Traditional uses and benefits of Ammoniacum

• Ammoniacum has been used in Western herbal medicine for thousands of years and is still seen as an effective remedy for various complaints of the chest.

• Gum resin is found in cavities in the tissues of stems, roots and petioles.

• It often exudes naturally from holes in the stems caused by beetles though this is not as pure as that obtained from the plant tissues.

• Resin is antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, mildly diuretic, expectorant, poultice, stimulant and vasodilator.

• It is often used internally in the treatment of chronic bronchitis (especially in the elderly), asthma and catarrh.

• Externally, it is used as a plaster for swellings of the joints and indolent tumors.

• Gum is used as a plaster for white swellings of the joints and for indolent tumors.

• Its use is of great antiquity and is mentioned by Hippocrates.

• It has been found especially useful in chronic affections of the respiratory organs, especially among the aged, or those in whom the expectoration is scanty, as in cough, asthma, etc.

• It has likewise been found advantageous in profuse mucous discharges.

• It has also been recommended in hysteria, but is inferior to some other of the fetid gum-resins, as asafetida.

• Ammoniacum may be of service in small doses, in the headache resulting from disease of the frontal sinuses, in affections of the optic nerve, in catarrhal affections of the throat, nasal passages, eyes, ears and stomach, mucous diarrhea, and in pains in the limbs accompanying disease of more or less of the mucous tissues.

• Applied externally in the form of plaster, it irritates the skin, frequently producing a papular eruption.

• It is still listed in the British Pharmacopoeia as an antispasmodic and as an expectorant that stimulates the coughing up of thick mucus.

• It is a specific treatment for chronic bronchitis, asthma, and persistent coughs.

• Ammoniacum is also occasionally used to induce sweating or menstruation.

Other Facts

• A medicinal gum or resin called ‘Ammoniacum’ is exuded from insect damaged stems.

• It is also used in perfumery and in porcelain cement as well as for plasters.