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Soapwort

Saponaria officinalis

Soapwort


Names

History

Constituents

Uses
French = Saponaire,
German = Seifenkraut,
Spanish = Saponella,
Italian = Saponaria,
foam dock,
gill-run-by-the-street saponary,
dog cloves,
fuller’s grass,
Bouncing Bet.
Saponaria Officinalis,
L. Soapwort,
Scourwort,
Fuller's Herb,
Old Maid's Pink,
Hedge Pink,
Sweet Betty,
Wild Sweet William,
Lady-by-the-Gate,
London Pride,
Soaproot,
Latherwort,
Bruisewort,
Crow Soap,
Sweet Betty,
Lady's-washbowl,
Latherwort.
Soapwort was used during pioneer days, to launder delicate fabrics and in the making of fine soaps. The early American colonists used the handy suds to clean everything from handmade lace to pewter vessels.

New England textile workers cleaned and thickened newly woven cloth with soapwort - a process called "fulling", which accounts for one Soapworts' folk names, 'fuller's-herb'.

Generations of farmers' wives have subbed with "Bouncing Bet" roots, when they ran out of soap on wash day.

Traditional use for woolens, fine silks, textile sizing, beer foamant and medicines. Folk remedy for Poison Ivy.
saponins
extractive,
resin,
gum,
woody fibre,
mucilage
Seeds Content:

7% of the total seed protein:
RIP(s)type 1,4
asthma, bronchitis:expectorant
Acne,
As a shampoo,
Boils,
Constipation,
Dandruff,
Gout,
Intestinal problems,
Jaundice,
Rheumatism,
Skin problems,
e.g.:psoriasis (scaly, raised skin patches)and eczema (a type of skin inflammation),
Skin reactions caused by syphilis
Poison Ivy;
alterative,
antiscrophulatic**,
cholagogue,
depurative,
diaphoretic,
mildly diuretic,
expectorant,
purgative
tonic
kills cancer cells.
via RIPs, reduction of tobacco leaf mosaic lesions

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Contra-Indications

Don't use soapwort if you're pregnant or breast-feeding.
Don't use high doses of this herb for more than 2 weeks because it may damage your digestive tract.
Saponins are toxic (hemolytic) if injected.3

Most people can't or shouldn't use soapwort because ingesting it can cause toxic reactions and intense bowel evacuation.
Your health care practitioner may recommend periodic liver and kidney function tests while you're using soapwort.
All parts of the plant and especially the seeds are somewhat poisonous to grazing animals, causing irritation of the digestive tract, dizziness, depressed breathing, and even death by destroying the red blood cells.


3Info from: Applied Health.com

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Sources:

constituents:  Grieves Botanical

Seeds capabilities, re: tobacco leaf mosaic lesions4ribosome-inactivating protein( s)
RIP(s) type 1: See abstract as linked in Sources: "The amino acid composition of the proteins obtained from S. officinalis and from H. crepitans is shown in Table 4. These proteins all contain a relatively high amount of lysine, and those from S. officinalis have a very low content of cystine and a higher content of phenylalanine, as compared with the protein from H. crepitans and with other RIPs."


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LINK TO: Cancer Research notes in Northdays Pages

Link here to Companion Article





As part of a pledge toward cancer research, this page is lovingly devoted to the memory of

Jack Layton


Canadian NDP politician; Leader of the Official Opposition.

1950 - 2011




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