Catnip - Monograph

Common Name – Catnip

Botanical Name – Nepeta Cararia

Parts Used – Leaves and Flowers

Active Constituents – volatile oils, Thymol, camphor, citieonellal, geranio, caryophyllene, rosemarinic acid and others

So what is Catnip good for?

Therapeutic Properties – Lowers fever, carminative, improves apatite, strengthens sleep, helps with stress, helps to prevent diarrhea.

Catnip can be good to help treat coughs, colds, flu and to help to bring down temperature in the case of a fever.

Catnip is suggested by many herbalists for treatment of chronic bronchitis and diarrhea.

Catnip can be used to treat flatulence's, poor apatite, poor digestion and diarrhea.

Catnip is a great herb to help with stress and difficulty falling asleep.

Dosage

Tincture – 30-60 drops three times a day

Tea – three cups a day

How do you make catnip tea?

Add one heaping tea spoon of dry Catnip herb to one cup of boiling water, cover and let steep for five minutes, strain out used herb and enjoy.

Contraindications

Should not be taken with sedatives or sleeping pills

Research articles with links

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of the essential oil and methanol extract of Nepeta cataria

Grandmother Twigleaf meditates over a cup of Catnip tea

As winter starts to spread its frosty fingers through the forest and the earth is already thick with the fall leaves. Life begins to slow down after the summer months which always seem to be so abundant with activity. Grandmother Twigleaf is always happy to see her exited grandchildren. But when they leave she needs to have her cup of catnip tea to help her relax. Normally she only drinks catnip tea when she has trouble falling asleep. But during the summer months full of family and excitement she has her catnip tea every afternoon to help her relax. Now as winter starts to seep in through the smallest openings around the door and windows, grandmother Twigleaf sits down to a hot cup of catnip tea to help her deal with some slight anxiety she is having about the coming cold months of the winter. As she sips on the warm catnip tea she feels more relaxed. She begins to feel calm and at ease. She pictures in her head all of her grandchildren and how nice it is to see them grow. She remembers the same feelings she had when her own children were young and these thoughts warm her heart while the catnip tea warms her stomach. As she finishes her catnip tea she fully reclines her chair and decides to take a short nap.