Healing
Also Called: Mother’s Heart, Shepard’s Purse/Heart, Cocowort, Pickpocket, Toywort, Pick Purse, St. James’ Weed, St. James’ Wort, St. Anthony’s Fire, Pepper Grass, Case Wort, Permacety
Shepherd’s purse is little used in herbalism, though it is a commonly used domestic remedy, being especially efficacious in the treatment of both internal and external bleeding, diarrhoea etc.
A tea made from the whole plant is antiscorbutic, astringent, diuretic, emmenagogue, haemostatic, hypotensive, oxytocic, stimulant, vasoconstrictor, vasodilator and vulnerary.
A tea made from the dried herb is considered to be a sovereign remedy against haemorrhages of all kinds – the stomach, the lungs, the uterus and more especially the kidneys.
The plant is a folk remedy for cancer – it contains fumaric acid which has markedly reduced growth and viability of Ehrlich tumour in mice.
A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh plant. It is used in the treatment of nose bleeds and urinary calculus.
