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Open Source Apothecary At Home / The herbs
Native, fast, tolerant of wet ground — and poisonous if you get the berries wrong. — Sambucus nigra, S. canadensis
remedyElderberry is the best woody medicinal for this location: it is native, it grows fast, it tolerates wet ground that kills most woody plants, and its berries have randomised trial evidence for shortening influenza-like illness.
What the trials show. Small randomised trials of standardised elderberry extract in influenza have shown reductions in symptom duration and severity. The trials are small and some are industry-funded, which should temper the enthusiasm rather than eliminate it. It is a reasonable adjunct during a flu-like illness, not a substitute for vaccination or for antivirals in someone at risk.
The safety rule is the one that matters, and it is absolute. Elderberries must be ripe and cooked. Unripe berries, and the stems, leaves, bark and roots, contain cyanogenic glycosides, and poisoning from raw or unripe elderberry is documented. Green berries are not a lesser version of ripe ones — they are a different thing.
Elderflowers are a separate traditional preparation for colds and hay fever, with weaker evidence.
Getting the growing right means one detail most single-plant purchases miss: many elderberries need a second cultivar for good pollination.
These findings present an alternative to antibiotic misuse for upper respiratory symptoms due to viral infections, and a potentially safer alternative to prescription drugs for routine cases of the common cold and influenza.PubMed 30670267 ↗
We found no evidence that elderberry benefits the duration or severity of influenza.PubMed 32929634 ↗
More research is warranted to confirm this effect and to evaluate elderberry's physical and mental health benefits.PubMed 27023596 ↗
Elderberry extract seems to offer an efficient, safe and cost-effective treatment for influenza.PubMed 15080016 ↗
Considering the efficacy of the extract in vitro on all strains of influenza virus tested, the clinical results, its low cost, and absence of side-effects, this preparation could offer a possibility for safe treatment for influenza A and B.PubMed 9395631 ↗
| | | |---|---| | Life | Deciduous shrub; 20+ years | | Planting | Bare-root in dormancy, or potted in spring/autumn | | Light | Full sun to part shade | | Soil | Tolerates wet ground better than most shrubs | | Spacing | 2-3 m | | Pollination | Plant more than one cultivar for reliable fruit | | Harvest | Whole umbels when fully ripe and dark | | First harvest | 2-3 years after planting |
Cook the berries. Never use green ones. Prune out canes older than about three years. Propagates readily from hardwood cuttings.
Syrup — ripe berries simmered with water, strained, combined with honey (not for infants under 12 months). Refrigerate; keeps a few weeks.
Tea (berries) — simmered, not merely steeped; heat is part of the safety.
Elderflower tea — dried flowers, 1-2 teaspoons, for colds and hay fever.
Tincture — berries in alcohol; the berries must still be cooked first.
Commercial standardised extract — this is what the influenza trials actually used; a home syrup is not the studied product.