MEDICINAL USES:
The aerial parts are bitter, astringent, aromatic and analgesic. Bugleweed was valued in the past for treating coughs that brought up blood, soothing the irritated membranes, reducing the flow of blood through the astringency and by lowering heart rate through sedative action. Constituents similar to the digitalis, a powerful heart medicine found in foxglove give it a reputation as a heart tonic. Though in Bugleweed the concentrations are not high enough to make the plant toxic, they are powerful enough to slow and calm an excited pulse. The whole plant is used, though some consider the roots stronger than the above ground parts. Dosage is 1 tsp of herb per cup of water or 15 to 20 drops of the tincture as needed.