| What Is Goldenseal? | | | | used to close envelopes and certify documents. |
| The Iroquois and Cherokee were among the first | | | | The plants colorful roots also provided dye for |
| of the American tribes in the eastern United | | | | clothing. |
| States to use this small perennial plant (Hydrastis | | | | Health Benefits of Goldenseal: |
| canadensis) medicinally. They harvested its fleshy | | | | Goldenseal has long been valued for its ability to |
| underground stems (rhizomes) and roots and | | | | soothe inflamed or infected mucous membranes. |
| used them to treat a variety of infections and | | | | It is found in popular herbal blends for taming |
| other complaints, from insect bites and digestive | | | | intestinal and gallbladder inflammation. Traditional |
| upset to eye and skin ailments. By the nineteenth | | | | Chinese healers give goldenseal (berberine, |
| century, healers began to refer to this native | | | | specifically) to cancer patients whose immune |
| wildflower (which resembles a buttercup) as | | | | systems are weakened as a result of |
| goldenseal because the cuplike scars on its bright | | | | chemotherapy treatments. Its even being |
| yellow rhizomes resembled the wax seals then | | | | explored as a treatment for liver disorders. |