Bogbean

Statema, B. C. P.

Plant

Bogbean

Buckbean, marsh trefoil; Menyanthes

Known today as: Menyanthes trifoliata, a plant of bogs and pond edges, with three-part leaves and fringed white flowers.
Kind: Plant
Constituents: dihydrofoliamenthin, menthiafolin, loganin, and 1 more
In other databases: Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search

Bogbean: what was it used for?

A bitter tonic, for scurvy, rheumatism, and dropsy, and for a feeble stomach.

Bogbean: what does modern science say?

Its bitterness is well documented; no clinical evidence supports its other uses.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

Mechanism

A bitter: the secoiridoids on the tongue’s bitter receptors trigger a reflex rise in saliva, gastric juice, and bile, which is the whole of the “tonic” effect; the scurvy use was the leaf’s vitamin C.

Toxic dose

Large doses vomit and purge; otherwise safe.

Standing

EMA monograph (2021) for loss of appetite and mild dyspepsia, on traditional use.

EMA/HMPC (2021). European Union herbal monograph on Menyanthes trifoliata L., folium (EMA/HMPC/637833/2018). Verified against its record

Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.

Bogbean: what lore surrounds it?

In parts of Scandinavia and the north it replaced hops in brewing.

In Their Own Words

Mrs Grieve says the bogbean was held of great value against scurvy, and that its German name, Scharbock, is a corruption of scorbutus, the old medical name for that disease.

“The plant was held to be of great value as a remedy against the once-dreaded scurvy. Scharbock, its German name, is a corruption of the Latin scorbutus, the old medical name for the disease.”

Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal: Bogbean, Bogbean: History; Medicinal Action and Uses. The text of A Modern Herbal as published on botanical.com. The text, read in full

Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.

Sources

Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal, “Buckbean.” Book, not indexed

Verification

Checked

October 1, 2026

Passes

Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database

Sources

2 cited: 1 verified against its record, 1 book, not indexed.

Corrections

None were needed.

What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.

Cite This Entry

Version 1 · first published September 30, 2026

Chicago: “Bogbean.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 30, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/bogbean.
MLA: “Bogbean.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 30 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/bogbean. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Bogbean. (2026, September 30). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/bogbean

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