Grindelia herba

Grindelia herba, the Grindelia herb consists of the dried flowering stem tips and leaves of the gumweed collected during the flowering season.

HMPC monograph: Traditional-use:cough due to colds

ESCOP mon ograph: productive cough, upper respiratory tract catarrh.

Contraindicated in case of allergy to one of the components, children and adolescents under 18 years, no data for pregnancy and lactation.

Commission E-monograph: upper respiratory tract catarrh.

Diterpenes (especially Grindelia acid), flavonoids (combatant olether, luteolin, quercetin and quercetin ether), polyins (matricarianol and matricaria ester), essential oil (about 0.3%), triterpene saponins (with bayogenin, echinocytic acid, oleanolic acid, Grindeliasapogenin D and polygalic acid as aglyca), tanning agents, phenolic carboxylic acids (chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid and vanillinic acid, hentriacontan) and phytosterols.

Grindelia herba is used in folk medicine for catarrhs of the upper airways. Furthermore, Grindelia herba is also used for cystitis, nephritis, arteriosclerosis, gastrointestinal cramps and other diseases. The extracts have a proven antimycotic effect (Zabka M et al. 2011).

Grindelia herba extracts are successfully used in toxic dermatitis (Canavan D et al. 2005).

Extracts from Grindelia herba are used in cosmetic formulations.

1. Canavan D et al. (2005) Successful treatment of poison oak dermatitis treated with Grindelia spp. (Gumweed). J Altern Complement Med 11:709-710.
2. Pinkas M et al (1978) Phenolic components from some species of Grindelia (author's transl) Ann Pharm Fr 36(3-4):97-104.
3. Zabka M et al. (2011) Promising antifungal effect of some Euro-Asiatic plants against dangerous pathogenic and toxinogenic fungi. J Sci Food Agric 91:492-497.
4. https://medicinalplantsencyclopedia.info/grindelia.php.
5. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-monograph/final-community-herbal-monograph-grindelia-robusta-nutt-grindelia-squarrosa-pursh-dunal-grindelia_en.pdf