Family Name: Leguminosae

Introduction

Red Clover is a common little plant with a potentially fantastic future ahead of itself. In the centuries that came before staying well and getting well were extremely important. If you could not work, you lost everything. As such, people knew which plants from the field and forest could be used to keep the body strong and get it strong again if there was a temporary lapse in strong health. Red Clover was the plant of choice, in Europe, and in other countries, since the begining of time. Its from a rather medicinal plant rich family, the bean family, many of which have this body strengthening use. In my research looking at herbal medicines that increased resistance to disease, this one came out on top as one with that capacity. If I had a life threatening illness, I would look into red clover. Or, if I had a lifestyle that was life threatening, I would really look into it! More work needs to be done to identify how miraculous its actions might be, but, in the meantime, its non-toxic and at a minimum, and it might help.

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Chapter from “Thirty Plants That Can Save Your Life” by Dr. Douglas Schar

Chapter from Thirty Plants That Can Save Your Life

In chatting with some people about clover, they immediately told me some stuff that had been told to them about clover, take a look at a few of the statements readily offered up: A four leafed clover is good luck if you place it in your hat. It is bad luck to find a four leafed clover and leave it unpicked. It is good luck to sleep with a four leafed clover under your pillow. A person who tries to pick a four leafed clover in the moonlight will beomie insane. The good luck of the four leafed clover reverses itself. What is it with the four leafed clover? Along with loosing plant medicine knowledge we have, for the most part, forgotten plant lore. In the past, plants were all attributed with magical powers, garlic kept the vampires away, ginseng if left in the ground for a long time turned into a man with blood that could make you eternal, and more. A couple of hundred years ago everybody knew the magic powers attributed to plants, what flowers would make your true love love you back, what seed thrown over your shoulder would bring male children, or stop the children from coming. All these folk beliefs have faded in the so-called age of reason. Only a few remain, clover being one of them. Even the most urbane of us, if asked about four leafed clover will quickly say, that it is good luck. Now here is where things get really strange, this is not a belief held only by North Americans. All over the world people say the same thing. Isn’t it odd that around the globe finding a four leafed clover is considered good luck? A bit peculiar, that pan culturally the odd four fingered leaf is considered a wonderful find? And this is an old belief. One of the oldest clover references deals with the Christ Child and his first bed; the crib was said to be filled with clover hay. Clover appears in literature all over the place as being, you guessed it, a special plant. I believe the litany of magical abilities of clovers is due to the power they exhibit in the healing arena, people in days gone by experienced the healing and assumed the plant to be magical, which is quite true. An informant had this to say on clover, “in order to build up the blood, drink plenty of clover blossom tea.” The universal belief is that red clover is a tonic to the whole body, strengthening and giving power to the person that drinks it. The United States , whether we admit it or not, is a colony of England . We may have severed our political affiliations some time ago, but our cultural affiliations cannot be broken. The English came to America knowing what they knew, which were the English customs. As the immigrants bore children, they taught them what they knew, and these children taught their children what they knew. As such the chain of English knowledge has been passed from one generation to the next. And this applies to clover in a big way, the British brought with them clover, and beliefs and understanding of it. Clover first came with the British, and all their descendants have continued its use. Other British colonies, Australia , New Zealand , and South Africa included, also received clover and British people with the knowledge of it, and in those countries today, use clover for healing. Surprise, surprise, the Irish think the plant one of the most healing. Clover had been known in England as a healing plant, a blood tonic if you will, since God knows when. The red blooming plant is perhaps native to Britain , no one really seems to know, and it appears in literature from the earliest days. When people got fed up living on the Isle of Britain and moved to happier hunting grounds, clover seed came in their suitcases. When the British immigrants came to the states, prepared or not, home curing became a reality. They moved from urban settings in England to the wild countryside of America , filled with disease, and not a lot of white people. They were on their own. The patches of Englishmen were few and far between, and if a settlement had access to a doctor is was a rare phenamona. People had to take care of themselves. There was nobody else to do the trick. The main doctor was the mother or the grandmother in the house. It was her responsibility to meet the needs of her sick child or grandbaby. When the newborn was taken with a cold, something had to be made from the plants lining the forest floor or growing in the garden hewn from a forest cut down, between the stumps, roots, and rocks. The child was sick and had to be made better. Mothers made it their business to learn what would take a fever away or keep it from coming in the first place. When a daughter married and went off to a furtherly remote region where more land could be had for the asking, her mother with love and concern wrote down in a book the remedies that had kept her family alive. The daughter carried the book with her, perhaps one of the most sacred items in her possession next to the Holy Bible. For when the babies started coming, their health was dependant on their mother’s knowledge of the plants that could be gathered from the field. It is from this time in colonial America we see red clover coming to the fore. The colonials knew of clover in England , and its reputation there was quite old. They brought the seeds and planted them wherever the went. This fact is evident, as the descendant of this lot can see red clover growing in the fields and waste places all over the country that has come to be known as the United States. In those days staying well had an importance we will never know, there was no hospital or doctor to contact, real illness usually meant death. One of the main uses for clover was in staying well. Its use went beyond staying well, the notion was that if you were seriously ill, clover could bring you ’round the bend. With the absence of modern diagnosis, people looked at disease from an external standpoint, and one condition, consumption, described what happened. The body was consumed, eaten away, by the disease. Sometimes a condition such as this was called cancer, and in both cases clover was used to bring the situation around. This practice has stayed around from the cabin days to present, take a look at a cancer cure from the hills of Tennessee . “place two to three teaspoons of red clover blossom in one cup of boiling water, steep mixture until a tea is formed. Drink one cup a day.” Cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and any other serious illness were treated with red clover. The colonials were tea drinkers and, of course, the American revolution was sparked off by one more tax on the favorite beverage. The tea story is a great example of how colonial life adapted the old time practices brought from other countries. In England people drank tea at tea time, late in the afternoon. The colonials were rather involved with survival and taking a break in the afternoon was out of the question, so they drank theirs with lunch. Because not everyone could afford tea, tea substitutes were used. Clover tea was one of the most popular for the noonday meal. People used to make a spring bracer, or health booster with clover and mint, perfect for keeping the body in good stead during the all important planting season. We have already talked about spring tonics, tonics taken in spring to ensure good health in the coming summer, well, in America , clover became one of the most popular blood purifiers. The spring greens were eaten as salad and pot greens, the dried plant was used as tea, and jellies were made with the red blooms, all to stay healthy. The Shakers, a group of British folk arriving from the homeland a little late in the scene, were rather fond of clover for treating cancers of all sorts, burns and skin problems, and as a general health protector. As you already know the Shakers were in the herbal medication business, and clover was one plant that accounted for a lot of their sales. Dovetailing right into our primary activity, which is making a tonic at home that can keep us well, clover was one of the most popular ingredients in tonics in the 1850′s. It was boiled with water and sweetened with honey to create the base for many widely sold tonic preparations. In a book written in 1917, Health From Field and Forest , we see clover being listed as one of the best blood purifiers, especially in the case of cancers. The book goes out of its way to let you know this is a tonic plant that will produce healthy flesh in the case of abnormal thinness. The book was essentially a catalogue of items for sale, one of which is that crazy old compound number seven. Though clearly a commercial and not a scholarly undertaking, it gives you an idea of where peoples’ heads were on clover at the turn of the century. Compound No. 7: Medical scientists have long recognized the value of red clover blossoms as a purifying agent for the blood, particularly in cases of cancerous humors, tumors, carbuncles, and the like, and not only recommend but use them. Knowing this, we have chosen German red-clover, carefully picked and cured in a way to retain its full strength, as a base for our ‘Red Clover Compound,’ adding in smaller proportions herbs with qualities like to itself, each serving to bring out and emphasize the remedial virtues of the others. Taken freely, as a tea, it purifies the blood and tones up the entire system; and thus by removing the cause, it reaches the very root of the trouble, curing cancers, abscesses, tumors, and other diseases which would never gain a foothold but for an impure condition of the blood. As a remedy for cancer, Compound No. 7 is specific; and as a flesh-producer, if one is for any reason below normal weight, it has no equal. Many use it for this purpose alone. In taking this compound for any of the virulent troubles named one must be persistent and regular. It is not a “cure-while-you-wait” remedy, not a severe purgative which affords seeming relief only to leave the system weakened and debilitated, but a mild, natural tonic, doing its good work steadily and surely without harm or reaction. Red clover was quite the cure-all some years back, now we don’t even recognize it in the field. Though the plant had a hey day in America in the patent tonics, its use is matched elsewhere in the world. It’s funny that the author of the description of compound number seven should have mentioned German red clover. Red clover was and is very popular as a healing plant in Germany , and the Mennonites, fleeing religious persecution in Germany came to North and South America in great numbers with this information in hand. A part of this old religion was total abhorrence for murder, for whatever reason. They believe that killing is a sin, under all circumstances, and refused to go into the Prussian king’s army. Killing for political gain was clearly out of the question. The King’s reciprocated by persecuting them and they fled for fear of their lives. With them came a serious knowledge of plants and herbs, and to this day in the American communities red clover, known as rhoda glae blumma, is used to treat whooping cough, croup, cancer of the stomach, and the roots to treat diphtheria. In China we find more of the same on the topic of red clover. The Chinese revere clover, hsun tsao, as a tonic and the sap is drawn and used to treat colds and influenza. In the past, the dried plant was burned in altars as an incense to draw the spirits down for communication with human beings. If you wanted to have a little chat with the gods, the way to invite them down was to burn a little clover. As well, it was worn in the girdle to expel any bad vibes hanging around the person. They have proven that red clover kills certain viral and fungal infections, has estrogen-like functions, and is an antispasmodic and expectorant. Red clover is again one of our tonic ingredients that needn’t be bought or raised, just take a car trip out to the countryside in August and collect the red blossoms with wild abandon, any country road will provide you with more than you could ever need. One cautionary note, insects that sting, otherwise known as bees, are rather fond of clover, and are apt to be hanging around when you are doing your collecting. Give each clover plant a good shake before you start collecting or you are apt to get a sharp surprise on one of your fingers which would conclude your collecting prematurely. When you get your cache home, spread the blossoms out over the dining room table to dry, which should happen within a week, once crisply dry, put them in sealed jars and store in a dark location until you are ready to make your tonic.

As an Adaptogen
Trifolium pratense (L.) Leguminosae Red Clover

Part Used: Flower

Chemical Constituents: Significant phytochemicals include formonetin, genistein, medicagol, medicarpin, methyl salicylate, pratenol, pratensein, pratensol, pratol, salicylic acid, trifoliianol, trifoliin, trifolirhizin-glucoside, trifolitin, and trifoside . (10)

History
Trifolium pratense is native to Europe where it is seen as a tonic drug. Gerard, writing in 1633, states that the drug was cold and dry by nature, and that it was useful in inflammations, swellings, and cataracts. (11) The drug was brought to North America where it became naturalised in the early colonial years. In the late 1800′s Trifolium became popular as a cure for venereal disease and cancer. A common ingredient in tonic preparations, it was considered highly effective in raising resistance to debilitating disease. However, during this period certain disingenuous firms marketed Trifolium products to the desperate. The outlandish claims made by these firms tainted the drugs reputation. Despite this, the Eclectics saw value in the drug and gave it a fair trial. In the end, they concluded the drug was an effective tonic and alterative.

Eclectic Uses (1–9)
Actions
Alteratives, deobstruent, antiseptic, antispasmodic, retards the spread of carcinoma, promotes healthy granulation.

Indications
“Irritable condition of the larynx and pulmonary passages, with spasmodic cough. Pertussis, phthisis, measles, pulmonary trouble generally. Specific Trifolium is a decided alterative and antispasmodic. It unquestionably retards the growth of carcinoma, and should be administered continually in the cancerous diathesis. It is a valuable remedy in some forms of whooping cough. It is indicated in laryngo-pulmonic irritation provoking spasmodic cough; and in the cough of measles. Trifolium also alleviates in bronchitis, laryngitis, and phthisis. Internally and externally, it is of value to aid in curing tibial and other forms of ulcers, and in deep, ragged-edged and ill-conditioned burns.” (11)

General
Cancerous ulcers, cancerous diathesis, pulmonary tuberculosis, measles, and mental strain. Nervous Overworked nervous systems, general mental failure, loss of word memory, confused ideas, and senility.

Respiratory
Spasmodic cough, laryngitis, bronchitis, phthisis, whooping cough, measles cough, pertussis, irritable states of the larynx and pulmonary organs with spasmodic cough.

Skin
Ill conditioned ulcers of every kind, deep, ragged edged and otherwise badly conditioned burns, internal agent in those inclined to tibial ulcers, and other forms of ulcers.

The drug from Selye’s perspective

State of Resistance
The drug was used to raise resistance to cancer, tuberculosis, bronchitis, whooping cough, measles, mental strain, and mental senility.

State of Exhaustion
The drug was used when resistance failed and State of Exhaustion set in. Conditions causing State of Exhaustion , treated with this drug, included cancer and tuberculosis. Signs of State of Exhaustion , treated with the drug, included cachexia, ulceration, mucous membrane abnormalities, respiratory dysfunction, and nervous abnormalities.

Adaptation Energy
From Selye’s’ perspective, the drug was used to augment the GAS, which suggests it increases adaptation energy. Evidence to this effect includes the following. It was used to raise resistance to acute and chronic infection and cancer. It was used when resistance failed and State of Exhaustion set in. Lastly, it was used topically and internally to inspire healing in non-healing burns, wounds, and ulcers.

Brekhman’s Adaptogen Criterion
An adaptogen should be innocuous and cause minimal disorders in the physiological functions of an organism. The drug is reported to be innocuous in Eclectic and contemporary literature. (1–10) The action of an adaptogen should be non-specific i.e. it should increase resistance to adverse influences of a wide range of factors of physical, chemical, and biological nature. Clinically the drug was used to increase resistance to bacterial and viral infection and cancer. (1–9) Experimentally, the drug contains compounds, which have been shown to increase resistance to bacterial infection (escherichia), mycoplasma infection, fungal infection, cancer, mutagenicity, tumour formation, melanoma, metastasis, free radical damage, viral infection, malaria infection, plasmodium infection, and liver damage. (10) Compounds found in the drug protect the skin against UV radiation damage. (12) An adaptogen may possess normalising action irrespective of the direction of the foregoing pathological changes. Clinically, the drug was used to normalise the physiological abnormalities associated with State of Exhaustion . (1–9) Experimentally, compounds found in the drug have been shown to normalise immune suppression, leucocytopenia, phagocytopenia, ischemia, sickling, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, bleeding, hyperglycaemia, inflammation, osteoporosis, ulceration, atherosclerosis, leukaemia, lymphoma, prostaglandin abnormalities, temperature abnormalities, arthritis, eczema, and rheumatism. (10)

Discussion
The drug exhibits properties consistent with Brekhman’s definition of an adaptogen. The drug is innocuous; it raises resistance to an assortment of biological threats, and normalises physiological function. Trifolium pratense has been subject of controversy for over 150 years. In the 1800′s its advocates reported miraculous cancer cures with its administration. At that same time, there were sceptics who dismissed the drug and insisted it was worthless. A century and a half later, there are advocates and sceptics of the drug as a cancer treatment. The debate has not moved on materially. The Eclectics were initially sceptical of the drug, but after using it for some time, and giving it a critical trial, became more supportive of its use in cancer and other debilitating conditions. They found that when the body was near collapse, the drug stabilised patients and retarded the progress of cancer. They did not report miraculous cancer cures, but, they did report a slowing of the disease. Perhaps even more interesting is their introduction of an entirely new use of the drug. They noted that the drug was useful in increasing resistance to brain fatigue and senility. “Dr. Lambert is of the opinion that Trifolium has a direct action in improving the nutrition of the brain. He thinks it is demanded when the patient is overworked; when there is general mental failure, with loss of memory of words, or when there is confusion of ideas of functional causes; also when there is weakness of the lower extremities, or of the feet from deficient capillary circulation . ” (8) Though the two uses, cancer and mental function, seem unrelated, they are not. The Eclectics found that the drug increased vital energy. Increased vital energy meant an increased ability to fight off cancer. From the Eclectic perspective, vital energy was the force behind all physiological function, including mental function. If a person was worn out due to overwork or age, the drug could be used to boost all physiological functions including those of the brain. The drug was seen as a stimulant to life force, which had implications in cancer, mental exhaustion, and mental senility. Potential clinical applications Historically, the drug was used to retard the spread of cancer and there is some experimental data supporting this use. In addition, the drug is entirely safe and non-toxic. Trifolium pratense may prove useful in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Future research
Trifolium and its effects on GAS.
The drug should be tested out in the animal model to determine its specific effect on the GAS.

Trifolium pratense and cancer.
The drug has been historically used to increase resistance to cancer. Experimentally, many compounds found in the drug have been shown to increase resistance to metastasis, to stimulate Apoptosis, to increase immune response, and to have a general anticancer activity. In addition, it is related to Astragalus membranaceous, a popular asian cancer drug. The drug should be examined for its ability to raise resistance to cancer.

Trifolium pratense and tuberculosis.
Historically, the drug was used to increase resistance to tuberculosis. Experimentally, it has been found to stimulate the immune system and to have an antibacterial activity. The drugs’ ability to raise resistance to tuberculosis should be examined.

Trifolium pratense and sun damage related cancer.
The drug was used historically to cancer. There is experimental data supporting this use. Experimentally, a compound it contains, genistein, has been shown to protect against oxidative damage induced by UV radiation—radiation known to cause skin cancer. (12) Other compounds found in the drug have been shown to do the same. (10) The drug and its ability to raise resistance to sun related skin cancer should be investigated.

Trifolium pratense and mental senility.
The drug was used to treat age related mental deficts. The drug should be tested for the ability to raise resistance to age related senility.

Trifolium pratense and mental exhaustion.
The drug was used to increase resistance to mental exhaustion and there is some experimental data supporting this use. Its ability to raise resistance to mental exhaustion in mind workers should be examined.

Eco-availability
The drug is readily grown.

References
• King, John. The American Eclectic Dispensatory. Moore , Wilstach, and Keys. Cincinnati . 1854. P. 930.
• Scudder, J. M. Specific Medication and Specific Medicines. Revised. Fifth Edition. Wilstach, Baldwin and Company. Cincinnati . 1874.P. 260.
• Watkins, Lyman. An Eclectic Compendium of The Practice of Medicine. John M.Scudder’s Sons. Cincinnati . 1895. P. 451.
• Felter, Harvey Wickes and Lloyd, John Uri. Kings’ American Dispensatory. Volume one and Volume two. Ohio Valley Company. Cincinnati . 1898. P. 1995.
• Felter, Harvey. Syllabus of Eclectic Materia Medica and Therapeutics. Compiled from notes taken from the lectures of F.J.Locke. Edited with pharmacological additions by H.W.Felter. Second edition, with appendix. Scudder Brothers Company. Cincinnati.1901. P. 359.
• Lloyd Brothers. Dose book of Specific Medicines. Lloyd Brothers, Cincinnati . 1907. P. 232.
• Fyfe, John William. Pocket Essentials of Modern Materia Medica and Therapeutics. The Scudder Brothers Company. 1903. P. 304.
• Ellingwood, Finley. American Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and Pharmacognosy. Ellingwood’s Therapeutist. Chicago . 1919. P. 383.
• Lloyd Brothers. Dose book of Specific Medicines. Lloyd Brothers, Cincinnati . 1907. P. 27.
• Dr. Dukes Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Agricultural Research Service. USDA.
• Johnson, Gerard. The Herbal or General History of Plants. London . 1638. P. 1187.
• Widyarini et al. Isoflavonoid compounds from red clover (Trifolium pratense) protect from inflammation and immune suppression induced by UV radiation. Photochem Photobiol 2001 Sep; 74(3): 465–70. From PubMed abstracts.

Notes from the Eclectic Physicians

1854; King J; (Materia Medica) – TRIFOLIUM PRATENSE -
Properties and Uses-The extract spread on linen or soft leather, is said to be an excellent remedy for cancerous ulcers. It is also highly recommended in ill conditioned ulcers of every kind, and deep, ragged-edged, and otherwise badly conditioned burns. It possesses a peculiar soothing property, proves an efficacious detergent, and promotes a healthful granulation. There are two other varieties of clover which are occasionally employed by practitioners, viz: the Melilotus Officinalis , of Willdenow, or M. Vularis , of Eaton, – Yellow Melilot Clover, with an erect, sulcate stem, about three feet high, with spreading branches . The leaves are pinnately trifoliate; leaflets obovate-oblong, obtuse, smooth, with remote, mucronate teeth. The flowers are yellow, and disposed in one-sided, spicate, axillary, loose, paniculate racemes; calyx half as long as the corolla; legume ovoid, two-seeded. It is an indigenous annual, growing in alluvial meadows, and flowering in June. The whole plant is scented, having nearly the odor of the sweet-scented vernal grass, Anthoxanthum Odoratum . The other is the Melilotus Leucantha , of Koch, M. Alba , of Nuttall, and Trifolium Officinale , of Linnaeus, – White Melilot Clover, or sweet-scented clover, a biennial, with an erect, robust, very branching sulcate stem , from four to six feet high; leaflets variable, oval, ovate, ovate-oblong, truncate, and mucronate at the apex, remotely serrate, and one or two inches long; stipules setaceous. The flowers are white, numerous, the racemes more loose and longer than in the preceding species. Petals unequal, banner longer than wings or keel; calyx shorter than the corolla by more than one-half. This plant grows in similar situations with the last, flowering in July and August, and having a sweet fragrance, which is improved upon being dried. The leaves and flowers of these two plants are boiled in lard, and formed into an ointment, which is found of utility as an application to all kinds of ulcers. The Vanilla or Seneca Grass , used for stimulant purpose, is the Hierochloa Borealis .

1874: Scudder
Prepare a tincture from the recently dried blossoms of red clover, 35viij.to alcohol 50%Oj. Dose from gtt. to gtts.x. The red clover exerts a specific influence in some cases of whooping cough, and in the cough of measles. It is not curative in all, but when it does good, the benefit is speedy and permanent. It amy also be presdcirbed in other cases of spasmoid cough, in laryngitis, bronchitis, and phthisis. We should be able to tell the exact condition where it proes beneficial and where it fails, but thus far the use has een wholly empirical. In the further use of the remedy all of the symptoms should be noted. It has given much satisfaction thus far, and is likely to prove a very valuable remedy.

1895: Watkins TRIFOLIUM, SP MED:
Spasmodic cough, irritable conditions of the respiratory organs, weakness. Ten to twenty drops in four ounces water; teaspoonful three times a day.

1898: Felter and Lloyd – TRIFOLIUM –
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage – Red clover is an excellent alterative, and one of the few remedies which favorably influences pertussis. In earlier editions of this work it was stated that “a strong infusion of the plant is said to afford prompt relief in whooping-cough, suspending the spasmodic cough entirely in 2 or 3 days; it is to be given in 1/2 fluid ounce, every 1 to 2 hours, throughout the day.” Since then the remedy has come into extensive use, but the statement should be modified, as it does not reach all classes of cases. When the proper case is found it acts promptly, but as yet the specific indications in this complaint have not been discovered. It is also a remedy in other spasmodic coughs, as those of measles, bronchitis, laryngitis, phthisis, etc. It is an excellent internal agent for those individuals disposed to tibial and other forms of ulcers, and it unquestionably retards the growth of carcinomata, and may be freely administered to those of a cancerous diathesis. The extract, spread on linen or soft leather, has long been siad to be an excellent remedy for cancerous ulcers. This assertion, however, has not been so well verified as its action in ….arding the growths when administered internally for a prolonged period. It is also highly recommended in ill-conditioned ulcers of every kind, and deep, ragged-edged, and otherwise badly-conditioned burns. It possesses a peculiar soothing property, proves an efficient detergent, and promotes a healthful granulation. The infusion (3i to water Oj) may be used freely; a strong tincture may be prepared from the recently dried flowers (3viii) in 50 per cent alcohol (Oj). The dose of this will range from 1 to 60 drops; specific trifolium, 1 to 60 drops.

1901: Locke
This remedy posses marked alterative properties, and is thought by some to have a pronounced action in retarding the growth of cancerous affections. It also enters into the formation of many alterative compounds. Trifolium markedly influences whooping cough, and it is for this purpose that it is chiefly employed. There are no special indications for its use, but when the proper case is found its effects are said to be prompt and permenant. Other spasmodic coughs, as those of bronchitis, laryngitis, and consumption may be treated with it. The dose of specific trifolium ranges from one to ten drops every two or three hours.

1911: FYFE
Irritable states of the larunx and pulmonary organs, with spasmodic cough. Whooping cough, measles, and phthisis are among the diseases most likely to present indications for this remedy. Trifolium pratense is alterative, deobstruent, antiseptic, and antispasmodic.

1919: Ellingwood – TRIFOLIUM -
Synonym – Red clover.

Constituents – Not analyzed.

Preparations – Specific Trifolium. Dose, from one to sixty minims.

Therapy – Trifolium has been used as a cancer remedy by virtue of specific alterative properties said to exist in it. It was at one time widely advertised, but the profession has failed to observe the effects claimed by the proprietors, and yet it undoubtedly has active alterative properties. It is given where a cancerous diathesis is known to be present, and its use is persisted in for months. Improvement in objective phenomena is reported from a number of excellent observers. The agent is also prescribed in irritable conditions of the larynx and air passages, especially if evidenced by spasmodic cough. it has served a good purpose in whooping cough, in the cough of measles, and in general bronchial or pulmonary irritation. A dry, irritable cough will respond most readily to its influence. Dr. Lambert is of the opinion that trifolium has a direct action in improving the nutrition of the brain. He thinks it is demanded when the patient is overworked; when there is general mental failure, with loss of memory of words, or when there is confusion of ideas of functional causes; also when there is weakness of the lower extremities, or of the feet from deficient capillary circulation.