the go-to herb for Cold and Flu Season
Winter for farmers is a time of rest. Plants die back, markets slow down, the body has time to recuperate. Along with this time of limited sunshine comes the dreaded cold and flu season. With two small children, we are often battling with winter maladies. When I discovered Spilanthes, an herb touted as an antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant, I was intrigued.
Often called the toothache plant, Spilanthes acmella var. oleracea has long been used as an analgesic (pain reliever), particularly for toothaches. We now use this wonderful herb intensively at our house around cold and flu season and find it immensely helpful in doing battle with all of the bugs and flus our little ones bring home. We wouldn’t go a winter without it.
The Toothache Plant: Benefits of spilanthes
Spilanthes contains a wide variety of biochemical compounds thought to be responsible for its traditional uses. Mainly it has been used for pain relief, particularly for toothaches, hence the nickname of the toothache plant. However, spilanthes has many health benefits in addition to these pain relieving effects.
Antitoothache (analgesic/anesthetic) - Spilanthes is known as the toothache plant used for centuries in traditional herbal medicine to relieve pain from a toothache thanks to the analgelsic and anesthetic properties of spilanthol, the main phytochemical in spilanthes, that reduces the sensation of pain and creates a local numbing sensation like that produced by lidocaine (Novocain).
Antimicrobial/Antifungal - Spilanthes, when tested in a lab, displayed strong antimicrobial properties as well as antifungal properties, treating infections and fighting illness in the body. In traditional medicine, people used spilanthes extracts to treat tooth decay, mouth ulcers, throat infections, and gum diseases.
Antioxidant - Spilanthes has high antioxidant content, scavenging naturally-occurring free radicals produced by the body that can cause cell damage and disease. We cannot produce enough anitoxidants on our own to fight cell damage from free radicals, so we have to supplement it by consuming plants high in antioxidants. Spilanthes extracts have phenolic and coumarin compounds that have potent antioxidant properties.
Anti-wrinkle - It has muscle relaxing (myorelaxant) properties when applied to the skin as a salve, which make it an effective anti-wrinkle agent that more and more beauty and cosmetics companies are incorporating into their products. It relaxes muscles in the face to reduce micro-contractions that cause fine lines and wrinkles.
How to use Spilanthes
You can drink spilanthes in tea or take it as a tincture. As a tea or tincture, spilanthes creates a pleasant tingling sensation in the mouth. It feels like it's working. We take 20 drops of the tincture on an empty stomach 2-4 times a day or drink 2-3 cups of tea a day at the first sign of symptoms.