Lobelia Inflata

(As a side note, the End the Habit program uses the recommended Lobelia inflata, not Lobelia siphilitica)

From NAKA Herbs & Vitamins Ltd.

'Breathe Deep with Lobelia'

One of the most powerful and effective medicinal ingredients is respiratory stimulant Lobelia extract.  Lobelia works in two wonderful ways for respiratory conditions as both an antispasmodic and expectorant.  It helps reduce bronchial asthma and coughing attacks (antispasmodic) and helps expel mucous in the lungs (expectorant).

This cough suppressant and relaxant is also beneficial for those with fever and cold symptoms. 

Lobelia is high in manganese, vitamin A (needed for tissue repair) and C (immunostimulant), and alkaloids (gums, resins, lipids, essential oil and lobelic acid).

Working to stimulate the brain stem Lobelia produces stronger and deeper breathing.

Due to its high piperidine alkaloid content (imitating the effects of nicotine) it is also beneficial for those trying to quit smoking.

From the Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
by Peter Gregutt

Lobelia inflata
Description

Lobelia inflata, also known as Indian tobacco, wild tobacco, pukeweed, emetic weed, asthma weed and gagroot, is native to North America and can commonly be found growing wild over much of the United States. The erect stem reaches a height of between 6 in (15 cm) and several feet. The many small blue flowers appear in midsummer and are visible through late fall. The stem is hairy, and the plant contains a milk-like sap.

Worldwide, there are more than 200 species of lobelia, growing predominantly in the temperate and tropical zones. Some species found at high elevations in mountainous areas of Asia and Africa may achieve a height of up to 15 ft (5.5 m). At the other end of the size spectrum, the dwarf lobelia (Lobelia erina) is sometimes cultivated as a small ornamental or hanging plant.

General use

This powerful plant has the distinction of being simultaneously a stimulant (for the respiratory system) and a general relaxant. This unusual combination may help account for the remarkably diverse assortment of ailments for which lobelia is used.

To begin with, lobelia is commonly associated with the treatment of lung-related ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, coughs, pneumonia, colds and flu, and other upper-respiratory problems.

Perhaps not surprisingly, then, this well-established medicinal plant has a special relationship with the (also long-established) practice of smoking. In some Native American cultures, lobelia was smoked as a treatment for lung diseases, which presumably led early European naturalists to dub the plant Indian tobacco. Considering the plant's value as an overall tonic for the lungs, this practice stands in marked contrast to contemporary use of tobacco (which many Native American cultures also used) as a plant to be smoked. Even more intriguingly, lobelia is commonly used as an aid to stopping smoking, sometimes in combination with cramp bark . One of the alkaloids in lobelia, lobeline, has effects on humans similar to those of nicotine and can be helpful in treating the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. These same properties may perhaps also explain the use of the plant to treat hangovers and alcoholism.

From 'Herbal Remedies for Canadians' by Paul R. Saunders, PhD, ND, DHANP, CCH and Frankie Avalon Wolfe
 

pg. 281   

Lobelia ( Lobelia inflata or Lobelia siphilitica ) is an herb tried and true for helping many smokers quit.  The species Lobelia inflata is the herb you will most likely spelled out on herb bottles, as it has less of the emetic ( vomit-inducing ) quality that the other relative, Lobelia siphilitica.  We have already discussed some of lobelia's usefulness for asthma in Chapter 6, "Give me Another A," and as an emetic for food poisoning in Chapter 11, "F: Fantastic Healing Flora."  However, this herb really is tops when it comes to quitting and recovering from cigarette smoking and tobacco chewing.  This is probably because lobelia contains the active ingredient lobeline, which is almost identical to nicotine and has similar effects on the nervous system.  However, because the dose is a fraction of that in tobacco, it satisfies the craving with none of the toxic side effects that cigarettes have on the body.

If you continue to smoke while taking lobelia, your smoking could make you feel ill.  Lobelia is a strong herb and is not meant for daily use over long periods of time; it is more useful to relieve acute conditions over a fairly short period of time.  Consult your herbalist or naturopathic physician.

After you quit, lobelia can be used for a couple of week to help your lungs eliminate excess tar and mucous, calm the nerves, and help your body rejuvenate.

pg. 284

Quitting Smoking

Best Single Herb:  Lobelia

Other Helpful Supplements:  All antioxidants

Complementary Help:  Vigorous exercise; herbal cleansing or fasting to clear all toxins from body and eradicate cravings.

Lobelia - Lobelia inflata (in the Lobeliaceae or Bluebell family)

Part used: Aerial portions with ripe seed.

Taste/smell: Very acrid.

Dosage: Infusion: 1 teaspoon per cup of water; or 1:2 fresh strength liquid extract: 1-10 drops, 1-6 times per day.

Mental picture and specific indications: Lobelia is for conditions of a spasmodic nature. It is specific for dyspnea increased with exertion and aggravated by exposure to cold.

Use: (a) Stimulant, (b) Diaphoretic, (c) Expectorant, (d) Antispasmodic, (e) Emetic.

Lobelia is a diffusive stimulant, best used where arterial action is strong. It equalizes the circulation of blood in the body. It is used

for spasmodic coughs like croup, whooping cough, bronchial asthma, bronchitis and pleurisy. Lobelia is used during parturition when the os is spongy and not relaxing. It is a wonderful antispasmodic for many conditions. It is used externally as well as internally as an antispamodic.

Lobelia's constituent, lobeline, has been used as a treatment for nicotine addiction because it acts similarly to nicotine on autonomic ganglia.

Indian Tobacco
Lobelia inflata L. (Campanulaceae)

Common Names
Indian tobacco, asthma weed, bladder pod, bladder-podded lobelia, emetic herb, emetic weed, eyebright, field lobelia, gagroot, Indian Tobacco lobelia, lobelia, obelia, pukeweed, tobacco lobelia, vomitwort, wild tobacco.

Description
A branching annual that grows to 3 feet in height. Leaves are 1 to 3 inches long. Produces small, violet-pinkish-white flowers situated in axils of alternate leaves, the bottom of which greatly inflate in fruiting stage.

Flowering Period
July to September.

Habitat
Weedy fields, roadsides, woods, and in partial shade.

Harvest
Herb when in flower and forming seeds.

From National Geographic's 'Nature's Medicine - Plants That Heal' by Joel L. Swerdlow PhD - pg.367

Lobelia Inflata

Common Names - Lobelia, Indian tobacco, Pukeweed, Bladderpod

Latin Name - Lobelia Inflata

Family - Campanulaceae

Parts Used - Flower, seed, root

Description - Growing as high as one to two feet, this annual or biennial hair-covered herb has an angled, branched stem and yellowish or light green leaves.  The herb bears pale violet-blue spiky flowers and oval fruit with small brown seeds.

Habitat - Indigenous to North America, lobelia is found along roadsides in the eastern United States, Canada, and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

Folklore and Traditional Uses - Carl von Linne, the Swedish botanist known as Linnaeus, the father of modern botany, named this plant family after the Flemish botanist and private physician to King James I, Matthias de Lobel.  Native Americans employed it ceremonially as they did tobacco to ward off storms, place on graves, or use in rain dances.  Other groups made lobelia part of their love potions or used it as an antidote to such charms.  Some burned it to smoke away gnats.

Medicinal Uses - Native Americans treated dozens or ailments with lobelia, ranging from fevers and venereal diseases to earaches and stiff necks.  American herbalist Samuel Thompson, whom most Westerners credit with discovering the medicinal uses of lobelia, created a controversial healing system centered around it, which he prescribed to induce vomiting.  Containing relatively high levels of manganese, Vitamin A and Vitamin C, lobelia is currently employed as a blood cleanser and used as a respiratory stimulant to treat bronchial and spasmodic asthma and chronic bronchitis.  Lobeline, its principal alkaloid, stimulates deeper breathing.  Applied externally, lobelia works as a muscle relaxant to treat sprains and certain back problems.