Goldenseal is a powerful herbal remedy that serves as an anti-inflammatory, digestive aid and more.

Golden Seal

Goldenseal has been used for centuries by the Native Americans to treat a wide variety of complaints; including a general antiseptic and a treatment for snakebites. Early European settlers were introduced to goldenseal and began to include it in their health care as well, and today the plant is very popular in the United States and in some European nations, especially combined with the herb Echinacea.

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Using Golden Seal As A Remedy

Goldenseal is often used as a multi-purpose remedy, having many different medicinal properties. It influences mucous membranes and tissue with which it comes in contact.

In addition to working as a topical antimicrobial, it can also be taken internally as a digestion aid, and can remove canker sores when gargled with.

Additionally goldenseal is considered a useful antiseptic (which is why some herbalists use it topically to disinfect cuts and scrapes) and astringent. It is commonly used to treat skin, eye, and mucous membrane inflammatory and infectious conditions (such as sinusitis, conjunctivitis, and urinary tract infections).

Goldenseal For Diarrhea

Goldenseal is also used as a remedy for indigestion and diarrhea. In 2 relatively well-designed studies, berberine isolated from goldenseal reduced diarrhea.

Golden Seal’s Anti-biotic Properties

Goldenseal is highly valued for its rhizome and roots that contain medicinal alkaloids (Small and Catling, 1999). The roots have antibiotic properties, suppressing certain bacteria, protozoans, and fungi, and are used to treat AIDS and other severe chronic diseases, and digestive disorders, and to enhance the immune system (Davis and Bit, 1998).

Berberine, an active compound in goldenseal, is what gives the herb its antibacterial and amoebicidal characteristics. Berberine is suspected by researchers to have the ability to activate white blood cells, helping them fight infection better. It is considered an internal and external disinfectant. It accounts for 0.5-6.0% of the alkaloids present in goldenseal root and rhizome.

Berberine has been shown to inhibit the growth of a number of parasites as well as killing tumors. It has also been shown to inhibit streptococci growth in laboratory studies done in test tubes. It is thought that berberine might inhibit the adhesion of streptococci to the host cell walls, therefore preventing the attachment and growth of the streptococci. Berberine is also anti-fungal and strongly anti-diarrheal. It aids against the infection of mucous membranes such as the lining of the oral cavity, throat, sinus, bronchi, genito-urinary tract and gastrointestinal tract.