Yerba mansa

 GENERAL

Anemopsis californica is a plant found in the southwestern region of the United States (California) and northern Mexico. Anemopsis californica is also known there as Yerba mansa and inhabits mostly marshy and wet habitats. The genus Anemopsis contains only one species, Anemopsis californica (see Medina-Holguin et al. 2008: 919). This plant belongs to the lizard-tail family (Saururaceae), which owes its name to the long inflorescence that some species of this family possess.

The Saururaceae are a very small family containing 6 species (some sources describe 7) in 4 genera (cf. Meng et al. 2002: 71). In addition to Anemopsis, this family includes the genera Houttuynia, Gymnotheca, and Saururus, which are found not only in North America but also in Southeast Asia (see Grimsson et al. 2017: 2). The Saururaceae are a very old family - fossil in situ pollen of Saururus tuckerae (is already extinct) has been found, dating from the Eocene (about 56 million years ago - about 33 million years ago). The fossil pollen of Saururus tuckerae from the Eocene was the only fossil find of this species in North America to date. A later study also found much older fossil pollen from the Upper Cretaceous in western North America - a time when dinosaurs still ruled the earth. The Cretaceous pollen is very similar to the pollen of living Saururus species and nearly identical to the pollen find of Saururus tuckerae from the Eocene, only much older (see Grimsson et al. 2017: 2). The plant to which this pollen belongs is likely an ancestor of all now extant Saururaceae species, including Anemopsis californica (see Grimsson et al. 2017: 16). Thus, Anemopsis californica has a history that seems to go back to the time of the dinosaurs.

USE AND EFFECT

There are reports from the 19th century stating that yerba mansa used to be highly valued by Native Americans. For example, tea made from the root was used to treat cuts and festering wounds. Yerba mansa tea was also drunk for colds and coughs and was also considered to purify the blood. Yerba mansa was also used as a hot bath for rheumatic pains and was also often described as a remedy for venereal diseases (see Minnis 2000: 173).

In modern U.S. herbalism books, yerba mansa is used internally and externally for staphylococcal infections, as an intestinal tonic, and for skin ulcers and other bacterial infections. Its effects are described as astringent, diuretic, antibacterial and antifungal. It is also recommended for gastrointestinal ulcers, urinary tract problems, some forms of gout, as well as sore throat and inflamed mucous membranes (see Blakely 2000: 267f). Medina-Holguin et al. (2008) also describe the use of tea from yerba mansa leaves/roots for uterine cancer, menstrual cramps, to induce conception, and to stop excessive bleeding after childbirth. In addition, yerba mansa is also used in the treatment of yeast infections and vaginitis, and to treat wounds and ulcers in the genital area (see Medina-Holguin et al. 2008: 920).

The root of the plant was used by several Native American groups in the southwestern United States. These include, for example, the Kawaiisu, the Paitue, the Shoshone, the Pima, but also the Chumash [1] [2]. Some even assume that yerba mansa was already used by the Chumash in prehistoric times (see Minnis 2000: 174).

THE CHUMASH

Native Americans have lived in North America for thousands of years, and one group of them, the Chumash, lives in southwestern California. It is not certain when the ancestors of the Chumash settled this area, but it is estimated that the first came to this region 12,000-27,000 years ago. The Chumash are not actually a single "tribe." The Chumash were roughly a sort of loosely connected network of independent villages in the southern and central areas of California. There were villages spread across 3 areas: the Channel Islands, the Pacific coast, and in the interior mountain region (see Newsome et al. 2017: 9ff).

Although upper California was not colonized until 1769, Europeans had first contacts with Chumash-speaking groups as early as 1542. As early as the 16th century, diseases introduced by the Europeans were already causing severe problems for the Chumash and their neighbors (see Dartt-Newton et al. 2006: 418). Diseases such as typhoid, pneumonia, diphtheria, etc., greatly decimated the population. The appalling mortality rates of the Natives in the mission areas also necessitated a near-continuous recruitment of Indian laborers to perform work in cattle ranching and agriculture. The Chumash, however, faced not only disease and Franciscan priests, but also armed Spanish soldiers, territorial dispossession, and disenfranchisement (see Dartt-Newton et al. 2006: 422f). Today, there are only a few Chumash left who inhabit a small reservation near Santa Ynez (see Adams et al. 2005a: 459).

Some believe that Chumash traditional healing methods have been practiced in California for approximately 13,000 years. Chumash healing methods include prayers, laughter, dreaming, phytotherapy, healing ceremonies, and other techniques. The Chumash believe that healing begins first with the soul. The few remaining Chumash healers today still practice the traditional healing arts (see Adams et al. 2005b: 19).

The Chumash today still consider yerba mansa to be a good medicine for any pain. They also drink the tea for its blood purifying properties, use it to wash infected wounds, and also drink it for colds, asthma, and kidney problems. Yerba mansa is also used by the Chumash as a liniment for skin problems (see Minnis 2000: 174).

PHARMACOLOGY

Alcoholic extracts of Yerba mansa showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, and Streptococcus pyogenes (see Wendakoon et al. 2012: 63). The oil of steam-distilled Yerba mansa leaves showed efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus pneumoniae, and Geotrichum candidum (see Wendakoon et al. 2012: 65).

Earlier studies showed that the root contains methyl eugenol, thymol, and piperitone, as well as asarinine. In later analyses, steam distillation yielded 38 different compounds. The most abundant compounds include: α-pinene, cymene, limonene, 1-8-cineole, myrtenol, anethole, piperitone, thymol, methyeugenol, and elemicine. Among these, thymol, methyleugenol, and elemicine seem to be the main constituents of the root (see Medina-Holguin et al. 2008: 919f). It is thought that methyl eugenol and elemicine may be carcinogenic in high doses (see Prinsloo et al. 2018: 29). The minimum lethal dose of root was found to be 316mg/kg body weight. No lethality was observed at a maximum dose of leaves at 1g/kg (see Medina-Holguin et al. 2008: 920).

NOTE

This article is intended for informational purposes and is not intended as a suggestion to take or even to treat complaints on one's own. In case of complaints, a consultation with a specialist / doctor is absolutely necessary. It is merely a summary of researched data and not an exhaustive account of the effects, uses, pharmacology, etc. of this plant. There is also no claim to the accuracy of the information presented here.

Sources:

Wendakoon, Chitra; Peter Calderon; and Daniel Gagnon. (2012): Evaluation of Selected Medicinal Plants Extracted in Different Ethanol Concentrations for Antibacterial Activity against Human Pathogens. In: Journal of Medicinally Active Plants1, (2):60-68.

Prinsloo, Gerhard et al. (2018): The use of plants containing genotoxic carcinogens as foods and medicine. In: Food And Chemical Toxicology 116: 27-39.

Medina-Holguin et al. (2008): Chemotypic variation of essential oils in the medicinal plant, Anemopsis californica. In: Phytochemistry 69: 919-927.

Meng, Shao-Wu et al. (2002): Phylogeny of Saururaceae based on mitochondrial matR gene sequence data. In: Journal of Plant Research 115: 71-76.

Smith, Selena et al. (2007): Pollen morphology and ultrastructure of Saururaceae. In: Grana 64 (4): 250-267.

Grimsson, Friedgeir et al. (2017): Tiny pollen grains: first evidence of Saururaceae from the Late Cretaceous of western North America. In: PeerJ 5:e3434;DOI10.7717/peerj.3434

Minnis, Paul (2000): Ethnobotany: A Reader. University of Oklahoma Press.

Blakeley, Tim (2000): YERBA MANSA. In: Gladstar, Rosemary; Hirsch Pamela (eds): Saving Our Medicinal Herbs. Healing Arts Press. Rochester, Vermont.

Newsome, Joel et al. (2017): The People And Culture Of The Cumash. Canvendish Square: New York.

Dartt-Newton, Deana et al. (2006): Little Choice for the Chumash: Colonialism, Cattle and Coercion in Mission Period California. In: The American Indian Quarterly 30 (3&4): 416-430.

Adams, James et al. (2005a): Spirit, Mind and Body in Chumash Healing. In: eCAM 2 (4): 459-463.

Adams, James et al. (2005b): The Advantages of Traditional Chumash Healing. In: eCAM 2 (1): 19-23.

Hyperlinks:

[1]: naeb.brit.org

[2]: mojavedesert.net