Evidence supporting the use of: Goldenseal
For the health condition: Dysentery

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Synopsis

Source of validity: Traditional
Rating (out of 5): 2

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) has a long-standing history in traditional herbal medicine, especially among Native American tribes and early European settlers in North America. It was commonly used as a remedy for a variety of gastrointestinal complaints, including dysentery. The use of goldenseal for dysentery is primarily rooted in its perceived antimicrobial and astringent properties, attributed to alkaloids such as berberine, hydrastine, and canadine. Traditional texts and herbal pharmacopoeias from the 19th and early 20th centuries often list goldenseal as a treatment for mucous membrane inflammations and infectious diarrhea, including dysentery.

However, scientific validation for goldenseal’s efficacy in treating dysentery is limited. Although berberine, a major constituent, has demonstrated antimicrobial activity against certain bacteria and protozoa in laboratory studies, robust clinical trials in humans are lacking. The available research mostly focuses on laboratory or animal models, not on actual cases of human dysentery. As such, while the traditional use is well-documented, the scientific evidence supporting goldenseal for dysentery in humans is weak. Therefore, its efficacy for this indication should be considered primarily traditional, with a low evidence rating due to the absence of high-quality clinical data.

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