Arctium lappa
Made from burdock root — the burr of the passing animal and the blood-purifier of the old herbals, and the classical remedy of the chronic skin and the swollen glands.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a skin that never clears and glands that never settle: the chronic eczema and acne of the books, the swollen lymphatics and the stubborn nodules, the blood-purifying root of the old herbals, and the burr that hitches on every passing coat. The blood-purifying root: that is Arctium.
The substance, in plain words
Burdock is the plant of the clinging burrs — the hooked seeds that inspired Velcro — and its root a genuine blood-purifier of the old herbals, used across Europe and Asia for the chronic skin and the swollen glands. Its arctigenin chemistry is genuinely studied. The proving gave the root the chronic-skin portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about appearance. Worry over the chronic skin, the nodules, the glands, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the chronic discomfort.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the long, recurrent states.
The body
- Chronic eczema and acne. The keynote: the chronic eczema, acne and obstinate skin of the books' blood-purifying chapter.
- Swollen lymphatics and nodules. The swollen glands, lymphatics and stubborn nodules of the same chapter.
- Chronic ulcers and eruptions. The books add the chronic, weeping eruptions the root was given for.
- Worse cold damp and night. Wet weather and night thicken the skin and the glands.
- Better for open air and the root's course. Fresh air and the slow purifying course of the root ease the chronic state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| cold damp weather; night; rich food; suppressed eruptions. | open air; the purifying course; simple diet. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Skin (chronic eczema, acne), glands and lymphatics, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The burr-plant's proving gave the chronic-skin portrait; Arctium became the classical remedy of the skin that never clears — the blood-purifying root of the herbals serving the glands it was dug for.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Burdock is genuinely one of the old herbals' most persistent blood-purifiers: its root eaten and prescribed across Europe and Asia for the chronic skin, its arctigenin lignans studied for anti-inflammatory and metabolic effects — a real, if modest, modern research subject. The burr that inspired Velcro and the root that purified the blood belong to the same unglamorous, useful plant.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Sulphur | Chronic hot skin | Sulphur is hot, red and itchy; Arctium is the chronic, cool, purifying chapter. |
| Graphites | Oozing crusted skin | Graphites oozes sticky honey; Arctium is the chronic acne and the swollen glands. |
| Echinacea angustifolia | Boils and glands | Echinacea is the drowsy, foul, septic one; Arctium the chronic purifier. |
| Phytolacca decandra | Swollen glands | Phytolacca's glands are hard and radiating; Arctium's the chronic lymphatic swelling. |