Medicinal plants History Various species of butcher's-broom have been used for medicinal purposes since antiquity. The first mentions of the medicinal use of the butcher's-broom come from ancient Greece. The rhizomes of this plant were used to treat inflammations, haemorrhoids, and urinary tract conditions, as well as a diuretic and laxative. In the 1st century
De Materia Medica by Dioscorides, the plants described are: ύπόγλοσσον (
ypoglosson), probably
Ruscus hypoglossum, and μυρσίνη άγρία (
myrsini agria), probably
R. aculeatus. Dioscorides indicated the laxative and diuretic effects of these plants. Pliny the Elder in his
Natural History pointed out the use of these plants in treating varicose veins. In the Herbal of
Simon Syreński, first published in 1613, the butcher's-broom is described as a plant with healing power, for use in urinary retention, kidney stones, and accelerating menstruation, mainly in the form of a wine tincture. Also, in the 17th-century work
Janua linguarum reserata by
Comenius, the butcher's-broom was described as a warm herb for kidney diseases. In the 1852 work
Special Botany: Description of Monocotyledonous Medicinal and Industrial Plants by
Ignacy Czerwiakowski, the author reported that the root of butcher's-broom (
radix Rusci v. Brusci) was formerly used as "an opening and diuretic agent in dropsy and blockages of the viscera", part of the herbal mixture
radices quinque aperientes majores (five major opening roots), and also used in treating jaundice and kidney stones, and to accelerate menstruation. The author also mentioned that the root of
R. hypophyllum had medical applications, including in difficult births, retention of menstruation, and urinary system conditions. In the case of
R. hypoglossum, Czerwiakowski mentioned the use of this plant's herb for throat and uterine conditions.
Indications Butcher's-broom is used in traditional medicine in many countries around the Mediterranean Sea. In Europe, the underground parts are traditionally used in the treatment of urinary system conditions and as a laxative, while the aboveground parts are mainly used as diuretics. In folk medicine in Turkey, a decoction of the roots of butcher's-broom is widely used internally as a diuretic and for treating urinary system conditions, such as kidney inflammation and kidney stones, as well as for treating eczema. In Palestine, an extract from the rhizome is used externally for skin diseases, while in Italy it is used in treating warts and frostbite, with inflammatory bowel diseases and diarrhea, and topically in joint inflammation. The aboveground parts of the plant are traditionally used as diuretics, mainly in Mediterranean countries and the Middle East. In Turkey, a decoction of the berries of
Ruscus hypoglossum is used externally for boils and warts, and fresh leaves are used in cattle breeding against colds and mastitis. The leaves of
R. colchicus are used by the local population for feeding farm animals to increase milk production and fat content. it has been planned to introduce management measures to protect its overexploitation.
Toxicity The handled 107
R. aculeatus poisoning cases in the period 1995–2007; subsequently 4 acute poisoning cases were recorded for the 2010–2011 season in
Lombardy. The majority of cases were children who had consumed the attractive berries. ==References==