Butcher’s Broom; (Ruscus aculeatus) syn. Box holly. A shrub member of the Liliaceae, growing to about 1.2m in barren rocky areas and native to temperate Europe. It is an evergreen which produces a clump of stems each year; these contain wide, flat, dark green leaf-like stalks that have a spiny tip and are known as cladodes, and there are tiny violet flowers that turn into bright red berries.
Before the advent of the European Union and their health regulations, butchers used this herb to clean the chopping block.
The plant contains steroidal compounds called ruscogenins; this makes it diaphoretic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, deobstruent (that which clears obstructions by dilating the natural passages of the body), antispasmodic, haemostatic and a veinous tonic.
Celtic medicine men used the rhizome to treat jaundice, water retention, constipation and what were termed ‘female obstructions’. Gerard and Culpeper recommended it for sluggish circulation, haemorrhoids, and obstructed menstruation. The leaves were used in a poultice to arrest bleeding.
The medicinal use of the plant had fallen into disuse until a group of French research chemists discovered the steroidal compounds and found they were remarkably effective in dealing with varicose veins. This is a condition that affects almost fifty per cent of middle-aged adults. It afflicts the veins of the legs and is caused by strain, generally arising from standing for long periods; it is the occupational hazard of nurses, policemen, shop- workers et al. Women are four times more likely to be affected than men, as pregnancy increases veinous pressure on the legs. The condition, which arises from a loss of muscle tone and a weakening of the veinous walls, is aggravated by age and obesity.
A trial group of 40 individuals, all suffering from various stages of varicose veins, showed considerable improvement after receiving a course of ruscogenins.
Apart from the above, Butcher’s Broom is still used in Asiatic Russia to treat arthritis and chilblains.
The plant is quite common in Cyprus, where it was consumed as a vegetable; the emerging shoots look and taste like asparagus.
Next week Goldenseal
