How does it feel?
Soft, velveteen leaves, like rabbit’s ears to the touch, mullein has a soothing action known as a demulcent activity, this word is derived from the Latin demulcere, to caress. The fresh or dried leaves have little odour, the taste is mucilaginous and slightly bitter.
The scent of the 1:3 infused tincture is mildly aromatic. On tasting, initially it is warmly sweet and aromatic with a follow-on soothing demulcent sensation.
What can I use it for?
Used widely in the form of a tincture or a tea for its antimicrobial, expectorant and demulcent effects, mullein is very well-placed for use in inflammatory conditions of the respiratory tract such as infections, asthma, tracheitis and spasmodic coughs, and is indicated where the lining of the respiratory tract feels sore, inflamed and dry.
When taken internally it has a slightly diaphoretic effect, (promoting perspiration). It would thus make a good accompaniment to elderflowers and/or lime flowers in the treatment of fevers involving respiratory infections.
The infused oil made from the flowers can be used for earache, (see cautions under safety), mouth ulcers, and for burns.
The leaves are used topically in the form of a poultice for wounds and burns.
Into the heart of mullein
The leaf has been widely used in the form of an infusion or a tincture for its soothing properties on inflamed, dry and painful throat and chest complaints. Easing breathing and dry, hacking coughs.
Mullein can soothe mucous membranes, reduce inflammation and promote expectoration. It has been used in conditions such as bronchitis, whooping cough, tracheitis, TB and asthma to good effect.
The saponins within both the leaf and flower possess the expectorant action which when coupled with the plant’s soothing effects from the mucopolysaccarides means it really helps to bring up hard-to-shift phlegm and soothe irritated mucous membranes.
Traditional uses
The name Mullein is derived from the Latin word mollis, meaning soft or woolly.
Primarily the leaf and flower have been used medicinally and its use has been wide-spread including in Europe, North America, India and Pakistan.
Uses are both internal, (mainly for conditions of the respiratory system) and also external, as a soothing vulnerary (healer) for burns, wounds and bruises.
The infused oil of the petals is used in earache and also on haemorrhoids and other mucous membrane inflammations.
In the past the leaves were dried and smoked for relief in asthma and coughing spasms.
Right up until the introduction of antimycobacterial drugs, mullein was cultivated on a large scale in Ireland and sold in chemists as an important remedy in the treatment of tuberculosis (4).
Traditional actions
Herbal actions describe therapeutic changes that occur in the body in response to taking a herb. These actions are used to express how a herb physiologically influences cells, tissues, organs or systems. Clinical observations are traditionally what have defined these actions: an increase in urine output, diuretic; improved wound healing, vulnerary; or a reduction in fever, antipyretic. These descriptors too have become a means to group herbs by their effects on the body — herbs with a nervine action have become the nervines, herbs with a bitter action are the bitters. Recognising herbs as members of these groups provides a preliminary familiarity with their mechanisms from which to then develop an understanding of their affinities and nuance and discern their clinical significance.
Traditional energetic actions
Herbal energetics are the descriptions Herbalists have given to plants, mushrooms, lichens, foods, and some minerals based on the direct experience of how they taste, feel, and work in the body. All traditional health systems use these principles to explain how the environment we live in and absorb, impacts our health. Find out more about traditional energetic actions in our article “An introduction to herbal energetics“.
Western energetics
What practitioners say
Lower respiratory systemIt is an excellent dual-purpose respiratory remedy, on the one hand containing large quantities of mucilage and thus exerting a soothing and mucus-producing effect suitable for irritated airways, whilst on the other containing saponins that are responsible for the stimulatory effect on the mucociliary lining of the respiratory system.
Ears
It has been used in the form of an infused oil of the flowers when applied as drops to the ear for earache and inflamed external areas of the ear canal as with eczema. The infused oil is sometimes combined with garlic for added antimicrobial activity. Used for otitis externa or otitis media.
Mouth
The oil made from mullein leaf or flower is also used to good effect in mouth ulcers being that it is healing and antiseptic.
Skin
Ointments prepared from mullein leaves are used for burns (Haughton, 1978). Topically, a poultice of the leaves and/or flowers is a good healer of wounds and is also beneficial when applied to haemorrhoids (5).
Research
Tough as old boots, mycobacteria have been intensively studied to find their Achilles’ heel, in particular M.tuberculosis which causes TB. Due to increasing antibiotic resistance, (extensively drug-resistant TB has been reported in 123 countries worldwide (6)), the search for effective treatments is ongoing and plants are playing a significant role in this.Mullein has a long tradition of use for TB and other diseases arising from infection with mycobacterium species including leprosy and bovine TB and has been investigated in recent times to see if this can be evidenced (7).
Antimicrobial effects have been observed in vitro against Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli (8).
The iridoid glycosides within Mullein have been investigated for antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activity. Luteolin and 3-O-fucopyranosylsaikogenin F showed promising antiproliferative action by way of inducing cell apoptosis of A549 lung cancer cells (9).
Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of whole plant Mullein have demonstrated antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity of alcoholic stem extract was investigated using DPPH (antioxidant) assay. Ethanolic extract of the plant resulted up to 85% inhibition of free radical and up to 40% inhibition by water extract (10). Currently no studies have been carried out on the isolated compounds of mullein for antioxidant effects.
Trials have shown a statistically significant improvement in the symptoms of ear ache in otitis media in children when treated with a blended oil containing garlic, St John’s wort, calendula, lavender, vitamin E and mullein that was comparable to anaesthetic ear drops. The herbs within have combined anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and pain-relieving effects (11).
Did you know?
Mullein was considered a magical plant and used in love potions and other such brews, being mentioned in incantations during the Middle Ages.
The flowering stems were dipped in tallow and used as torches by the Greeks and Romans.
The seeds are narcotic to fish. They have been used by poachers, thrown into the water where they have helped to make catching the fish easier. It should be noted that this not an acceptable practice and is illegal in many countries.
The velvety leaves were put into shoes to act an insulation from the cold, they also have a long tradition of use as a substitute for loo roll, known in the US as ‘cowboy toilet paper’.
Additional information
Botanical description
Towering spikes of flowers sit on a single stem that grows from the centre of a basal rosette of leaves on this handsome biennial plant. The flower stems can reach a height of 2 metres with leaves that narrow at their base forming two wings that run down the stem. Native to Europe, North Africa and western and central Asia, it has naturalised in most temperate areas of the world. It is vigorous in growth and each plant can produce upwards of 100,000 seeds (1), so if you grow it, ignore at your peril!
The seeds also possess impressive longevity, viable seeds have been found in soil samples dated 1300 AD (1).
The leaves are incredibly soft and velvety in texture. Many ornamentals have been bred from verbascum species. The flowers are a lovely egg yolk-yellow and often bloom rather randomly, dotted about here and there on the tall spikes of the rather charming and sometimes wonky mullein.
Nowadays it is the leaves and flowers which are used as medicine.
Common names
- Mullein
- Woolley or Great mullein
- Velvet dock
- Candlewick plant
- Feltwort
- Hag’s taper
- Old Man’s Flannel
- Fluffweed
Safety
Mullein leaf and flowers have an excellent safety profile with no reported interactions or contraindications.
The oil of the flowers should not be used an alternative to seeking professional medical help if there is a suspicion of an inner ear infection (otitis interna)
The seeds are considered by some sources to be toxic and by others as a digestive irritant. Either way they should be avoided.
Dosage
If taking mullein leaf in tea form, strain it well to ensure removal of any potentially irritating leaf hairs that may be floating about in the infusion.
12 – 24g per day of the dried leaf by infusion
2-5 ml per day of a 1:3 strength tincture
Constituents
- Iridoid glycosides including aucubin, verbacoside, harpagoside, laterioside, ajugol
- Flavonoids including luteolin, kaempferol, quercetin, cynaroside
- Saponins various thapsuins in the flowers and leaf
- Polysaccharides(2,3)
Recipe
Mullein flower and garlic ear oilIngredients:
- 1 standard cup of freshly picked mullein flowers
- A whole head of garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- Olive oil, approximately 2 cups
- ¼ teaspoon of vitamin E oil (optional, will prolong the oil’s shelf-life)
- A sterilised jam jar
Makes between 200-250ml oil
Method:
- Check the flowers, removing any bugs and gently press into to the jar along with the chopped garlic. Add the olive oil until the garlic and flowers are covered. Give it a quick stir to remove any air bubbles. Cover and sit on a sunny window sill for a couple of weeks. Alternatively you can use a slow-cooker on the lowest setting and pop it on for 12 hours and leave in the pot while it slowly cools.
- Strain it through a sieve lined with muslin so it is well-filtered and pour into dark glass dropper bottles labelled and marked with the date made. If kept in a cool dark place this soothing antiseptic ear oil will keep for a good year.
Use 3-5 drops of the warmed oil into the affected ear and if not too tender, gently massage the surrounding area. Pop a wad of cotton wool into the entrance and ask the person to remain lying with the affected ear upwards for a few minutes. Keep the area warm with a heated wheat bag or a covered hot water bottle for increased comfort.
This remedy can be used every 2 hours if needed.
Please note: The flower oil should not be used as an alternative to seeking professional medical help if there is a suspicion of an inner ear infection (otitis interna), a high temperature, discharge from the ear or if there is no improvement in symptoms including pain after 3 days.
References
- Gross KL; Werner PL. (1982): Colonizing abilities of “biennial” plant species in relation to ground cover: implications for their distributions in a successional sere. Ecology, 63(4):921-931
- Panchal, M etc al. (2010): Pharmacological properties of Verbascum thapsus – a Review. Dept of Pharmacology. Vol 5, (2) Article 015
- Riaz, M et al. (2013): Common Mullein, pharmacological and chemical aspects. Brazilian journal of Pharmacognosy. 23: 948-959
- Allen DE, Hatfield G. (2004): Medicinal plants in folk tradition. Cambridge, UK: Timber Press. 250-251
- Haughton, C.S., (1978): Green immigrants. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York, USA
- https://www.who.int/tb/areas-of-work/drug-resistant-tb/global-situation/en/. Accessed 25.3.21
- Mc Carthy, E and O’Mahony, J. (2011): What’s in a name? Can Mullein weed beat TB where modern drugs are failing? Evidence-based Complementary Alternative medicine. Article ID: 239237
- Turkar, A, Camper N. (2002): Biological activity of common mullein, a medicinal plant. J Ethnopharmacol. 82(203): 117-25
- Zhao, Yan-Li etc al. (2011): Isolation of Chemical Constituents from the Aerial Parts of Verbascum thapsus and Their Antiangiogenic and Antiproliferative Activities. Archives of Pharm Res vol 34(5):703-7
- Kumar, G, Singh, SB. (2011): Antibacterial and antioxidant activities of ethanol extracts from trans Himalayan medicinal plants. European Journal of applied sciences 3 (2): 53-57
- Sarrell, E M et al. (2001): Efficacy of naturopathic extracts in the management of ear pain associated with acute otitis media. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 155 (7): 796-9
- Willheim, GJR. (1974): The Mullein: Plant piscicide of the mountain folk culture. Georgrap Rev 64: 235-252
