Horsetail may seem like little more than a roadside weed, but compounds in this plant appear to support the health of several systems in the body. The ancient Greeks and Romans used it to treat wounds and kidneys disorders, but modern research has uncovered a few more uses for horsetail. Some species of horsetail may be toxic, though, so it's important to buy preparations such as tablets and extracts from reliable sources only.
Reducing Risk of Osteoporosis
Horsetail contains silicon, an element important for building bone mass. Because of this, some experts believe horsetail may prevent or slow the loss of bone mass that leads to osteoporosis. Menopausal women taking Osteosil Calcium, a combination of horsetail extract and calcium, showed an average of a 2.3 percent increase in bone mass after one year, reported results of a study published in the Italian journal "Minerva Ortopedica e Traumatologica" in 1999.
Urinary Tract Health
This plant is a natural diuretic and urinary antiseptic, and shows promise for treating kidney and bladder stones. The horsetail variety Equisetum hiemale showed a diuretic effect similar to the drug hydrochlorothiazide in mice, noted a study published in the "Journal of Enthonophramacology" in 1985. Symptoms of bladder stones disappeared after 30 days in 23 percent of study participates who took an herbal combination that included horsetail, a study at the Scientific Research Institute of Gastroenterology for Children in Nizhni Novgorod, Russia found in 2003.
Lower Blood Sugar
Because it appears to lower blood sugar, horsetail may be useful in treating diabetes. Type II diabetics who took a single dose of horsetail extract experienced a significant drop in blood glucose after just 90 minutes, researchers from the National Medical Center in México City, Mexico reported in 2002. [See ref 6] If you use insulin or take medication for diabetes, though, avoid horsetail because the exact effects of this plant on diabetics are still unknown. [See ref 1]
Liver Protection
Some eastern medical traditions recommend horsetail for treating hepatitis and modern research seems to support this use. The compounds onitin and luteolin in horsetail have an antioxidant effect that protects the liver cells from damage, research from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology in Daejeon, South Korea discovered in 2004. [See ref 7]
Treating Minor Wounds
Its styptic and antiseptic properties make horsetail helpful for cleaning and stopping bleeding from small cuts and scrapes. In fact, this plant was once used to treat battle wounds. Apply horsetail as a poultice or soak it in water and use the solution to wash the skin. [See ref 8] Avoid using this plant directly on open wounds, though.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Horsetail
- "Minerva Ortopedica e Traumatologica"; Female Climacteric Osteoporosis Therapy with Titrated Horsetail Extract Plus Calcium; F. Corletto; Oct. 1999
- University of Texas at El Paso: Horsetail
- "Journal of Ethnopharmacology"; Diuretic Activity of Mexican Equisetum; RM Pérez Gutiérrez, et al; Nov-Dec 1985
- "Experimental and Clinical Gastroenterology"; Basis for the Use of a New Galena-based Substance from Plants for Prevention and Treatment of Cholelithic Disease; IuA Bogdaria, DV Bundin; 2003
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