Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Agrimonia eupatoria, usually called agrimony, is a yellow-flowered European herb. The dried leaves and flowering tops are used as a tea, a gargle or a skin wash. It tastes dry and slightly bitter, because it is rich in tannins.
Folk healers used it for loose stools, sore throats and minor skin trouble. Some European rules still allow those uses on a label. That permission rests on long use, not on strong trial results.
Here is the honest verdict. Human studies of agrimony are very few and very small. Long use in tradition is not proof that a herb works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
One point often confuses shoppers. The Bach flower remedy called Agrimony is a different product. It is a highly diluted preparation and is not the same as agrimony herb tea.
The main idea is simple. Agrimony holds tannins, and tannins bind to proteins and make tissue feel tight and dry. That is why it has been used as an astringent for loose stools and sore throats.
In test tubes, tannins from the plant bind proteins and slow some bacteria. Whether this happens in your gut or on your throat is not established.
In cell and animal studies, agrimony extracts show antioxidant activity. Animal work has also reported lower blood sugar and lower blood pressure. These are early findings in animals, not proven effects in people.
No good human trial has shown how agrimony acts inside the body. Treat every mechanism claim about it as unproven.
Agrimony is sold in several plain forms:
- Dried loose herb for tea. - Tea bags, often blended with other herbs. - Liquid tincture in alcohol.
- Capsules of powdered herb or extract. - Strong infusions used as a gargle or mouth rinse. - Creams, washes and compresses for skin.
The dried herb for tea is the most common form in Europe. Skin and gargle products are for external or mouth use only. The Bach flower drops sold under the name Agrimony are a separate product type.
Agrimony has a long record in European herbal writing. Greek and Roman writers listed it, and Pliny praised it for liver complaints.
Anglo-Saxon texts named it garclive and used it on wounds. Medieval and early modern herbalists made it into a wound wash and a gargle. Country healers later used the tea for loose stools and for sore throats.
It entered formal herbal books such as the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia. German Commission E listed it for mild diarrhoea and for sore mouth and throat. These entries describe accepted traditional use, not proof from modern trials.
Stop and see a doctor if any of these happen:
- Diarrhoea lasts more than two days, or more than one day in a child. - You see blood or black colour in your stool. - You have a high fever or bad stomach pain. - You show signs of dehydration, such as little urine, dizziness or a very dry mouth. - A sore throat comes with fever, a rash or trouble swallowing. - Your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow. - You feel shaky, sweaty or confused, which can mean low blood sugar.
Get emergency help for swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or any trouble breathing.
In the UK and the EU, agrimony is sold as a herbal tea and food supplement, and some products hold traditional herbal registration. In the United States it is sold as a dietary supplement and is not approved by the FDA to treat any disease.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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