Herbs for Urinary Health: Buchu

Urinary issues are no fun!

One herb that isn’t as well known as cranberry is buchu (Barosma betulina or Agathosma betulina and the related species B. serratifolia and B. crenulata).

Buchu is a low-lying shrub from South Africa. The leaves are harvested when the plant flowers or bears fruit. It's the oils in the leaves that contain powerful oils for fighting infection.

The Europeans that came to South Africa reported that the Hottentots prepared a buchu brandy by distilling the leaves with wine; this was used as an effective remedy for stomach, bowels, and bladder problems.

Buchu has been used in Europe since the 1500s not only for urinary and prostate problems, but also for gout and rheumatism.

One of the very nice things about buchu is that the oils that give buchu its very pleasing black currant taste are also responsible for its ability to kill bacteria in the urinary tract. When the oils are absorbed by the stomach and excreted by the kidneys into the bladder, the oils pass through the bladder and urethra, killing bacteria on their travels.

Other herbs for urinary health are uva ursi and the well-known cranberry.