Cascara sagrada
Cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana)
Brief Background:
Cascara is obtained from the dried bark of Rhamnus purshianus (Rhamnaceae), both a medicinal and poisonous plant. It is found in western Asia and in North America, from northern Idaho to the Pacific coast in mountainous areas.
In foods and beverages, a bitterless extract of cascara is sometimes used as a flavoring agent. In manufacturing, cascara is used in the processing of some sunscreens.
Cascara possesses purgative, toxic, therapeutic, and tonic activity. It is most commonly used as an anthraquinone stimulant laxative for bowel evacuation or preparation for colonoscopy.
Expert Opinion and Historic Precedent:
Cascara is a common laxative in both herbal and orthodox pharmacy. There are reports that the Kootenai and Flathead Indian tribes of western Montana used cascara as a laxative, consuming it in the form of a tea brewed from the bark. These tribes believed that cascara would have a purgative effect if the bark was stripped downward and an emetic effect when the bark was stripped upward.
