Elecampane
Inula, helenium
- Known today as
- The root of Inula helenium.
- Kind
- Plant, in 1 older authority
- Constituents
- alantolactone, isoalantolactone, inulin
- Poisoning
- Compositae dermatitis
- Earliest authority here
- Pliny (AD 23/24–79)
- Qualities
- Hot and dry (Galenic tradition). What the degrees mean
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Revised October 1, 2026: Lore added from texts read in full. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.
Elecampane: what was it used for?
Candied or in syrup for coughs and the chest, and to warm the stomach.
Elecampane: what does modern science say?
Inulin, a fiber, was first isolated from it and named for it; it is a mild expectorant.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- alantolactone ChEMBLa sesquiterpene lactone
- isoalantolactone ChEMBL
- inulin ChEMBL44 per cent of the root, which was named for it
- Mechanism
- The lactones are expectorant and antiseptic in the airways and kill intestinal worms; they are also strong contact sensitisers, and elecampane is a classic cause of allergic dermatitis in gardeners. Inulin was first isolated from this root in 1804.
- Toxic dose
- Large doses vomit and purge; the lactones sensitise the skin.
- Syndrome
- Compositae dermatitis
- Standing
- No EMA monograph; in the German tradition for coughs. Alantolactone is studied in cancer cells.
- Seca, A. M. L., et al. (2014). “The genus Inula and their metabolites.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 154. Verified against its record · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2014.04.010
- Paulsen, E. (2002). “Contact sensitization from Compositae-containing herbal remedies and cosmetics.” Contact Dermatitis 47. Verified against its record · doi:10.1034/j.1600-0536.2002.470401.x
The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.
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.
Elecampane: what lore surrounds it?
Folkard quotes Rapin, “Elecampane, the beauteous Helen's flower,” and the tale that when Paris carried off Helen she “was said to have had in her hand a nosegay of the bright yellow flowers of the Elecampane, which was thenceforth named Helenium, in her honour.” The monks “considered it capable of restoring health to the heart,” Turner says “the root chewed fastens loose teeth,” and “from its broad leaves, the Elecampane is sometimes called the Elf-dock.”
Grieve collects the fables of the name: Gerarde's “It took the name Helenium of Helena, wife of Menelaus, who had her hands full of it when Paris stole her away into Phrygia,” another “that it sprang from her tears,” another that Helen first used it against venomous bites. The old distich runs “Enula campana reddit praecordia sana,” and “‘Julia Augustus,’ said Pliny, ‘let no day pass without eating some of the roots of Enula, considered to help digestion and cause mirth.’” Fifty years before Grieve wrote, the candied root “was sold commonly in London as flat, round cakes,” sucked when travelling by river “against poisonous exalations and bad air,” and “in Denmark, Elecampane is sometimes called Elf-Doc.”
Elecampane: what did the older authorities say?
- Pliny
- Says the plant sprang from the tears of Helen of Troy, whence helenium.
Sources
- Pliny, Natural History XXI. Primary text
- Folkard, R. (1884). Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, “Elecampane.” Project Gutenberg #44638. Primary text
- Grieve, M. (1931). A Modern Herbal, “Elecampane.” botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/elecam07.html Standard reference work
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the fifty-entry sample
- 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
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 5 cited: 2 verified against its record, 2 primary text, 1 standard reference work. 2 with the abstract on file.
- 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 25, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“Elecampane.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/elecampane.
- MLA
“Elecampane.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/elecampane. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Elecampane. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/elecampane
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See Also
Sharing inulin
Cichorium endivia · Taraxacum officinale · Burdock · Cichorium intybus
Also in Pliny the Elder
Elf-shot in Pliny the Elder · Eagle-stone in Pliny the Elder · Dragon’s blood in Pliny the Elder · everything Pliny the Elder names →
Drawing on the same sources: Pliny, Folkard, Grieve, Paulsen
Fig · Ginger · Dittany · Eyebright · Ergot · Elder · the bibliography →
Of the same qualities: hot and dry
Frankincense · Cumin · Galangal · Coffee · Garlic · Cinnamon · what the degrees mean →
Nearby in the alphabet
Earthworm (washed in wine, dried, powdered, or boiled in oil) · Epiphany chalk · Earth of the Holy Land · Epiphany water (in the East as the Great Blessing of the Waters at Theophany)
Historical description, not medical advice.