Agrimony Side effects and warnings. Agrimony is considered safe at recommended dosages and short term use. Prolonged usage may cause side effects such as nausea, vomitting and allergic reaction for senstive people due to tannin content.

Scientific Name: Agrimonia Eupatoria (LINN.)

Other Names: Agrimony, Agrimone, Agrimonia, Agrimonia eupatoria, Aigremoine, Church Steeples, Cockeburr, Cocklebur, Da Hua Long Ya Cao

Agrimonia, (Agrimonia Eupatoria) commonly called as agrimony, is a flowering plant of the rose family, native to the temperate regions of Northern America, Europe and Asia. Its name agrimony came from the Greek word Agermone meaning healing to the eyes and Eupatoria from Mithridates Eupator, a Pontus king famous for having invented a complex ‘universal antidote’ against poisoning. Thus agrimony from whence its name was derived, has long been valued as an important herbal medicine through the ages. Agrimony was once considered a panacea or “all-heal” for illnesses.

Agrimony Description

Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant, growing to a height of 2 m by 0.75 m of the Rosaceae family. Agrimony has alternate, compound pinnate leaves with five or more opposing toothed leaflets. The tiny hermaphrodite yellow flowers that bloom in June to August have five petals that grow in long spike. The tiny agrimony fruits have hooked bristles that attached to animals to aid propagation while the seeds ripen from August to September.

Early Greeks used agrimony for the treatment of eye disorders and brewed leaves and seeds are used to treat stomach disorders such as diarrhea and irritable bowel movement.

Agrimony concoction is also used in ancient Greece for the treatment of kidney, liver and gall bladder problems.
During the middle ages, agrimony was used to treat wounds to promote healing.

In Austria, agrimony was used to treat respiratory ailments, liver, kidney and bile problems.
In ancient Northern Europe, it was used as an antidote for poison and snake bites.

In Northern America, Indians used agrimony for fever, ague and gastro-intestinal problems.

Agrimony was used as an astringent to treat skin eruptions, sores, pimples and wounds. A decoction is mixed to the bath to wash the skin.

Extract from agrimony mixed with oil was used to treat gout and arthritis. A decoction is likewise drunk with wine is said to relieve the symptoms.

Culpeper, a noted English herbalist in mid- 17th century wrote about agrimony being used as a healing herb both for external and inward wounds. Agrimony mixed in baths was used to heal skin wounds and sores while a decoction of agrimony taken internally, sometimes with wine may heal bruises, hurts and discomfort.

Agrimony is also used as a gargle to improve bad breath, cure sore throat and drunk to relieve cough.

Herbalists from 17th century including John Gerard recommended the use of agrimony for the treatment of jaundice or diseases of the liver.

Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Benefit of Agrimony

Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) has been reported to posses strong anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activity. In a study done in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Medicine and Nutrigenomics, Medical University Varna, Bulgaria, the effects of agrimony tea consumption was examined in humans.

Results have shown that there was a significant elevation of plasma total antioxidant capacity and a significant lowering of the interleukin 6 levels at the end of the intervention. It was also observed that agrimony tea improved lipid profile as estimated by increased high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. The results presented in this first human intervention study with agrimony tea indicate that the plant has potential in improving markers of lipid metabolism, oxidative status and inflammation in healthy adults. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23078582

Inhibition of hepatitis B virus by an aqueous extract of Agrimonia eupatoria L.

The inhibitory activity of the aqueous extract of agrimony (Agrimonia Eupatoria L.) was studied in the Cell Biology Laboratory, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. Results had shown that the inhibitory effect on HBsAg secretion has the greatest effect on the extract prepared at 60 degrees C. The inhibitory activity of Agrimonia eupatoria extracts on HBsAg secretion varied over the growing season and was the highest at mid-July. These results suggest that some plants of the genus Agrimonia contain potential antiviral activity against HBV. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16041735

Agrimonia eupatoria protects against chronic ethanol-induced liver injury in rats.

A study conducted in School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea. reported the hepatoprotective effects of Agrimonia eupatoria water extract against chronic ethanol-induced liver injury in rats. The study was done to rats fed with Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet for 8 weeks, then orally treated with agrimony extract at 10, 30, 100, and 300 mg/kg/day. Our results suggest that agrimonia eupatoria water extract attenuates and ameliorates chronic ethanol-induced liver injury, and that protection is likely due to the suppression of oxidative stress and TLR-mediated inflammatory signaling. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22525864

Anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects of Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb extract on murine cell lines and OVA-induced airway inflammation.

The Journal of Ethnopharmacology, issue March 2012 reported a study done in the Department of Biotechnology, College of Biomedical & Health Science, Korea on Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb and its anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects in in vitro cell lines and in vivo mouse model and the involved molecular mechanisms. Using Raw 264.7 murine macrophages the effects of methanol extract of Agrimonia pilosa in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of inflammatory mediators were measured. To investigate the anti-asthmatic effect of Agrimonia pilosa extract in vivo, airway inflammation in ovalbumin (OVA)-induced mouse model was used.

Results have shown that the molecular mechanisms leading to agrimonia’s potent anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects might be through regulation of TRIF-dependent and Syk-PLCγ/AKT signaling pathways, suggesting that Agrimonia pilosa may provide a valuable therapeutic strategy in treating various inflammatory diseases including asthma. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22289347

Effect of neuroprotective flavonoids of Agrimonia eupatoria on glutamate-induced oxidative injury to HT22 hippocampal cells

. Lee KY, Hwang L, Jeong EJ, Kim SH, Kim YC, Sung SH. Source College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

In a study done in the College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Seoul National University, Korea, showed that methanolic extract of Agrimonia eupatoria significantly attenuated glutamate-induced oxidative stress in HT22 hippocampal cells. A new flavonoid, characterized as kaempferol 3-O-beta-D-(2”-O-acetyl-6”-(E)-p-coumaroyl)-glucopyranoside (2”-acetyl-tiliroside (1), was isolated from the methanolic extract of Agrimonia eupatoria stems together with nine known flavonoids. Agrimonia compounds showed a neuroprotective effect on glutamate-induced toxicity in HT22 cells. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20699556

Antibacterial and free radical scavenging activity of the seeds of Agrimonia eupatoria.

In a study done in Phytopharmaceutical Research Laboratory, School of Pharmacy, The Robert Gordon University, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, the n-Hexane, dichloromethane and methanol extracts of the seeds of Agrimonia eupatoria have been assessed for antibacterial and free radical scavenging activity. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12628408

Agrimony is considered safe for short term use for adults

Long term use may be unsafe due to tannin content.

High consumption and long term use may cause side effects such as stomach irritaion, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, kidney and liver damage.

Agrimony bath may cause further irritation for larger skin sores and wounds due to tannin and may cause sensitivity to sunlight.

Special Precautions & Warnings:

Use of agrimony is discouraged when pregnant or breast feeding. Excess tannin maybe absorbed from the mother to baby which has been documented to cause liver and kidney problems.

Agrimony has been noted to affect blood sugar level. Care should be taken when taken with diabetes medication.

Where to Get Agrimony medicine

Agrimony is native to Northern Europe and according to USDA, it can be also be found in about 9 states. Agrimony usually grows by the edge of the forests and fields and can easily be seen by the road sides. Leaves, flowers and seeds can be picked from June to September.

Agrimony can be prepared as tea by boiling half a cup of dried leaves and seeds to a liter of water. Flavoring can be added such as honey and drunk 3 times a day until symptoms improved.

Agrimony liquid extract, bulk and powdered forms are also available in some herbal stores. Just follow the labels for the preparation and dosage.

Online sources likewise abound in the internet such as in Amazon’s Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) 8oz loose herbs by Smallflower.
Select the prducts from reputable brands with positive reveiws.