Juniper
Botanical Description & Habitat
Juniperus communis
Family
Pinaceae
Common names
Juniper bark
Juniper bush
Viscum
Habitat
Native to Europe and is found in North America, Asia, and North Africa. The plant grows from 12 to 15 feet in height with numerous branches.
Description
Has red-brown bark and bears deep green leaves. The leaves are needle-shaped and glaucous, growing in whorls of three. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants; male flowers are yellow and grow in whorls, female flowers are green, and consist of three contiguous, upright seed buds. The flowers appear from April to June. The fruit is a dark purple berry which ripens in the second year after the flower. It is composed of fleshy, coalescing scales, and contains three ovate seeds.
Medicinal parts
Berries - ripe, carefully dried
leaves - dried
Historical Properties & Uses
Juniper is used primarily as a diuretic. Its high concentration of volatile oils (especially terpenol) act directly on the kidneys, stimulating the flow of urine by raising the rate of glomerulus filtration (the process by which blood is purified and wastes filtered out).
Juniper berries and extracts are found in some over-the-counter diuretic and laxative preparations. The herb is most effective in combination with other diuretic herbs, such as queen-of-the-meadow, uva ursi, or buchu.
In acute nephritic illness, juniper returns normal secretory action to the renal epithelium and normalizes blood pressure. While overdoses can irritate the kidneys, the risk of toxicity is low if the berry is used properly. Juniper possesses some antibiotic and disinfectant properties, but its popular use as a carminative and/or stomachic has not been experimentally validated.
Juniper berry has approval status by the German Commission E for dyspepsia.
References:
Blumenthal, M (Ed.): The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. American Botanical Council. Austin, TX. 1998.
Method of Action
Juniper has antibiotic and disinfectant properties
Juniper possesses strong antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, probably due to the presence of large quantities of volatile oils, such as monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, and juglone.
Juniper berry is an effective diuretic
Juniper berry is strongly diuretic. The unripened berry (in a 1% infusion) has a stronger action than the ripened berries; this is also true of the volatile oil when it is administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight.
One component of juniper, terpinen-4-ol, has a diuretic effect, but there appears to be no direct correlation between the content of oil and the herb's diuretic action: the aqueous residue remaining after distillation of the volatile oil from unripened fruits has just as marked an effect. Juniper berry works by raising the rate of glomerular filtration.
Podophyllotoxin, a terpenoid isolated from juniper, has some antitumor properties.
Drug Interactions & Precautions
Known Interactions
The powerful diuretic property of juniper may potentiate the hyperglycemic and hyperuricemic effects of glucose-elevating agents.
This diuretic herb may also potentiate the action of antihypertensive, ganglionic or peripheral adrenergic blocking drugs, tubocurarine, and to a lesser degree, norepinephrine. In addition, the effects of dopamine and diuretic agents are additive.
Possible Interactions
When taken in conjunction with corticotropin (ACTH) or corticosteroids, this diuretic herb is more prone to produce hypokalemia. Furthermore, the use of diuretics may require dosage adjustments of antidiabetic drugs. The diuretic action of juniper may reduce renal clearance of lithium. It should be noted an initial dose of the antihypertensive captopril may cause a severe drop in blood pressure within three hours if a strong diuretic such as this is also being used.
The anti-inflammatory activity of juniper can be seriously inhibited by phenobarbital and certain other sedatives and hypnotics, such as chloral hydrate and meprobamate. This is also true of beta-adrenergic blocking agents, such as propranolol.
The oxytocic property of this herb, in conjunction with vasoconstrictors such as ephedrine, methoxamine, phenylephrine, or sympathomimetics, may cause severe hypertension. Citrates in conjunction with juniper may produce erratic and unpredictable results, due to oxytocic action. In addition, juniper and sparteine may have synergistic oxytocic activity.
Comments
Juniper's strong diuretic action may produce digitalis toxicity if digitalis glycosides are also being used. In conjunction with aminoglycoside antibiotics, the herb may also produce ototoxicity; combined with ethyl alcohol, barbiturates, or narcotics, it may produce orthostatic hypotension.
This strong diuretic, in conjunction with indomethacin, may produce natriuretic effects, and may also enhance the nephrotoxicity of cephaloridine.
Prolonged use of this diuretic may affect certain laboratory test results, such as electrolytes (especially potassium and sodium), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, glucose, and protein bound iodine (PBI).
The antidiabetic ability of juniper may be decreased by the concomitant use of acetazolamide, oral contraceptives, corticosteroids, dextrothyroxine, epinephrine, ethanol, glucagon, and marijuana.
Antidiabetic effects of juniper may be lessened when used in conjunction with phenothiazines, rifampin, thiazide diuretics and thyroid hormones.
Conversely, the antidiabetic action of juniper may be enhanced when used with allopurinol, anabolic steroids, chloramphenicol, clofibrate, fenfluramine, guanethidine, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's), phenylbutazone, probenecid, and phenyramidol.
The antidiabetic action of this herb may also be improved when used in conjunction with salicylates, sulfinpyrazone, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines.
There is evidence to show combined use of bactericidal and bacteriostatic agents will lower the effectiveness of the bacteriostatic agent. How this finding applies to herbal anti-infectives is still unknown.
Safety Factors & Toxicity
Herbalists recommend pregnant women and people with kidney inflammation avoid the use of this plant. Caution must be exercised in cases of gravid uterus; the berry can irritate and even contract the uterus (juniper has occasionally been used as an abortifacient).
Juniper is nontoxic and nonsensitizing to human skin, although its crude oil may be slightly irritating.
Juniper berry contains podophyllotoxin, but not in sufficient quantities to pose a serious threat to health in normal use.
Juniper berry has approval status by the German Commission E.
References:
Blumenthal, M (Ed.): The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. American Botanical Council. Austin, TX. 1998.
Preparation & Administration
Three times a day
Avoid in renal disease and pregnancy
Dried ripe fruit tea
made of 1/2-1 tsp
Fluid extract
1:1 in 25% alcohol, 2-4 ml
Tincture
1:5 in 45% alcohol, 1-2 ml
This herb has approval status by the German Commission E.
Recommended daily dosages in Germany are as follows:
2 - 10 g dried juniper fruit.
20 - 100 mg essential oil.
References:
Blumenthal, M (Ed.): The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines. American Botanical Council. Austin, TX. 1998.
Note: This Herbal Preparation information is a summary of data from books and articles by various authors. It is not intended to replace the advice or attention of health care professionals.
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Essential Oil
See Juniper Essence under Aromatherapy
Multimedia
Juniperus communis
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