Asparagus.
Botanical name:
The roots and young shoots of Asparagus officinalis.
Therapeutic Action.—Asparagus is considered to be diuretic, aperient, deobstruent and sedative. A decoction of the roots or young shoots seems to augment the flow of urine without exciting the action of any other part. It is a very mild and unirritating diuretic, and may therefore be used in inflammation or irritation of the kidneys, bladder or urethra. Aperient and deobstruent properties are ascribed to it, and at one time it was exhibited as an alterative and purifier of the blood.
The American Eclectic Materia Medica and Therapeutics, 1898, was written by John M. Scudder, M.D.
