Teucrium polium, Poley Montane

Poley, Mountain Germander, Narrow-leaf Germander
Kalpooreh (Unani)
Hui Bai Shi Cao (TCM)
 Picture Picture
Picture Picture
New Kreuterbuch, Matthiolus, 1563

 Kurtzes Handtbuchlein, Ryff, 1599
Picture Left: Polium campestre;  Right: P. montanum
Krauterbuch, Lonitzer, 1578

Picture Picture
Common (left), Spanish (middle) and Lavender-leaved (right) Poley Montane
Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum, 1640

Picture Teucrium polium
(Photo by Kenraiz) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:


Teucrium polium (syn. T. capitatum)
Campestre (rural) and Montanum (mountain) varieties were traditionally recognised, the mountain being preferred.
Later European writers recognised a number of varieties including:
  1. Common Poley (Mountain Poley)
  2. White or Spanish Poley Mountain
  3. Spiked, or Lavender-leaved Poley

Parts used:


Herb in flower

Temperature & Taste:


Cold, dry. Bitter, Pungent
Usually accounted Warm, we have taken the Chinese stance in calling this (and related plants) Cool.
“The small variety of germander is hot in the third degree and dry in the second degree. The large variety is hot and dry in the second degree”. It is “a little pungent. The small variety is more pungent and bitter”. (Avicenna)

Classifications:


Aperitive, Abstersive, Diuretic, Vulnerary, Cardiac, Alexipharmic

Uses:


1. Clears Wind-Heat, Resists Poison:
-Colds, Fever, Rheumatic Fever (Unani)
-“useful in Chronic Fevers”. (Avicenna)
-Lung-heat cough, Chest Pain, Tuberculosis
-toxic swellings
-Decoction (taken with vinegar) is taken for poisonous Bites and Stings (Dioscorides)
-“Useful in Scorpion sting and the decoction of its large variety is useful in other Insects bite”. (Avicenna)
-in Antidotes including Mithridate (in which case the small variety was preferred)

2. Settles Wind, Stops Spasms:
-Hypertension
-Paralysis, Numbeness, Trembling or Lameness of the Limbs

3. Clears Heat and Damp, Opens Obstructions:
-Jaundice
-“useful in black Jaundice”. (Avicenna)
-Edema, Urinary obstructed by Heat and Damp
-Gravel and Stones
-obstruction of the Spleen
-Colitis, Gastritis; diarrhea (decoction), Colic, Peptic Ulcers, Vomiting

4. Moves the Blood, Promotes Menstruation, Eases Pain
-Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea
-expels Dead Fetus and Afterbirth
-relieve pains of Labor and Postpartum pain
-Hard Tumors, Fibroids

5. Clears Heat, Promotes Healing:
-an important Wound herb: Wounds, Ulcers
-Chronic Sores and Foul Ulcers (internally and topically)

6. Benefits Kidneys, Strengthens Bones:
-Recently found useful for Type II Diabetes
-Arthritis, Rheumatism
-Sciatica, Lower Back Pain and weakness

7. Kills Worms:
-“useful in Tapeworm infestation” (Avicenna)

8. Externally:
-leaves are beaten and applied to Boils and Carbuncles
-the smoke repels vermin and venomous insects; strewn around a room to repel pests also
-topically as a Wound herb
-old sores and ulcers
-Paralysis, Numbeness, Trembling or Lameness of the Limbs (Herbs boiled in oil and applied)


Dose:


Decoction: 2–6 grams, added towards the end
Powder: 2–6 grams with Wine
Tincture: 3–7 mls
Acid (Vinegar) Tincture: 30–40 drops
Oily Tincture (Tincture in oil): 15–45 drops (up to 60 drops) for Arthritic and Rheumatic diseases, and nerve disorders such as Paralysis, Numbness, Trembling etc
Juice: 15–30 mls

Substitute:


1. Pomegranate root-bark can be used for Worms (Avicenna)
2. Cassia bark in two-thrids of its weight (Avicenna)

Main Combinations:


1. Poley Montane Poley Mountain with Bdellium, Rhubarb, Lacca, Yellow Myrobalan, Indian Spikenard for obstruction, to promote urine, fibroid tumors etc.
2. Diabetic wounds and ulcers, Poley Mountain with Aloe gel

Major Formulas:


Hiera Logadii
Troches of Coral (Diacorallium) (Nicholas)
Pills of Rhubarb (Greater) (Pil. de Raved Sceni) (Mesue)
Athanasia Greater Nicholas

Cautions:


1. Toxic in overdose or long-term use. The terpenoid teucrin has been associated with acute hepatitis and one case of Liver failure. Not used for more than 3 weeks without a break in treatment. Not used in those with Liver or Kidney disease.
2. Not used during pregnancy
3. Traditional Herbals noted it to ‘trouble the Stomach, and cause some pains in the Head’. (Parkinson, from Dioscorides)

Toxicity:


It is toxic in overdose

Main Preparations used:



Last Update 02/24
GENERAL / REVIEW:
–Teucrium polium L: An updated review of phytochemicals and biological activities.

ANTIBACTERIAL
–Evaluation of Yield, Chemical Profile, and Antimicrobial Activity of Teucrium polium L. Essential Oil Used in Iranian Folk Medicine.
–Therapeutics studies and biological properties of Teucrium polium (Lamiaceae).
–Phytochemical Screening, Antibacterial, Antifungal, Antiviral, Cytotoxic, and Anti-Quorum-Sensing Properties of Teucrium polium L. Aerial Parts Methanolic Extract.
–Phytotoxic and Antimicrobial Activities of Teucrium polium and Thymus decussatus Essential Oils Extracted Using Hydrodistillation and Microwave-Assisted Techniques.

ANTIOXIDANT
–HR-LCMS-Based Metabolite Profiling, Antioxidant, and Anticancer Properties of Teucrium polium L. Methanolic Extract: Computational and In Vitro Study.
–Antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of Teucrium polium extract: Computational and in vivo study in rats.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY:
–Alcoholic extracts of Teucrium polium exhibit remarkable anti-inflammatory activity: In vivo study.

HEPATOPROTECTIVE
–Investigating the effect of the Teucrium polium aqueous extract on the liver of the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
DIABETES
–Teucrium polium: Potential Drug Source for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
–Constitution of a comprehensive phytochemical profile and network pharmacology based investigation to decipher molecular mechanisms of Teucrium polium L. in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
–Sublingual Administration of Teucrium Polium-Loaded Nanofibers with Ultra-Fast Release in the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation.
–LC-MS based metabolic profiling and wound healing activity of a chitosan nanoparticle-loaded formula of Teucrium polium in diabetic rats.

DIABETIC FOOT ULCERS / WOUNDS
–Topical Administration of Teucrium polium on Diabetic Foot Ulcers Accelerates Healing: A Placebo-Controlled Randomized Clinical Study.
–Topical co-administration of Teucrium polium hydroethanolic extract and Aloe vera gel triggered wound healing by accelerating cell proliferation in diabetic mouse model.

ANTIPROLIFERATIVE:
–Antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of Teucrium polium extract: Computational and in vivo study in rats.

CANCER
–Therapeutics studies and biological properties of Teucrium polium (Lamiaceae).
–HR-LCMS-Based Metabolite Profiling, Antioxidant, and Anticancer Properties of Teucrium polium L. Methanolic Extract: Computational and In Vitro Study.