# Elder (Sambucus nigra)

**Sambucus**

**Known today as.** *Sambucus nigra*: flowers, berries, bark, and leaves.

Kind: Plant  
Toxic: yes

> **Caution.** Raw berries, leaves, and bark are poisonous; cooked flowers and berries are safe.

## What was it used for?

Purging, sweating, and cooling: the flowers for fevers, the berries in rob and wine, the bark as a strong purge.

## What does modern science say?

Elderflower is a mild diaphoretic; the raw berries, leaves, and bark contain cyanide-releasing glycosides and cause vomiting.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **sambunigrin**: a cyanogenic glycoside in leaves, bark, and unripe berries
- **anthocyanins**: in the ripe berry

**Mechanism.** The cyanogenic glycosides release cyanide when the raw plant is crushed; cooking destroys them. In 1983 eleven people in California were poisoned by juice pressed from raw berries, leaves, and branches.

**Dose.** Raw berries and leaves in quantity; the cooked berry is a food.

**Standing.** Elderflower is in the European monographs for colds; an elderberry extract shortened influenza in two small trials.

## What lore surrounds it?

In Danish lore the Elder Mother dwells in the tree, and one must ask her leave before cutting it. See also [Jelly ear](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/jelly-ear).

## What did the older authorities say?

**Martin Blochwich.** Wrote an entire book on the elder, the *Anatomia Sambuci* (1631), englished as *The Anatomie of the Elder*.

**John Evelyn.** Praised it in *Sylva* as a remedy for almost every ill a countryman could suffer.

## Sources

- Blochwich, M. (1631). *Anatomia Sambuci*.
- Evelyn, J. (1664). *Sylva*.
- Grieve, M. *A Modern Herbal*, “Elder.” As published on botanical.com.
- Centers for Disease Control (1984). “Poisoning from elderberry juice, California.” *MMWR* 33.
- Zakay-Rones, Z., et al. (2004). “Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza.” *Journal of International Medical Research* 32.

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*Elder.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/elder

Historical description, not medical advice.