Herb library · Herb · Alchemilla vulgaris (and related Alchemilla species)
Lady's mantle
A low garden plant with pleated, scalloped leaves, long used in European folk medicine for women's complaints and as an astringent. Almost all research is in the lab or in animals; the one trial in people found no clear effect.
Traditional use
Alchemilla species have long been used in European folk medicine for painful periods, vulvar itching and menopausal complaints, and as an astringent for diarrhea and wounds. Culpeper's herbal called it one of the most singular wound herbs, and King's American Dispensatory (1898) notes that the old alchemists credited it with wonderful powers.
Traditional energetics
Galenic (hot or cold, dry or moist)
Hot and dry in the second degree. Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), pp. 261–262 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Insufficient
Sore throat after surgery: in one randomized trial, 88 surgical patients got either a throat spray of lady's mantle in glycerine or intravenous dexamethasone; sore throat and hoarseness were about the same in both groups. With no placebo group, this does not show whether the spray helped.
- Insufficient
Women's complaints, wounds and other uses: a 2024 review found mostly lab and animal studies and says clinical studies are limited.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteNo safety studies were found in the sources read for this entry, and no safe dose has been established.
- PregnancyThere is no safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding in the sources read; do not use it then without a clinician's advice.
- 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.
“Alchemilla vulgaris, Ladies’ mantle. Europe. An astringent, bitterish herb, once much used in diarrhœa. Accredited by the ancient alchemists with wonderful powers.”
Sources
- A review of the traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and clinical evidence for the use of the genus Alchemilla (J Ethnopharmacol, 2024) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Comparison of prophylactic effect of topical Alchemilla vulgaris in glycerine versus that of dexamethasone on postoperative sore throat (Anesth Pain Med, 2021) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.