Category:Respiratory herbs

A respiratory herb 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 expectorants (which thin and promote clearance of respiratory secretions), the demulcents (which soothe inflamed respiratory mucosa), the antitussive herbs (which suppress cough), the bronchodilator herbs (which relax bronchial smooth muscle), and the anti-inflammatory respiratory herbs.

The foundational respiratory herbs of Western clinical practice are documented in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia and the EMA HMPC monographs. The expectorant tradition includes mullein (Verbascum thapsus; the Eclectic and contemporary Western herb for productive cough), thyme (Thymus vulgaris; the BHP cough remedy with thymol-mediated antimicrobial action), elecampane (Inula helenium; the inulin-rich respiratory tonic), white horehound (Marrubium vulgare), hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), and licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra; demulcent and expectorant, with the standard glycyrrhizin-toxicity caveat). The demulcent tradition includes marshmallow (Althaea officinalis; the mucilage-rich root and leaf), slippery elm (Ulmus rubra; Native American medicine), and mullein again.

The antitussive herbs include wild cherry (Prunus serotina; the Algonquian-tradition cough syrup), coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara; 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 bronchodilator herbs include ephedra (Ephedra sinica; 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), lobelia (Lobelia inflata; the Eclectic respiratory antispasmodic), and the Indian Ayurvedic vasaka (Adhatoda vasica). Pelargonium (Pelargonium sidoides), described under immune herbs, has substantial controlled-trial evidence for acute bronchitis. Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) and peppermint essential oils have the 1,8-cineole and menthol mechanisms of inhaled bronchial decongestion.

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), elecampane (Inula helenium), white horehound (Marrubium vulgare), hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra; cross-listed), marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), slippery elm (Ulmus rubra), wild cherry (Prunus serotina), pelargonium (Pelargonium sidoides; cross-listed), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), peppermint (Mentha × piperita; cross-listed), ephedra (Ephedra sinica; restricted), lobelia (Lobelia inflata), vasaka (Adhatoda vasica), grindelia (Grindelia robusta), pleurisy root (Asclepias tuberosa), Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica), plantain (Plantago major and P. lanceolata), and the inhalation-oil aromatics (eucalyptus, peppermint, pine, camphor).

The boundary of this category is "herb whose principal or important indication is in the respiratory tract." The pharmaceutical respiratory medicines (bronchodilators, inhaled corticosteroids, antiasthmatic agents, mucolytics, 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.

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.