# Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata)

*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

## What was it used for?

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

## What does modern science say?

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

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **dihydrofoliamenthin**: a secoiridoid bitter
- **menthiafolin**: 
- **loganin**: 
- **sweroside**: 

**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.

**Dose.** Large doses vomit and purge; otherwise safe.

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

## What lore surrounds it?

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

## Sources

- Grieve, M. (1931). *A Modern Herbal*, “Buckbean.”
- EMA/HMPC (2021). *European Union herbal monograph on Menyanthes trifoliata L., folium* (EMA/HMPC/637833/2018).

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*Bogbean.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-30. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/bogbean

Historical description, not medical advice.