Herb of the Month

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

Marianne Hughes, with illustration by Hazel Brady

Grieve (1931) comments that Meadowsweet, Watermint (Mentha aquatica), and Vervain (Verbena officinalis) were the three herbs 'held most sacred by the Druids'. Meadowsweet was certainly known in Celtic communities as a malaria and fever treatment.

It is perhaps more widely known that the salicylic acid in Willow (Salix alba, Salix fragilis) has a long record of use in pain relief. In the 5th century, Hippocrates used powdered Willow bark and leaves to control headaches and general pain. However, it was 19th century research on Meadowsweet that led to the development of Aspirin, modelled on the herb's salicylic acid content. The drug company Bayer patented 'Aspirin' in 1899, basing it on the old Latin name for Meadowsweet— Spiraea ulmaria (Bruton-Seal and Seal, 2014).

Plant historians suggest our common name, Meadowsweet, has more to do with mead— the ancient, honeyed drink —than with meadows. In fact, Meadowsweet grows in marshes, streams, ditches, and moist woodland. 'Meadsweet' is an older name for the herb, and William Turner's herbal (1568) records it as 'medewurthe' — a term also used by Chaucer two centuries earlier (ibid.). This may have much to do with the fragrance of the flower. Barker (2011) relates that a woman in Sutherland gathered Meadowsweet flowers, placed them in a vase in her house, and the fragrance cured her terrible headaches. Grieve (1931) comments that 'a decoction of the root, in white wine, was formerly considered a specific in fevers'. This sounds delicious and certainly likely to distract from any fever!

As a herbal remedy, Meadowsweet has a long lineage. According to Culpeper (1653):

the flowers are alexipharmic [an antidote to poison] and sudorific [sweat inducing], and good in fevers, and all malignant distempers; they are likewise astringent, binding, and useful in fluxes of all sorts. An infusion of the fresh-gathered tops of this plant promotes sweating.

As with many herbs, it is the complexity of Meadowsweet— its mucilage content and perhaps its fragrance too —that renders it most useful. More recently, the uses of Meadowsweet have extended from simply reducing fever towards pain-relief and the plant's broad range of soothing actions. As a painkiller, it does not burn the stomach as Aspirin can. Meadowsweet is also particularly effective for gastric reflux (heartburn), hyperacidity, and children's diarrhoea. The action of reducing acidity in the stomach appears to extend to the body in general, which is why Meadowsweet is effective in treating joint problems, including arthritis.

Walsh (2014) cites research demonstrating the immunomodulatory properties of Meadowsweet preparations extracted from both the flowers and roots of the plant. He notes that all parts of Meadowsweet contain high levels of phenolic compounds, including a newly discovered flavonoid glycoside, ulmarioside, which appears unique to Filipendula ulmaria. The ethyl acetate extracts used in the study were shown both to inhibit T-cell proliferation and to complement cascade activation, therefore inhibiting the immune response. They also inhibited the production of reactive oxygen species, known to damage cells. Walsh (ibid.) notes that all these processes play a part in the inflammatory response, thus explaining the effectiveness of Meadowsweet preparations in the treatment of inflammatory conditions. So, as you walk along country paths or by rivers this summer, look out for the swathes of frothy, white flower heads of Meadowsweet. If you gather these, dry them, and use them to make an infused tea, this will combat both acid indigestion and arthritic or rheumatic aches and pains.

Meadowsweet

Hazel Brady

References

Barker, A. (2011) Remembered Remedies: Scottish Traditional Plant Lore. Birlinn: Edinburgh

Bruton-Seal, J. and Seal, M. (2014) The Herbalist' s Bible: John Parkinson's Lost Classic Rediscovered, Merlin Unwin: Shropshire

Culpeper, N. (1653) Culpeper's Complete Herbal: consisting of a comprehensive description of nearly all herbs with their medicinal properties and directions for compounding the medicines extracted from them. Foulsham and Co.: Slough

Grieve, M. (1931) A Modern Herbal. Hafner Publishing Company: New York

Walsh, D. (2014,) 'The anti-inflammatory properties of Meadowsweet', in The Pharmaceutical Journal, online: accessed 04.06.2022