Self-Heal

Self-Heal(Prunella vulgaris)
Prunella vulgaris, a perennial herb in the Mint family is found across the Northern Hemisphere, including East Asian countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan (Namgung et al., 2017), where it is widely used to treat urinary diseases, scrofula, abscess, and hypertension (Bai et al., 2016). One study has indicated that extracts of P. vulgaris mixed with extracts of Macleya cordata were efficient in controlling gingivitis (Adamkova, Vicar, Palasova, Ulrichova, & Simanek, 2004). Studies conducted at the University of Iowa have provided some evidence that P.vulgaris has profound anti-viral activity against the equine infectious anemia virus (Brindley et al., 2009) and aqueous extracts of P. vulgaris inhibited HIV-1 infectivity (Oh et al., 2011).
Historical Use
John Gerard’s The Herball, first published in 1597, includes historical information on the use of Self Heal. Also known as Prunell, Self-heal was mixed with wine or water to treat internal or external wounds. Mixed with oil and vinegar, it was placed on the forehead to alleviate pain.

Latest Research
- Prunella vulgaris Attenuates Diabetic Renal Injury by Suppressing Glomerular Fibrosis and Inflammationby Seung Namgung on April 1, 2017 at 10:00 am
Diabetic nephropathy is both the most common complication and the leading cause of mortality associated with diabetes. Prunella vulgaris, a well-known traditional medicinal plant, is used for the cure of abscess, scrofula, hypertension and urinary diseases. This study confirmed whether an aqueous extract of Prunella vulgaris (APV) suppresses renal inflammation and fibrosis. In human mesangial cell (HMC), pretreatment of APV attenuated 25[Formula: see text]mM HG-induced suppressed TGF-[Formula:…
- Descriptive study of plant resources in the context of the ethnomedicinal relevance of indigenous flora: A case study from Toli Peer National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistanby Muhammad Shoaib Amjad on February 14, 2017 at 11:00 am
CONCLUSION: Systematic documentation of the medicinal plants in the Toli Peer National Park shows that the area is rich in plants with ethnomedicinal value and that the inhabitants of the area have significant knowledge about the use of such plants with herbal drugs commonly used to cure infirmities. The results of this study indicate that carrying out subsequent pharmacological and phytochemical investigations in this part of Pakistan could lead to new drug discoveries.
- A novel survey of the ethno medicinal knowledge of dental problems in Manoor Valley (Northern Himalaya), Pakistanby Inayat Ur Rahman on November 5, 2016 at 10:00 am
CONCLUSION: The present study is the first ever documentation of ethno medicinal practices aiming at the dental disorders in Pakistan, which resulted in 64% of medicinal uses new claims. So, the reported species of remote valley should be further evaluated for proper experimentation and pharmacological activities to authenticate their current traditional usage. Field observation revealed vegetation of the area was generally threatened due to its unwise use by the local communities. Trends like…
- Prunella vulgaris L. active components and their hypoglycemic and antinociceptive effects in alloxan-induced diabetic miceby K Raafat on October 22, 2016 at 10:00 am
Prunella vulgaris L. (Lamiaceae) (PV) is a herbaceous plant traditionally utilized in management of diabetes and it has immunomodulatory activity. In this study, acute and subchronic antidiabetic, in-vivo antioxidant and antinociceptive effects of PV were evaluated in alloxan-induced type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a mouse model. Bio-guided fractionation, isolation, RP-HPLC, and ¹H and ^(13)C NMR identification of the active components responsible for PV effects were determined. RP-HPLC analysis showed…
- Anti-allergic Inflammatory Triterpenoids Isolated from the Spikes of Prunella vulgarisby Hyun Gyu Choia on March 22, 2016 at 10:00 am
Twelve known triterpenoids (1-12) and two steroids (13 and 14) have been isolated from the spike of the plant Prunella vulgaris. Among them, 2α,3α,23-trihydroxyursa-12,20(30)-dien-28-oic acid (10) was isolated for the first time from this plant. All isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory effect on the gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and release of histamine in human mast cells. β-Amyrin (5), 10, and euscaphic acid (12) showed suppression of…
References
Adamkova, H., Vicar, J., Palasova, J., Ulrichova, J., & Simanek, V. (2004). Macleya cordata and Prunella vulgaris in oral hygiene products – their efficacy in the control of gingivitis. Biomedical Papers of the Medical Faculty of the University Palacky, Olomouc, Czechoslovakia, 148(1), 103-105.
Bai, Y., Xia, B., Xie, W., Zhou, Y., Xie, J., Li, H., . . . Li, C. (2016). Phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of the genus Prunella. Food Chemistry, 204, 483-496. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.02.047
Brindley, M. A., Widrlechner, M. P., McCoy, J. A., Murphy, P., Hauck, C., Rizshsky, L., . . . Maury, W. (2009). Inhibition of lentivirus replication by aqueous extracts of Prunella vulgaris. Virology Journal, 6, 8. doi:10.1186/1743-422x-6-8
Namgung, S., Yoon, J. J., Yoon, C. S., Han, B. H., Choi, E. S., Oh, H., . . . Lee, H. S. (2017). Prunella vulgaris Attenuates Diabetic Renal Injury by Suppressing Glomerular Fibrosis and Inflammation. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 45(3), 475-495. doi:10.1142/s0192415x1750029x
Oh, C., Price, J., Brindley, M. A., Widrlechner, M. P., Qu, L., McCoy, J. A., . . . Maury, W. (2011). Inhibition of HIV-1 infection by aqueous extracts of Prunella vulgaris L. Virology Journal, 8, 188. doi:10.1186/1743-422x-8-188
Other Resources
Natural Medicines record: Self Heal (Access to UI only)