Lobelia inflata
Made from Indian tobacco — the American herb whose lobeline mimics nicotine, was studied for smoking cessation, and became the classical asthma-with-nausea remedy.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of asthma married to nausea: a sensation of oppression at the chest, breathlessness with faintness, cold sweat, nausea rising with every paroxysm, and vomiting that ends the attack — worse in cold air, with a weak stomach behind it all. Asthma with nausea, attack ending in vomit: that is Lobelia.
The substance, in plain words
Lobelia is the American 'Indian tobacco', its lobeline an alkaloid that mimics and then blocks nicotine's actions — studied in the twentieth century as a smoking-cessation drug. In overdose it vomits and sweats; in the proving it gave the chest-and-stomach portrait of the classical books.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety of the dyspnea. Fear, dread of suffocation with the oppression; worse alone at night.
- Irritability. Cross, worried, worse after the attack's exhaustion.
- Weak-mindedness. The books note a feeble, anxious mind with the feeble chest.
The body
- Asthma with nausea. The keynote: oppression of the chest with nausea — the two systems protest together.
- Attack ending in vomiting. The paroxysm breaks in vomiting and cold sweat; then relief.
- Faintness and sweat. Pallor, cold sweat, weak pulse with the breathlessness.
- Worse cold air. Cold damp air and cold water on the chest aggravate.
- Weak stomach. Gastric weakness behind the chest — the books pair Lobelia with dyspeptic asthma.
- Pram The oppression and nausea are worst in the morning hours.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| cold air; morning; emotional excitement; eating | warmth; vomiting |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Lungs and respiration, stomach and vomiting centre, circulation, autonomic nerves.
Where the classical picture comes from
Lobelia's overdose pharmacology — nausea, vomiting, sweat, oppression — is the proving; clinically the remedy attached to the dyspeptic asthmatic whose attacks ended at the basin, a figure well known to the old practitioners.
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.
Lobeline's nicotine-mimicry made it a genuine candidate drug for smoking cessation in the twentieth century — a real pharmacological lead, since abandoned for better agents. Lobelia remains a working example of an autonomic-active plant, its chemistry authentically on the nicotinic pathway.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Ipecacuanha | Nausea with chest complaints | Ipecac's nausea is constant with clean tongue; Lobelia's is married to the asthma attack. |
| Arsenicum album | Anxious breathlessness | Arsenicum is chilly, midnight-worse and sipping; Lobelia is nauseated and vomiting. |
| Grindelia robusta | Asthma, sleep disorder | Grindelia stops breathing on falling asleep; Lobelia vomits at the attack's end. |
| Antimonium tartaricum | Rattling, drowsy | Ant-tart rattles and sleeps; Lobelia oppresses and vomits. |