Natural products from New York's beautiful Finger Lakes Region and Adirondack Mountains
Tree Lungwort Lichen- Lobaria pulmonaria
Lungwort is a lichen of the old-growth, boreal forest. It is composed of a fungus and a green alga that have a symbiotic relationship with cyanobacteria. I harvest it from select locations in the Adirondack Mountains. It is an important nitrogen fixer and an indicator of clean air. Fungi are not related to plants, but to animalia. Their natural defense mechanisms can be studied and used for the benefit of humans.
One of its medicinal components is mucilage, which is soothing for respiratory ailments and cough. It has traditionally been boiled, sometimes in milk, to make a cough tea. I find it useful for a dry, hacking, raspy sort of cough such as you get after a week of bronchitis.
Lungwort has tannins that impart antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects in the respiratory tract and can help protect against secondary bacterial infection that can happen when you are fighting a virus. Lichen Antibiotic Homepage (oregonstate.edu).
It has been shown in studies to be antiproliferative against colon cancer cells and research is continuing. It is the stictic acid component which appears to have the cancer-fighting effect.1Lungwort has a quercetin component, which is a flavonoid. Flavonoids are strongly anti-oxidative and can help protect against heart disease.
It is being investigated as a solution for prion contamination of surgical instruments. Prion diseases, such as “mad cow” are caused by proteins which are virtually indestructible. Lobaria pulmonaria is one of three lichen species that can inactivate the problematic proteins. So far it has been tested on a variety of animals and it appears to be the fungal part of the lichen that has the prionicidal effect. 2
Dosing is 1-2 ml, 3 times a day. Start small in case of a reaction. Although I’ve never heard of a lichen allergy anything is possible. For more studies check out Google Scholar.
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease.
1Boris Pejin, Carmine Iodice, Gordana Bogdanović, Vesna Kojić, Vele Tešević, Stictic acid inhibits cell growth of human colon adenocarcinoma HT-29 cells, Arabian Journal of Chemistry, Volume 10, Supplement 1, 2017, Pages S1240-S1242, ISSN 1878-5352, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2013.03.003.
2Johnson CJ, Bennett JP, Biro SM, Duque-Velasquez JC, Rodriguez CM, Bessen RA, Rocke TE. Degradation of the disease-associated prion protein by a serine protease from lichens. PLoS One. 2011 May 11;6(5):e19836. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019836. PMID: 21589935; PMCID: PMC3092769.
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