Juniperus: Are juniper berries a kidney irritant? by Paul Bergner Medical Herbalism 07-31-94 6(2): 12 The
articles in this section address
the use of juniper berries (Juniperus
communis) The first
article, by Dr. Kerry Bone of Australia,
challenges the conventional
wisdom that juniper berries are automatically
contraindicated in kidney
disease. Dr. Bone points out the distinction
between the berries and
the extracted oil, and notes that oil may be
adulterated by extracts
from plant parts other than the berries. The
next article, written by
Dr. Wm. Cook in 1869, also points out the
difference between the
berries and the oil, and suggests that even the
berries are
contraindicated in acute inflammation of the
kidney. The third article
points out the uses recommended by other
physician-authors. My
conclusion: use the berries with caution in
active inflammation of the
kidney; like other alteratives with stimulant
properties, they are more
appropriate in conditions of deficiency and
laxity of the tissues than
in conditions of excess or inflammation. Dr.
Wade Boyle recommends
monitoring for albumin in the urine if it is
used for more than six
weeks continuously. Juniper Berry is not a kidney irritant Bone, Kerry Medical Herbalism 07-31-94 6(2): 12 The 24th International Symposium on Essential Oils was held in Berlin during July 1993. In this and upcoming issues, we will serialize a set of articles by Dr. Bone reviewing the conference. The Essential oil from the berries of juniper (Juniperus communis) is generally regarded as a kidney irritant. The conventional wisdom is that juniper is contraindicated in renal disease and should not be used long-term as a diuretic. However, a poster presented at the 24th International Symposium on Essential Oils by BM Heil and J Schilcher from Berlin has challenged this assumption. Potter in 1898 wrote that juniper"...may set up renal irritation, in large doses producing strangury, priapism, hematuria, suppression of the urine and uraemic convulsions." This opinion was perpetuated by other writers such as Madaus. The
authors reviewed all the available
literature on juniper from 1844 to the present.
They concluded that the
main source of the warnings concerning juniper
came from the use of
fatal doses of juniper oil administered to
animals. Also high doses of
juniper oil cause clouding of the urine which
might be taken as a sign
of renal irritation. But this clouding
disappears on dilution with
ethanol, indicating that it is not due to
irritation (and may in fact
be caused by the excretion of juniper oil
metabolites.) A recent toxicological study on rats using high doses of juniper oil found no damage to the kidneys. This oil contained low levels of terpene hydrocarbons such as [alpha] and [beta] pinene. The authors hypothesized that the reputation for juniper oil as a renal irritant may have come from the use of oils containing high levels of [alpha] and [beta] pinene which are known irritants to the urinary tract. Higher levels of these pinenes would result from codistillation of needles, branches, and unripe berries with the ripe berries. It was concluded that ripe juniper berries (as normally used in herbal medicine), and juniper oil distilled only from the ripe berries can be used safely in diuretic therapy. However, care should still be exercised in cases of acute renal inflammation. Comment Adulteration of essential oils (volatile oils) is a common problem. In this example, adulteration has led to a false conclusion about the safety not only of the oil, but the herb from which it was distilled. Care should still be exercised if juniper oil is used, since it may contain high levels of pinenes. Many herbal writers have commended the value of juniper for osteoarthritis, but the concern about the kidneys precluded its long-term use. Natural therapists can now safely use preparations of the ripe juniper berry for this chronic disorder without fear of compromising renal function. Reprinted
from the Medi Herb Monitor,
March 1993
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