No. 161 August 2013
Herbs to Relieve Pain & Relax
California Poppy
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California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is the official
state flower of California. The plant, which grows to about
60 cm, has feathery foliage and velvety, golden-orange
flower petals. It is a member of the Papaveraceae.
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Much of the original information about the medicinal use
of California Poppy comes from people living in the northwestern coastal areas of the United States. Native
Americans used Californian Poppy leaf for toothache. The
leaves were also eaten as greens.1 Early settlers used
California Poppy to relieve colic and to promote sleep,
particularly in children with whooping cough. It was
prescribed for adults as an “antineuralgicum” (relieving
neuralgia) and to relieve severe headache.1,2
The Eclectic physicians regarded California Poppy as a
“valuable” analgesic and mild sedative for “quieting pain
and producing calm sleep”.3 It was applied for these
activities in patients when the use of a strong narcotic was
inadvisable,2 and “without the dangers attending
opiates”.3 Regular and prolonged use was reported not to
be addictive or to impair mental functioning.2
Contemporary Western herbalists have also used California
Poppy for nervous bowel, migraine, nervous and
emotional stress.4
Jamaica Dogwood
Jamaica Dogwood (Piscidia piscipula, synonym Piscidia
erythrina) is a member of the Leguminosae. The mediumsized, deciduous, tropical tree is indigenous to the West
Indies, Florida, Mexico and Central America.
The root bark of Jamaica Dogwood has been used
traditionally in Western herbal medicine as an analgesic,
sedative and antispasmodic.3,5,6
Traditional indications include:3,7-9
 insomnia, particularly when due to neuralgia or
nervous tension, or when prolonged;
 restlessness;
Not for Public Distribution. For Education of Health Care Professionals Only.
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neuralgia, particularly sciatica; neuralgia associated
with the kidneys, abdomen, ovaries, trigeminal nerve
and eyes;
migraine; dysmenorrhoea;
mild relief of abdominal, renal or gallbladder pain;
muscle spasm, rheumatism, toothache, earache,
painful affections of the eye, pain associated with
fracture;
whooping cough, to relieve spasm of asthma.
The Eclectic physicians also noted that Jamaica Dogwood
had milder analgesic activity than opium, but without the
unpleasant side effects.10
It is possible that stem bark was also used medicinally by
the Eclectic physicians.
 In 1881, it is recorded that “the bark of the tree has
lately been introduced as a ... hypnotic” and claimed
to be efficacious by some.11
 In 1948, it was noted that commercial products in the
United States consisted of stem bark.12
The bark of the root and stem of Jamaica Dogwood was
used as an analgesic by the inhabitants of the Antilles
(Caribbean).13 The bark (unspecified) has been used in
Mexico and Central America for insomnia,14 and in Jamaica
for relief of backache and other pains.15
Corydalis
The tuber of a number of species of Corydalis (C. ambigua,
C. yanhusuo and C. turtschaninovii) has been used in
traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is known as
Yanhusuo. The plant is a member of the Papaveraceae.
Yanhusuo is used to relieve pain and to promote
circulation.16 In TCM the basis of pain is an incompatibility
between blood and qi, thus “stagnation causes pain ...
opening the stagnancy will remove that pain”.17 Corydalis
is used to treat pain from a variety of causes in all parts of
the body.18
Traditional indications include:16-21
 neuralgia, dysmenorrhoea;
 chest pain, epigastric pain, abdominal pain,
gastrointestinal spasm;
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pain in the extremities, joint pain, lumbago;
injuries due to impact, fractures, bruises, sprains;
amenorrhoea, blood stasis after childbirth, postpartum abdominal pain.
Yanhusuo is frequently used by TCM practitioners to
improve the efficacy of chemotherapy, and prescribed for
pain relief to patients with terminal cancer.22,23
Studies of Other Related Herbs &
Combinations
A preparation containing Californian Poppy and the tuber
of Corydalis cava has been clinically evaluated in Germany.
The result of two clinical trials showed that disturbed
sleeping behaviour could be normalised by treatment with
the combination.24 Details of the preparation, including
dosage, are not known except that it contained 80%
Californian Poppy and 20% Corydalis cava.
In an uncontrolled trial, quality of sleep improved in 20 of
22 patients with mild sleep disorders who were treated for
4 weeks25 with a combination of Californian Poppy (60%),
Corydalis cava tuber (5%), Leonurus cardiaca herb (17.5%)
and Passiflora incarnata herb (17.5%).26
A combination containing Californian Poppy, Crataegus
oxyacantha flowering head, and magnesium was more
effective than placebo in reducing mild to moderate
anxiety.27
Eclectic Medical Publications, Portland, 1983. 4 Bartram T. Encyclopedia of
Herbal Medicine, 1st Edn. Grace Publishers, Dorset, 1995. 5 British Herbal
Medicine Association. British Herbal Compendium. BHMA, Bournemouth,
1992. 6 Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. British Pharmaceutical
Codex 1934. The Pharmaceutical Press, London, 1941. 7 British Herbal
Medicine Association’s Scientific Committee. British Herbal
Pharmacopoeia. BHMA, Bournemouth, 1983. 8 Ellingwood F, Lloyd JU.
American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy. 11th Edn.
Naturopathic Medical Series: Botanical Vol 2. First published 1898,
reprinted Eclectic Medical Publications, Portland, 1983. 9 Wren RC. Potter’s
New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations. First published
1907, reprinted C.W. Daniel Company Limited, Essex, 1989. 10 Culbreth
DMR. A Manual of Materia Medica and Pharmacology. Naturopathic
Medical Series: Botanical Vol 3. First published 1922, reprinted Eclectic
Medical Publications, Portland, 1983. 11 Proceedings of the American
Pharmaceutical Association at the Twenty-ninth Annual Meeting. Held in
Kansas City, Mo., August 1881. Sherman & Co, Philadelphia, 1882. 12
Costello CH, Butler CL. J Am Pharm Assoc 1948; 37: 89 13 Auxence EG. Econ
Bot 1953; 7: 270 14 García-Alvarado JS et al. J Herbs Spices Med Plants
2001; 8: 37 15 Asprey GF, Thornton P. West Indian Med J 1955; 4: 145 16
Pharmacopoeia Commission of the People’s Republic of China.
Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China, English Edn. Chemical
Industry Press, Beijing, 1997. 17 Huang KC. The Pharmacology of Chinese
Herbs. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1993. 18 Chen JK et al. Chinese Medical
Herbology and Pharmacology. Art of Medicine Press, California, 2004. 19
Chang HM, But PP. Pharmacology and Applications of Chinese Materia
Medica. World Scientific, Singapore, 1987. 20 Bensky D, Gamble A. Chinese
Herbal Medicine Materia Medica. Eastland Press, Seattle, 1986. 21 Zheng
G, Zhang C. Concise Chinese Materia Medica. The Series of Traditional
Chinese Medicine for Foreign Readers. Shandong Science and Technology
Press, Jinan, 1997. 22 Lei Y et al. Food Chem 2013; 136: 1117 23 Gao JL et
al. Oncol Rep 2008; 20: 819 24 Schäfer HL et al. Arzneim Forsch 1995; 45:
124 25 Becker W. Therapiewoche 1986; 36: 3830 26 Weischer ML, Okpanyi
SN. Z Phytother 1994; 15: 257 27 Hanus M et al. Curr Med Res Opin 2004;
20: 63
Author: Michelle Morgan
© Copyright 2013 MediHerb.
Supportive Formulation
These herbs would complement each other in a very potent
formulation with the following actions:
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analgesic,
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sedative,
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antispasmodic.
Indications
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Nerve-related pain especially neuralgia, headache, sciatica,
shingles.
Musculoskeletal and arthritic pain, including back pain,
arthritis, muscle cramps.
Dysmenorrhoea.
Insomnia, restlessness, nervous tension.
Cautions and Contraindications
Caution is advised for women wishing to conceive.
Contraindicated in pregnancy, bradycardia and cardiac
insufficiency. Not recommended during lactation.
REFERENCES
1
Moerman DE. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, Portland,
1998. 2 Cheney RH. Quart J Crude Drugs 1963; 3: 413 3 Felter HW, Lloyd JU.
King’s American Dispensatory, 18th Edn, 3rd revision, 1905, reprinted
Not for Public Distribution. For Education of Health Care Professionals Only.
2