What is Figwort?

Figwort is a tall wild plant with small dark red flowers. European herbalists have used its leaves and stems for hundreds of years. Most of that use was for skin trouble, such as rashes, itchy patches, swollen glands and slow-healing sores.

Today you may find it as a tea, a tincture (a liquid extract made with alcohol), or a skin cream. Some people take it by mouth. Others put it on the skin as a wash, a salve or a cloth soaked in the tea.

Here is the honest verdict. Almost no human trials have tested figwort. A long record of use is not proof that a herb works, so treat figwort as a traditional remedy, not a proven one.

How does Figwort work?

No one has shown how figwort acts in the human body. The ideas below come from lab dishes and animal work, not from people.

Figwort contains iridoid glycosides, a group of plant compounds that calm swelling in lab tests. Some of the same compounds are found in devil's claw, another herb used for aching joints.

The plant also holds small amounts of cardioactive glycosides. These are compounds that can act on the heart and change how fast or how steadily it beats. That is the main reason figwort needs care, and it is why people with heart problems are told to stay away.

Folk use also treated figwort as a mild laxative (it loosens the bowels) and a mild diuretic (it makes you pass more urine). Both effects are reported by herbalists rather than measured in trials.

What forms does Figwort come in?

Figwort is sold in a few simple forms.

Dried aerial parts (the leaves, stems and flowers) for making tea.

Tincture, a liquid extract made with alcohol, usually taken in drops mixed with water.

Creams, salves and ointments for use on the skin.

Fresh or dried herb used as a poultice, meaning a soft mash held against the skin under a cloth.

Capsules exist but are uncommon. Skin products are the form with the longest folk record.

Where it comes from:

Figwort belongs to Western and European folk herbal medicine. Village healers and early herbalists used it from at least the Middle Ages onward.

Its old name comes from scrofula (swollen neck glands, once caused by tuberculosis). The knobby roots looked like swollen glands, and old healers took that likeness as a sign of what the plant could treat.

The English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote about it in the 1600s for sores, piles and swellings. It stayed a steady part of British and European skin remedies into the 1900s.

What does Figwort help with?

• Itchy, inflamed skin (eczema-type rashes): This is figwort's main traditional use. Herbalists applied a wash or salve to the sore area, and sometimes gave a weak tea by mouth at the same time. Human studies are missing here, so no one can say how much it helps, or whether it helps at all.
• Scaly patches (psoriasis-type skin): Old European texts list figwort among herbs for dry, scaly, stubborn skin. It was usually one herb in a larger mix, not used alone. There is no trial evidence for this use, and psoriasis needs a proper diagnosis from a doctor.
• Slow-healing minor sores and wounds: Figwort poultices were a common cottage remedy for grazes, boils and small ulcers. Lab work shows some of its compounds calm swelling in cells. That is a long way from proof in a real wound, and deep or infected wounds need medical care.
• Swollen lymph glands: This use gave the plant its name, from scrofula (swollen neck glands). The reasoning was based on the look of the root, not on any test. Swollen glands that last more than two weeks should always be checked by a doctor.
• Piles (swollen veins around the back passage): Culpeper and later herbalists recommended figwort ointment for piles. The claim rests on folk reports alone. Bleeding from the back passage should be checked rather than self-treated.
• Occasional sluggish bowels: Figwort is described as mildly laxative, meaning it loosens the bowels. This shows up more as a side effect than as a reason to take it. Gentler and better-tested options exist.

Which foods are rich in Figwort?

You cannot get figwort from food, and there is no reason to try.

What are the side effects of Figwort?

• Upset stomach or nausea (feeling sick)
• Loose stools or diarrhoea
• Passing more urine than usual
• Skin rash or itching where a cream or poultice was used
• Allergic reaction, with swelling or trouble breathing (rare)
• Changes in heart rate or an uneven heartbeat, most likely at high doses

Good to know:

Most reported effects are mild and settle when you stop. Stomach upset and loose stools are the common ones.

The heart effect is the one that matters most. Figwort holds small amounts of compounds that act on heart muscle, so a fast, slow or uneven heartbeat is a signal to stop at once and get medical advice.

Good safety records for this herb are thin, so unknown effects cannot be ruled out.

How much Figwort should you take?

• Recommended daily: No safe or effective dose has been set for figwort. Nothing below is a recommendation; it is simply what traditional herbal texts report. Tea: about 2 to 8 grams of the dried herb a day, split into two or three cups. Tincture (1:5 in 45% alcohol): about 2 to 8 millilitres a day, split into two or three doses. Skin cream or salve: a thin layer on the sore area once or twice a day. Start at the low end if you use it at all, and do not take more than the label says.
• Best time of day: Spread doses through the day, such as morning and evening. Skin products are often used at night so the salve stays on. Because it can loosen the bowels, many people prefer not to take a dose right before bed.
• With or without food: Take it with food. Figwort can upset the stomach, and food softens that.
• Time to effect: Unknown, because it has not been measured in people. Herbal texts describe skin changes over two to four weeks. Any bowel loosening usually shows up within a day or two.
• How long to take it: Keep any use short. Two to four weeks is the usual traditional stretch, then stop and look at how you are doing. If your skin is no better after four weeks, figwort is not working for you. See a doctor instead of raising the dose. There is no safety data on long-term daily use, and the heart compounds in the plant are a good reason not to test it on yourself.