Motherwort: beneficial properties

Dr. Boris Wydoff

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is a perennial plant of the mint family. In herbal medicine, its herb is used. According to reference books, motherwort preparations are traditionally used as a calming remedy, and their cardiotonic and diuretic effects are also described.

What kind of plant is it and how can you recognize it?

Motherwort, or common motherwort, is a tall perennial herb. Botanical descriptions indicate that the plant grows from 60 to 150 cm tall, sometimes up to 200 cm. The stem is upright, branched, and four-sided.

The leaves are arranged oppositely. The lower leaves are rounded-ovate, with five lobes and large teeth. Toward the top, the leaves become smaller. The upper leaves may be three-lobed, while the highest ones are entire and narrow.

The flowers of motherwort are small and pink. They are collected in groups in the axils of the upper leaves and form a long interrupted inflorescence at the ends of stems and branches. The corolla is two-lipped, with the upper lip helmet-shaped and covered with hairs.

A characteristic feature of the plant is its linear prickly bracts. After flowering, fruits appear that break apart into four small nutlets.

Motherwort is similar to five-lobed motherwort. These species were previously considered closely related in some works. The main difference of motherwort is that its stems are hairless or have only sparse hairs along the ribs. Five-lobed motherwort has more strongly hairy stems and inflorescences.

The plant grows in wastelands, fallow lands, gardens, vegetable plots, along roads, on grazing lands and pastures. Such places are also reflected in the plant’s name itself.

Where does motherwort grow?

Motherwort is widely distributed in Europe and occurs in the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor, Mongolia and China. In North America, it is known as an introduced plant. Asia is considered the native range of the species, and in Europe it became naturalized over the last millennium.

Motherwort prefers nitrogen-rich soils. It can grow near roads, in waste areas, near hedges and fences, on dry meadows, slopes, embankments, old walls and ruins. In mountainous areas, the plant is less common or absent.

In some regions, motherwort is less common than the related five-lobed species. Therefore, when collecting wild raw material, it is important to consider not only the general appearance of the plant, but also the character of the stem and inflorescence hairs.

How to distinguish related motherwort species?

Five-lobed motherwort, or hairy motherwort, is a related species that was previously considered a variety of motherwort. Its leaves and stems are more densely covered with hairs than those of motherwort.

In common motherwort, the lower leaves are usually five-lobed, while the upper ones become entire or almost entire. Its flowers are smaller. In the five-lobed species, the stems and inflorescences are more noticeably hairy.

There is also Siberian motherwort. It differs from the two European species by a much deeper division of the leaf blade. Reference sources allow the medicinal use of the herb of two species — motherwort and five-lobed motherwort.

What are the benefits of motherwort?

Motherwort, whose beneficial properties are described in herbal medicine reference books, belongs to plants with a calming effect. Motherwort preparations are described as sedative, cardiotonic, diuretic and anticonvulsant.

The pharmacological action is associated with a complex of substances contained in the herb. Reference literature notes the influence of motherwort preparations on the central nervous system. In some older studies, its action was assessed as more pronounced than that of valerian.

In herbal manuals, motherwort has traditionally been considered a calming plant. It was used for nervous excitability and conditions associated with sleep disturbances. At the same time, the effect of infusions and tinctures develops gradually.

Cardiotonic properties are also among the described features of the plant. Reference books state that motherwort preparations may affect the rhythm of heart activity. The sum of flavonoids in the plant slowed the rhythm of heartbeats in experiments.

Reference literature describes the hypotensive effect of an infusion and extract of the herb. These data refer to pharmacological observations. For heart diseases, treatment should be carried out by a doctor. In addition, some reference books mention anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, expectorant and general strengthening properties of the plant.

How does motherwort affect the nervous system?

Reference books note the sedative effect of the herb on the central nervous system. Motherwort preparations were used for increased nervous excitability, neuroses and conditions accompanied by tension and insomnia.

Infusions and tinctures are characterized by a relatively slow development of effect. Therefore, reference literature indicates that the dose is selected individually, taking into account the person’s condition. If signs of excessive suppression of the central nervous system appear, the dose is reduced or use is temporarily stopped.

What is in the herb’s composition?

The chemical composition of motherwort includes several groups of compounds. The herb contains flavonoids: rutin, quercetin, quercetin glycoside, hyperoside and quinqueloside. The composition also includes saponins, tannins, sugars, bitter substances, potassium and calcium salts, carotene, vitamins A and C, coloring and resinous substances. At the beginning of flowering, the herb contains the alkaloids stachydrine, leonurine and leonurinine. The amount of individual substances may depend on the collection time and the condition of the plant.

There is little essential oil in the herb. Different descriptions give trace amounts or about 0.05 percent.

Which substances are associated with the plant’s action?

The pharmacological activity of motherwort is associated not with one individual component, but with a complex of compounds. Among flavonoids, rutin, quercetin and quinqueloside are described. The latter is characterized in reference materials as a compound that breaks down into apigenin, glucose and fumaric acid.

An alkaloid identified as stachydrine has also been found in the herb. Some sources mention traces of saponins and essential oil. One botanical-pharmacognostic description gives essential oil content of about 0.03 percent, while other reference books give about 0.05 percent.

The beginning of flowering is especially emphasized: it is during this period that the herb contains stachydrine, leonurine and leonurinine. Therefore, collection times matter not only for the external quality of the raw material.

How is motherwort used?

In medicine, the herb of motherwort — Herba Leonuri — is used. One of the medicinal forms is an infusion.

According to reference books, the infusion is prepared from 15 g of herb per 1 glass of water. It is taken at 1/4 glass 3–4 times a day 30–60 minutes before meals. These dosages refer to descriptions of the use of medicinal raw material.

Another infusion preparation method is also described: 15 g of raw material is placed in an enamel container, poured with 200 ml of hot boiled water, covered with a lid and heated in a boiling water bath.

Motherwort tincture is also used. One reference book indicates taking 30–50 drops in water 3–4 times a day. An evening scheme is also described — 40 drops at night as a calming remedy.

Motherwort is included in a calming tea together with valerian and hops. One composition includes valerian root — 15 g, hop cones — 15 g, peppermint leaves — 30 g and motherwort herb — 30 g. The infusion is taken throughout the day or 1/2 glass in the morning and evening. The course duration described is 12–14 days.

Older herbal manuals also describe multi-component mixtures with motherwort. Such recipes require a careful approach, as formulas from different periods of herbal medicine are not always suitable for independent use.

What methods of use were described by traditional herbalists?

In folk medicine, motherwort was called heart herb, heartwort, deaf nettle or dog nettle. It was used as a calming and “heart” remedy. Older descriptions also mention fresh plant juice, which was preferred over infusion and decoction.

Reference materials contain descriptions of water decoctions with motherwort as part of mixtures. For example, it was combined with valerian, marsh cudweed and heather. Another mixture with valerian, heather, marsh cudweed and motherwort was described as being steeped with several tablespoons of the collection in a liter of boiling water.

There are also simpler folk recipes. In one of them, motherwort was combined with marsh cudweed and a water decoction was taken for nervous disorders and headaches. Other old mixtures included motherwort together with valerian and various medicinal herbs.

Such information reflects the tradition of using the plant and does not replace modern treatment plans.

How does the effect change with different forms?

Infusion and tincture are among the most thoroughly described medicinal forms of motherwort. Reference books note that their therapeutic effect develops rather slowly. Therefore, independently increasing the dose to achieve a faster result does not correspond to the cautious approach accepted in these sources.

For tincture, a usual scheme of 30–50 drops in water several times a day is given, as well as a separate evening use of 40 drops at night. The infusion is described at a dosage of one tablespoon 3–4 times a day in one reference book and 1/4 glass when prepared from 15 g of raw material per glass of water in another.

What is known about the history of the plant?

Motherwort has long been used in folk medicine. Information about it appears in Western European reference books as early as the 15th century. Later, the plant fell out of wide use, and Russian pharmacologists and doctors returned it to scientific medicine through research in the 1930s.

The plant’s name is connected with its growing places. Motherwort belongs to plants that often appear in disturbed areas: wastelands, roadsides and gardens.

In Europe, the plant became naturalized as a medicinal plant over the last millennium. It was cultivated in monasteries and botanical gardens. Today, motherwort is also grown to obtain medicinal raw material.

From folk herb to medicinal raw material

Motherwort was used in Russian folk medicine long before modern reference books appeared. Later, interest in the plant moved into the field of pharmacological research. In Russia, extensive studies of motherwort were carried out in the 1930s.

Motherwort herb was included in the State Pharmacopoeia from 1968. Reference literature also notes its official use in a number of European countries.

To obtain medicinal raw material, the plant is not only collected in the wild but also cultivated in specialized farms on small areas. This makes it possible to obtain herb that meets established quality requirements.

How to collect and dry the herb correctly?

For medicinal raw material, flowering tops of the plant are collected. Reference books indicate that collection is carried out at the beginning of flowering. The length of the cut top may be up to 40 cm, and the stem thickness should be no more than 4 mm.

Other botanical descriptions indicate collecting stem tops 30–40 cm long during flowering. The lower part of the inflorescence and thick stems are not collected. Additional collections of side branches are possible after the main harvest. The herb is dried in the shade.

Quality raw material consists of stems with upper leaves and flowers. After drying, the leaves are dark green, the calyces remain green, and the corollas become pink or dirty pink. The smell is weak, the taste is bitter.

When collecting yourself, it is important to identify the plant correctly. Motherwort has a close species — five-lobed motherwort — which differs in the degree of hairiness.

What should quality raw material be like?

An old pharmacopoeial description established requirements for moisture, ash content and the amount of impurities in motherwort herb. The moisture content of raw material was not to exceed 13 percent, and the content of mineral and organic impurities was limited to two percent for each category.

The amount of thick stems was regulated separately: stems thicker than 4 mm were allowed at no more than 3 percent. Crushed parts passing through a sieve with 3 mm openings were to be no more than 10 percent.

Raw material with herb that had lost its normal color was also limited in quantity. These requirements show why, during preparation, it is important not to mix flowering tops with large amounts of thick stems and damaged herb.

How to find motherwort abroad

Motherwort may have different names abroad. To avoid confusing the plant with other herbs, first of all look for the Latin name *Leonurus cardiaca L.* and the specified plant part.

• USA: look for motherwort. It is sold as dried chopped herb for tea, tinctures and liquid extracts, and capsules. It can be found in herb and health food stores, online, and in some pharmacies.
• Germany: the names are Herzgespann, Herzgespannkraut. It is available as cut dried herb for tea. Look in a pharmacy (Apotheke), online pharmacy or specialized herb and tea store. For medicinal tea, check specifically for Arzneitee.
• France: agripaume. It is sold as dried flowering tops (*sommités fleuries*) for tisane, as well as tinctures and capsules. Look in herboristerie, pharmacie or online herb stores.

Check the package for *Leonurus cardiaca L.* and the plant part: flowering aerial parts — leaves, tops with flowers and part of the stem. There is no need to look for roots or fruits. Also check whether the product is a medicinal herbal remedy or a food tea/supplement; “organic” by itself does not mean medicinal status.

Rules for the sale and classification of herbal products depend on the country.

Motherwort contraindications and precautions

Motherwort contraindications mainly concern pregnancy. Plant preparations are not recommended for pregnant women. Motherwort may cause drowsiness. Therefore, caution is needed for people whose work requires constant attention and operating machinery.

Current data do not confirm the safety of using motherwort in children and adolescents. Medicinal use before the age of 18 is not recommended due to insufficient data. Safety during breastfeeding has also not been established.

Motherwort should not be used in case of allergy to the plant. If unusual reactions occur, use should be stopped.

There is insufficient data on interactions between motherwort and medicines. If you regularly take medications, especially those affecting blood clotting or heart function, the use of the plant should be discussed with a doctor.

A possible risk of bleeding when combined with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has been described, but such information requires careful evaluation. Increasing doses independently is not recommended. Current data do not contain registered cases of overdose, but the safety of large amounts of the plant has not been sufficiently studied.

When a doctor is needed

For palpitations, irregular heart activity and other unusual symptoms, a doctor’s consultation is needed. Such conditions should not be explained solely by the action of herbal remedies. Consulting a specialist is especially important during pregnancy, breastfeeding, chronic diseases and regular medication use. For heart diseases, treatment should be carried out by a doctor. If allergic reactions, severe weakness, pronounced drowsiness or other warning signs appear after use, medical evaluation is required.

Boris Wydoff — naturopath and author, Ph.D. in nutrition. For over fifty years I have helped people restore health through nutrition, cleansing and the power of the mind — in Europe, America and Asia. About the author →

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