Pokeberries
Health Benefits

Pokeberry Benefits, Risks & Reader Reports | Phytolacca

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Scabies
Posted by Patty (Houston, TX) on 10/07/2008

I think I have scabies...after having what i thought was a rash for a couple of weeks, my son came over and laid across my bed for a while and he called the next day saying he was itching too...well, i had thought I had it because it felt like bites of different intensity, etc..i had gone to my doctor and she said I didn't have scabies because I didn't have the rash...well I have them..and I've tried permethrin (got her to give me a prescription anyway), no help (my son used it and his are gone),(he's grown and gone) have tried tea tree oil, it soothes but doesn't eradicate them, have done the washes, and daily changes of sheets, towels, all other clothing..washes, etc..and last night tried the peroxide and borax soak..I am still itching today..will try the above again (peroxide, etc) but have ordered some enzymes and meat tenderizer and will try that...also will try the poke remedy..but does anyone know if the boiled concoction can be boiled and refrigerated for use later...i don't have a continuous supply..is there any danger with poke and should it be rinsed off and can it be used daily? also, does anyone know if they can "live" in the mattress? Also I have lots of carpet..I think I have infested my surroundings...Help someone ! ! How does this happen to someone who bathes daily and sometimes twice...???

How to Make Pokeberry Extract
Posted by Denise (Sparks, NV) on 10/06/2008

re: Joyce's response about Pokeweed

Thanks for your informative reply. I'd always heard the pokeweed was poisonous and that was the only information I ever came across in researching it.

As luck would have it, I had to go out and get something for my husband's sore throat this weekend. I came across Boiron's homeopathic remedies; in looking through them, I located the 'sore throat radiating to the ears' remedy. It's main ingredient: Phytolacca decandra, commonly known as POKEWEED!!

Needless to say, I was amazed!

So I did research more, and while Iowa State U's recommendation is to eradicate it everywhere it comes up, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the American Cancer Society actually acknowledges that while it can be toxic, pokeweed when used properly, has incredible healing powers for a wide array of ailments.

Live and learn.


How to Make Pokeberry Extract
Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 10/02/2008 490 posts
★★★★★

Denise,

I have been eating poke sallet as far back as I can remember with the only adverse effect being diarrhea for a couple of trips to the bathroom if you ate a large amount of it and that was only parboiling it x 1. I have never had any adverse effects from taking the poke berries nor has any of the other people that are taking them and we all had good results with improvement with the joint pain.

If you researched pokeweed you would learn that Vanderbilt and many other hospitals have done a lot of research on them. As I may have mentioned before, while working on my Nurse Practitioner MS degree at Vandy (1978), our physiology instructor shared a little pearl of wisdom with us which was: "We don't know why but from a little research project we have going on here now, pokeberries throws the body into gear to fight". From her little pearl of wisdom, I assume they were ingesting the pokeberries in the study.

If you looked the plant up, one thing she would learn is that poke berries are very rich in Vitamin C, along with a bunch of other chemicals with different reactions. I think that several of us have been taking them for 40+ years and are still living are proof that they aren't all that poisonous. On the other hand, I suspect that Vioxx evolved from some of those research studies on pokeweed, and we all know what happens when you isolate one property of the plant, and make a synthetic version so it can be patented. When the fail-safes included in the plant are removed, so is the safety. I think most people know what happened to the ones taking Vioxx. I am still in much better health at age 75 after 40 + years of taking pokeberries than most of those poor souls who only took Vioxx for a few years. I believe I have a little more experience with this plant than most and I know several friends and family members who have been taking them almost as long as I have.

P.S. There are some things that I won't recommend such as Jimson Weed (also known as deadly nightshade) because they are poison. I remember reading in the paper 10+ years ago about some farmer getting the bright idea of grafting his tomatoes onto jimson weeds *same family) to increase their resistance to pests, etc. & increase yield. Three or 4 of the family died after eating the tomatoes and several others came close to it. I know that one is dangerous, because it is where atropine came from initially.

I recently had someone tell me that johnson grass was poisonous. I told him that I had never heard that before but I was sure it wasn't because I had chewed on one of its roots (actually tasted sweet) just to see what it tastes like. I have also read that it is edible (if we ever get that hungry).


How to Make Pokeberry Extract
Posted by Denise (USA) on 10/01/2008

Please reconsider keeping this posting on your site. Pokeweed is known to be toxic- all parts of the plant. The toxins can cause a myriad of health problems, including paralysis and death. It is believed that no amount of boiling and discarding the water will remove all its toxins.

There are too many safe alternatives, to even suggest this to anyone!

Thank you for your consideration,
Denise


Scabies
Posted by Chris (Monteagle, Tn. USA) on 10/02/2008
★★★★★

YES, YES, YES!!! This round, I've only been battling scabies for about three weeks. Three full body Pyrithrin treatments, borax and peroxide soak and several Oregano oil and Tea Tree treatments, nothing was working (I actually think they liked the Oregano oil)
I had scabies once before about ten tears ago, and a single treatment with Pyrithrin cream did the trick. I'm certain that if its the same species of scabies they have developed a resistance to the toxin(but not me, it was making me sick).

I live in the Tennessee mountains where theres lots of Poke Salad, one treatment as prescribed above and boy, could I tell a difference. They seem to be almost completely gone, and man, did it itch for about five minutes...I could tell them little boogers was hatin' life. I'm sure I'll have to do it a couple more times, thats all right its free!. I spent close to a hundred bucks in less than three weeks without results, when God provided the cure for free right out my back door So, do it.... Man am I happy. Thank you.


How to Make Pokeberry Extract
Posted by Joyce (Joelton, Tn) on 07/25/2008 490 posts
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Response to Sandra

"To Joyce from Joelton,Tn. Gout: What is the method used with Pokeweed for Gout? Do you make a paste and wrap the foot, or do you ingest them? Please advise? What are the exact measurements for this herb?"

I started doing this by putting berries in l gallon jug and using enough Vodka to just cover the berries. Put tight lid on and let set a week or two, moving jug around a little every two to three days. After that, just strain off the liquid and store in brown or green bottles. Beer bottles work fine for storage. (You can also use your potato masher (or whatever you have) to kind of sqush those pokeberries before straining the liquid off.

For those of you who are interested in doing your own herbs, when using fresh herbs your ratio is l:l. If using dehydrated herbs the ratio is l part herb to 2 parts diluent.

I can't remember where I read it, but I do recall reading that you shouldn't treat children under l2 with poke, because it hastened the setting of the long bones (arms & legs). There might be something to this because my family ate a lot of poke sallet and many of us have normal size bodies but short arms and legs. I might also add that most references recommend parboiling through 3 waters before ingesting, but my family (and others that I know who ate their share of it) only parboiled through one water (water discarded) before proceeding to finish cooking it and eating it.

Scabies
Posted by Susan (Charleston, WV) on 07/20/2008
★★★★★

Pokeberries for Scabies:

I had them once and lucky for me, read in the paper the same day what to do to get rid of them.

I dug up the roots of Poke Greens that is plentiful in my area.

I boiled the roots for 5 minutes. Just 3 or 4 small sprigs of roots is enough in a small pot.

Got in the shower and after it was cool enough, splashed the Poke tea all over me and Scabies popped out all over me. Itches like crazy but left it on as long as I could stand it about 3 minutes.

Then greased myself with crisco all over and the itching stopped. I waited about ten minutes and washed off the crisco and never had another scabie. It worked for me. But it's not easy going through it because of the itching.

Susan


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