BUTCHER'S BROOM
Butcher's Broom is sometimes referred to as Cytisus scoparius L., a common roadside plant in the Pacific Northwest, distinguishable by its showy yellow flowers. Spanish broom or gorse (Spartium junceum L.) is another yellow-flowered leguminous shrub that flourishes in parts of California. Although both plants have been used in folk medicine, neither is the butcher's broom that is currently "sweeping the country". Butcher's broom, also known as box holly or knee holly, is a fairly common, short evergreen shrub (Ruscus aculeatus L.) of the family Liliaceae, native throughout the Mediterranean region from the Azores to Iran. Butcher's broom has a long history of use in herbal medicine, as well. As early as the first century, Dioscorides recommended butcher's-broom as a laxative and diuretic. The seventeenth-century apothecary-astrologer Nicholas Culpeper suggested that a decoction of the root be drunk and a poultice of the berries and leaves applied to facilitate the knitting of broken bones. However, the medication never became popular in either Europe or the United States and was seldom mentioned in standard references on medications. Then, during the 1950s, French investigators showed that an alcoholic extract of butcher's broom rhizomes (underground stems) produced blood vessel narrowing in test animals. Further studies identified the active principles as a mixture of steroidal saponins, the two main ones being identified as ruscogenin and neoruscogenin. They apparently produce their vasoconstrictive effects by activation of a-adrenergic receptors. Japanese researchers have isolated twelve steroidal saponins, including seven new ones, two of which have cytostatic activity on leukemia HL-60 cells. Clinical trials in humans have provided support for the effectiveness of the medication in venous disorders. In addition to its vasoconstrictive effects, the extract was demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory properties. Capsules containing 75 mg of butcher's broom and 2 mg of rosemary oil are now being sold in the United States, mainly through health food stores. Butcher's broom is a wonderful remedy for restless leg syndrome, as well as, chronic venous insufficiency, Lymphedema and Swollen Ankles.
 
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