Witnessed by: Western · Unani
White horehound (Marrubium vulgare), of the Lamiaceae (Labiatae) family. Hoary woolly perennial with square stems and wrinkled grey-green leaves; native range: Europe, the Mediterranean and central Asia; naturalised as a roadside weed across the temperate world. Globally recognized as common horehound, houndsbane, marrubium in English, farasiyun (فراسيون) in Arabic, and farasiyun in Urdu. The part used is flowering herb (aerial parts, dried). Whitish, felted and much-wrinkled leaves, faintly musky when bruised, yielding a persistent and penetrating bitterness on the tongue.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
WHITE HOREHOUND
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- White horehound
- Scientific name
- Marrubium vulgare L.
- Family
- Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
Form
- Part used
- flowering herb (aerial parts, dried)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter, aromatic
- Unani
- bitter, aromatic
Temperature
- Western
- hot (and dry, in the second degree, per Culpeper)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- lungs · mucous membranes · liver
- Unani
- lungs · liver · spleen · uterus
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- expectorant, bitter tonic, pectoral, diaphoretic, mild diuretic and vermifuge; in large doses laxative
- Unani
- munzij-e-balgham (ripener of phlegm), mukhrij-e-balgham (expectorant), muqatti (attenuant that cuts thick humours), mufattih-e-sudad (deobstruent of the liver and spleen), mudir-e-haiz (emmenagogue)
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy (emmenagogue in quantity); large doses purge and may disturb the heart's rhythm
Toxicity: very bitter; excess irritates the stomach and can provoke vomiting
Interactions
- Western
- antidiabetic agents: marrubiin and its acid may add to blood-sugar lowering · antihypertensives: vasorelaxant constituents may add to blood-pressure lowering
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