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Herb library · Herb · Podophyllum peltatum

American mandrake (mayapple)

The root of the mayapple, a woodland plant of eastern North America and a powerful purge in 19th-century medicine. It is poisonous: its resin, podophyllin, has caused severe poisonings and deaths. A purified compound from it, podophyllotoxin, has replaced the resin for genital warts.

Serious warning

The root and its resin are poisonous. A man who ate mandrake root bought at a health food store (confirmed as mayapple) was hospitalized with severe vomiting. Podophyllin resin has caused a death after it was swallowed, permanent brain damage in a 3-year-old, and whole-body poisoning after it was put on the skin.

Traditional use

King's American Dispensatory records that the root was well known to Native peoples as a strong laxative, that the Cherokee used drops of the fresh root juice in the ear for deafness, and that it was used heavily in household practice "oftentimes to the detriment of the patient." Its resin, podophyllin, was a favorite of Eclectic physicians and was later painted on warts.

What studies show

  • Limited

    Genital warts (on the skin, not taken by mouth): in a 1978 comparison in 227 men, 20% podophyllin resin from this plant and its Indian relative worked about as well as purified podophyllotoxin and colchicine, but only 43% stayed clear. A 2001 safety review concluded podophyllin has low efficacy and gross toxicity and no place in modern care, replaced by purified podophyllotoxin preparations.

  • Insufficient

    Constipation and the other traditional internal uses: no modern studies in people exist, and the plant's toxicity rules out testing it.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteDo not take it by mouth, make home preparations, or apply the root or resin to your skin. Warts should be seen by a clinician.
  • Note"Mandrake" names two unrelated plants. A man hospitalized after eating American mandrake believed he was taking the European mandrake. Know which one a product contains.
  • PregnancyNever use it in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
  • Ask a clinicianIf anyone swallows any part of the plant or its resin, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in the U.S.) or emergency services.

From the old books

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

“Podophyllum has been extensively used in domestic practice, oftentimes to the detriment of the patient. The Cherokee Indians, according to Rafinesque, employed the "fresh juice of the root for deafness, putting a few drops of the juice in the ear."”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1905), vol. 2, p. 1529. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1529 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1529

Sources

  1. Mandrake toxicity. A case of mistaken identity (Arch Intern Med, 1997) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Permanent neurological sequelae following accidental podophyllin ingestion (J Child Neurol, 2012) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Condyloma eradication: self-therapy with 0.15-0.5% podophyllotoxin versus 20-25% podophyllin preparations — an integrated safety assessment (Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2001) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Topical treatment of penile condylomata acuminata with podophyllin, podophyllotoxin and colchicine. A comparative study (Acta Derm Venereol, 1978) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Podophyllin poisoning. Systemic toxicity following cutaneous application (1978) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. Fatal podophyllin ingestion (South Med J, 1982) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.