The Uses for Nux Vomica

For centuries Chinese herbalists have used nux vomica as a healing tonic. Nux vomica is a herbal remedy extracted from the seeds of the Strychnos nux-vomica, a tree native to Southeast Asia and northern Australia. The seeds that are its source contain strychnine, a powerful poison that can kill quickly. However, the herb is administered in miniscule amounts for medicinal purposes. Recent research indicates that nux vomica may have even broader applications than earlier believed.

Anti-Tumor Properties

Studies published in 2006 and 2009 hold out the promise that alkaloids present in nux vomica may be effective in slowing the spread of cancerous cells. Researchers at the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine examined the effect that each of the herb's four alkaloids---brucine, brucine N-oxide, isostrychnine and strychnine---had on a line of liver tumor cells in vitro. In their findings, published in the June 30, 2006, issue of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, researchers reported that all of the alkaloids except brucine N-oxide showed "significant inhibitory effects" against the cancer cells.
A second in-vitro study, conducted by researchers at India's University of Hyderabad, pitted root extract from the Strychnos nux-vomica against a line of multiple myeloma cells. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. Reporting their findings in the February 2009 issue of Food and Chemical Toxicology, researchers found the nux vomica extract was effective in slowing the spread of the cancerous cells and also helped to kill some of cells, making nux vomica a potential chemotherapy agent for this particular cancer. Researchers also observed less collateral damage to healthy cells.

Combats Occasional Insomnia

Practitioners of homeopathic medicine first embraced nux vomica in the late 19th century, and they continue to prescribe its use for a variety of ailments. One such malady is occasional insomnia, particularly sleeplessness that can be traced to anger, anxiety, irritability or overindulgence in caffeine or alcohol. Interviewed by Kathleen Doheny for an article in the April 2006 issue of "Natural Health," Sabine Abadou, a consultant at the Santa Monica Homeopathic Pharmacy in California, recommends four to five tablets daily of a nux vomica extract with a potency of 30C to relieve this type of insomnia.

Eases Digestive Problems

Homeopathic practitioners also use nux vomica extensively in the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments, including abdominal pains, constipation and diarrhea that may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and feelings of fullness and/or bloating. According to the website of altMD, nux vomica is most effective in cases of gastrointestinal distress that are caused by overindulgence in rich and spicy foods, alcohol or coffee.

Helps Manage OCD Symptoms

Patrice Connelly, in a report published in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society, indicates that nux vomica shows some promise in the management of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her study covered the use of several complementary remedies that may work with conventional medicine to ease the symptoms of OCD. Connelly suggests that nux vomica might be most effective in patients who engage in compulsive hand washing or similar rituals; suffer from sleep deprivation; are worried about being judged; drink to mask emotional pain; and tend to shut others out.