Common horehound herb- Marrubium vulgare 100g

Common horehound origin

Common horehound is a perennial, grey-green, 25-60cm tall herb with small, white flowers in wreaths in the folds of the leaves. The leaves are very aromatic. The herb is protected in Sweden but can still be found on Öland and Gotland. The plant is more common in the Mediterranean area and southern Europe.

What is Common horehound good for?

The plant contains many active compounds, one of the most important is the bitter substance marrubin (diterpene lactone) which is only found in this perennial and it is precisely marrubin that is responsible for the bitterness of this plant. In addition to marrubin, the herb contains: sterols, triterpenes, flavonoids (mainly luteolin, apigenin and quercetin), tannins, essential oils, mineral salts, organic acids, saponins and vitamins (A, E, K), alkaloids and sweeteners (mainly stevia).

Common horehound was already known to the ancient inhabitants of Egypt (mainly priests), who appreciated the herb mainly because of the number of properties it possessed. The plant has been valued for thousands of years for its expectorant properties, and extracts from this herb have been administered for snake bites or to treat whooping cough. The Romans, on the other hand, considered the herb a natural remedy. Probably the Latin name of Marrubium vulgare - "marrubium" comes from the name of an ancient city located in the Roman Empire or from the Hebrew word "marrob", which means a bitter herb used by the Israelites during the Passover celebration.

Later, beer was brewed from Marrubium vulgare and it could also be included in breast caramels against cough precisely because of the expectorant properties of the herb. You can also drink tea on the herb.