Updated 4 January 2024
Common names
- Mountain Box
Common origins
- Northern hemisphere (Asia, America, but also Europe), cool and mountainous regions
Botanical classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Ericales
- Family: Ericaceae
- Genus: Arctostaphyllos
Components
- Tannins (10 to 20%)
- Mono phenolic: arbutoside (6 to 10%)
- Flavonoids: quercetin, myristicin, hyperoside
- Triterpenes: ursolic acid
- Iridoids: monotropeoside
- Phenolic acids: gallic acid, ursolic acid
- Allantoin
- Saponoside
Parts used
- Leaves
Organoleptic properties
- Odour: faint
- Taste: astringent, slightly bitter
Properties
Internal use
- Urinary antiseptic (arbutoside), bacteriostatic
- Diuretic (at high doses, inhibits diuresis)
- Astringent
- Antibacterial
- Urinary tract anti-inflammatory
External use
- Skin whitening (inhibition of an enzyme in melanocytes)
Indications
Internal use
- Cystitis and urinary infections in general
- Gallstones in the gallbladder
- Urinary lithiasis
- Colibacillosis of the kidney, pyelonephritis
- Prostate hypertrophy, prostatitis
- Urethritis
- Enuresis
- Urinary retention
- Leucorrhoea
- Inflammation of the renal pelvis and kidney
- Uterine bleeding
- Diarrhoea
- Bronchitis, catarrh
External use
Precautions / Contraindications
- Do not use excessive doses and do not exceed one to two weeks treatment without medical advice. The high tannin content may cause nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and stomach pain. Hydroquinone is also toxic to the kidneys and liver with prolonged use.
- Not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or people with kidney damage or constipation.
How to use / Current dose
- As a decoction: Add 12g of dried leaves to 1 litre of water. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, then leave to stand for 15 minutes. For urinary tract infections, drink 1 litre a day between meals for 10 days.
- Infusion: 20 g per 1 litre of water. 3 to 4 cups a day for its diuretic properties.
- As tincture or liquid extract: 30 to 40 drops in 1 litre of water, 3 times a day for 10 days.
- As EPS: 20 ml (4 teaspoons) in 1 litre of water, to be drunk during the day for 10 days.
- In powder form: 2 to 8 g per day.
- Hydroalcoholic dry extract 300 mg: 2 capsules 3 times a day for 10 days. Drink plenty of water the rest of the time. Prefer galenic forms that provide the equivalent of 400 to 840 mg of hydroquinone derivatives.
Find out more
Several research teams have demonstrated the effectiveness of bearberry in treating urogenital problems, as an antiseptic and bacteriostatic (preventing bacteria from developing and sticking to the walls). Its active ingredient, arbutin, is metabolised in the urinary tract, where it breaks down into glucose and hydroquinone, a substance very similar to phenol, a powerful antiseptic that is particularly effective against Escherichia coli, a bacterium responsible for many cystitis infections, as well as Candida, Staphyloccocus and Salmonella. The plant releases its anti-infective principle exactly where it is needed, as it is eliminated via the urinary tract. This requires an alkaline environment (urine).
Additional information
Habitat and botanical description
It is a sub-shrub with creeping stems about 30 cm high. Its alternate, spatulate leaves are leathery and evergreen, glossy green on top, with a network of veins underneath. The flowers are in clusters, with ureolate corollas, white with red dots, forming small bells. The fruits are bright red, spherical berries with 5 seeds. It grows in dry, subalpine moors, in open woods, on rocks and on damp, acidic, siliceous soils. Its roots consolidate dry, loose soils.
Harvest time
The leaves are harvested in the summer.
Mythology / History / Anecdotes and traditional virtues
Its name 'busserole' comes from the Provençal 'bouisserolo', which refers to boxwood, because of the similarity in shape between the two shrubs, but not from a therapeutic point of view. The species name 'uva ursi' means 'bearberry', hence one of its French names, but also its English name 'bearberry'. It seems that bears love the berries of this shrub, as they do all the berries of the same family (cranberry, bilberry).
The Indians ate the berries in broths and soups, with meat. They also used the dried leaves in their peace pipe, along with tobacco and other smoking plants. They believed that bearberry had the power to calm the mind, clarify ideas and promote understanding between peoples.
The tannin-rich leaves were once used to tan hides in northern Europe.
In the 16th century, the Montpellier School extolled its diuretic virtues, disinfecting the urinary tract and dissolving small stones. It then fell into oblivion in the 18th century before being rediscovered, thanks in part to the success of the cranberry.