Lobelia inflata / Indian Tobacco / Campanulaceae (Bellflower family)

Information

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Other Names

Asthma Weed, Bladderpod, Emetic Herb, Emetic Weed, Eyebright, Frengiotu, Gag root, Indian Tobacco, Lobelia, Pukeweed, Rag Root, Rapuntium inflatum, Vomit Wort, Wild Tobacco.

Contents

The primary chemical constituents of Lobelia include piperidine alkaloids, mainly lobeline, with lobelanidine, lobelanine, and minor amounts of norlobelanine (isolobelanine), lelobanidine, lovinine, isolobinine, lobinanidine, chelidonic acid, glycoside (lobelacrin), essential oil, and fats. Lobelia also contains gum, resin, chlorophyll, fixed oil, lignin, and salts of lime & potassium, along with ferric oxide.

Additional Remarks

It is important to note that Lobelia is a potentially toxic herb. Lobelia can be safely used in very small doses (particularly homeopathic doses), but moderate to large doses can cause serious adverse effects ranging from dry mouth and nausea to convulsions and even coma. People with high blood pressure, heart disease, tobacco sensitivity, paralysis, seizure disorder, and shortness of breath as well as those recovering from shock should not take Lobelia. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should also avoid this herb.

Historical

"Lobelia (Lobelia inflata), also called "Indian Tobacco", has a long history of use as an herbal remedy for respiratory conditions. Native Americans historically have smoked Lobelia as a treatment for asthma. In the 19th century, American physicians prescribed Lobelia to induce vomiting in order remove toxins from the body. Because of this, it earned the name "Pukeweed."(1)

"The major active ingredient of Lobelia is a substance called lobeline. It is widely stated that lobeline is chemically similar to nicotine, and on this basis it has been marketed as a stop-smoking treatment. However, this belief appears to be a type of urban legend; lobeline is not in fact chemically similar to nicotine.
Interestingly, chemists investigating the lobeline/nicotine myth found that lobeline may diminish certain effects of nicotine in the body, specifically nicotine-induced release of the substance dopamine. Since dopamine is believed to play a significant role in drug addiction, these findings can be taken as hinting that lobeline might be useful for treating drug addiction. Potential benefits have been found for addiction to amphetamines.
Dopamine also plays a role in cigarette addiction. For this reason, despite lobeline`s lack of similarity to nicotine, it is at least possible that Lobelia could be helpful for people who wish to stop smoking. Unfortunately, despite its widespread marketing for this purpose, there has never been any meaningful evidence that it works.
Other proposed uses of Lobelia also lack supporting evidence. For example, while studies in horses have found that injected lobeline causes the animals to breath more deeply, it is a long way from a finding like this to the widespread claims that Lobelia is helpful for asthma. Similarly, animal studies hint that lobeline might enhance memory and reduce pain, and, in addition, that beta-amyrin palmitate, another constituent of Lobelia, might have antidepressant and sedative properties.
However, there have not yet been any human studies on these potential benefits of the herb."(2)

Health Warnings

In excessive doses the effects are those of a powerful acro-narcotic poison, producing great depression, nausea, cold-sweats, and possibly death. (Herbalists also deny that it has poisonous properties and that it has ever caused death) Poisonous symptoms may occur from absorption of it through the epidermis.
Lobelia frequently causes nausea and vomiting when the amount used is too high. Generally, more than 1 ml of tincture or acetract taken at one time will cause nausea and possibly vomiting and should be avoided. Although Lobelia has a reputation for being toxic, a thorough review of the medical literature was unable to find any well-documented case of serious problems or death due to Lobelia. This may be because a toxic amount cannot be ingested without first causing vomiting. Signs of Lobelia poisoning are said to include weakness, heartburn, weak pulse, difficulty breathing, and collapse. Nevertheless, Lobelia should not be used for more than one month consecutively and should be avoided during pregnancy and lactation. This does not apply to its topical use on the cervix during delivery by doctors or midwives. Due to its emetic actions, Lobelia should be used cautiously with children under the age of six years. Certain medications may interact with Lobelia. It is recommended you discuss the use of Lobelia and your current medication(s) with your doctor or pharmacist.

Plant Description

Lobelia inflata (Indian Tobacco) is a species of Lobelia native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada (Nova Scotia to southeast Ontario) south through the eastern United States to Alabama and west to Kansas, also found in the rainforests.
It is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant growing to 15–100 cm tall, with stems covered in tiny hairs. Its leaves are usually about 8 cm long, and are ovate and toothed. It has violet flowers that are tinted yellow on the inside, and usually appear in mid summer and continue to bloom into fall.(3)

Legal Remarks

This product is illegal or somehow problematic to send to the following countries. Click on the country link for further information.

• Finland
• Norway
• Netherlands

References

(1) Lobelia, University of Maryland Medical Center
(2) Lobelia, EBSCO Publishing Health Library
(3) Lobelia inflata, Wikipedia