Elecampane (Inula helenium) is a tall, herbaceous perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. 

The root of elecampane has been used for centuries in traditional medicine for its various therapeutic properties. 

Here are some of the primary properties and potential benefits of elecampane root:

1. Expectorant: Elecampane root has been traditionally used to help clear mucus and phlegm from the respiratory tract, which can be beneficial in conditions such as bronchitis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
2. Antitussive: The root may also help in relieving cough by reducing the spasms of the bronchial muscles.
3. Antibacterial and antifungal: Elecampane root contains compounds like alantolactone and isoalantolactone that exhibit antibacterial and antifungal properties, potentially helping to prevent or treat infections.
4. Anti-inflammatory: Elecampane root has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory properties, which may help in reducing inflammation and pain associated with various health conditions such as arthritis.
5. Digestive aid: The root has been used to help improve digestion and alleviate gastrointestinal issues such as gas, bloating, and upset stomach. It is believed to stimulate the production of digestive enzymes and bile, promoting healthy digestion.
6. Diuretic: Elecampane root can act as a diuretic, helping to increase urine output and potentially supporting kidney function.
7. Antiparasitic: Some studies suggest that elecampane root may be effective against certain parasites, such as those that cause giardiasis and roundworm infections.
8. Immune support: Elecampane root has been traditionally used to boost the immune system and support overall health.
9. Blood sugar regulation: Some studies have indicated that elecampane root may help in regulating blood sugar levels, which can be particularly beneficial for those with diabetes or other blood sugar-related disorders.

Please note that while these potential benefits are based on traditional uses and some scientific research, more extensive studies are needed to fully understand the root's properties and effectiveness. It's essential to consult with a healthcare professional before using elecampane root or any other herbal supplements, particularly if you have any pre-existing conditions or are taking medications.

Source : http://www.wikiphyto.org/wiki/Aunee

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plant name

Elecampane , Enule-countryside , Horse's eye , Lioness

International Latin denomination

Inula helenium L.

botanical family

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Description and habitat

• Perennial plant with large heads of 6-8 cm yellow flowers
• 80 to 150 cm, stem erect and branched at the top
• Large oval lanceolate leaves, dense, rough, toothed, with a cottony underside, up to 80 cm

History and tradition

• Greek mythology claims that Inula helenium was born from a tear shed by Helen (daughter of Zeus) when she was picking this plant and it was taken away by Paris
• A related species, Rudbeckia subtomentosa also contains eudesmanolides ( alloalantolactone and 3-oxo-alloalantolactone) active on Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Parts used

• Mainly root and rhizome, flower head
• Essential oil

Dosage forms available

• Underground Part Tincture

Usual dosages

• Herbal tincture  : 2 to 5 g/day
• Powder: 2 to 10 g/day
• Decoction (25 g/litre, 30 min decoction): 250 ml/day
• Essential oil  : 0.25 to 1 g/day

Composition

Main components of the plant

• Essential oil which crystallizes at the end of the distillation (1-5%) also called elecampane camphor or helenin composed of sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones
• Sesquiterpene lactones ( eudesmanolides ): alantolactone and isoalantolactone , 5-epoxyalantolactone , diplophyllin , santamarin , and/or their degradation products, alantol , alantic acid, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons ( beta-elemene )
• Fructosan  : inulin (up to 44%)
• Triterpene alcohols ( dammaradienol )
• Hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives [1]
• Sterols ( sitosterol and stigmasterol )

Main components of buds or young shoots

Main components of essential oil

• Essential oil extracted from roots: Alantolactone and helenin , mixture of sesquiterpene lactones in C15 (30%)

Properties

Plant properties

• Diuretic, sudorific, bechic (antitussive), expectorant, mucolytic, anthelmintic, antiviral [2] , choleretic
• Sesquiterpene lactones ( alantolactone and isoalantolactone ) are antifungal against fungi pathogenic for humans ( Trichophyton and Epidermophyton ) and antibacterial, detoxifying, cytotoxic (for the bibliography, see alantolactone ), but they can cause allergic dermatitis in local app
• Hypotensive (cholinergic, parasympathomimetic properties)
• Improves general condition and stimulates appetite
• Anti-allergic and pulmonary antispasmodic, bronchial anti-inflammatory [3]
• Elecampane was once used in tuberculosis [4]
  • Eudesmanolides are active on Mycobacterium tuberculosis , also anthelmintic and cholinergic, therefore hypotensive but photosensitizing [5]
• Anterior pituitary stimulant according to undocumented (?) clinical work [6]
• Central nervous system depressant, hypotensive, neuroprotective by antioxidant effect [7]
• Increases the tone of the small intestine and uterus
• Antibacterial ( Staphylococcus aureus ) [8]
• Induction of detoxification enzymes, chemopreventive agent [9] , induction of phase II enzymes [10] , [11]
• Reduction of hypoxia induced by various stresses [12]
• Neuroprotective [13]
• Hepatoprotector [14]
• Antitumor [15] , methanolic extract shows strong inhibitory activity of cancer cell growth MK-1, HeLa, B16F10 [16] , colorectal cancer [17] , apoptosis inducer for cancer cells [18]
• Alantolactone is a promising candidate for the treatment of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance associated with inflammation, by influencing prolonged elevation of IL-6 [19]
• Anthelmintic (ascaris?) [20]
• The eudesmanolid sesquiterpene lactones of elecampane ( alantolactone and isoalantolactone ) possess larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti [21]

Bud properties

Properties of essential oil

• Bacteriostatic and fungistatic [22] , [23]
• Antistaphylococcal ( alantolactone , isoalantolactone , diplophyllin ) [24] , [25]
• Antiviral
• Inhalation of elecampane essential oil improves alertness and induces EEG changes [26]

Directions

Indications of the whole plant (phytotherapy)

• Chronic coughs
• Whooping cough, irritant cough, chronic cough
• Productive asthma

Indications of the bud (gemmotherapy)

Specific indications of essential oil (aromatherapy)

Known or suspected mode of action

• Sesquiterpene lactones were described as “bitter principles” in ancient materia medica treatises
• Sesquiterpene lactones are antibacterial and react with the active sites of many enzymes
• Isoalantolactone generates with amines bactericidal derivatives [27]
• Helenin is choleretic and antiviral
• Beta-elemene exhibits anti-cancer activity [28]

Usual formulations

Regulations

• French Pharmacopoeia list A (underground part)

Possible side effects and precautions for use

• Allergic dermatitis [29] , contact allergies, vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps and high dose paralysis
• Forbidden to pregnant women

Bibliographic references

1. Go↑ Stojakowska, A., Malarz, J. & Kiss, AK Hydroxycinnamates from elecampane (Inula helenium L.) callus culture. Acta Physiol Plant 38, 41 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-016-2069-y
2. Go↑ Robinson WE Jr, Reinecke MG, Abdel-Malek S, Jia Q, Chow SA (1996) Inhibitors of HIV-1 replication that inhibit HIV integrase. Proc Natl Acad Sci 93:6326–6331
3. Go↑ Barbara Gierlikowska, Wojciech Gierlikowski, Katarzyna Bekier, Krystyna Skalicka-Woźniak, Monika E. Czerwińska, Anna K. Kiss. Inula helenium and Grindelia squarrosa as a source of compounds with anti-inflammatory activity in human neutrophils and cultured human respiratory epithelium. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 249, 2020, 112311, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2019.112311 .
4. Go↑ TJ Bokenham. The Influence of Helenine on Tuberculosis. Br Med J. 1891 October 17; 2(1607): 838–840. BMJ
5. Go↑ Bruneton J. Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants. Ed. Tec and Doc. 1997. p 503
6. Go↑ Christian Duraffourd, Jean-Claude Lapraz. Treatise on clinical phytotherapy. Endobiology and Medicine. Ed. Masson. Paris, 2002.
7. Go↑ Wang J, Zhao YM, Zhang B, Guo CY. Protective Effect of Total Phenolic Compounds from Inula helenium on Hydrogen Peroxide-induced Oxidative Stress in SH-SY5Y Cells. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2015 Mar-Apr;77(2):163-9. doi: 10.4103/0250-474x.156553. PMID 26009648 ; PMCID: PMC4442464.
8. Go↑ Stojanović-Radić, Z., Čomić, L., Radulović, N. et al. Antistaphylococcal activity of Inula helenium L. root essential oil: eudesmane sesquiterpene lactones induce cell membrane damage. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 31, 1015–1025 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-011-1400-1
9. Go↑ Lim SS, Kim JR, Lim HA, Jang CH, Kim YK, Konishi T, Kim EJ, Park JH, Kim JS. Induction of detoxifying enzyme by sesquiterpenes present in Inula helenium. J Med Food. 2007 Sep;10(3):503-10. PMID 17887945
10. Go↑ Seo JY, Park J, Kim HJ, Lee IA, Lim JS, Lim SS, Choi SJ, Park JH, Kang HJ, Kim JS. Isoalantolactone from Inula helenium caused Nrf2-mediated induction of detoxifying enzymes. J Med Food. 2009 Oct;12(5):1038-45. PMID 19857067
11. Go↑ Seo JY, Lim SS, Kim JR, Lim JS, Ha YR, Lee IA, Kim EJ, Park JH, Kim JS. Nrf2-mediated induction of detoxifying enzymes by alantolactone present in Inula helenium. Phytother Res. 2008 Nov;22(11):1500-5. PMID 18702092
12. Go↑ Zelenskaya KL, Povet'eva TN, Pashinskii VG, Fomina TN, Timina EA, Perova AV. Stress-inducing effect of hypoxia of different origin and its correction with Inula Helenium L. tincture. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2005 Apr;139(4):414-7. PMID 16027868
13. Go↑ Kim SS, Park RY, Jeon HJ, Kwon YS, Chun W (2005) Neuroprotective effects of 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid on hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in SH-SY5Y cells. Phytother Res 19:243–245
14. Go↑ Kim KH, Kim YH, Lee KR (2007) Isolation of quinic acid derivatives and flavonoids from the aerial parts of Lactuca indica L. and their hepatoprotective activity in vitro. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 17:6739–6743
15. Go↑ Dorn DC, Alexenizer M, Hengstler JG, Dorn A. Tumor cell specific toxicity of Inula helenium extracts. Phytother Res. 2006 Nov;20(11):970-80. doi: 10.1002/ptr.1991. PMID 16912983
16. Go↑ Tenji Konishi, Yasuo Shimada, Tsuneatsu Nagao, Hikaru Okabe, Takao Konoshima. Antiproliferative Sesquiterpene Lactones from the Roots of Inula helenium. Biol. Pharma. Bull. 2002, Vol. 25, No. 10. 1370—1372. PMID 12392098
17. Go↑ Zhang Y, Bao YL, Wu Y, Yu CL, Huang YX, Sun Y, Zheng LH, Li YX. Alantolactone induces apoptosis in RKO cells through the generation of reactive oxygen species and the mitochondrial pathway. Mol Med Rep. 2013 Oct;8(4):967-72. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2013.1640. PMID 23970102
18. Go↑ Rasul A, Khan M, Ali M, Li J, Li X. Targeting apoptosis pathways in cancer with alantolactone and isoalantolactone. ScientificWorldJournal. 2013 Oct 27;2013:248532. doi: 10.1155/2013/248532. eCollection 2013. PMID 24288468
19. Go↑ Kim M, Song K, Kim YS. Alantolactone Improves Prolonged Exposure of Interleukin-6-Induced Skeletal Muscle Inflammation Associated Glucose Intolerance and Insulin Resistance. Front Pharmacol. 2017 Jun 29;8:405. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00405. eCollection 2017. PMID 28706484
20. Go↑ El Garhy MF, Mahmoud LH. Anthelminthic efficacy of traditional herbs on Ascaris lumbricoides. J Egypt Soc Parasitol. 2002 Dec;32(3):893-900. PMID 12512821
21. Go↑ Cantrell CL, Pridgeon JW, Fronczek FR, Becnel JJ. Structure-activity relationship studies on derivatives of eudesmanolides from Inula helenium as toxicants against Aedes aegypti larvae and adults. Chem Biodivers. 2010 Jul;7(7):1681-97. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.201000031. PMID 20658657
22. Go↑ Bourrel C, Vilarem G, Perineau F. Chemical analysis, bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties of the essential oil of elecampane (Inula helenium L.). Journal of essential oil research: (Jul-Aug 1993), v. 5(4) p. 411-417
23. Go↑ Deriu, A., Zanetti, S., Sechi, LA, Marongiu, B., Piras, A., Porcedda, S., & Tuveri, E. (2008). Antimicrobial activity of Inula helenium L. essential oil against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and Candida spp. International journal of antimicrobial agents, 31(6), 588–590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2008.02.006 . PMID 18450429
24. Go↑ Stojanović-Radić Z1, Comić Lj, Radulović N, Blagojević P, Denić M, Miltojević A, Rajković J, Mihajilov-Krstev T. Antistaphylococcal activity of Inula helenium L. root essential oil: eudesmane sesquiterpene lactones induce cell membrane damage.Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2012 Jun;31(6):1015-25. doi: 10.1007/s10096-011-1400-1. PMID 21901633
25. Go↑ Blagojevic PD, Radulovic NS. Conformational analysis of antistaphylococcal sesquiterpene lactones from Inula helenium essential oil. Nat Prod Common. 2012 Nov;7(11):1407-10. PMID 23285795
26. Go↑ Kandhasamy Sowndhararajan, Haeme Cho, Byoungsun Yu, Jaeeun Song, Songmun Kim. Effect of inhalation of essential oil from Inula helenium L. root on electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of the human brai. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, Volume 8, Issue 4, 2016, Pages 453-457, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eujim.2016.01.005 .
27. Go↑ Bézanger-Beauquesne, Pinkas, Torck, Trottin. Medicinal plants of temperate regions. Ed. Maloine. Paris. 1980.
28. Go↑ Wang G, Li X, Huang F, Zhao J, Ding H, Cunningham C, Coad JE, Flynn DC, Reed E, Li QQ. Antitumor effect of beta-elemene in non-small-cell lung cancer cells is mediated via induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2005 Apr;62(7-8):881-93. PMID 15868411
29. Go↑ Massimiliano Pazzaglia, Nicola Venturo, Giuseppe Borda, Antonella Tosti. Contact dermatitis due to a massage liniment containing Inula helenium extract. Contact Dermatitis, Volume 33, Issue 4, page 267, October 1995

• Wichtl Max, Anton Robert. Therapeutic plants: Tradition, officinal practice, science and therapy. Ed. Tec & Doc. Cachan. 1999. p. 255
• Seca AM, Grigore A, Pinto DC, Silva AM. The genus Inula and their metabolites: from ethnopharmacological to medicinal uses. J Ethnopharmacol. 2014 Jun 11;154(2):286-310. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2014.04.010. PMID 24754913

Store in a cool, dry place, away from light. Keep tightly closed, away from the reach of Children and pets.

Do not exceed the daily dose.

This product is not intended to prevent or cure any form of illness or disease.
 

If you are pregnant or nursing ; If you have a medical condition or are in the course of medical treatment ; If you are programmed for theater/operation in the near future, please consult your healthcare practitioner before using this product.

This product cannot replace a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.

This product has not been evaluated by the SAHPRA for its quality, safety or intended use.

For More Information please check our General Safety Herbal products Page