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Herb library · Herb · Filipendula ulmaria (syn. Spiraea ulmaria)

Meadowsweet

A tall wetland plant with frothy, sweet-smelling white flowers, taken as a tea for colds and minor joint pain. It contains small amounts of salicylates, the family of compounds behind aspirin. EU acceptance rests on long use alone; almost no research in people exists.

Traditional use

Used in European herbal medicine for fevers and colds, rheumatic and joint pain, headache and toothache, and for digestion: the British Herbal Compendium (1992) lists acid indigestion, gastritis and peptic ulcer. The 1898 King's American Dispensatory notes that salicylic acid was readily obtained from the plant's distilled oil. In the EU it is registered as a traditional herbal medicine to support the body during a common cold and for relief of minor joint pain.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Common cold and minor joint pain: accepted in the EU on the basis of traditional use only. The EMA found no clinical data for these uses.

  • Insufficient

    Cervical dysplasia: the only clinical study, an uncontrolled Russian report in which 48 women applied an ointment made from the flowers, described improvement in about two-thirds. The EMA considered the information too sparse to judge the study's quality or design.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AllergyDo not use it if you are sensitive to salicylates (aspirin-type medicines).
  • InteractionNo drug interactions are documented. In theory it could add to other salicylate-containing products or NSAID pain relievers taken at the same time; the EMA considers this unlikely because the salicylate content is under 0.5%.
  • PregnancySafety in pregnancy and breastfeeding has not been established, and use then is not recommended.
  • ConditionNot recommended under 18. For joint pain, do not use it for more than 4 weeks without seeing a doctor; for a cold, see one if symptoms last more than 7 days.
  • 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.

“of a pretty sharp scent and taste, somewhat like unto the burnet, and a leaf hereof put into a cup of claret wine, gives also a fine relish to it.”
Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 147. See the page of Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 147 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 147
“The leaves when they are full grown, being laid on the skin, will, in a short time, raise blisters thereon, as Tragus saith.”
Nicholas Culpeper, Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 147. See the page of Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 147 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Culpeper's Complete Herbal, p. 147

Sources

  1. Filipendulae ulmariae herba - herbal medicinal product (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
  2. Community herbal monograph on Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., herba (EMA/HMPC/434881/2010) (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
  3. Assessment report on Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., herba and flos (EMA/HMPC/434892/2010) (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
  4. Clinico-experimental study of plant preparations from the flowers of Filipendula ulmaria (Vopr Onkol, 1993) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.