Today I want to talk about one of the lesser known herbal remedies for high blood pressure, Leonurus cardiaca, or motherwort. Although well known as a cardiac tonic, it’s ability to also lower high blood pressure is less well known. This herb is easy to grow and harvest in the home garden, and is known to have been used as a remedy for tachycardia (rapid heart beat) in China at least 2000 years ago.
Leonurus cardiaca (Motherwort) can strengthen heart function, reduce rapid heart beat, prevent muscle spasms of the cardiovascular system, induce a deep and healing state of sleep, and lower high blood pressure.
Background: A native of Eurasia, Motherwort is a pungent, bitter, diuretic herb which was used in ancient Greece as a treatment for anxiety and as a remedy for delayed menstruation. In the Middle Ages it was used to treat a wide variety of complaints, including insomnia, rheumatism, goiter, epilepsy and hypertension. (The English name, Motherwort, refers to its ability to calm anxiety during childbirth.)
Description: An aromatic perennial herb with purple stems and palmate, deeply lobed leaves. Growing up to four feet in height, it bears pinkish purple flowers from the leaf axils between June and September. Motherwort can be found growing along woodland paths, on woodland borders and along partially shaded fence rows.
Cultivation: In the springtime, Leonurus cardiaca seed may be direct sown into the garden, or started in growing trays in a 60 degree F greenhouse. This herb prefers well drained, moist soil in part shade, but is exceptionally hardy and will usually thrive even in poor soil. Once established, it will self-sow annually and the roots may continue for many years. In the United States, it is hardy from Zones 4-8.
Harvest: the above ground parts of Motherwort are harvested when the plant is in flower and dried for use in infusions and tinctures.
Research: European studies have shown that Motherwort is a cardiotonic, which strengthens and slows heartbeat, sedates and relaxes the coronary arteries, and lowers blood pressure. [i] In addition, a 2002 study [ii] noted that one of the effects of lavandulifolioside, a glycoside found in Leonurus cardiaca, was to decrease blood pressure. A Russian study done in 2010 [iii] noted that a combination drug which included Leonurus cardiaca extracts reduced blood pressure and “optimized antihypertensive effects of standard therapy in patients with hypertension”. A 2011 study [iv] reported that 80 percent of hypertensive patients given a Leonurus oil extract daily for 28 days showed improvements in symptoms of anxiety and depression. And finally, a 2013 review of this herb’s pharmacology [v] noted that “sedative and hypotensive activity has been demonstrated in clinical trials.”
[i] Blumenthal, M., et al., The Complete Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines (Integrative Medicine Communications) (1998).
[ii] Filipek, B., et al, “Pharmacological effects of lavandulifolioside from Leonurus cardiaca” Journal of Ethnopharmacology Vol 80, Issue 1, April 2002, p 85-90.
[iii] Babushkina, A.V., et al., “Combination Drug Therapy Kratal in Cardiovascular Disease”, Practitioners, No 4(78) VII-VIII 2010
[iv] Shikov A.N., et al, “Effect of Leonurus cardiaca oil extract in patients with arterial hypertension accompanied by anxiety and sleep disorders” Phytotherapy Research, 2011, Apr, 25(5): p. 540-3
[v] Wojtyniak K., et al., “Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort): a review of its phytochemistry and pharmacology.” Phytotherapy Research 2013 Aug 27(8): 1115-20
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