What is Scots lovage?

Scots lovage is a wild coastal plant in the carrot family. It grows on rocky shores in Scotland, Norway, Iceland, the Faroes and eastern Canada. The leaves and stalks smell and taste strongly of celery.

In Norway it is called strandkvann. In Iceland it is sæhvönn. Shore communities ate the young leaves and stalks as a spring green, and chewed the ripe seeds.

Its history is mostly food, not medicine. There is no good human evidence that it treats any illness. Long use in a tradition is not proof that something works, and it is not proof that it is safe.

One real hazard sits with picking it. Several carrot-family plants are deadly poisons and look alike to an untrained eye.

How does Scots lovage work?

No one has shown how Scots lovage acts in the human body. There are no human studies of it as a medicine.

Its smell comes from an aromatic oil. In lab work on related Ligusticum species, oil compounds called phthalides relaxed smooth muscle in test tissue. That has not been shown for Scots lovage, and not in people.

Some carrot-family oils slow gut spasm in test tubes. This is the usual reason folk sources called such plants good for wind. Whether that happens in your gut is unknown.

The one solid link is vitamin C. Fresh leaves supply it, and vitamin C prevents and treats scurvy. That is a food effect from eating a fresh green, not a drug effect of this plant in particular.

What forms does Scots lovage come in?

Most people meet it as food rather than as a product.

Young leaves and stalks are eaten fresh in salads, or cooked like a herb. Stems are sometimes pickled or candied. The ripe seeds are used like a spice.

Dried leaf tea turns up in foraging books and local recipes. A few small sellers in Scotland and Scandinavia offer dried leaf or seed. Capsules, tinctures and measured extracts are rare.

An essential oil is not a normal retail item. If you find one, treat it as a scent product. It is not for swallowing.

Where it comes from:

Shore communities in Scotland, Iceland, Norway and the Faroes ate this plant for centuries. On treeless coasts it was one of the few fresh greens on hand.

Old writers noted that sailors and islanders ate it against scurvy. Scurvy is a disease caused by too little vitamin C. Fresh greens did help with that problem.

Folk sources also described it as a stomach-settling herb and a spring tonic. Seeds were chewed for the taste and for wind. None of these uses was ever tested in a formal way.

What does Scots lovage help with?

• Vitamin C intake as part of a fresh-food diet: This is the only claim with a real base. Fresh leaves hold vitamin C, and vitamin C prevents and treats scurvy. That does not make the plant a treatment. Any fresh green or fruit does the same job. Nobody has measured how much vitamin C a serving of Scots lovage gives today.
• Wind and bloating (traditional use): Tradition held that the chewed seeds eased wind after food. This idea fits a wider folk pattern for aromatic carrot-family plants. There are no human trials in Scots lovage for gut symptoms. Lab work on related species is not the same as proof in people. Treat it as a flavour you may enjoy, not a remedy.
• Poor appetite (traditional use): Bitter, aromatic greens were long used to wake up appetite before a meal. Scots lovage was eaten this way on northern coasts. No study has tested whether it changes appetite in people. Any effect you notice may simply be taste and habit.
• Coughs and chest colds (traditional use): Some folk sources list warm drinks made from the leaf or root for chest colds. The plant was seen as warming. There is no evidence that it shortens a cold or clears a cough. Warm fluids and rest explain most of what people felt. If a cough lasts more than three weeks, see a doctor.

Which foods are rich in Scots lovage?

Scots lovage is itself the food. The leaf and stalk are used as a green, and the seed as a spice. It is not an ingredient you will find listed in other foods.

What are the side effects of Scots lovage?

• Celery-like taste and burps
• Upset stomach or loose stools after large amounts
• Tingling or itching in the mouth in people allergic to celery-family plants
• Skin rash or burn after fresh plant juice meets strong sunlight
• Hives, swelling or wheeze in a true allergic reaction

Good to know:

In food amounts, most people have no trouble at all. It has been eaten safely for a long time on northern coasts.

The common problems are mild: taste, burps or a loose stomach from a big serving. Allergy is the main real risk, and it tends to run with celery, carrot and birch pollen allergy.

Strong extracts and essential oil are a different matter. They are poorly studied, so their risk is simply unknown.

How much Scots lovage should you take?

• Recommended daily: No medicinal dose has been set, because no human studies support one. Where labels exist, they treat it as a food herb. That means leaf or seed used in cooking amounts, much like parsley or celery leaf. This page gives no therapeutic amount. Strength varies by plant, season and drying, so numbers would be guesswork.
• Best time of day: Timing does not matter for a food herb. Use it when it suits the meal. One practical point: fresh plant juice on skin plus strong sun can cause a burn-like rash. If you handle a lot of the fresh plant, wash your hands before going out in bright sun.
• With or without food: It is a food, so it is normally eaten with meals. That also lowers the chance of stomach upset. A strong tea on an empty stomach may feel harsh. Taking it with food is the kinder option.
• Time to effect: As a flavour, the effect is instant. As a medicine, there is nothing reliable to promise. It may do nothing at all for your symptoms. If you are taking it for vitamin C, that works over days and weeks, like any fresh food.
• How long to take it: As a seasonal vegetable, people ate it for weeks each spring and summer. That pattern has a long record behind it. For strong teas or extracts, no safe length of use is known. Nobody has studied daily use over months. If you are using it for a symptom, keep it short and talk to your doctor.