Rhamnus frangula
Made from frangula bark — the buckthorn of the old laxative shelf, an anthraquinone purgative of genuine official standing, and the classical remedy of the chronic, portal-bound constipation.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a bowel bound to the portal system: chronic, obstinate constipation with the hepatic congestion, the books' great anthraquinone laxative of the portal chapter, and the buckthorn bark that moved the old dispensary's bowels. The portal-bound constipation: that is Rhamnus frangula.
The substance, in plain words
Frangula is the bark of the buckthorn, an anthraquinone purgative of genuine official standing in the old pharmacopeias — the same laxative chemistry as senna, rhubarb and the yellow dock of this library, working the bowel by the same mechanism. The proving gave the bark the portal-constipation portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Irritability and gloom. Cross, low-spirited, worse in the morning with the bound state.
- Anxiety about health. Worry over the chronicity, the habit, the portal congestion.
- Dullness. Heavy mind with the hepatic torpor.
The body
- Chronic constipation. The keynote: the obstinate, habitual bowel of the books' chronic chapter.
- Portal and hepatic congestion. The congested portal system and the torpid liver behind the bound state.
- Headache of the constipation. The books add the congestive headache of the bound bowel.
- Alternation with diarrhea. The books note the alternation — bound for days, then looseness.
- Worse cold damp and morning. Wet weather and the waking hours aggravate the bound state.
- Better for the bowel moving and warmth. The reluctant evacuation and warmth ease the portal chapter.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| cold damp weather; morning; sedentary habits; rich food. | the bowel moving; warmth; motion. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Bowels (chronic constipation), liver and portal system, head, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The official anthraquinone bark's proving gave the portal-constipation portrait; Rhamnus frangula became the classical remedy of the chronic, bound bowel of the congested liver — the buckthorn of the old laxative shelf serving the portal chapter.
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.
Frangula is genuinely one of the official anthraquinone laxatives of the old pharmacopeias — the same chemistry as senna and rhubarb, working by the same mechanism, its official career honourable and its retirement the natural result of modern bowel medicine. The constipation it portrayed is now fibre, fluids, prokinetics and investigation; the bark's chemistry is real, honest history.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Cascara sagrada | The anthraquinone family | Cascara is the portal-bound constipation of the American bark; Rhamnus frangula the European buckthorn of the same chemistry. |
| Sulphur | Red orifices, hot constitution | Sulphur is hot and itchy-skinned; Rhamnus frangula is the portal-bound one of the laxative shelf. |
| Lycopodium clavatum | Liver and right side | Lycopodium is the flatulent 4–8 p.m. liver; Rhamnus frangula the portal-bound bowel. |
| Nux vomica | Irritable, sedentary constipation | Nux is fiery and spasmodic; Rhamnus frangula the habitual anthraquinone chapter. |