page_title: Silphium perfoliatum
section_title: Use for medical purposes
hierarchical_section_title: Silphium perfoliatum / Uses / Use for medical purposes
caption_attribution_description: Silphium perfoliatum
context_page_description: Silphium perfoliatum, the cup plant or cup-plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and central North America. It is an erect herbaceous perennial with triangular toothed leaves, and daisy-like yellow composite flower heads in summer.
  The specific epithet perfoliatum means "through the leaf."
  There are two varieties:-
  S. perfoliatum var. connatum
  S. perfoliatum var. perfoliatum.
context_section_description: S. perfoliatum produces a resin that has an odor similar to turpentine. The plant contains a gum and resin; the root has been used medicinally.
  The resin has been made into chewing gum to prevent nausea and vomiting.
  Native Americans would cut off the top of the plant stalk and collect the resinous sap that was emitted from the plant. The resin was used for a chewing gum to freshen the breath.
  The Winnebagos Tribe believed that a potion made from the rhizome would provide supernatural powers. The people belonging to the tribe would drink this potion before hunting. The people of the Chippewas tribe used the root extract for back and chest pains, to prevent excessive menstruation, and to treat lung hemorrhage. During the spring, the tender young leaves were cultivated as an acceptable food source by cooking or a salad.
  The powdered form of S. perfoliatum' has diaphoretic and tonic properties. It can help alleviate the symptoms of fevers, dry cough, asthma, spleen illness, heart and liver disease. The extract from the leaves of the plant has shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides levels in blood. Studies show that the presence of phenolic acids is responsible for the species’ antiseptic activity to stimulate generation of IgG and IgM antibodies. In addition, it stimulates bile production of the gall bladder.
caption: Silphium perfoliatum  – Orto botanico di Pisa
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