition of overboiling with salt, pepper and hogfat. Poke lends itself well to this cooking style. Its strong taste is best tamed by boiling a few minutes, casting off the first water and then simmering slowly for about 15 minutes, adding a little oil, butter (or hog fat) and seasonings to taste.</div> <div> One must be sure to gather only the young shoots. When they become hard the toxic elements form in them and can cause serious poisoning. Some people think that their taste is superior to that of asparagus and cook them to be served with buttered toast, covered with a white sauce and accompanied by crisp bacon. Be sure never to use any root for salet.</div> <div> Some housewives used to prepare pies from the fruit. Millspaugh confesses that he might like to try it, but the reports of toxicity have so far deterred him (Mills:558). Other herbalists, however, firmly discourage the use of the fruits in pies!</div> <div> The leaves, roots and berries have been utilized as dye plants. Mordanted properly they yield reddish tints.</div> <div> English farmers formerly fed their poultry large amounts of these fruits but discovered that although the birds were quite fond of them the fruits, if eaten in large quantities, would give the flesh a rather disagreeable flavor (Har:Eat: 190). Pigeons who ate quantities of the berries, when killed for food would sometimes cause purging.</div> <div> <I><B>HISTORICAL USES</B></I></div> <div> It is used for cancer, to remove corns, for congestion of the lymphatic system, for enlarged thyroid glands, for chronic eczema, syphilitic eruptions, psoriasis, varicose veins, leg ulcers, boils, carbuncles, skin abscesses, burns, breast swelling, breast cancer, for ovaritis, goiter, cancer of the uterus, throat conditions, abdominal parasites, sores, as a diuretic and a laxative, for arthritis, for swellings and skin infections.</div> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="e0852e00.jpg" border=0 width="338" height="224" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">CULTIVATION, COLLECTION, PREPARATION</B></I></div> <div> Poke is rarely cultivated although some of it has been transported to France and other parts of Europe where it is valued as a potherb. Collectors are careful to maintain good stands of it where it grows wild. Sometimes people lift the roots in autumn after the berries and stalks are dry. The roots are placed in beds after the fashion of rhubarb and asparagus, being covered with five inches or more of mellow soil. The plants produce shoots in the spring for tonic greens. When the root is gathered (after the flowering stage of the plant, in autumn), it is best used fresh or preserved in tincture form as it decomposes and loses its medicinal factors very rapidly.</div> <div> <I><B>RELATED PLANTS</B></I></div> <div> Phytolacca dioica, is a tree about 25 feet high and from 6 to 10 feet in circumference. It is a native of Brazil or Mexico and naturalized in Algeria.</div> <div> P. acinosa, is said to be violently toxic. The Japanese use it as a diuretic.</div> <div> <I><B>TOXICITY</B></I></div> <div> Poke root requires skillful and careful use. It can stimulate mitogens as it contains a lectin. When lectins contact functional cell membrane glycoproteins bearing polysaccharide side chains, they can combine to form bridges between cells, causing agglutination in vivo. They can induce preferential killing of tumor cells and when also acting as mitogens, they can stimulate B and T lymphoid cells to divide and mature. Both T and B cell mitogenesis can be induced by the mitogen of Poke. Whenever B cells are mitogen activated it is possible for them to produce the immunoglobulins for which they are genetically programmed. The mechanism of mitogen stimulation remains obscure but it can disrupt normal cell division and can also modify a variety of physiological processes of lymphocytes in such a way that cytotoxicity is induced (Lewis:97-8).</div> <div> The toxicity can be absorbed through the skin. People who harvest the herb should wear gloves. Skin abrasions have resulted from just handling the roots. The fruit is the least toxic, then come the leaves and immature shoots. The stems are more toxic and the roots most of all. The toxic symptoms from an overdose are more or less nausea, violent vomiting and purging, great thirst and discomfort in the gastric region, feeble pulse, dimness of vision, vertigo, drowsiness, great prostration and coldness of the periphery, followed by convulsion and, rarely, death (Mills:560).</div> <div> Blue Vervain is an herbal antidote to Poke poisoning.</div> <div> <I><B>CHEMICAL COMPOSITION</B></I></div> <div> The berries contain phytolaccic acid. The root contains large amounts of potassium and an alkaloid named phytolaccine. It also contains saponins which can have toxic reactions.</div> <div> To be safe in using this herb medicinally one should either use in combinations by approved herbalists or use it under the direct care of an herbal or a natural practitioner.</div> <div> <I><B>DR. CHRISTOPHER'S COMBINATIONS CONTAINING POKE</B></I></div> <div> The Red Clover Combination, which is the excellent blood cleanser and alterative, contains Poke Root.</div> <div> Poke tincture is sold, as is Poke and Mullein Oil, which is used externally for glandular swellings and skin troubles.</div> <div> Black Ointment contains Poke Root.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="e97be3a0.jpg" border=0 width="446" height="570" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=24 BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="cc203181eearkz.gif"> <div>  <A HREF="100hs_plantain__plantago_major.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Plantain, Plantago major (Plantaginaceae">100HS Plantain, Plantago major</A> < Previous  |  Next > <A HREF="100hs_pomegranate__punica_granatum.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pomegranate, Punica granatum (Punicaceae">100HS Pomegranate, Punica granatum</A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>