Tinctura Usneae Old man's beard tincture 30ml (Usnea barbata)

Usnea species are lichens (composed of fungi and algae in a stable symbiotic relationship) that are ubiquitous in old-growth forests. They can be seen hanging from shrubs or conifers, often lightly tethered to the tree bark, or lying on the forest floor, especially after a storm. It is difficult for anyone but an expert to distinguish between species of usneas, but they typically have a long, single, unbranched (or sparsely branched) central cord colored from white to yellow with an outer portion that is gray to pale green.

 

Medicinal actions of Usnea barbata and its preparations (mother tincture) are well known in folklore for hundreds of years, with numerous  beneficial properties for human organism;

• Antibiotic
• Anti-fungal
• Anti-parasitic
• Immuno-stimulating
• Immuno-regulator
• Demulcent
• Anti-tumor
• Expectorant
• Muscle relaxant

 

Medicinal use of Usnea barabata

 

Usnea is primarily antibiotic, especially against gram positive organisms such as:  Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other fast-growing species.  Polysaccharides are immuno-stimulatory and can be used for local and systemic infections. Common conditions it is used for are sinusitis, acute/chronic lung infections, vaginal infections, and topically as a compress for open wounds to stop bleeding and infection.

 

This plant has been used since ancient times in the Americas, Europe, and China. Native Americans saw Usnea as representing the male gender and the northerly direction and maintaining the “respiratory” system of the planet (namely the trees); they saw its human uses as secondary to this crucial function. Usnea appears in the ancient Chinese herbal, the Shennong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica, ~200bc), and it is classified as a phlegmresolving herb. Among northwestern Native Americans, it has been used as bedding, as sanitary napkins, and to wipe slime when cleaning salmon. Most significantly, however, it is used as a wound dressing and bandage material, because of not only its wispy soft form, but also its antibacterial properties. In Europe, it has been used predominantly as a topical medication, employing the active constituent usnic acid, present in many lichens, and as an antibiotic, antiinflammatory, and analgesic substance. Since its isolation in 1844, usnic acid has been the most studied of lichen constituents and one of the few to be commercially available. In addition to bacterial inhibition of staphylococci, streptococci, pneumococci, and mycobacteria, usnic acid has been shown to have antiviral, antiprotozoal, and antiproliferative effects consistent with its traditional use. Also present in Usnea, but less well studied than usnic acid, are the organic acids usnaric, thamnolic, lobaric, and stictinic.

 

Although pure usnic acid has been used for weight loss in recent times, this use cannot be considered safe and has been associated with liver failure. Usnea has been used in several formulas in modern day China, usually paired with the seaweed Laminaria or Sargassum  (or both) for treatment of thyroid cancer, and in the treatment of bronchitis with profuse sputum. Other current uses include lozenges for oral inflammation and many different salves and creams with antimicrobial and antiinflammatory action.

 

Pharmacology of Usnea Barbata

• Lichen acids, like usnic acid are antibiotic and anti-tumor. Disrupts bacterial cell membrane function, inhibits ATP formation and oxidative phosphorylation without effecting human cells. Inhibits and weakens the growth of TB bacillus, pneumonococcus, streptococci & staphylococci. Diffractaic acid is an analgesic.
• Fatty acids & polysaccharides have anti-tumor effects.
• Polysaccharides are immuno-stimulating.

 

Before the era of antibiotics, the antibacterial effect of Usnea sp. had been recognized in many countries. The scientific research of lichens and lichen substances, as antibacterial agents, started at the beginning of the 20th century. The first scientific tests documenting the antibacterial activity of Usnea lichen were carried out by Chiba (1898). Chiba observed that Usnea tinctures reduce number of bacteria with patience that suffer from lymphadenitis tuberculosa colli.