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Herbal Contraceptives by Rod Villaviray |
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| Herbal Contraceptives |
John Riddle writes that silphion's sap (page 226) was used by the ancient Greeks as an arguably effective oral contraceptive. Unfortunately, the plant only grew in Cyrene, North Africa, and was over-harvested to extinction. However, a relative to silphion, Ferula assa-foetida L (page 230), also known as asafoetida, is used in Worcestershire sauce. In fact, asafoetida was reported in 1963 as an effective contraceptive, asafoetida 40% effective, F. orientalis 50% effective. More impressively, F. jaeschkaena was about 100% effective on lab rats. Romans Soranus and Dioscorides prescribed wormwood, Artemisia absinthium (page 231), to cause abortions. Wormwood also works on males, decreasing sperm production. Warning, wormwood can be deadly! Take it with myrrh and rue. Myrrh is the sap from the bush Commiphora, from East Africa. However, myrrh's effectiveness as a contraceptive is unknown. Its costliness limited its use. Pennyroyal, Pulegone (page 231), is another ancient contraceptive. It was taken when the pregnancy was less than one month along, in tepid water. Caution, pulegone oil is much more contrated than the tea version; pulegone oil can cause liver damage. Queen Anne's lace, Daucus carota L. (page 232), grows here in North America. Women in Watauga County, North Carolina use the seeds of Queen Anne's lace. They drink a teaspoon of the seeds in water after sex to prevent pregnancies. Also, women in Rajasthan, India chew the dry seeds as a contraceptive. These uses were known for 2,000 years. Rue, Ruta graveolens L., is a woody, aromatic herb. It was used in ancient times as a contraceptive and for inducing abortions. Today, it is used in Latin America for its abortion abilities, as a tea. It is also a traditional India medicine. Squirting cucumber, Echballium elaterium (page 232), or sikos agrios to the ancient Greeks, was used for abortions, popularly. Recent tests on lab mice stopped ovulation when given 20-100mg per kilogram of extracts from the whole plant or just the flower. The abortion property has not been tested.
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