Bladderwrack Herbarium
Latin Name: Fucus vesiculosus L.
Family: Fucaceae
Descriptive Characteristics: Chevallier (2016) describes this species of kelp as brownish-green which grow 1-3 feet in length. It makes me wonder if the seaweed that used to get wrapped around my feet as a child was this species or another. The fronds of this species are flat, forked and contain air bladders. I did encounter brown seaweed that meets this description. Heinerman (1996) says sometimes you’ll find it without the air bladders but they are usually paired.
Part of the plant used: Whole plant which is called a thallus (this is seaweed).
Texture: like seaweed
Color: like seaweed that is found on the beach.
Aroma: smells like the ocean – fishy and salty
Flavor: Tastes like salt and fish.
Constituents: Phenolic compounds (phlorogucinol, fucols), mucopolysaccarides (algin), sulphuryl-, sulphonyl-, and phosphonyl-glycosyl ester diglycerides, polar lipids, trace metals (iodine) (Hoffman, 2003, p. 552). Petersen says volatile oil, cellulose, mucilage, mannite, coloring and bitter principles, soda and iodine, and bromine compounds – sodium and potassium (p. 115).
Therapeutic Actions: Antihypothyroid, antirheumatic (Hoffman, 2003, p.551). Petersen says anti-aging, anti-bacterial/fungal, anticancer, anticoagulant, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, weight loss, and urinary tract tonic (p. 115).
Indications: The iodine in this seaweed is great for hypothyroid and goiter. Used internally and externally, it can help inflamed joints. (Hoffman, 2003, p. 551). Petersen, 2018, says the primary uses are thyroid disorders, iodine deficiency, lymphadenoid goiter, myxedema, obesity, arthritis, and rheumatism (p. 113).
Formulary:
Heinerman (1996)
The best way to use this herb is to make a clear broth using either the fresh or the dried herb to enhance glandular performance (p. 76).
He also shared a story of someone who had goiter and got the same response a lot of us have from her doctor. She consulted a health food store and was instructed to take 3 capsules daily for a month, then 1 capsule every other day. He didn’t share how many grams of herb were in each capsule but her goiter went away (p. 76). There is an amount under dosage so that may be tried.
Dosage:
Hoffman (2003, p. 551): tablet or infusion form.
Infusion: 2-3 teaspoons to 1 cup boiling water, steep 10 minutes
BHC:
.8-2g dried thallus
1:5 25% Tincture: 2-6 ml 3 times daily
1:1 25% Fluid Extract: .5-2 ml 3 times daily
Petersen (2018, p. 115):
Tea: 5-10g 3/day – steep in 150 ml water 5-10 minutes
1:1 Liquid extract: 4-8 ml 3/day
Safety: may cause hyper- or hypo-thyroidism and possibly interfere with current treatments. Prolonged use may prevent the absorption of a whole bunch of important things (Hoffman, 2003, p. 551). Petersen, 2018, says not to use with herbs that affect platelets as bleeding risk may be present (117).
Lab, Notes And Media:
For my lab, I decided to make a tea. This was rather “fun” because both of my kids wanted to be involved. I put the pot on to boil and then got out my herb. I put 2 level teaspoons of herb in a press-n-seal bag from school. No, they don’t really “press-n-seal” but I have these cool ceramic steepers I use. I just put the herb in the bag to make cleanup easier. Throughout this process, hands were slapped as 2 sets kept trying to steal my cup, bags and my steeper. I have to keep my cup at my side because it is Tinkerbell and my daughter shares my joy of the character, though she hates the movie it’s from. When the water boiled, I poured it in the cup and again, kept it by me because my son immediately thought it was available for drinking… I set the timer for 10 minutes. When the timer went off, I strained the bag by pressing it further in because it was HOT and I had a child trying to grab it. I’ll remove it from the steeper once it’s cool and no longer a danger. There are before and after pictures below. It smells like the ocean/seaweed. Tastes like it too and the wet herb is just as slimy as the fresh plant.
Family: Fucaceae
Descriptive Characteristics: Chevallier (2016) describes this species of kelp as brownish-green which grow 1-3 feet in length. It makes me wonder if the seaweed that used to get wrapped around my feet as a child was this species or another. The fronds of this species are flat, forked and contain air bladders. I did encounter brown seaweed that meets this description. Heinerman (1996) says sometimes you’ll find it without the air bladders but they are usually paired.
Part of the plant used: Whole plant which is called a thallus (this is seaweed).
Texture: like seaweed
Color: like seaweed that is found on the beach.
Aroma: smells like the ocean – fishy and salty
Flavor: Tastes like salt and fish.
Constituents: Phenolic compounds (phlorogucinol, fucols), mucopolysaccarides (algin), sulphuryl-, sulphonyl-, and phosphonyl-glycosyl ester diglycerides, polar lipids, trace metals (iodine) (Hoffman, 2003, p. 552). Petersen says volatile oil, cellulose, mucilage, mannite, coloring and bitter principles, soda and iodine, and bromine compounds – sodium and potassium (p. 115).
Therapeutic Actions: Antihypothyroid, antirheumatic (Hoffman, 2003, p.551). Petersen says anti-aging, anti-bacterial/fungal, anticancer, anticoagulant, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, weight loss, and urinary tract tonic (p. 115).
Indications: The iodine in this seaweed is great for hypothyroid and goiter. Used internally and externally, it can help inflamed joints. (Hoffman, 2003, p. 551). Petersen, 2018, says the primary uses are thyroid disorders, iodine deficiency, lymphadenoid goiter, myxedema, obesity, arthritis, and rheumatism (p. 113).
Formulary:
Heinerman (1996)
The best way to use this herb is to make a clear broth using either the fresh or the dried herb to enhance glandular performance (p. 76).
He also shared a story of someone who had goiter and got the same response a lot of us have from her doctor. She consulted a health food store and was instructed to take 3 capsules daily for a month, then 1 capsule every other day. He didn’t share how many grams of herb were in each capsule but her goiter went away (p. 76). There is an amount under dosage so that may be tried.
Dosage:
Hoffman (2003, p. 551): tablet or infusion form.
Infusion: 2-3 teaspoons to 1 cup boiling water, steep 10 minutes
BHC:
.8-2g dried thallus
1:5 25% Tincture: 2-6 ml 3 times daily
1:1 25% Fluid Extract: .5-2 ml 3 times daily
Petersen (2018, p. 115):
Tea: 5-10g 3/day – steep in 150 ml water 5-10 minutes
1:1 Liquid extract: 4-8 ml 3/day
Safety: may cause hyper- or hypo-thyroidism and possibly interfere with current treatments. Prolonged use may prevent the absorption of a whole bunch of important things (Hoffman, 2003, p. 551). Petersen, 2018, says not to use with herbs that affect platelets as bleeding risk may be present (117).
Lab, Notes And Media:
For my lab, I decided to make a tea. This was rather “fun” because both of my kids wanted to be involved. I put the pot on to boil and then got out my herb. I put 2 level teaspoons of herb in a press-n-seal bag from school. No, they don’t really “press-n-seal” but I have these cool ceramic steepers I use. I just put the herb in the bag to make cleanup easier. Throughout this process, hands were slapped as 2 sets kept trying to steal my cup, bags and my steeper. I have to keep my cup at my side because it is Tinkerbell and my daughter shares my joy of the character, though she hates the movie it’s from. When the water boiled, I poured it in the cup and again, kept it by me because my son immediately thought it was available for drinking… I set the timer for 10 minutes. When the timer went off, I strained the bag by pressing it further in because it was HOT and I had a child trying to grab it. I’ll remove it from the steeper once it’s cool and no longer a danger. There are before and after pictures below. It smells like the ocean/seaweed. Tastes like it too and the wet herb is just as slimy as the fresh plant.
|
|
|
Research:
Chevallier (2016) says this plant historically was used as fuel, feed for cattle, and a source of iodine and potash (p. 213).
Zang et al. (2016) determined what it states in the name of the article but estrogen is needed so this needs to be monitored if being used. Also, they determined effectiveness against 3 forms of cancer tumors: Breast, endometrial, and ovarian, where they believe apoptosis occurred. One point on this is many studies say there was a response but it didn’t reduce the size of the tumor while this one says it did. MUCH more science needs to be done on this activity.
References
Chevallier, A. (2016). Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: 550 Herbs and Remedies for common Ailments. New York, NY: DK, a Division of Penguin Random House, LLC. P. 213.
Heinerman, J. (1996). Healing Herbs and Spices, Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of. Reward Books. P. 76, 297.
Hoffman, David. (2003). Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press. p. 551
Mills, S. & Bone, K. (2010). The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety. Elsevier Limited. P. 55-6, 111, 278-82.
Peterson, D. (2018). Herb 504: Advanced Herbal Materica Medica III. American College of Healthcare Sciences. P.113-119
Pizzorno, J. E. and Murray, M. T. (2013). Textbook of Natural Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. P. 368, 1462.
Weiss, R. F. & Fintelmann, V. (2000) Herbal Medicine. Theime. P. 133-4
Zhang, J., Riby, J. E., Conde, L., Grizzle, W. E., Cui, X., and Skibola, C. F. (2016). A Fucus vesiculosus extract inhibits estrogen receptor activation and induces cell death in female cancer cell lines. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 16:151. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1129-6
Chevallier (2016) says this plant historically was used as fuel, feed for cattle, and a source of iodine and potash (p. 213).
Zang et al. (2016) determined what it states in the name of the article but estrogen is needed so this needs to be monitored if being used. Also, they determined effectiveness against 3 forms of cancer tumors: Breast, endometrial, and ovarian, where they believe apoptosis occurred. One point on this is many studies say there was a response but it didn’t reduce the size of the tumor while this one says it did. MUCH more science needs to be done on this activity.
References
Chevallier, A. (2016). Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: 550 Herbs and Remedies for common Ailments. New York, NY: DK, a Division of Penguin Random House, LLC. P. 213.
Heinerman, J. (1996). Healing Herbs and Spices, Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of. Reward Books. P. 76, 297.
Hoffman, David. (2003). Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press. p. 551
Mills, S. & Bone, K. (2010). The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety. Elsevier Limited. P. 55-6, 111, 278-82.
Peterson, D. (2018). Herb 504: Advanced Herbal Materica Medica III. American College of Healthcare Sciences. P.113-119
Pizzorno, J. E. and Murray, M. T. (2013). Textbook of Natural Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. P. 368, 1462.
Weiss, R. F. & Fintelmann, V. (2000) Herbal Medicine. Theime. P. 133-4
Zhang, J., Riby, J. E., Conde, L., Grizzle, W. E., Cui, X., and Skibola, C. F. (2016). A Fucus vesiculosus extract inhibits estrogen receptor activation and induces cell death in female cancer cell lines. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 16:151. doi: 10.1186/s12906-016-1129-6
The image at the top pf this page is from the lesson from American College of Healthcare Sciences. The rest of the images are the personal property of the site owner. All rights reserved.