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Botanical illustration of Vervain
MedicinalSourced entry

Vervain

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis

Called vervain in Jamaica and vervine in Antigua and Trinidad, a weedy plant whose leaves make a "cooling" tea used for the stomach, colds and coughs, and to clean wounds.

What is Vervain?

Plant family
Verbenaceae, the verbena family
Parts used
The leaves and stems, usually made into a tea. The leaves are also put on the skin.
Genus
Stachytarpheta
Species
jamaicensis

Also called

Blue Porterweed, Brazilian Tea

Regional names

Vervine

Traditionally used for

  • Cooling tea
  • Indigestion
  • Colds
  • Cough
  • Wounds

Traditionally described as

  • Fights bacteria and fungi (in lab tests)

Health topics

Where Vervain appears in symptom search, and why. Being listed doesn't mean it's a proven treatment.

Traditions that use it

  • Caribbean Folk Medicine

    Called vervain in Jamaica and vervine in Antigua and Trinidad; used as a "cooling" remedy.

  • African Traditional Medicine

    Used by women in southern Nigeria for menstrual problems and after childbirth.

Safety

Who should avoid it

  • It isn't recommended if you have low blood pressure, because it's thought to lower blood pressure.[1]

Pregnancy

  • It isn't recommended during pregnancy, because it's thought to be able to cause miscarriage.[1]

What does the research say?

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

  • It's called vervain in Jamaica and vervine in Antigua and Barbuda, among other Caribbean names.[2]

  • In Trinidad and Tobago, vervine leaves are used as a "cooling" remedy.[3]

  • Older people often use it as a "cooling" tea for the stomach, made from the leaves and stems. Traditional uses include:

    • Digestion: indigestion, acid reflux, ulcers and constipation
    • Breathing: asthma, colds, flu, bronchitis and cough
    • Allergies, and liver problems such as cirrhosis and hepatitis
    • Dysentery and worms (leaf juice)
    • Cleaning cuts, wounds and sores (leaves on the skin)
    • In southern Nigeria, menstrual problems, a tea after childbirth, and to increase breast milk
    [1]

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

  • A 2016 review reported that in lab and animal studies it fought bacteria and fungi, its main effects. Its main active compound is verbascoside. Other reported effects include protecting the liver in rats and improving blood fats in animals.[1]

  • In rats, large amounts of the powdered leaf mostly caused no harm. One study found mild damage in the liver, kidneys, lungs and other organs. A water-based extract wasn't toxic even at very high single doses. The reviewers say long-term safety still needs study.[1]

    Technical detail: 25, 50 and 75 g of powdered leaves in feed; aqueous extract non-toxic up to 4 g/kg in Wistar rats; one study reported congestion, fatty change and necrosis in liver, blood vessels, kidney, lung and testis.

In short

Not recommended during pregnancy or if you have low blood pressure.

Sources

  1. [1] Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) Vahl: From Traditional Usage to Pharmacological Evidence — Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine · DOI: 10.1155/2016/7842340Peer-reviewed study
  2. [2] Stachytarpheta jamaicensis — TRAMIL (Traditional Medicine in the Islands)Traditional text
  3. [3] Ethnomedicines used in Trinidad and Tobago for urinary problems and diabetes mellitus — Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · DOI: 10.1186/1746-4269-2-45Peer-reviewed study

This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.