https://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Category%3ARespiratory_herbs 2026-05-28T20:16:13Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.46.0-beta https://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?title=Category:Respiratory_herbs&diff=6946&oldid=prev 2026-05-23T19:17:51Z

<p>Create canonical category-page article (history-first)</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>A &#039;&#039;&#039;respiratory herb&#039;&#039;&#039; is a plant medicine used to treat respiratory-tract symptoms: cough, congestion, bronchospasm, sinusitis, sore throat, and selected chronic respiratory diseases. The Western herbal-medicine tradition divides the respiratory herbs into the &#039;&#039;&#039;expectorants&#039;&#039;&#039; (which thin and promote clearance of respiratory secretions), the &#039;&#039;&#039;demulcents&#039;&#039;&#039; (which soothe inflamed respiratory mucosa), the &#039;&#039;&#039;antitussive&#039;&#039;&#039; herbs (which suppress cough), the &#039;&#039;&#039;bronchodilator&#039;&#039;&#039; herbs (which relax bronchial smooth muscle), and the &#039;&#039;&#039;anti-inflammatory respiratory&#039;&#039;&#039; herbs.<br /> <br /> The foundational respiratory herbs of Western clinical practice are documented in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia and the EMA HMPC monographs. The &#039;&#039;&#039;expectorant&#039;&#039;&#039; tradition includes &#039;&#039;&#039;mullein&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Verbascum thapsus&#039;&#039;; the Eclectic and contemporary Western herb for productive cough), &#039;&#039;&#039;thyme&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Thymus vulgaris&#039;&#039;; the BHP cough remedy with thymol-mediated antimicrobial action), &#039;&#039;&#039;elecampane&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Inula helenium&#039;&#039;; the inulin-rich respiratory tonic), &#039;&#039;&#039;white horehound&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Marrubium vulgare&#039;&#039;), &#039;&#039;&#039;hyssop&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Hyssopus officinalis&#039;&#039;), and &#039;&#039;&#039;licorice&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Glycyrrhiza glabra&#039;&#039;; demulcent and expectorant, with the standard glycyrrhizin-toxicity caveat). The &#039;&#039;&#039;demulcent&#039;&#039;&#039; tradition includes &#039;&#039;&#039;marshmallow&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Althaea officinalis&#039;&#039;; the mucilage-rich root and leaf), &#039;&#039;&#039;slippery elm&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Ulmus rubra&#039;&#039;; Native American medicine), and &#039;&#039;&#039;mullein&#039;&#039;&#039; again.<br /> <br /> The &#039;&#039;&#039;antitussive&#039;&#039;&#039; herbs include &#039;&#039;&#039;wild cherry&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Prunus serotina&#039;&#039;; the Algonquian-tradition cough syrup), &#039;&#039;&#039;coltsfoot&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Tussilago farfara&#039;&#039;; restricted because of pyrrolizidine-alkaloid hepatotoxicity), and the various opium-poppy preparations historically used for cough (now restricted to pharmaceutical codeine and dextromethorphan; the herbal poppy preparations are largely retired). The &#039;&#039;&#039;bronchodilator&#039;&#039;&#039; herbs include &#039;&#039;&#039;ephedra&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Ephedra sinica&#039;&#039;; Ma Huang; the source of pharmaceutical ephedrine and pseudoephedrine; now restricted in most Western jurisdictions because of the cardiovascular event-rate of the herbal-supplement form), &#039;&#039;&#039;lobelia&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Lobelia inflata&#039;&#039;; the Eclectic respiratory antispasmodic), and the Indian Ayurvedic &#039;&#039;&#039;vasaka&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Adhatoda vasica&#039;&#039;). &#039;&#039;&#039;Pelargonium&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Pelargonium sidoides&#039;&#039;), described under [[:Category:Immune_herbs|immune herbs]], has substantial controlled-trial evidence for acute bronchitis. &#039;&#039;&#039;Eucalyptus&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Eucalyptus globulus&#039;&#039;) and &#039;&#039;&#039;peppermint&#039;&#039;&#039; essential oils have the 1,8-cineole and menthol mechanisms of inhaled bronchial decongestion.<br /> <br /> == Members indexed ==<br /> <br /> Mullein (&#039;&#039;Verbascum thapsus&#039;&#039;), thyme (&#039;&#039;Thymus vulgaris&#039;&#039;), elecampane (&#039;&#039;Inula helenium&#039;&#039;), white horehound (&#039;&#039;Marrubium vulgare&#039;&#039;), hyssop (&#039;&#039;Hyssopus officinalis&#039;&#039;), licorice (&#039;&#039;Glycyrrhiza glabra&#039;&#039;; cross-listed), marshmallow (&#039;&#039;Althaea officinalis&#039;&#039;), slippery elm (&#039;&#039;Ulmus rubra&#039;&#039;), wild cherry (&#039;&#039;Prunus serotina&#039;&#039;), pelargonium (&#039;&#039;Pelargonium sidoides&#039;&#039;; cross-listed), eucalyptus (&#039;&#039;Eucalyptus globulus&#039;&#039;), peppermint (&#039;&#039;Mentha × piperita&#039;&#039;; cross-listed), ephedra (&#039;&#039;Ephedra sinica&#039;&#039;; restricted), lobelia (&#039;&#039;Lobelia inflata&#039;&#039;), vasaka (&#039;&#039;Adhatoda vasica&#039;&#039;), grindelia (&#039;&#039;Grindelia robusta&#039;&#039;), pleurisy root (&#039;&#039;Asclepias tuberosa&#039;&#039;), Iceland moss (&#039;&#039;Cetraria islandica&#039;&#039;), plantain (&#039;&#039;Plantago major&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;P. lanceolata&#039;&#039;), and the inhalation-oil aromatics (eucalyptus, peppermint, pine, camphor).<br /> <br /> == Notes on scope ==<br /> <br /> The boundary of this category is &quot;herb whose principal or important indication is in the respiratory tract.&quot; The pharmaceutical respiratory medicines ([[:Category:Bronchodilators|bronchodilators]], [[:Category:Inhaled_corticosteroids|inhaled corticosteroids]], [[:Category:Antiasthmatic_agents|antiasthmatic agents]], [[:Category:Mucolytics|mucolytics]], [[:Category:Expectorants|expectorants]]) are listed under their primary umbrellas. The pyrrolizidine-alkaloid-containing herbs (coltsfoot, comfrey if used orally for cough) carry safety restrictions noted in their individual monographs. The aromatic essential oils (eucalyptus, peppermint, camphor) are cross-listed under herbal medicines when used as therapeutic inhalations.<br /> <br /> == About these pages ==<br /> <br /> This category page is an encyclopedia article about its subject. The actual index of herbs belonging to the category is generated automatically by the wiki engine, from category-membership declarations on the individual herb pages, and appears at the foot of the page below the references.<br /> <br /> == References ==<br /> <br /> &lt;references/&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Plants]]<br /> [[Category:Herbal_medicines]]<br /> [[Category:CuratedCategoryPage]]</div>

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