Ceanothus americanus
Quick Facts
- What it is: A homeopathic remedy made from the New Jersey tea shrub, diluted until essentially none of the plant remains.
- Main uses: Aching or fullness under the left ribs, Feeling of a swollen spleen, Bloating with left-sided discomfort
- Best for: People already working with a homeopath on left-sided rib discomfort
- Active ingredients: None at 30C — only water, alcohol or sugar, Tannins (in the mother tincture), Plant alkaloids such as ceanothine (in the mother tincture)
- Forms: Sugar pellets (6C, 12C, 30C), Liquid dilutions in alcohol and water, Low strengths such as 1X and 3X, Mother tincture (Q or MT)
- Time to effect: Not established; no reliable effect has been shown beyond a dummy pill.
- Side effects: Almost none at 30C; stomach upset and drug clashes are possible with the mother tincture.
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What is Ceanothus americanus?
Ceanothus americanus is a single homeopathic remedy. It is made from a North American shrub called New Jersey tea, also known as red root. Homeopaths give it mainly for aching or fullness under the left ribs, which they link to the spleen (a small organ that filters blood).
The remedy is made by diluting the plant over and over. At 30C, a common strength on shop shelves, essentially none of the plant is left. Trials have not shown that such remedies do more than a dummy pill.
Long use in a tradition is not proof that something works. This page reports both things side by side: what the tradition claims, and what tests in people show. For this remedy, the human evidence is very thin.
How does Ceanothus americanus work?
Homeopathy rests on an old idea, not on a known body process. The idea is that a substance which causes symptoms in a well person can ease similar symptoms once it is heavily diluted.
No one has shown a way this could work. At 30C the liquid or pellet holds no plant matter, so there is nothing left to act on cells or organs.
The mother tincture and very low strengths are different, because they still hold real plant material. Old herbal reports say this plant may make blood clot faster. That claim has not been tested well in people, but it is the reason for the blood-thinner warning below.
What forms does Ceanothus americanus come in?
You will most often see this remedy as small sugar pellets or as drops in alcohol and water.
Common labels are 6C, 12C and 30C. A few practitioners use low strengths such as 1X or 3X, or the mother tincture, written as Q or MT.
The mother tincture is the plant extract before dilution. It is the only form that clearly still holds plant material, so treat it as a herbal product and not as a homeopathic one.
Where it comes from:
The shrub was long used by Native American peoples of eastern North America. The dried leaves were brewed as a drink and used as a gargle for sore throats and mouth sores.
It got the name New Jersey tea because colonists drank it instead of imported tea during the American Revolution.
The English homeopath J. Compton Burnett brought it into homeopathy in the late 1800s as a spleen remedy. It has stayed a minor but familiar name in homeopathic books ever since.
Who should avoid Ceanothus americanus?
- Do not use the mother tincture or low strengths if you take a blood thinner (anticoagulant) such as warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban or heparin.
- Do not use the mother tincture if you take an antiplatelet drug (a medicine that stops blood cells clumping, such as aspirin or clopidogrel).
- Do not use it if you have a clotting disorder, or a history of blood clots, stroke or heart attack.
- Never use it instead of medical care for an enlarged spleen, unexplained belly pain, or bleeding that will not stop.
- Do not use it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, because it has not been tested for safety in these situations.
- Do not give the alcohol-based liquid drops to babies or young children.
- Do not take alcohol-based drops if you take disulfiram or metronidazole, or if you are avoiding alcohol.
- Do not use it if you have ever had a rash or swelling after contact with this plant.
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor soon if you have pain or fullness under your left ribs that lasts more than a week, or that keeps coming back. Pain there can come from the spleen, stomach, bowel or heart, and it needs a proper check.
Get urgent care the same day if you have sudden severe pain in the upper left belly, pain that spreads to your left shoulder, fever, yellow skin or eyes, a swollen belly, or you bruise or bleed far more easily than usual.
Call emergency services if you feel faint, your heart races, or you are short of breath along with belly pain. Do not wait to see if a remedy helps first.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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