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Herb library · Herb · Coptis trifolia

Goldthread

A tiny evergreen of cold northern bogs and Appalachian mountain swamps with bright yellow, thread-like roots. It was once one of the most popular American household remedies, above all as a mouthwash. It has not been studied in people.

Traditional use

King's American Dispensatory (1898) records that goldthread was at one time so popular as a household remedy that more of it was sold in Boston than almost any other native drug, and that the root decoction was used as a wash or gargle for mouth sores, including the sore mouths of nursing mothers, and as a bitter tonic for poor digestion. Its old names, mouth-root and canker-root, come from that use.

What studies show

No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.

  • Insufficient

    Mouth sores and digestion: no study of goldthread in people was found. Studies of berberine and of the Chinese Coptis species are about different products and do not show what this plant does.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteIts bitter yellow color comes from berberine-type alkaloids. There is no modern safety information for goldthread itself, so side effects and interactions are unknown.
  • PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found; avoid it then, and do not give it to newborns.
  • NoteIt is a small, slow-growing plant, and wild digging of the whole plant thins stands; look for cultivated or responsibly gathered material.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“It may be beneficially used in all cases where a bitter tonic is required, and is decidedly efficient as a wash or gargle, when in decoction, in various ulcerations of the mouth.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1898), vol. 1, p. 603. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 603 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 1, p. 603

Sources

  1. Significant differences in alkaloid content of Coptis chinensis (Huanglian), from its related American species (2009) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Insights into Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) (2025) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.