Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Stone root is a herbal remedy made from the root of Collinsonia canadensis, a woodland plant of eastern North America. It is also sold as knob root, horse balm or richweed. The root is hard and knobby, which is how it got its name.
It was used most by American Eclectic doctors in the 1800s. They gave it for piles (haemorrhoids), varicose veins and a hoarse, worn-out voice. Today you will find it as dried root, tincture, tea and capsules.
Here is the honest verdict. There are almost no human studies of stone root for any use. Long use in a tradition is not proof that something works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
Nobody has shown how stone root works in people, because the human research has not been done.
The old idea was that it acts as a vein tonic. Eclectic doctors believed it tightened slack, swollen veins and eased pressure in the back passage and throat. That belief came from bedside reports, not from testing.
The root does hold tannins, which bind and tighten protein in test-tube work. That is the basis of the astringent (tightening) claim. Whether enough reaches a swollen vein or an irritated throat after you swallow it has not been shown.
The root also holds rosmarinic acid. In cell and animal studies, rosmarinic acid appears to damp down inflammation. Those results do not tell you what a dose of stone root does in a person.
Treat any claim that stone root shrinks piles, clears varicose veins or passes a stone as unproven.
Stone root is sold mainly as a dried root preparation.
Common forms include:
Dried, cut root for making a decoction (a simmered tea).
Liquid extracts and tinctures, usually alcohol-based.
Capsules of powdered root.
Combination products for piles or veins, often with horse chestnut, witch hazel or butcher's broom.
The fresh root and fresh leaves have a reputation for upsetting the stomach more than the dried root. Combination products make side effects hard to trace, because you cannot tell which plant caused what.
Stone root belongs to American folk medicine and to the Eclectic doctors of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Settlers in eastern North America learned of the plant from local use and took it up for bruises, sprains and swollen veins. Eclectic writers such as John King and Finley Ellingwood later listed it in their manuals.
Their main uses were piles, varicose veins and a tired or hoarse voice in singers and public speakers. Some also gave it as a mild diuretic (a medicine that makes you pass more urine). It appeared in the National Formulary in the United States for part of that period.
The Eclectic school faded after the 1930s, and stone root faded with it. None of this old standing tells you whether the remedy helps or whether it is safe.
Stop taking stone root and see a doctor if you vomit, feel faint or get bad stomach pain.
Book an appointment promptly if you notice:
Bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your urine.
Hoarseness that lasts more than three weeks.
Swelling in your legs, ankles or belly that is new or getting worse.
Go to an emergency department if you have severe pain in your side or back with fever, or if one leg becomes swollen, hot and painful.
In the United States, stone root is sold as a dietary supplement. It is not approved as a medicine for any condition.
In the United Kingdom and the European Union it is sold as a food supplement. It does not hold a traditional herbal registration, so no health claim may be made for it.
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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