Words to the Wise: Cotton root bark decoction has a reputation as being safe and effective.[213] However, long term use of any medicine can prove to be harmful. Chinese tests with cotton root on animals and humans for periods of eight weeks, showed atrophy of the uterine lining tissue.[214] Abortifacient herbs should never be used as a primary method of birth control. The chemical gossypol in cotton is known to be toxic, but iron salts have been shown to inactivate gossypol. Cooking in cast iron pots or multivitamin supplement with iron would help to prevent gossypol toxicity.
Warning! Commercial cotton contains large amounts of toxic chemicals and is not fit for human consumption! According to a 1982 USDA survey, in one season the U.S. cotton crop was sprayed with 7,000,000 pounds of chemical desiccants and defoliants as well as 34,000,000 pounds of herbicides and pesticides! Consumer demand for organic cotton clothing has prompted four U.S. states (Arizona, California, Tennessee, and Texas) to produce small amounts of organic cotton.[215] Organic medicinal cotton root bark tinctures are now available from several reliable distributers (see Resources).
Abortifacient Cotton Root Bark Decoction: Add 4 ounces (113 g) of fresh cotton root bark to 1 quart (1 L) of water. Boil 20 - 30 minutes until the liquid is reduced to 2 cups (500 ml) liquid decoction. Take 4 – 8 Tbs. (60- 120 ml), every thirty minutes to one hour.
Abortifacient Tincture (use only fresh root bark): 1:2, 95% alcohol, 30 – 60 drops, up to three times a day, for no more than six days.
Daphne
The genkwa flower is good if it has been reserved for as long as several years. Bring it to boil in good vinegar for scores of times of use, remove vinegar, soak it overnight in water, dry it in the sun, and in this way its toxicity will be eliminated. It will give a similar but inferior effect to that of parching the flower with vinegar.
-Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, 2757 BC
AKA: Genkwa flower, yuan hua, and nasiniin. Called tu-yű or ‘fish poison’ in China, because when thrown into water it poisons the fish.
Parts Used: Flower buds, leaves, and root bark.
Medicinal Properties: Flower Buds: Abortifacient, anticoagulant, diuretic, antitussive, antiviral, expectorant, pyrogenic, purgative. Leaves: Abortifacient, purgative. Root bark: Abortifacient, anticoagulant, diuretic, purgative, and vesicant.
Effects on the Body: Increases urine, purgative action on the intestines, and reduces blood’s clotting ability.
Abortifacient Action: Decreases progesterone, augments uterine contractions, and stimulates production of prostaglandins.
Contains: Isolated methyl esters: yuanhuafine, yuanhuatine, yuanhuacine (used clinically in China intra and extra amniotically at a dose of 70 – 80 mcg to produce abortion with 98% effectiveness), and yuahuadine (used clinically in China intra amniotically at a dose of 60 mcg to produce abortion).[216]
Description: A deciduous 4 ft. (1.3 m) diameter shrub native to Asia. Planted in landscapes for its ornamental scented flowers and bright red berries (poisonous). Daphne flowers appear in early spring on bare stems and do not have petals but are made up of four or five light pink to purple petaloid sepals.
Herbal use of Daphne genkwa can be traced to 5000 years ago. Daphne genkwa is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine and was first listed in the Shennong Bencao Jing, an ancient Chinese text that dates to legendary emperor, Shen Nong, who is considered the founder of Chinese herbal medicine and agriculture.
The ancient Greeks were also aware of the herbal powers of their variety of daphne, Daphne mezereum. Greek physician, Dioscorides, advised that Daphne mezereum “on a [pessary] pad expels the fetus or embryo.”[217] In ancient Greece, the herb daphne shared the name of a Goddess who, struck by Cupid’s embittered arrow, refused to allow passion to rule her destiny. The story of Daphne starts with Apollo teasing Eros (Cupid), saying that one so small could not make a difference with his arrows. Angered, Eros dipped one arrow in lead and one in gold. The arrow dipped in lead would cause whoever injured by it, to hate all passion and love, while the one dipped in gold would cause the most insatiable lust for love. Eros turned to Apollo and shot the gold tipped arrow into his chest. Then he turned and shot the lead tipped arrow, hitting Daphne. Apollo chased Daphne desperate for her love, but she ran endlessly away from him. Tiring, Daphne called to her father, the river God Peneus, to help her. Peneus used his power to transform his daughter into a laurel tree. Apollo still enamored of the tree, adorned himself with a crown of laurel leaves, and from that time on laurel has been viewed as a plant that cleanses the soul.
Modern science has explored the abortifacient powers of daphne. Plant based drugs, yuanhuadine and yuanhuacine, have been isolated from Daphne genkwa root and are used in China today to abort with few side effects.[218] Tests with Daphne genkwa on rats indicated that daphne stimulates prostaglandins which increase uterine contraction.[219] Extracts of Daphne genkwa root injected into the pregnant uterus in monkeys, induced mid-term abortions.[220] Abortion occurred within 69 - 142 hours after the injection of daphne root extract. The fresh root (chewed), or water, oil, and alcohol extracts of the root, have been used to induce labor.[221] The alcohol extract of daphne root was shown to be effective at inducing abortion.[222] The alcohol extract of the root has been used to induce abortion after 12 weeks via intra-amniotic administration.[223]
Gathering: Flower buds should be gathered after morning dew has dried. In China, daphne flowers are thoroughly dried in the sun and stored for several years before use. The root may be gathered at night in late fall. The bark should be peeled from the root and thoroughly dried before storing.
Purchasing: Daphne flower buds (Flos genkwa) can be found in some Asian markets and specialty stores. Some stores also sell genkwa powders, pills and capsules. Daphne root is not generally available, but, as daphne is widely grown worldwide as an ornamental, the root might be obtained fresh.
Preparation: Extracts of daphne root bark and flower buds have been shown to be effective as menstrual promoters in early pregnancy and abortive in early and mid-term pregnancy. The flower of daphne is more widely available than the root. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), daphne flower buds are fried in a pan with vinegar to reduce toxicity. Use of this vinegar water in a liquid pessary, may be advantageous for abortifacient purposes.[224]
213
Susan S. Weed,
214
L. H. Peng,
218
C.R. Wang, H.Z. Huang, and R.S. Xu, “Studies on the Active Principals of the Root Yuanhua. Isolation and Structure of Yuanhua Fine,”
219
Y. Ma, H. Liu, S. Qu, X. Qiu, Y. Zhang, Y. Ding, and Y. Wei, “Effect of Yuanhua on Isolated Uterine Strips in Unpregnant Rats”,
220
C.R. Wang, Z.X. Chen, B.P. Ying. B.N. Zhou. J.S. Liu, and B.C. Pan, “Studies on the Active Principles of the Root of Yuan-Hua (
221
Hubei College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, New Medical Communications (Hubei College of Traditional Chinese medicine), No. 1 (1974), 21.
222
89th Hospital of the Chinese PLA, “Summary of 100 cases of abortion induced by
223
Zhu You-Ping Zhu,
224
Y.G. Liang, “Morphological Observations of Placenta in 56 Cases of Mid-term Abortion Induced by Yuanhua Preparations,”