Garden angelica
Quick Facts
- What it is: A tall Nordic herb whose bitter root, stems and seeds are used as food, drink flavouring and a folk remedy.
- Main uses: Poor appetite and weak digestion, Bloating and wind, Night-time urination (nocturia), Flavouring
- Active ingredients: Furanocoumarins (bergapten, imperatorin, xanthotoxin), Angelicin, Essential oil (alpha-pinene, beta-phellandrene), Bitter compounds
- Forms: Candied stems, Dried root tea, Tincture, Leaf extract capsules, Flavoured spirits, Essential oil (scent use only)
- Time to effect: Days for bitter effects, if any; weeks in the urination trials
- Side effects: Mainly sun-triggered skin burns and rashes; stomach upset and allergy are possible.
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What is Garden angelica?
Garden angelica is a tall northern herb used as both a food and a folk remedy. The stems, root, seeds and leaves have all been used. In the Nordic countries it is best known as a candied sweet and as a flavour in spirits.
It carries many local names: kvann in Norway, hvönn in Iceland, fádnu or boska among the Sami, and väinönputki in Finland. You will meet it as candied stalks, bitter root tea, tinctures, capsules and aquavit.
The honest verdict: human evidence is thin. A few small trials have looked at a leaf extract for night-time urination. Long and respected traditional use is not proof that a herb works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
That point applies to everything below and is not repeated in each section.
How does Garden angelica work?
Nobody has shown clearly what garden angelica does in the human body. Most findings come from lab dishes and animals.
The root tastes sharply bitter. Bitter herbs are thought to prompt saliva and stomach juices. That idea is old and has not been tested well for this plant.
In test-tube work, the plant's furanocoumarins block a liver enzyme that breaks down many drugs. Grapefruit acts in much the same way. Whether a cup of the tea does this in people is not known.
In animal tissue, the essential oil relaxed gut and bladder muscle. Small human trials of a leaf extract reported fewer night-time trips to the toilet. Why that happened is still unclear.
One effect is not in doubt. Furanocoumarins make skin react to sunlight, and that is well shown in people who handle the fresh plant.
What forms does Garden angelica come in?
You will meet garden angelica most often as a food or a flavour, not as a pill.
Candied stems. Young stalks boiled in sugar and used in baking. This is a Nordic sweet rather than a remedy.
Dried root tea and tinctures. These are the old bitter forms, sold by herb suppliers.
Flavoured spirits. Aquavit, gin and some herbal liqueurs use the root or seed.
Leaf extract capsules. An Icelandic product sold for night-time urination. This is the form used in the small human trials.
Essential oil. A strong distilled oil for scent work only. It is not a drink and must never be swallowed.
Fresh wild stalks. Peeled and eaten raw in Sami and Icelandic food custom. Picking your own carries a serious risk of mix-up with deadly lookalikes.
Where it comes from:
Garden angelica held unusual standing in the Nordic world. It was grown, traded and guarded by law. Medieval Norwegian law codes set penalties for stealing from an angelica patch.
Sami and Icelandic people ate the peeled stems raw as a green vegetable. In Iceland it was one of the few leafy foods that grew well. Monastery gardens kept it as a plague herb in the Middle Ages.
Later herbalists used the bitter root for weak digestion, wind and cramps. Distillers used it for flavour, and still do. None of these uses were tested the way a medicine is tested today.
Who should avoid Garden angelica?
- Never eat a wild plant you picked yourself unless an expert has identified it; poison hemlock and water hemlock look similar and can kill.
- Do not use if you are pregnant; folk practice used it to bring on periods, which is a real risk to a pregnancy.
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding.
- Never swallow the essential oil, and never put it undiluted on skin.
- Do not use if you take warfarin or another blood thinner, unless your doctor agrees.
- Do not use if you have a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia (a blood clotting problem).
- Avoid for two weeks before any planned surgery.
- Avoid if you are having UV light therapy (PUVA, a light treatment for skin disease) or using sunbeds.
- Do not use if you are allergic to celery, carrot, fennel, parsley or dill.
- Avoid if you have a peptic ulcer (a sore in the stomach lining) or bad reflux, as bitters may worsen it.
- Do not give it to children as a remedy.
- Avoid if you have a skin condition made worse by sunlight, such as lupus (an immune disease that can cause sun rashes).
When should you see a doctor?
Stop and get medical advice if you notice any of the following.
Blistering, burning or a spreading rash on skin that has been in the sun. Hives, swelling of the lips or face, or trouble breathing, which need urgent care.
Unexplained bruising, nosebleeds or blood in your urine or stool. Severe or lasting stomach pain. Yellowing of the skin or eyes.
Also see a doctor if you keep waking at night to pass urine, rather than treating it yourself. It can point to a prostate, bladder, heart or diabetes problem.
Is Garden angelica legal where you live?
In the EU and UK, angelica root is an approved food flavouring and is sold as a food supplement. It is not licensed as a medicine. In the United States it is listed as generally recognised as safe for flavouring, and supplements may not be sold as treatments for disease.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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