Wood betony is a nerve tonic. It relieves pain, tension, stress and anxiety. It enhances circulation to the head and improves memory and concentration. It is excellent for headaches of all sorts, particularly for patients experiencing stress and mental overexertion. It is useful for neuralgic and ischaemic conditions affecting the head.
Wood betony has a very ancient tradition: Maud Grieve (1931) – a remarkable herbalist, writer, teacher and gardener – states that it was “once the sovereign remedy for all maladies of the head”. In 1653, Culpeper described it as being for “those that have continual pains in their heads, although it turns to phrensy”. Culpeper was a botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer who for the first time wrote an English translation of Latin descriptions by the College of Physicians of various plants and their medical uses, making herbal remedies much more accessible. In 1740, John Hill, a renowned XVIIIth century writer, botanist and herbalist, wrote that “the habitual use of [wood betony] will cure the most inveterate head-achs”.
Despite strong evidence of traditional use, the use of wood betony for migraines is still under-researched. However, a 2019 double-blind randomised clinical trial demonstrated the analgesic effect of wood betony in migraine sufferers: pain intensity decreased significantly more quickly for patients taking wood betony as a tea compared to those taking placebo.
Wood betony is a key ingredient in our Headease Tea and in our Headease Balm.