Lomatium Dissectum: Ed Alstat’s 1987 Herbal Research

Ed became deeply interested in this distinction. Drawing upon his background as both a pharmacist and naturopathic physician, he began investigating the chemistry of the plant and the role the resin might play in causing the rash. Through extensive experimentation, he worked to isolate the active constituents of Lomatium dissectum while separating out much of the resin fraction associated with the reaction.

The result was the development of Lomatium Isolate — a concentrated preparation designed to preserve key botanical constituents while minimizing the characteristic rash often associated with traditional tinctures. Ed’s work with Lomatium reflected his lifelong commitment to combining traditional herbal wisdom with careful observation, pharmacy knowledge and innovative botanical extraction techniques.

In 1987, naturopathic physician and Eclectic Institute founder Edward K. Alstat, N.D., R.Ph., published this article exploring the traditional uses and emerging research surrounding Lomatium dissectum — a powerful botanical native to western North America. Long respected in herbal traditions and historically associated with use during the influenza epidemic of 1917–1918, Lomatium became one of the herbs Ed was deeply passionate about researching and preserving.

At a time when herbal medicine remained largely outside the mainstream, Ed’s work reflected a lifelong dedication to botanical knowledge, traditional healing systems, and the preservation of Eclectic herbal wisdom. Today, we are honored to share this archival article as part of our ongoing mission to preserve and celebrate the history of herbal medicine.

Originally published in Complementary Medicine, May/June 1987. Reprinted with permission.

The following article was originally published in Complementary Medicine, May/June 1987, and is shared here as part of the Eclectic Institute herbal archives.

LOMATIUM DISSECTUM — An Herbal Virucide?

The following article is based upon a literature search and paper by Edward K. Alstat, N.D., R. Ph., and an interview with Dr. Alstat. See also, “The History and Efficacy of Therapeutic Herbs, CM, March-April, 1987, which features Dr. Alstat.”

Recent clinical observations, laboratory analysis and a study of Lomatium dissectum’s historic applications, have led Edward K. Alstat, N.D., R.Ph., to conclude that dissectum may be an effective herbal means of managing viral diseases. Lomatium dissectum, previously known by such names as Ferula dissoluta, Leptotaenia dissecta, Leptotaenia multifida and Toza (by American Indians), was a panacea of the native Americans of the plateau region of the western United States. The Native Americans uses for dissectum ranged from food to medicine to piscicide.

Dr. Alstat, who is a pharmacist and a naturopathic physician, became interested in dissectum after he experimented successfully on himself, using a tincture he had prepared from a single large root.

He prepared several gallons of the tincture from the 20-pound root, Dr. Alstat explained, and he used the tincture when he was awakened one night by a persistent sore throat. “I took a dropperful, and before I could get back to bed my throat had drained and the soreness was gone.”

Dr. Alstat subsequently added Lomatium dissectum to the list of tinctures available from the Eclectic Institute, Portland, OR, botanical research and marketing company which he founded. Anecdotal evidence from an increasing number of physicians who have purchased the tincture for use in their practices has been positive.

A Lomatium-cased Rash

Some clinicians have reported cases of full-body rashes in patients being treated with tincture. Although the rash, which mimics measles, appears to be self-limiting, it was severe enough in several cases to negate the positive value of the herb. “It seemed that when people who were really sick took the tincture for three or four days they would feel tremendously better. They said they never felt better in their lives; they got a large bout of energy. But then some of them would get the rash afterward.”

Dr. Alstat believes the rash is a healing reaction, “some type of a cleansing,” rather than a side effect of the dissectum. However, the reaction is sufficiently unpleasant that Eclectic Institute has produced other forms of the remedy. Lomatium contains a significant amount of resin, Dr. Alstat explained, which seems to be what causes the rash. He isolated the active constituents, separated them from the resin and developed a “yellow, sulphur-looking powder,” which remained effective and did not cause a rash. This product is called Lomatium Isolate and is the form of choice.

Description and Distribution

Lomatium dissectum is found from Vancouver Island, southern British Columbia and Alberta, south to Southern California, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado, ranging from sea level to the Cascade foothills and up to an altitude of about 2500 meters in the Rocky Mountains. More than half of the 75 to 80 species of Lomatium, the largest genus of Umbelliferae in the United States, are found in the high plateaus of Eastern Oregon, Eastern Washington and Idaho. The greatest diversity and largest tubers of Lomatium grow in the dry Columbia Plateau region.

Dissectum is a spring-flowering perennial which grows on lithosol and talus zones, the rocky basalt slopes and outcroppings formed by previous lava flows. A robust plant with a large, woody taproot, it grows from 20 to 60 inches high. Several hollow, ribbed stems rise from the top of the root and culminate in finely divided leaves and large umbels of flowers ranging in color from yellow to brownish purple. The flattened oval seeds have narrow wings.

Native American's use of Lomatium

Lomatium dissectum was historically one of the most important medicinal plants of the western United States. Native Americans used the herb as an internal remedy for viral and bacterial infections, especially those of the eyes, respiratory tract and urinary tract.

Several tribes of Indians ate the shoots and roots of dissectum. Some also immersed the fresh root in streams to stun fish for harvesting. However, the most important native American use of the herb was as a medicine. Indeed, dissectum was one of the most widely used medicinal remedies of the Indians of the western United States. A decoction of the root was taken internally, and the above ground portion of the plant was smoked or burned and inhaled to treat coughs, colds, hayfever, bronchitis, asthma, influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis. The decoction was also applied externally for cuts, sores and rashes; the oily sap was placed on skin lesions and used in the eyes for trachomal and gonorrheal infections. The raw root was chewed for sore throat and used as a poultice for swellings, sprains and rheumatism. Dissectum was also used to cure equine distemper and as a pediculicide for humans and animals.

The Influenza Epidemic

During the world wide influenza epidemic of 1917, the effectiveness of Lomatium dissectum came to the attention of the American white man, Dr. Alstat explained, when it was observed that native Americans in the Southwest were recovering rapidly from the virus that was killing others.

“A doctor named Ernest Krebs, who was working in the desert in Nevada, found that the Indians there were peeling dissectum root, drawing and boiling it and skimming off the oil. Using about a pound of herb, the Indians were getting well within a week’s time.” Krebs and other doctors began using the root and found it had significant healing effects. It gained in popularity, and soon four manufacturing plants were producing the extract. Since it was a Western frontier remedy, however, dissectum never attracted the attention of the medical profession in general, and shortly after the influenza epidemic died off, interest in dissectum died as well.

Antibiotic Studies with Lomatium dissectum

Several trials throughout the years have attested to the efficacy of Lomatium dissectum as a remedy. In 1957, Lomatium dissectum (var. multifida) was found to have moderate bactericidal effects. A 1949 in vitro test revealed that an oleo gum resin of dissectum (var. multifida) partially or completely inhibited growth of 10 organisms, a result which was equal to that of penicillin given at a comparable concentration. Susceptible organisms included Corynebacterium diphtherium, Diplococcus pneumonia, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Constituents and Physiological Actions

Identification of the specific medicinal constituents of Lomatium dissectum has not been directly undertaken. Information is available, however, on the isolation and identification of some of the chemical constituents of the herb, as well as their biological effects. The root contains essential oil, gums, resins, glycosides (coumarins and saponins), carbohydrates, protein, fatty acids and ascorbic acid.

Naturally occurring coumarins have a broad range of physiological activities. Some have estrogenic action; others have demonstrated spasmolytic, sedative, anthelmintic and/or uricosuric actions. They have been found to activate adrenaline and ACTH-induced lipolysis and insulin-induced lipogenesis. Coumarins have been used as vasodilating agents in the treatment of malignant metastasis and in therapy for retinal pigment degeneration. As a group, coumarins are free of toxic side effects and may be used for years without cumulative effects.

The furanocoumarins and pyranocoumarins in Lomatium dissectum have significant antimicrobial activity. A number of studies of the antiviral actions of both linear and angular furanocoumarins have shown them to be effective against both DNA and RNA viruses. In these investigations, both types of viruses were inactivated by exposure to long-wave ultraviolet light in the presence of furanocoumarins. Both linear and angular furanocoumarins easily permeate the virus coat as well as bacterial, yeast and animal cells, and bio-activity has been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. Herpes simplex virus was shown to be very sensitive to linear furanocoumarin photo-inactivation.

Herbs containing saponins have been used historically as medicinal remedies, specifically as tonics, tranquilizers, expectorants and antitussive agents. Recent reports suggest anti-tumor, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of saponins, as well as their ability to stimulate production of serum proteins. Water soluble triterpenoid saponins reportedly enhance antibody production, suggesting they actively stimulate the immune system. Although isolation of the saponins in dissectum has not been documented in the literature, according to Dr. Alstat, it warrants investigation.

The ascorbic content of Lomatium dissectum was determined in one study to be 22.8 percent. The immune stimulating activity of ascorbic acid is well documented, as is its promotion of wound-healing.

Lomatium contains volatile oils, which have been used as antiseptics. The root contains much carbohydrate, suggesting the presence of immune-stimulating polysaccharides.

“Additional chemical, biological and clinical study of Lomatium dissectum is indicated,” Dr. Alstat concluded, “especially of the plant to inhibit bacteria, fungi and viruses, to stimulate immune system function and to decrease inflammation. Specific areas for clinical trials include the diseases treated by native Americans, such as influenza, colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, hayfever, asthma, ocular infections, throat infections, skin lesions and rheumatic conditions, as well as the chronic viral infections and immune system suppression prevalent today (e.g. AIDS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Herpes simplex I and II and systemic Candida albicans).”

Bibliography

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Nearly four decades after this article was first published, Lomatium dissectum continues to hold an important place in North American herbal traditions. Native to the western United States and long valued by Indigenous communities of the Plateau region, Lomatium has remained a botanical of interest among herbalists for its historical use during times of seasonal illness and widespread infection.

While modern scientific research on Lomatium remains limited, several laboratory and ethnobotanical studies have continued to explore the plant’s traditional applications and phytochemistry. A 1995 study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology found that extracts of Lomatium dissectum demonstrated antiviral activity in vitro against rotavirus. More recent investigations have also explored the herb’s potential immunological effects, including its influence on inflammatory signaling pathways associated with respiratory illness.

At the same time, much of the current evidence surrounding Lomatium remains preliminary, and additional clinical research is needed to better understand the plant’s constituents, mechanisms and traditional applications. Historical herbal writings such as this article offer an important glimpse into the preservation of botanical medicine traditions and the early efforts of herbalists like Edward K. Alstat to document and share herbal knowledge.

This archival article is shared for educational and historical purposes as part of Eclectic Institute’s ongoing mission to preserve the history, traditions and evolving story of herbal medicine.