Herbal Health Information on Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus)

Seen at the Shingle Beach Eastbourne July 2011

Wow this puts on a spectacular display, about chest height (girly chest) downy large leaves with spikes of beautiful yellow flowers from about late June. It contains volatile oils (antibacterial), saponins and rutin.

Mullein - great for Cough Syrup

It is a soothing demulcent for the respiratory system. ‘Demulcent’ means an herb rich in mucilage that is soothing.

When you feel the leaves of Mullein they feel wonderfully soft and silky which is a sure sign that the leaves contain mucilage. Mucilage, although it sounds disgusting, is great stuff as it coats and protects mucous membranes lining the gut and respiratory system.

Mullein is used as a cough remedy for irritating dry coughs. See video on how to make Mullein Cough Syrup.

As I explained on the video, how to make Mullein Cough Syrup, it is easy to make a cough syrup from it.

• Wash, dry and sterilise a jam jar. The best way to do this is to put the clean jam jar into a cold oven and turn the oven on to 200C and leave it in there for about 15 minutes until the oven is hot. Turn the oven off and leave the jar in there until it is cold. (Don’t try and take it out and burn your fingers and don’t pour cold liquid in there otherwise it will crack).
• Pick as many mullein flowers as you can.
• Layer these in the COLD jam jar with granulated sugar, about 3 cms at a time. I hope you are proud of me being metric! Store it with the lid on, on a sunny window ledge.

As this compresses down over the next few days you can keep

Topping up the jar, but pick fresh flowers every time.

• When the jar is full just leave it in sunlight for at least three weeks. At the end of this time you will have some very sorry looking flowers but a beautiful deep yellow/brown syrup.
• Strain the syrup through a piece of clean cloth into another clean jam jar and keep it somewhere dark (cupboard) and cool until you need it in the winter for a cough.

I teaspoon three or four times a day will soothe the cough.

Don’t forget if the cough is persistent, to go and see your doctor.

If you are on any other medications or suffer from allergies please do not self medicate, but go and see a qualified herbal practitioner, click here for my clinic details or your doctor.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information