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yerba buena

Clinopodium douglasii

Summary 2

Clinopodium douglasii, or yerba buena, is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to California. The plant takes the form of a sprawling, mat-forming perennial, and is especially abundant close to the coast. The name "yerba buena" derives from Spanish for "good herb" and is applied to various other plants. Molecular evidence places the species within the Clinopodium complex rather than Micromeria.

Medicinal Uses 3

Digestive disorder. Yerba Buena has long been used to provide relief for abdominal pain, indigestion, loss of appetite, passage of gas, diarrhea and stomach ache. It is known to relax the digestive tract muscles.
Bad breath. Yerba Buena has this minty scent and flavour that can improve the foul odour emanating from the mouth. Yerba Buena or mint is widely used in commercial mouth washes or flavouring for gums and candies.
Skin tonic. Yerba Buena has long been used to improve the tone of the skin and widely used to treat acne breakouts, removal of black heads, lightening of dark spots and dry skin.
Insect bites. Yerba Buena leaf is crushed over insect bites and stings to alleviate itching and pain and to hasten recovery.
Weight loss. Yerba Buena tea or mint tea is usually taken after meal to improve digestion and burning of fat.
Relaxant. Yerba Buena tea is taken as a relaxant to combat stress and anxiety. It is also used in vaporizers to calm the body and as scent mixed over baths.
Nausea, Morning sickness, fainting. The scent from burning Yerba Buena leaves can calm nausea accompanied to early stages of pregnancy. The leaves can also be crushed before the nostrils thus the scent can be inhaled.
Menstrual cramps. Yerba Buena is taken to calm symptoms of menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea and induce the flow of menstruation.
Asthma. The minty scent of yerba Buena is used to alleviate the attacks of asthma by calming the muscles in the respiratory system. The scent can come from extracted oil as used in vaporizers or by burning the leaves and inhaling the fumes.
Antioxidant. The Rosmarinic acid found in yerba buena is a known strong antioxidant. It can counteract the oxidation of free radicals that prevents the formation of cancer cells.
Anti-Allergy. The romarinic acid in yerba Buena inhibits the formation of leukotrienes, an agent responsible for allergic reactions. Yerba Buena is used to treat hay fever.
Coughs and Colds. The minty scent and flavour of Yerba Buena is used in vaporizers to unclog the nasal passage due to accumulation of phlegm and helps to relieve inflammation. It also acts as an expectorant.
Antibacterial and Antifungal properties. Yerba Buena oil is used to treat various skin infections and conditions that include eczema, insect bites, scars and wounds, burns, scabies, ringworms and other skin infections.
Pain reliever. The minty and relaxing effect of yerba Buena is used as a topical aid in alleviating the pain associated with arthritis, gout, headache and other body and joint pains.
Tooth and mouth diseases. Yerba Buena is chewed to treat toothache and a decoction can be gargled to treat mouth sores and ulcers, gum disease and even swollen tonsils and sore throats.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Alex Abair, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Alex Abair
  2. Adapted by charmingherbalist from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinopodium_douglasii
  3. (c) charmingherbalist, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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