Angelica
Quick Facts
- What it is: The bitter, aromatic root of a tall North American wetland plant, used in 19th-century American folk and Eclectic medicine.
- Main uses: Gas and bloating, Poor appetite, Coughs and chest colds, Period cramps
- Active ingredients: Volatile oil (phellandrene, pinene), Furanocoumarins (bergapten, imperatorin), Angelic acid, Bitter resins
- Forms: Dried root for tea, Tincture, Capsules, Seed, Essential oil (not for swallowing)
- Time to effect: Unproven; old reports say within an hour for gas, but it may do nothing.
- Side effects: Sunlight-triggered skin burns, stomach upset, allergy in carrot-family reactors, and a possible bleeding risk.
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What is Angelica?
Angelica atropurpurea is a tall plant of wet meadows and stream banks in eastern North America. It is also called American masterwort or purple-stem angelica. The root, and sometimes the seed, were the parts used as medicine.
It is the American cousin of European garden angelica (Angelica archangelica), the plant behind candied angelica stems and some herbal liqueurs. American folk healers and Eclectic doctors used the root as a warming stomach and chest remedy.
Here is the honest verdict. There are no human trials of this species for any health use. Long traditional use is not proof that a plant works, and it is not proof that a plant is safe.
There is also a real hazard with this plant. In the wild it is easy to mix up with poison hemlock and water hemlock, which can kill. The root also makes some people's skin burn badly in sunlight.
How does Angelica work?
Nobody has shown how angelica works in people, because it has not been tested in people.
The root holds a bitter, aromatic volatile oil. Bitter plants are thought to prompt saliva and stomach juices. That idea is old, and it has not been tested for this plant.
The root also holds furanocoumarins (plant chemicals that make skin burn more easily in sunlight). In lab studies, compounds of this type relax smooth muscle and slow some liver enzymes. Whether that happens at the amounts people swallow is not known.
Some angelica compounds slow blood clotting in test-tube work. Related coumarins in other plants act the same way. Human proof for angelica is missing, but the signal is enough to take the bleeding warnings seriously.
So the traditional uses rest on old reports and on plant chemistry. They do not rest on trials.
What forms does Angelica come in?
Dried root is the main form. Seed, tincture (an alcohol extract) and capsules are also sold.
Much of what is sold simply as "angelica" is the European species, Angelica archangelica. Labels often do not say which plant is inside. Check the Latin name if the species matters to you.
Candied angelica stems and some bitter liqueurs come from the European plant, not the American one.
Angelica essential oil is made for perfume and flavour work. It is very concentrated. Do not swallow it.
Fresh plant gathered from the wild is the riskiest form by far. Hemlocks grow in the same damp ground and look similar.
Where it comes from:
Angelica held a steady place in American folk practice and among Eclectic doctors (a 19th-century American school of plant-based medicine).
King's American Dispensatory described the root as a warming stomach remedy. Writers of that era used it for gas, weak appetite, cramping and chest colds. Some also used it to bring on late periods.
Several Native American nations used native angelicas as food, as smoke and as medicine. Young spring stems were peeled and eaten in some regions.
By the early 20th century the plant had faded from mainstream practice. It survived mostly in home herbals and in flavouring.
Who should avoid Angelica?
- Never gather angelica from the wild unless a trained botanist has identified the plant; poison hemlock and water hemlock grow in the same wet ground, look similar, and can kill.
- Do not use it if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant.
- Do not use it while breastfeeding.
- Do not give it to children.
- Do not use it if you take warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban or any other blood thinner.
- Do not use it if you take aspirin or clopidogrel (antiplatelet drugs, which stop blood cells sticking together).
- Do not use it if you have a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia (blood that does not clot properly).
- Do not use it in the two weeks before any planned operation, including dental surgery.
- Do not use it if you take a medicine that already makes your skin burn easily, such as doxycycline or isotretinoin.
- Avoid sunbeds, long sun exposure and UV light treatment such as PUVA while taking it.
- Do not use it if you are allergic to celery, carrot, parsley, fennel or dill.
- Do not swallow angelica essential oil.
- Do not handle the fresh plant with bare hands, then go out in the sun.
- Avoid it if you have a peptic ulcer (a sore in the stomach lining) or bad reflux.
When should you see a doctor?
Stop using it and see a doctor if you get a rash, redness or blisters after being outdoors.
Stop and get advice if you bruise easily, bleed from the gums or nose, or see dark stools.
Get emergency care if your face, lips or throat swell, if you struggle to breathe, or if you have severe vomiting, drooling or a seizure after eating a wild-gathered plant. That last pattern can mean hemlock poisoning.
Also see a doctor if stomach pain, a cough or missed periods last more than two weeks.
Is Angelica legal where you live?
In the United States it is sold as a dietary supplement. The FDA does not check such products for effect before sale.
In the UK and EU, European angelica root appears in some registered traditional herbal products. Angelica atropurpurea is not a licensed medicine anywhere.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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