Botanical Name: Eupatorium purpureum, Asteraceae

Common names: Gravel Root, Joe Pye Weed, Jopi Weed, Queen of the Meadow Root, Purple Boneset, Trumpetweed, Gravelweed.

Similar species: E. maculatum, fistulosum E. verticillatum, E. fistulosum

Plant description: Gravelroot is a stout herbaceous perennial with a woody stem and fibrous roots, displaying a purplish band in the leaf joints of the stem, attaining a height of between 60 and 180 cm.  The thin leaves are found in whorls, three to six each, lanceolate, with fine feathery veins, coarsely serrated edges, rough above, and softly hairy below along the mid-vein and veinlets.  Disc florets are tube shaped, contained in dome-shaped corymbs (clusters), purple to pinkish-purple, or sometimes whitish.  E. maculatum has purple spots.  Fruits are achenes, with a white pappus.

Habitat, ecology and distribution: While various Eupatorium species are found all over the world, Gravelroot is native to North America, found at low elevations in wet to moist sites, in meadows and plains up into the foothills, blossoming from July to September.

Part used: root, aerial parts.

History: One of its common names, Joe Pye Weed, is believed to be the name of an Abenaki First Nation healer who saved the New England colonists from typhoid fever. Another possible source for its name the word 'jopi,' and apparently First Nations (Abenaki?) name for typhoid fever ≠ hence Jopiweed. Although it has been used as a mild diaphoretic its more commonly used name of Gravelroot however provides a better indication of its more important traditional uses, to dispel small stones and sludge from the bladder.  The Cherokee nation used Gravelroot in the treatment of joint disorders and urinary problems, and used the stem to suck water from shallow springs and to blow medicine into the nose (Hamel and Chiltoskey 1975, 41).

Constituents: There is little constituent information for Gravelroot.  It is stated to contain several benzofuran compounds (euparin, euparone, 6-hydroxy-3beta-methoxytrematone and 5-acetyl-6-hydroxy-2-[1-oxo-2-acetoxy-ethyl]-benzofuran), a flavonoid called eupatorin, a resin, and a volatile oil.  The herbaceous material of many species of Eupatorium are known to contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), although not all PAs are necessarily toxic  (E. perfoliatum) (Newall et al 1996, 153; Lang et al 2001).

Medical Research:
•Antiinflammatory: Researchers identified Gravelroot as a potent inhibitor of some beta 1 and beta 2 integrin-mediated cell adhesions, and isolated a chemical called cistofolin (5-acetyl-6-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-cis-2-isopropenyl-3-tiglinoyloxybenzofuran) that was determined to be the active ingredient in these tests. Cistofolin inhibited integrin-dependent cell-cell and cell-protein interactions in vitro with EC50 values between 7-20 micrograms/ml. Tested in carrageenan-induced rat paw edema cistofolin, cistofolin was shown to exhibit antiinflammatoy properties similar to indomethacin (Habtemariam et al 1998). Cistifolin has also been shown to inhibit Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18)-dependent monocyte adhesion to fibrinogen in a concentration-dependent manner (Habtemariam 2001).

Toxicity: no data.

Herbal action: diuretic, tonic, mild astringent, antilithic, antirheumatic, diaphoretic

Indications: urinary catarrh, urinary calculi, hematuria, dysuria, cystitis, prostatitis, kidney and lower back pain, rheumatism, gout

Contraindications and cautions: none found.

Medicinal uses: Gravelroot is a diffusive stimulant with mildly astringing properties, making it suitable for states of irritation and inflammation, useful in most atonic conditions except in severe depression. Gravelroot has a slow-acting but persistent effect upon the kidneys and bladder, relaxing the musculature and promoting diuresis.  For its most prominent indication, Gravelroot is used when the urine is reddish to reddish-brown in color, and when there is a deposit of reddish sand in the urine. In oxalic and phosphatic forms of urinary lithasis however, Cook states that it is of "trifling service" (1869). Other herbalists however have used Gravelroot with success for a variety of kidney stones, often used long term in combination with other herbs such as Seven Barks (Hydrangea arborescens), Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), Parsley Piert (Aphanes arvensis), Couchgrass (Agropyron repens), Cornsilk (Zea mays) and Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellate).  Gravelroot is indicated in difficult and painful urination generally, with shooting pains in the perineum, lower back pain, frequency and a sense of obstruction.  In prostatitis Gravelroot is used to prevent the more acute forms and to treat chronic conditions.  In childhood incontinence with great irritation and distress, Felter and Lloyd recommend Gravelroot at a dose of 5 drops 3 times a day (1893).  For urinary incontinence in pregnancy the recommended dose is 1 or 2 drops of the tincture every 2 or 3 hours (Felter and Lloyd 1893). Gravelroot also comes with high recommendations in chronic edema, to restore tone to the kidneys and as a preventative, after the use cathartics to expel the excess fluid (Felter and Lloyd 1893). As a uterine tonic Gravelroot is used in uterine prolapse and retroversion (uterus tilted backwards), and is used internally and as an injection or sitz bath in amenorrhea and leucorrhea (Cook 1869; Felter and Lloyd 1893). In pregnancy Gravelroot is said to control chronic irritability and prevent miscarriage. For dyspeptic conditions, Gravelroot is a reasonably good tonic, gently astringing the mucosa and checking excess catarrh (Felter and Lloyd 1893).  Gravelroot has also shown promise as a respiratory remedy, correcting the pulmonary circulation in chronic cough, asthma, chronic catarrh, and whooping cough (Cook 1869; Felter and Lloyd 1893)

 Pharmacy and dosage:
•Fresh Plant Tincture: fresh root, 1:2, 95% alcohol, 1-60 gtt
•Dry Plant Tincture: recently dried root, 1:5, 60% alcohol, 1-3 mL
•Decoction: recently dried root, 1:20, 60-90 mL

REFERENCES

Cook, WM. H. 1869. The Physiomedical Dispensatory. Cincinnati: self-published. Digitized version available from http://medherb.com/cook/home.htm.  
Felter, HW and JU Lloyd. 1893. King's American Dispensatory. Digitized version available from http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/kings/main.html.
Grieve, Maude. 1971. A Modern Herbal. New York: Dover Publications.
Habtemariam S. 2001. Antiinflammatory activity of the antirheumatic herbal drug, gravel root (Eupatorium purpureum): further biological activities and constituents. Phytother Res Dec;15(8):687-90
----------. 1998. Cistifolin, an integrin-dependent cell adhesion blocker from the anti-rheumatic herbal drug, gravel root (rhizome of Eupatorium purpureum). Planta Med 1998 Dec;64(8):683-5
Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey 1975. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses:A 400 Year History. Sylva, N.C.: Herald Publishing
Lang G, Passreiter CM, Medinilla B, Castillo J, Witte L. 2001. Non-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Eupatorium semialatum. Biochem Syst Ecol Feb 1;29(2):143-147
Mills, Simon and Kerry Bone. 2000. Principals and Practice of Phytotherapy. London: Churchill Livingstone
Newall, Carol A., Linda A. Anderson and J.D. Phillipson. 1996. Herbal Medicines: A Guide for Health-Care Professionals. London: The Pharmaceutical Press.