Butterbur: the giant-leaved plant, its traditional uses and its real cautions

Share

FacebookWhatsAppEmailInstagram

0

Butterbur is the plant with the huge, rhubarb-like leaves that grows along ditches and stream banks. Herbalists have used its rhizome and leaves for centuries, and it is now sold almost entirely as standardised, PA-free supplements. This page sets out what it is, what tradition credits it with, how it is actually taken, and why raw butterbur is never an option.

Where it grows and what it looks like

• A herbaceous perennial of the Asteraceae family, spreading by thick rhizomes.
• Flowers first: pinkish, peduncle-less florets packed onto scaly scapes in early spring.
• Then the leaves, which can be enormous — the largest of any plant native to Europe.
• Native to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North Africa; naturalised well beyond that.
• Found in swampy ground, waterlogged creek banks, forest underbrush and ditches, up to around 5,000 ft (1,500 m).
• Often confused with coltsfoot, which shares the same wet habitats and the same early flowering habit.

What it is credited with

• In medieval European herbal practice, butterbur was among the plants reached for during fevers and epidemics — a reputation more historical than practical.
• Seventeenth-century herbals describe the large leaves being laid over wounds as a dressing.
• In the same herbals, preparations of the root were taken to ease coughs and chest tightness.
• From the 1950s onwards, herbalism turned its attention to butterbur for allergic and inflammatory complaints, and that is where its modern reputation sits.
• Naturopathy credits standardised butterbur extract with easing the discomfort of seasonal pollen reactions — sneezing, itchy eyes, a running nose — without the drowsiness people associate with older antihistamine products.
• Herbalists also traditionally used the root to ease cramping and spasm: griping in the gut, irritation of the small intestine, and the spasmodic pain of the urinary tract.
• It has a long-standing reputation in European herbalism for easing recurrent headaches.
• Traditional use also extends to aching joints.

All of the above is traditional and naturopathic practice, reported as such. Butterbur is not a treatment, and nothing here replaces a diagnosis.

How to use it

Butterbur is the rare well-being plant that you do not prepare from scratch at home. The alkaloid question decides everything.

• Standardised extract — the only form worth using. Buy capsules, tablets or drops clearly labelled “PA free” (pyrrolizidine-alkaloid free) from a reputable herbal supplier or pharmacy.
• Follow the maker’s instructions, not a figure found online, and do not double up because pollen is heavy. Ask a pharmacist or herbalist to confirm the form suits you before you start.
• Timing — naturopaths typically suggest beginning before the pollen you react to is in the air, in late winter to early spring for tree pollens and mid-spring for grasses, then continuing through the season rather than dipping in and out.
• Duration — it is kept to short courses, over weeks rather than months, with breaks in between. Long, unsupervised use is not part of responsible practice.
• Home infusions and decoctions of wild-gathered root or leaf — described in old herbals, but not something to attempt: nothing in a domestic kitchen removes the alkaloids.
• As a vegetable — in Japan, the young leaf stalks of Petasites japonicus (fuki) are peeled, boiled, then soaked in changes of water to leach out bitterness before being simmered with soy and dashi. Always a cooked-and-leached preparation, never raw, and a culinary tradition rather than a health practice.
• Leaf poultice — the historic use on grazes and small wounds. Interesting to know, superseded by a clean dressing.

Frequently Asked Questions

The one thing to remember: the only butterbur worth taking internally is a commercial extract labelled “PA free”, used in short courses and checked with a pharmacist first.

Which precautions must be taken with butterbur?

Never take it raw, and never take a product that is not labelled “PA free”, because the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are toxic and carcinogenic to the liver and lungs. It is ruled out in pregnancy and breastfeeding, for anyone allergic to the Asteraceae family, and for anyone with reduced liver function or a history of hepatitis. Ask your doctor or pharmacist before you begin, especially if you take other medication.

Which part of the plant is used?

The rhizome and the leaves are the parts used in herbal preparations, with commercial extracts drawn mainly from the rhizome. The giant leaves were historically laid on wounds as a dressing. In Japan, the young leaf stalks of a related species are peeled, boiled and leached to be eaten as a spring vegetable.

When is butterbur harvested?

The flower spikes appear in early spring, before the foliage. Leaves are at their best from late spring to midsummer, and the rhizome is lifted in early to mid-autumn once the leaves fade. Most butterbur used for supplements is still gathered from the wild in Eastern Europe.

What does butterbur taste like?

The root and leaf are bitter, earthy and slightly resinous, which is one reason extracts are swallowed as capsules or drops rather than sipped as tea. Cooked and leached fuki stalks are much milder, with a green, celery-like flavour that takes soy and dashi well.

Can I make my own butterbur tea from plants by the stream?

No. Old herbals describe root decoctions, but nothing you can do in a home kitchen removes the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Home-made butterbur preparations are not a safe way to use this plant; stick to a PA-free commercial extract.

This information is provided for general interest and reflects the traditional use of plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are on medication, pregnant, or in any doubt, ask a healthcare professional.