Jack in the Bush

Regional names

Jack-in-the-bush

Older scientific names

Eupatorium odoratum

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

• In Jamaica, jack-in-the-bush is one of the plants used most often for colds and flu. In surveys, 20% or more of people named it for these infections.[2]

• A book based on interviews with more than 100 people in Portland and Kingston, Jamaica, includes jack-in-the-bush among the 25 most popular medicinal plants in those communities.[3]

• In Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where it grows widely, it's traditionally used for diabetes, malaria, wounds, inflammation and fever.[4]

• In Nepal and elsewhere, it's traditionally used for diabetes, wounds, skin infections, diarrhea and malaria.[5]

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 2022 review of lab and animal studies reported effects against diabetes, cancer cells, inflammation, germs and parasites, as well as pain relief, lowering fever and helping wounds heal. The reviewers say how it works is still poorly understood.[4]

• In lab tests, leaf and flower extracts acted as antioxidants, blocked an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, and slowed some bacteria.[5]

  Technical detail: methanol leaf extract active against K. pneumoniae, B. subtilis and E. coli; α-glucosidase inhibition; brine shrimp toxicity assay.