Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi

Name | Botanical Description | Ethnobotanical Background | Family | Parts Used | Habitat | Taste | Temperature | Channels | Constituents | Actions | Indications and Effects | Pharmacodynamics | Contraindications | Combinations | Preparations and Doses | Safety

Name
Uva Ursi, Bearberry, Kinnikinnick (Klallam Indian), Chipmunk's apples, Mealberry, Tinnick, Sagack-homi (Canadian Indian), Haskin (French), Sac-a-commis (Hudson Bay trader common name), and dozens more. The Latin name means "grapes of the bear," since bears often eat the berries. "Kinnikinnick" in the Klallam language means "smoking mixture."

Botanical Description
Low, trailing evergreen shrub, with tough shiny green leaves. Waxen urn-shaped flowers and bright red berries. Long, flexible branches.

Ethnobotanical Background
Used by many Native American tribes as part of the smoking mixture in sacred pipes and to train Shamans in the arts of divination and prophecy. Currently used as a visionary herb for those seeking increased psychic activity (1). Uva ursi has also been used as a natural pesticide against snails (11) and as a natural dye (7).

Family
Ericaceae

Parts Used
Leaves collected in summer and autumn. Ripe fruits have been traditionally cooked into a mock-cranberry sauce.

Habitat
Found in small thickets in hilly areas in northern areas such as Canada and the upper midwestern United States (1, 7). It is also found throughout Europe and Asia (11). It prefers dry and sandy or rocky slopes. There are 50 other species common to North America such as red bearberry (A. rubra) and black bearberry (A. alpina), as well as manzanita (A. columbiana) which is an ornamental on the Canadian and American western coast (7).

Taste
Astringent, Bitter (Berry is slightly sweet, as well as astringent and sour) (10)

Temperature
Cool, dry (4, 10)

Channels
Heart, bladder, small intestine, liver meridians (4). Clears heat, dries damp, stops discharge/bleeding, promotes tissue repair, tonifies urogenital Qi, promotes labor (4).

Constituents
Arbutin (5-18%), which changes to hydroquinone and glucose or dextrose
Methylarbutin
Ericinol
Ericolin
Ursone
Flavonoids
 - Quercetin (tetraoxyflavonol)
 - Isoquercetin
Allantoin
Tannins (6-40% of the gallic and ellagic types)
Ursolic acid (0.4-0.75%)
Phenolic acids
Uvaol
Volatile oils (trace)
Resin (trace)
(Above from majority of cited sources)

Actions
Astringent, Smooth muscle tonic, Diuretic, Genitourinary antiseptic, Nephroprotective, Uterine vasoconstrictive, Oxytocic

Indications and Effects
Cystitis
Chronic Urinary Tract Infections caused by non-STD related microorganisms, i.e. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, etc.
 - Related kidney and bladder infections
Kidney stones
Bed-wetting
Vaginal inflammation
Painful/heavy menstruation (vasoconstrictive effect on the endometrium) (6)
Diabetes related weight loss
General urinary and genital discharges
Candida
Edema
Arthritis
Hyperpigmentary disorders
(Above summary from all cited sources)

Pharmacodynamics
The optimal antibacterial actions occur 3-4 hours after ingesting Uva Ursi (9). Enteric coated capsules displayed the same bioavailability as the tincture (5). The tannins are responsible for the "soothing, toning, and strengthening the membranes of the urinary tract (9)." At one point, arbutin was considered to be the antiseptic constituent but now many sources indicate that arbutin breaks down in the stomach, GI tract, or glomerulus to form urinary antiseptics such as hyrdroquinone glucuronide, hydroquinone sulphate, hydroquinolone, and/or methylhydroquinone (7, 9, 11). Alkalizing the urine through diet and supplementation was a consistent goal in the treatment of urinary tract infections in the majority of my research. Otherwise the antiseptic effects are countered (5).

The quercetin and ursolic acid provide the diuretic action (11).

One study in mice suggested Uva Ursi may nullify some of the side effects of diabetes, particularly weight loss, without changing glycemic control (2).

Melanin synthesis: Arbutin causes depigmentation in humans by blocking melanosomal tyrosinase activity. This can "bleach" freckles and assist with hyperpigmentary disorders (5).

Mycoplasms: For Uva Ursi to be effective against mycoplasms (auto-immune causing pathogens reputed to cause everything from Alzheimer's Disease to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), the body must be kept alkaline. No mechanism of action was available especially since mycoplasma infections are not widely studied in conventional medical science (8).

Contraindications
Children, pregnant or lactating women (9).

Combinations
Althea officinalis (Marshmallow root) and Agropyron repens (Crouch grass) in equal parts for their relieving, mucilaginous properties (9). Ascorbic acid, methebamine, and other urinary acidifiers may counter the effects of Uva Ursi in the urine (2).

Preparations and Doses
Moderate infusion, 1/3 cup qd, use for 4 days (1).

The Canadian Journal of Health and Nutrition offered several preparation methods for Uva Ursi:

Uva ursi tea is made by pouring half a litre (sic) of boiling water over 28 grams of the finely cut or coarsely powdered herb. This should be steeped for 20 minutes. The tea can also be made by soaking the leaves in cold water for six to 12 hours. This is an advantage if marshmallow root is added. It will extract the mucilages without the starch and minimize the extraction of tannins from the uva ursi. One cup of the infusion can be drunk three times a day (9)

They also state that 1 gram be taken 3-6 times per day to get an average of 400-800 mg of arbutin in a day (9).

Terry Willard provides dosage data for several product forms:

Powder - 20-60 grams
Infusion - 3-5 oz.
Tincture - 10-20 drops
Fluid extract - ½ - 1 tsp.

The infusion can also be used as a douche for vaginal inflammation and sitz baths after childbirth. Uva Ursi is also indicated topically for skin rashes so can be made into a salve or poultice (7).

When collecting, Uva Ursi is commonly confused with Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idea) and Box (Buxus sempervirens) which have different indications. It was often adulterated with these back in the 1920's and 1930's (3).

References

1. Beyerl, Paul. The Master Book of Herbalism. Phoenix Publishing, Custer, WA: 1984.
2. Fetrow, Charles W. and Avila, Juan R. Professional's Handbook of Complementary and Alternative Medicines. Springhouse Corporation: Springhouse, PA, 1999.
3. Grieve, Maude. A Modern Herbal. Barnes & Noble Books: New York, 1996 (orig. 1931).
4. Holmes, Peter. The Energetics of Western Herbs. Snow Lotus Press: Boulder, CO, 1994
5. Mills, Simon and Bone, Kerry. Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy. Churchill Livingstone: New York, 2000.
6. Moore, Michael. Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. Museum of New Mexico Press: Santa Fe, NM, 1979.
7. Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants. Alaska Northwest Books: Seattle, WA, 1995.
8. Smith, Hugh O. "Mycoplasmas: The Unsuspected Invader." Better Nutrition. Feb 2000, Vol. 62, Issue 2, p.30.
9. Stelling, Keith. "Uva Ursi (Bearberry)." Canadian Journal of Health and Nutrition. Nov 1999, No. 205.
10. Tierra, Michael. The Way of Herbs. Pocket Books: New York, 1990.
11. Willard, Terry. Textbook of Advanced Herbology. Wild Rose College of Natural Healing: Calgary, Alberta, 1992.

Please Note: The information contained in this section of the web site is directed toward people with technical knowledge in the botanical medicine field. We provide this information as a service to naturopathic physicians, pharmacognocists, pharmacists, midwives, plant chemists and medical herbalists and we encourage health professionals to obtain a more general education in the area before applying treatments to themselves or their patients. Bastyr University assumes no responsibility for the results obtained from using this information. If you have a serious or lingering health concern, it is important to discuss it with a health care provider.

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