Witnessed by: Western
Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana), of the Rhamnaceae family. Small deciduous tree or tall shrub of the Pacific woods, thin grey bark, prominently veined oval leaves, and black berries; native range: The Pacific slope of North America — British Columbia south through Washington and Oregon into northern California, in moist coniferous woodland. Globally recognized as cáscara sagrada — the sacred bark in Spanish, and cascara sagrada, chittem bark, sacred bark, bearberry bark in English. The part used is the bark of stem and branch, dried and kept at least one year. Flattened or quilled pieces of thin brown-grey bark, often lichen-mottled without, red-brown and smooth within; faintly aromatic, and persistently, nauseously bitter — a taste that stays 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.
CASCARA SAGRADA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- cascara sagrada
- Scientific name
- Rhamnus purshiana DC.
- Family
- Rhamnaceae
Form
- Part used
- the bark of stem and branch, dried and kept at least one year
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter (nauseous, and long-lasting on the tongue)
Temperature
- Western
- cool
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- bowels · liver · intestines · digestion
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- laxative and cathartic by anthraquinone glycosides acting on the large bowel, cholagogue, and a bitter tonic said to restore tone to a slack, habituated intestine
Cautions
Contraindications: intestinal obstruction, ileus and undiagnosed acute abdominal pain; inflammatory bowel disease and appendicitis; pregnancy, breast-feeding, and children under twelve
Toxicity: the FRESH bark gripes and vomits violently and must never be used unaged. The aged bark is safe in dose for short courses; prolonged use produces a lazy, dependent bowel, potassium depletion and pseudomelanosis coli, and the anthraquinones colour the urine. Not for use beyond one or two weeks.
Interactions
- Western
- cardiac glycosides: potassium loss from prolonged laxative use raises sensitivity to digitalis and its toxicity · diuretics: additive potassium depletion with thiazide and loop diuretics · antiepileptics: hastened bowel transit may reduce absorption of orally taken drugs
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