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Botanical Name: Gossypium herbaceum (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Malvaceae

Part Used: Bark of root and of other cultivated species.
Habitat : Asia Minor, and cultivated in U.S.A. and Egypt, India, Mediterranean.

Description:Cotton root and the cotton plant are known as Gossypium herbaceum. Cotton is a member of the mallow or Malvaceae family. The cotton plant is an evergreen shrub that is native to Asia and Africa. It is also grown in the southern United States, Egypt, and countries along the Mediterranean Sea. The plant was cultivated to produce cotton fiber for clothing.

Click to see the pictures of Gossypium herbaceum

Gossypium herbaceum is the indigenous species in India, and yields the bulk of the cotton of that country. It is also grown in the south of Europe, and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean Persia, etc. The seeds are woolly and yield a very short stapled cotton, while G. Barbadense gives the Sea Island, or long-stapled cotton, this latter being indigenous to America. The two varieties are recognized in the U.S.A. G. Barbadense, the best species was introduced from the Bahamas in 1785 and only grows in the low islands and sea-coast of Georgia and South Carolina. The upland Georgian, Bowed or short-stapled cotton, which forms the bulk of American cotton, is the produce of the upland or inner districts of the Southern States. Its staple is only about 1 1/4 inch long, and it adheres firmly to the seed, which is covered with short down. Egyptian cotton and Bourbon are likewise referrable to this species.
G. herbaceum is a biennial or triennial plant with branching stems 2 to 6 feet high, palmate hairy leaves, lobes lanceolate and acute flowers with yellow petals, and a purple spot in centre, leaves of involucre serrate, capsule when ripe splits open and shows a loose white tuft surrounding the seeds and adhering firmly to outer coating; it requires warm weather to ripen its seeds, which they do not do north of Virginia.

The crushed seeds give a fixed, semi-drying oil used in making soap, etc. The flowering time ends in September, and a month or so earlier the tops are cut off in order to ripen and send the sap back to the capsules. The pods are about the size of a walnut, and are collected by hand as they ripen;the cotton is also separated by hand and packed in bales. In the Levant the seeds are often used as food. An acre may be expected to produce 240 to 300 lb. of cotton.

The herbaceous part of the plant contains much mucilage and has been utilized as a demulcent. Cotton seeds have been used in the Southern States for intermittent fever with great success. The root and stem-bark deteriorates with age, so only newly harvested material should be used. The root-bark of commerce consists of thin flexible bands of quilled pieces covered with a browny yellow periderm, odour not strong, taste slightly acid.

Constituents: A peculiar acid resin, odourless and insoluble in water, absorbing oxygen when exposed, then changes to a red colour. The bark also contains sugar, gum, tannin, fixed oil, chlorophyll.

General use
Gossypium is the Latin word for cotton-producing plant, and this evergreen shrub has been cultivated for thousands of years in India. That form of cultivation was brought to China and Egypt in approximately 500 B.C. Europeans brought cotton cultivation to the New World in 1774.

Traditional uses
While Gossypium herbaceum was grown to produce cotton fiber, other parts of the plant served as medical remedies and food products. Cotton root bark was used as a folk remedy for numerous female conditions ranging from nonmenstrual bleeding from the uterus to inducing labor contractions. While it was used to make childbirth easier, cotton root bark was also taken as an abortifacient (to induce miscarriages).

Cotton root bark was not just a woman’s remedy. Chewing on the roots was said to stimulate the sexual organs, giving cotton root the reputation of being an aphrodisiac. The root also had uses not related to reproduction. Cotton was also a remedy for conditions including snake bite, dysentery, and fever. Furthermore, cotton seed was once a food product and a remedy. A seed oil emulsion was given as an intravenous treatment for people with nutritional deficiencies.

Some of cotton root bark’s remedial uses came to North America with the Africans enslaved by Europeans. Women used cotton bark root to stimulate menstrual flow and for help with difficulties during childbirth. Cotton had a different use when slave owners raped women; they drank cotton root tea to induce abortions.

Contemporary uses
Contemporary uses of cotton root bark cover nearly every aspect of the female reproductive system. Generally, a tea made from this herb is consumed for such conditions as producing a normal menstrual cycle. Numerous other uses are listed in such sources as the PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) for Herbal Medicines,, the 1998 book based on the findings of Germany’s Commission E. The European group’s findings about herbal remedies were published in a 1997 monograph.

Cotton root bark is used as an aid during childbirth and as a remedy for the absence of menstruation, irregular menstruation, and painful menstruation. Pregnant women take cotton root bark to increase uterine contractions, to expel the afterbirth, and to help with the secretion of milk. Cotton root bark is also taken for difficulties experienced during menopause.

Furthermore, cotton root bark is currently used as a male contraceptive in China because it’s said to immobilize the sperm. Cotton root bark supposedly blocks production of sperm without affecting a man’s potency. As of June 2000, clinical trials were underway regarding this use of cotton root bark.

In addition, cotton root bark still has a reputation as an aphrodisiac. Evidence of this property of the herb, however, is anecdotal. No clinical research or studies have proved that cotton root bark stimulates or increases sexual desire.

In addition to the medicinal uses of cotton root, oil from cotton seed is currently used in soap and in the production of margarine, shortening, cooking oil, and salad oil.

Medicinal Action and Uses: Cotton root bark, the inner bark, and cotton seeds are all used as herbal remedies. While the seeds also served as a food, cotton root bark has been known for centuries as a “female medicine.”

The herbal remedy is known as cotton root bark, Gossypium herbaceum, and cotton.

Mainly used as an abortifacient in place of ergot, being not so powerful but safer; it was used largely in this way by the slaves in the south. It not only increases the contractions of the uterus in labour, but also is useful in the treatment of metrorrhagia, specially when dependent on fibroids; useful also as an ecbolic; of value in sexual lassitude. A preparation of cotton seed increases milk of nursing mothers.

Preparations: Boil 4 OZ. of the inner bar of the root in 1 quart of water down to 1 pint: dose, 1 full wineglass (4 oz.) every thirty minutes. Fluid extract, U.S.D., 1 to 2 drachms. Gossipium, 1 to 5 grains. Solid extract, 15 to 20 grains. Liquid extract of cotton root bark, B.P.C., 1/2 to 1 fluid drachm. Tinc. Gossipii, B.P.C., 1/2 to 1 fluid drachm. Decoction of cotton root bark, B.P.C., 1/2 to 2 fluid ounces (as an emmenagogue or to check haemorrhages).

While cotton root bark was taken as a tea in folk medicine, other forms of the herb are used in contemporary alternative medicine. Cotton root bark is currently used as a liquid extract or a tincture. The dosage for both the tincture and liquid extract is 0.5-1 tsp (2-4 ml) of either solution. This amount can be divided into two daily doses; a single dose consists of 20-40 drops (0.25-0.5 tsp). The extract or tincture can be added to a small amount of water.

Cotton root bark can be combined with goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) in herbal preparations.

Precautions
Cotton root bark has varied uses, and opinions are varied about whether this remedy is safe to use. According to the PDR for Herbal Medicines, cotton root bark is safe when taken in therapeutic doses. Other herbalists state that no part of Gossypium herbaceum should be taken internally without first consulting with a doctor or health practitioner. This precaution is particularly important for pregnant women. Although cotton root bark is a remedy for conditions related to childbirth, manufacturers of herbal products advise women to seek medical advice before using it.

Although health risks have not been reported, poisonings have occurred when animals ate cotton-seed cakes over a long period of time. Some of those cases were fatal.

In addition, gossypol is a chemical found in cottonseed oil that is believed to immobilize sperm. Men who cook with this oil may find themselves temporarily infertile.

Side effects
Cotton root bark has not been identified as producing side effects.

Interactions
There are no identified interactions associated with taking cotton root bark.

For Your Information
Books
PDR for Herbal Medicines. Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Co., 1998.
Ritchason, Jack. The Little Herb Encyclopedia. Pleasant Grove, UT: Woodland Health Books, 1995.
Squier, Thomas Broken Bear, with Lauren David Peden. Herbal Folk Medicine. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997.

Click for Bibliography for “Cotton root bark”

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cotto109.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2603/is_0003/ai_2603000303

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