Burdock

Introduction:

Burdock is a traditional Chinese herb which grows worldwide which has been used for the treatment of many ailments. A few of the uses of burdock include diuretic, blood purifier, poor appetite, psoriasis, eczema, and acne. There has been inadequate formal research done on the majority of uses described for burdock. There have been reports of belladonna previously found in burdock preparations and therefore the herb should not be taken orally for this reason and due to lack of research evidence on belladonna content. The herb has some promising uses applied topically for reducing aging of the skin and potentially for skin diseases, but there is more research needed to routinely recommend this agent.