European Vervain

this sacred herb has been used for melancholy, hysteria, seizures, fever, jaundice, gallbladder pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, menstrual disorders, abdominal problems, malaria, sore throat, edema, cough, asthma, rheumatic conditions, and thyroid disorders.

vervain calms anxiety and relieves depression because its flavonoids and luteolin activate GABA receptors. it works on the same serotonin receptors that SSRIs do.
essentially a natural multi-target antidepressant-anxiolytic with milder action than pharmaceutical SSRIs and benzodiazepines.
good for generalized anxiety, mild to moderate depression, stress-related symptoms, nervous exhaustion, post-illness emotional recovery, premenstrual mood swings, and anxiety with insomnia.

vervain promotes deep restorative sleep.
hastatoside and verbenalin increases your deep non-REM sleep time by 42-81%, plus boosts delta brain waves (the deepest sleep stage where your body actually restores itself :000 ikr).
there's a 3-5 hour lag between taking it and the sleep effect kicking in, so take vervain in the late afternoon or early evening, NOT right before bed.
good for difficulty staying in deep sleep, light sleepers (me), insomnia from stress or anxiety, and people who wake up unrefreshed even after sleeping 7-8 hours.

helps regulate irregular cycles, the flavonoids relax uterine muscle spasms for cramp relief, and helps with PMS mood swings.

inhibits tumor growth and induces cell death in cancer cells; has citral (proven anti cancer).

has vitamin k. good for bone growth... but topically, can clot blood.

prevents new clots from forming. also promotes new blood vessel growth after a stroke or other vascular damage.
this is preventive antiplatelet activity, not the fibrinolytic activity that actively dissolves existing clots. if you have an active clot, you need fibrinolytic herbs like nattokinase, lumbrokinase, or bromelain.

vervain kills staph, strep, E. coli, pseudomonas, and candida.
use as a gargle for sore throat and tonsillitis (cooled tea), as a mouthwash for canker sores and gum disease, or as a wash for skin infections and slow-healing wounds.

the bitter compounds trigger your stomach acid and digestive enzymes, increases bile flow from your gallbladder. also relaxes intestinal spasms.
drink before or after meals for digestive support. the liver-protective compound verbenalin shields your liver from chemical damage.

also has cornin, which has been shown to significantly reduce brain damage after strokes. protects against loss of brain cells.
helps grow new blood vessels in the brain after a stroke, restores mitochondrial energy production in damaged brain cells, and shuts down the inflammation pathway (IL17A) that drives ongoing brain damage after the initial stroke.
take an extract or tea for post-stroke care.
take it for ischemic stroke recovery, transient ischemic attack (TIA) recovery, post-stroke cognitive support, and brain trauma recovery.

the sedative properties reduce anxiety and convulsions/seizures.

supports heart health, gum health and is an anti-inflammatory.

can also treat ear infection.

don’t take if pregnant.
stimulates production of breast milk BUT not good for developing fetuses, as it reduces bone hardening.
also results in poor weight gain for mother.
suppresses appetite at higher chronic doses. well, you shouldn't even be taking this after you know it isn't good for fetal development.
GI side effects — nausea, mild diarrhea, reduced food intake from the digestive irritation
anemic pregnant women have reduced energy, reduced appetite, and reduced weight gain. plus the fetus pulls nutrients aggressively from a deficient mother, which compounds maternal nutritional depletion
vervain has been used to start menstruation and stimulate uterine contractions.

inhibits iron absorption by 59%, so make sure you’re not in deficiency first.

the mild estrogenic activity means caution with estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids.