Bastyr UniversityHerbal Monographs

Urtica dioica

Latin Binomial
Urtica dioica

Common Names
English: stinging nettle, nettle
German: Brennesselkraut, Haarnesselkraut, Hanfnesselkraut
French: Herbe d'ortie

Species Used

Family
Urticaceae

Habitat

Botanical Description
Single stalk plants standing up to 120 cm tall with heart-shaped, tooth-edged leaves. The stems are square. The flowers are white with a green cast and are borne in clusters from the leaf axils. Flowers in the male plant are more yellowish. The leaves are covered with stinging hairs as well as softer, non-stinging hairs. To differentiate them from Urtica urens (small nettle), note that the flowering panicles are longer than the leaf petioles in U. dioica. A common adulterant is the look alike plant Lamium album (white deadnettle), which does not have stinging hairs. The leaf margins of this plant are less regularly saw-toothed as well.

Parts Used
herba, radix

Historical Uses

Constituents

  • agglutinin (UDA): this protein is highly acid and heat resistant and therefore probably is orally absorbed (Willer, Wagner & Schecklies 1991)
  • beta-sitosterol

Medicinal Actions
mildly anti-inflammatory
hypocholesterolemic (Miettinen, et al. 1996)

  • carotenoids: beta-carotene, xanthophylls
  • chlorophyll
  • enzymes
  • flavonoids, including glycosides of quercetin, kaempferol and rhamnetin (Wichtl & Bisset 1994)
  • glucoquinone: possibly hypoglycemic (Leung 1980)
  • isolectins
  • minerals: iron, selenium, etc.
  • nettle poison: Found in the stinging hairs of the plant, this is made up of formic acid, histamine, a resinic acid-like substance and volatile acids.

pro-inflammatory
irrititant

  • oleanolic acid
  • polysaccharides
  • scopoletin
  • tannins
  • caffeic malic acid: anti-inflammatory (Obertreis, et al. 1996)
  • vitamins: B complex, C, K1
  • Miscellaneous Action: diuretic (Weiss 1985; Wichtl & Bisset 1994)
  • Notes: Active constituent(s) remain unknown but are apparently water soluble (Goetz 1989). For general information on constituents, refer to Leung 1980, Tyler 1994 and Wichtl & Bisset 1994.

Medicinal Uses

Medicinal Indications

  • allergic rhinitis (Mittman 1990)
  • benign prostatic hyperplasia

Useful to decrease residual volume and increase urine flow (Romics, 1987).

Useful to improve urine volume and flow, as well as favorably alter SHBG binding (Vontobel, et al. 1985).

Useful in combination with Pygeum africanum cortex (Krzeski, et al. 1993; Montanari, et al. 1991).
Use approved by German health officials at 4-6 g of the radix used qd as infusion (cited in Tyler, 1994).

  • Conditions in which an aquaretic (mild diuretic) is indicated.

The use of Urtica dioica as an aquaretic in renal and cardiac impairment has been approved by German health officials (cited in Wichtl & Bisset 1994).

Many uses are cited for Urtica dioica in traditional medicine which have not been verified by modern scientific methods. These include:

  • osteoarthritis (Randall 1994)
  • edema due to venous insufficiency, congestive heart failure or trauma
  • neuralgia (topical application)
  • rheumatic pain (topical application)
  • sciatica (topical)
  • tendinitis and sprains (topical)
  • anaphylactic shock (eat raw nettles, last ditch) (Note: Anaphylactic shock is a life-threatening condition for which the use of this herb cannot be recommended. Use of this herb may delay life-saving treatment with epinephrine.)
  • hair loss (shampoo from infusion)
  • gout
  • insufficient lactation
  • hemorrhage
  • menorrhagia

Pharmacy:

  • Steamed (10-15 min) adult leaves with lemon juice and vinegar can be used as a food (acid helps with mineral assimilation). Note that the young leaves don't sting and thus don't need to be steamed.
  • A drink could be made from lemonade, nettles and kelp.
  • tea: official German doses

radix: decoct 4-6 g qd for BPH (cited in Tyler 1994)
folia: infuse 4 g in 150 ml water tid (cited in Tyler 1994)
Commercial juice preparations.

Contraindications:

  • Hypersensitivity or allergy to Urtica spp.

Side Effects and Toxicity:

  • The fresh, adult leaves cause wheals due to stinging hairs. This property is actually utilized medicinally, but care must be taken in most situations.
  • It has been found to be mildly genotoxic (Graf, et al., 1994).
  • It has been found to be hyperglycemic in one study in rabbits (Rom n-Ramos, et al. 1992)
  • Reported to cause minimal adverse effects on administration, except occasional GI upset (Tyler, 1994).

References:

  • Barsom S, and Bettermann A (1979) "[Prostatic adenoma. The conservative therapy with urtica extract]" ZFA Zeitschrift fur Allgemeinmedizin 55(33):1947-50
  • Belaiche P and Lievoux O (1991) "Clinical studies on the palliative treatment of prostatic adenoma with extract of Urtica root" Phytother Res 5:267-9
  • Goetz P (1989) Zeitschrift fur Phytotherapie 10:175-8
  • Graf U, et al. (1994) "Genotoxicity testing of different types of beverages in the Drosophilia wing Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test" Food Chem Toxicol 32(5):423-30
  • Hirano T, Homma M and Oka K (1994) "Effects of stinging nettle root extracts and their steroidal components on the Na+, K+-ATPase of the benign prostatic hyperplasia" Planta Med 60:30-3
  • Krzeski T, et al. (1993) "Combined extracts of Urtica dioica and Pygeum africanum in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: double-blind comparision of two doses" Clin Ther 15(6):1011-20
  • Leung A (1980) Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics (John Wiley & Sons)
  • Miettinen TA, Puska P, Gylling H, et al. (1996) "Reduction of serum cholesterol with sitostanol-ester margarine in a mildly hypercholesterolemic population" New England Journal of Medicine 333:1308-12
  • Mills S (1992) Out of the Earth (New York: Viking) p 496-9
  • Mittman P (1990) "Randomized, double-blind study of freeze-dried Urtica diocia in the treatment of allergic rhinitis" Planta Med 56:44-7
  • Montanari E, et al. (1991) "Phytotherapy of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) without complications" Der informierte Arzt 6A:593-8
  • Obertreis B, Giller K, et al. (1996) "Antiphlogisitc effects of Urtica dioica folia extract in comparison to caffeic malic acid" Arzneim-Forsch 46:52-6
  • Randall CF (1994) "Stinging nettles for osteoarthritis pain of the hip" (letter) Br J Gen Pract Nov:533-4
  • Roman-Ramos, R., et al. (1992) "Hypoglycemic effect of plants used in Mexico as antidiabetics" Arch Med Res 23(1):59-64
  • Romics I (1987) "Observations with Bazoton in the management of prostatic hyperplasia" Int Urol Nephrol 19(3):293-7
  • Schmidt K (1983) "Effect of radix urticae extract and its several secondary tracts on blood SHBG in benign prostate hyperplasia" Fortschr Med 101(15):713-6 (in German)
  • Tyler V (1994) Herbs of Choice: The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals (Pharmaceutical Products Press)
  • Vontobel, H., et al. (1985) "Results of a double-blind study on the effectiveness of ERU (extractum radicis urticae) capsules in conservative treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia" Urologe [A]:49-51 (in German)
  • Weiss RF (1985) Herbal Medicine (Gothenburg: Ab Arcanum and Beaconsfield: Beaconsfield Publishers), pp. 255, 261-2
  • Wichtl M ,ed. (German edition), Bisset NG, ed and trans (English edition) (1994) Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals (Medpharm Scientific Publishers, CRC Press), pp. 505-9
  • Willer F, Wagner H and Schecklies E (1991) Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung 131:1217-21

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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