Botanical Names: Sambucus nigra

Parts Used: The berry and flower

Therapeutic Category: Mild remedy with minimal to chronic toxicity. 

Constituents: Flavonoids (rutin, quercetin, kaempferol), essential oil, cyanogenic glycosides (sambunigrin), sambucine, terpenes, phenolic acids, fixed oils (linoleic, linolenic, palmitic acids) tannins, mucilage, mucilaginous polysaccharides, potassium nitrate, resin.

Taste: Bittersweet, tart, pungent, sour, earthy,  fruity. 

Energetics: Pungent, sweet, cool, dry, softening, dissolving, stimulating, dispersing.

Actions: Diuretic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulant, refrigerant, mild laxative, expectorant, antioxidant, mucostatic, vasodilatory diaphoretic, antiallergic, anti-infective, acidulous. 

Tropism: Lungs, skin, kidneys, bladder, spleen.

Preparations and Dosage: 

Traditional preparations of Elder berry and flower include wine, vinegar, syrup, and oil around the fall or wintertime as a tonic for immune support. 

Dosage: Infusion: 6-14g Tincture: 2-4ml at 1:3 strength in 30% ethanol. 

Cautions and Contraindications: The uncooked berries, leaves, bark and roots of Sambucus contain the chemicals lectin and cyanide, which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Cooking the berries, leaves, root, and seeds will remove the cyanide.

Topical use: Topically, Sambucus has been used as a facial wash, hair rinse, compress, and ointment due to its antioxidant and anthocyanin contents which help reduce inflammation, bruising, viral relief (herpes or other skin based viruses), as well as it’s potential to stimulate hair growth.  

Nutrition: Antioxidants and phytonutrients (anthocyanins, phenolic acid, flavonols), dietary fiber, Vitamins C, A, B-complex, iron.

Elderberry’s Relationship to the Respiratory system

Elder as a medicinal herb is often used as a seasonal tonic specifically focused on inflamed upper respiratory conditions such as the common cold, flu, coughs, and viral infections. Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu actually found that the constituents of elderberry disarm the enzyme many viruses use to penetrate healthy cells in the lining of the nose and throat. It’s vasodilatory stimulation works to drain and cool the exterior to resolve any toxic heat by promoting secretions such as sweat, saliva, and mucus. This is followed by a drying action to help disperse and resolve any excess in mucus production while the essential oils aid in reducing wheezing caused by mucus.