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Buchu
(Agathosma betulina)
COMMON NAMES: Bookoo, bucco, bucku, oval buchu, short buchu.
MEDICINAL PART: Leaves.
DESCRIPTION: Buchu is a small shrub, 2 to 3 feet high, which grows principally in South Africa. Its opposite, glossy, pale-green leaves are obovate or ovate in outline and have strongly curved tips and serrate margins. The five-petaled flowers are whitish to pink; the fruit is an ovate capsule.
PROPERTIES AND USES: Aromatic,
carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, stimulant. Used by he Hotentots
long before any white men came to South Africa, buchu finds its primary
application in urinary disorders. A strong tea of the dried leaves
is helpful for painful urination and for inflammation, gravel, and catarrh
of the bladder. It can also be taken for leucorrhea. In South
Africa, an infusion of buchu leaves in brandy is drunk as a stomachic and
stimulant tonic.
One of the best remedies
for urinary organs. It is very soothing and is a most excellent remedy
when there is pain while urinating, catarrh of bladder, and dropsy.
Excellent in stoppage of urine. When used specifically for this purpose,
give a strong tea, cold.
When given warm, it produces
perspiration and soothes the enlargement of prostate gland, and irritation
of the membrane of the urethra. Useful in diabetes in the first stages.
Use for leucorrhea. DO NOT BOIL BUCHU LEAVES.
Buchu is excellent for
all types of urinary disorders - including infection, irritation, urine
retention, and mucous. It is more effective when taken in combination
with Uva Ursi.
PREPERATION AND DOSAGE:
Infusion: Steep 1tbsp leaves in 1 cup water for 30 minutes. Take 3 to 4 tbsp, three or four times a day.
Tincture: Take 10 to 20 drops in water, three times a day.
