Celandine: medicinal properties, contraindications and how to use it.

What is celandine and what is it for?

The greater celandine (Chelidonium majus), related to poppies and fumitoryis a common plant in embankments, grasslands and rocks in shady and humid environments.

Its generic name of Chelidonium comes from the Greek word chelidon for “swallow” because it was believed that this plant bloomed coinciding with the arrival of these birds in spring and used to wither more or less when they left again.

celandine it is a perennial plantwith fragile stems and large leaves, divided into oval, lobed or toothed segments. the flowers are yellowarranged in terminal umbels, and the fruits are long and erect needles filled with seeds inside.

It is common in the northern third of the Iberian Peninsula and the flowering tops and the latex that the plant exudes, something irritating on contact, are harvested from itand that flows just by breaking the stems or leaves.

celandine It is sold in powdered herbalists, as a dry plant for infusiontincture, in fluid extract and the fresh latex. It is also a valued homeopathic remedy.

Medicinal properties of celandine

The whole plant is rich in alkaloids.such as chelidonine, a substance responsible for its intense antispasmodic action, allowing you to mediate persistent coughs and colds. It has also been indicated to promote sweating and combat migraine, menstrual cramps and gallstones. Nevertheless, it is potentially toxic.Herbalists prefer to dedicate its use to external remediessince the celandine has been shown very useful to heal eczema, boils, corns, ulcerationssores and other skin abnormalities such as funguspapillomas and tumors. But the greatest utility of this plant is that of successfully remove warts. Fresh latex has a clear antifungal, keratolytic and antiviral action. It has been shown to be effective in treating both flat warts -which appear on the fingers-, plantar warts -on the palms of the feet-, as well as pedicle warts, which usually appear on the neck, armpits or on the head. . Applied regularly, it favors the breakdown of the excretion that makes up the wart, preventing cell growth.

How to use celandine for warts

It is about smearing the wart with latex, using a cotton swab, but avoiding touching the skin. It is advisable to wear protective gloves and cover the area around the wart with a tape or gauze. Two applications a day will suffice, until the wart disappears.

Another softer option is to prepare a decoction with 2 tablespoons of crushed florida sumidad per 250 ml of water.

How to prepare it: Boil for 5 minutes, let stand and strain. Then the decoction is applied by practicing a few soft touches on the warts, three times a day.

Celandine precautions and contraindications

The latex of the celandine, orange in color, greasy consistency, strong odor and acrid taste, can cause severe irritation and blistering on healthy skin.

In case latex accidentally falls on the skin, andIt is necessary to wash it with cold water.

Likewise, its high content of alkaloids It is not recommended to take it orallyas it can cause vomiting and dizziness.

Advisor: J Mª Teixé, herbalist at “El Manantial de Salud”