Self-heal is completely edible, raw or cooked, and can be used in soups, stews, salads, and boiled as a potherb similarly to spinach and other greens. Cherokee Indians would cook and eat young leaves. Other Indian tribes would commonly drink an infusion of the plant as a cold beverage. Nutritionally, self-heal contains vitamins A, C, K, flavonoids (which are antioxidants), rutin, manganese, thiamine, and other useful constituents. Rutin is used in many places around the world as a medication for blood vessel production and within multivitamins and herbal remedies; it has also been implicated to have potential relevance in controlling some cancers and as an anti-inflammatory.
Medicinally, self-heal is antibacterial, antiseptic, antispasmodic (suppresses muscle spasms), astringent (shrinks and constricts body tissues), antipyretic and febrifuge (reduces fever), diuretic (removes water from the body), hypotensive (lowers blood pressure), stomachic (improves the function of the stomach), styptic (contracts tissue to seal injured blood vessels/stops bleeding), tonic (restores and invigorates key body systems), vermifuge (antiparasitic), and vulnerary (wound-healing). Because of its wound-healing and blood-staunching capabilities, self-heal can be applied directly to the skin for many types of wounds and bruises. This plethora of medicinal qualities is why Prunella vulgaris came be known by the names self-heal and heal-all. Its chemical properties have shown promise for use as an antibiotic and for hard-to-heal wounds and disease, such as herpes, cancer, diabetes, and other maladies. It is commonly taken internally as an herbal tea for the treatment of sore throats, coughs, ulcers, internal bleeding, fevers, headaches, dizziness, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, stomach upset and irritation, and heart and liver weaknesses. To make Prunella tea, simply add one ounce dried or fresh herb to a pint of boiling water, steep until cool and drink in one cup doses. This can be sweetened with honey which will also act to naturally strengthen the immune system, with raw, local honey providing the greatest benefit.
So, remember to try and eat one wild food every day! If you have any questions or comments or ideas for wild food articles or recipes, please email [email protected].