Cleavers - Gallium aparine
Cleavers, Gallium aparine, is a common herbaceous plant that grows worldwide. It thrives on the edges of gardens and pathways with moist soil and part sun. I harvest mine from the edges and pathways of a large organic garden.
Cleavers got its name from its tendency to stick to hair and clothing. It is also called sticky willy, catchweed, and bedstraw. There are tiny, hooked hairs on the stems and leaves, much like hook and loop tape. It is edible when cooked. In traditional medicine it has been used as a poultice for burns, eczema, psoriasis, bites, and stings. As a tea it has been used for throat complaints, as a diuretic, and for cystitis.
Studies have shown that Galium aparine has good antioxidant potential. Its secondary metabolites are coumarins, iridoids, and flavonoids. It shows antimicrobial activity against microorganisms and especially high antifungal activity. It exhibits significant anticancer effects against lung cancer.1 Studies attest to the antifungal activities of cleavers against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and C. albicans, which are highly sensitive, and B. subtilis which is moderately sensitive. 2
Here is an important quote from another study: “All ethanolic extracts from G. aparine herb significantly stimulated the transformational activity of immunocompetent blood cells, with 96% ethanolic extract being most active. The percentage of lymphocytes proliferating in RLBT under the influence of 96% ethanolic extract increased by 4.34–5.32 times compared with the spontaneous transformation. The results justify the traditional use of extracts from G. aparine as immunomodulatory agents.” 3 This may explain why it has been used traditionally as a gargle for throat infections.