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Yellow Dock | | Name : | Yellow Dock | | Botanical : | Rumex crispus | | Synonyms : | Amlavetasa (Sanskrit name)
Chin-ch'iao-mai
Curleddock
Curlydock
Gardenpatience
Narrowdock
Rumex
Sourdock
| | Parts Used : | Leaves and roots | | Habitat : | Found as a troublesome weed in meadows, fields and waste places inEurope, China, the United States, and southern Canada. | | Description : | The leaves are crisped at their edges. It grows freely in our roadside ditches and waste places. The roots are 8 to 12 inches long, about 1/2 inch thick, fleshy and usually not forked. Externally they are of a rusty brown and internally whitish, with fine, straight, medullary rays and a rather thick bark. It has little or no smell and a rather bitter taste. The stem is 1 to 3 feet high and branched, the leaves, 6 to 10 inches long. | | Constituents : | Chrysarobin, iron, manganese, potassium oxalate, tannin, and rumicin,iron, phosphorus, calcium, vitamins A and C
Antipyretic, astringent, cholagogue, depurative, tonic, laxative,anti-scorbutic, alterative | | Uses : | The Yellow Dock is applicable to all the purposes for which the other species are used. The root has laxative, alterative and mildly tonic action, and can be freely used as a tonic and laxative in rheumatism, bilious complaints and as an astringent in piles, bleedings of the lungs, etc. It is largely prescribed for diseases of the blood, from a spring eruption, to scurvy, scrofula and chronic skin diseases. It is also useful in jaundice and as a tonic to the stomach and the system generally. It has an action on the bowels very similar to that of Rhubarb, being perhaps a little less active, but operating without pain or uneasiness.
Rumicin is the active principle of the Yellow Dock, and from the root, containing Chrysarobin, a dried extract is prepared officially, of which from 1 to 4 grains may be given for a dose in a pill. This is useful for relieving a congested liver, as well as for scrofulous skin diseases.
A syrup can be made by boiling 1/2 lb. crushed root in a pint of syrup, which is taken in teaspoonful doses. The infusion administered in wineglassful doses - is made by pouring 1 pint of boiling water on 1 OZ. of the powdered root. A useful homoeopathic tincture is made from the plant before it flowers, which is of particular service to an irritable tickling cough of the upper air-tubes and the throat. It is likewise excellent for dispelling any obstinate itching of the skin. It acts like Sarsaparilla for curing scrofulous skin affections and glandular swellings.
To be applied externally for cutaneous affections, an ointment may be made by boiling the root in vinegar until the fibre is softened and then mixing the pulp with lard.
The seeds have been given with advantage in dysentery, for their astringent action.
The Yellow Dock has also been considered to have a positive effect in restraining the inroads made by cancer in the human system, being used as an alterative and tonic to enfeebled condition caused by necrosis, cancer, etc. It has been used in diphtheria. | | Dosage : | Decoction: use 1 tsp. root in 1 cup boiling water, cover witha saucer, and let stand for 1/2 hour, strain and reheat. Sweeten withhoney, if desired. Take hot, 1 to 2 cups a day.
Powder: for skin problems the dose is 12 grains.
Syrup: boil 1/2 lb. of crushed root in 1 pint of syrup; takenin tsp. doses 3-4 times a day. | | Safety : | Yellow dock is high in tannin content and should be taken only everyother week. As a capsule, one a day. As a decoction, 1 tsp. in a cupof water, 1-2 cups a day.
Care should be taken if emaciated.
Large doses may cause gastric disturbance; nausea, diarrhea, etc. | | Myths : | Native Americans applied yellow dock root mashed into a pulp to soresand swellings. The Blackfoot name for yellow dock is 'Matoa koa ksi.''Pawia' means yellow root.
Yellow dock is literally a storehouse for organic iron. A remarkablevirtue of yellow dock is that it has mild laxative properties. Inorganiciron tends to bind and constipate but the laxative properties givesan abundance of iron while relieving the tendency toward constipation.
Most commonly thought of as a troublesome weed, this herb has beenused medicinally since ancient times. The young leaves were much usedas a pot herb in olden times. | | Nutrient : | Iron, phosphorus, calcium, vitamins A and C | | Sold : | Capsules: 2capsules, swallowed with a glass of warm water.Adjust amount according to individual needs. Yellow dock tea is bitterand some people find the capsules much to their liking. |
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