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Botanical Name |
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Urtica dioica L. |
English
Name |
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Common Stinging or Small Nettle |
Synonym(s) |
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Urtica urens |
Family |
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Urticaceae |
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General Info
| Description |
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Perennial, erect herb with stinging hairs; leaves opposite, simple, coarsely toothed, narrowly heart-shaped; flowers small, greenish, in axillary clusters. |
| Herb Effects |
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Antiparamecium (leaf extract); astringent, diuretic (which relieves rheumatism and edema), increases metabolic rate, anticancer, antidiabetes, antianemic, cholinergic and histaminic (plant); inflammatory (stinging hairs). |
Chemistry
| Active Ingredients |
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Choline, betaine, various amino acids and plastoquinones (leaf); carotenes, vitamins, acetylcholine, histamine, formic acid and 5-hydroxytryptamine (plant). |
| Chemistry
of Active Ingredients |
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Name |
CAS# |
IUPAC Name |
Formula |
Structure |
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| Choline |
67-48-1 |
2-hydroxyethyl-trime
thyl-ammonium |
C5H14NO+ |
|
| Betaine |
590-47-6 |
Carboxymethyl-trimet
hyl-ammonium
hydroxide |
C5H13NO3 |
|
| 5-Hydroxytryptamine |
Not Available |
3-(2-aminoethyl)-1H-
indol-5-ol |
C10H12N2O |
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Pharmacology
| Medicinal Use |
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Jaundice, kidney problems, bleeding of the uterus and nose, excessive menstruation, haemorrhoids, arthritis, rheumatism and eczema, as a diuretic (for relieving rheumatism and edema), astringent and as a substitute for thiazide treatment (without side effects) (plant); Externally, the plant is used to treat skin complaints, arthritic pain, gout, sciatica, neuralgia, haemorrhoids, dandruff etc.; as a tonic (flower and seed); for heart problems. Nettles have a long history of Use(s) in the home as a herbal remedy and nutritious addition to the diet. A tea made from the leaves has traditionally been used as a cleansing tonic and blood purifier so the plant is often used in the treatment of hay fever, arthritis, anaemia etc. |
| Contraindication |
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It may lower blood pressure and heart rate.
Leaf extract (IDS 23, Rheuma-Hek) reduces TNF-alpha & IL-1 beta in healthy humans induced by LPS. No effect on IL6 (Obertreis et al., 1996). |
| Reference |
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 Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.
Uniyal et al., Medicinal Flora of Garhwal Himalayas.
Stary, The Natural Guide to Medicinal Herbs and Plants. |
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