Herb library · Herb · Urtica dioica (also U. urens)
Stinging nettle
The common weed with stinging hairs, eaten as a spring green and drunk as a tea. The root is sold for an enlarged prostate, where trials suggest a modest easing of urinary symptoms; the leaf is sold for joints, hay fever and blood sugar, where the evidence is thinner.
Traditional use
Nettle tops have long been eaten in spring and the leaves used as a tea to increase urine flow and for joint and rheumatic pain; people also struck painful joints with fresh stinging nettles. The root came into use in Europe for prostate symptoms. It is among the herbal remedies in significant use in Mexico. On the Missouri River, Melvin Gilmore recorded (1919) that the Omaha, Ponca and other Nebraska tribes spun the fiber of the native nettle into twine, rope and cloth.
Traditional energetics
Galenic (hot or cold, dry or moist)
Hot. Culpeper's Complete Herbal (1814), p. 246 (opens in a new tab)
What studies show
- Limited
Enlarged prostate (root): eight randomized placebo-controlled trials exist, with mixed results. A 620-man Iranian trial reported clear symptom relief, while the EMA found that the trials of preparations sold in the EU, including a 12-month German trial in 246 men, showed no clinically relevant difference from placebo. The EMA accepts the use on the basis of tradition, after a doctor has ruled out serious conditions.
- Limited
Blood sugar in type 2 diabetes (leaf): a 2019 meta-analysis of 8 small trials (401 people) found lower fasting blood sugar but no change in HbA1c or insulin, with results that varied widely between studies.
- Insufficient
Joint pain: one small trial in 27 people with thumb-base arthritis found that stinging the painful area with fresh nettle leaf for a week eased pain more than a non-stinging placebo leaf. Hay fever: one 1990 trial in 98 people found freeze-dried nettle rated only slightly better than placebo in symptom diaries. The EMA calls the clinical studies of the leaf and herb small and poorly designed, and accepts its uses for minor urinary complaints and minor joint pain on the basis of tradition only.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteSide effects reported with nettle products include stomach upset, nausea, heartburn and diarrhea, and allergic skin reactions such as itching and rash. Do not use it if you are allergic to nettle.
- ConditionUrinary symptoms in men need a doctor's check first, to rule out serious conditions. See a doctor if urinary complaints worsen or bring fever, painful urination, spasms or blood in the urine.
- ConditionTaken to increase urine flow, it needs plenty of fluid, so it is not for people told by a doctor to limit fluids (for example with heart or kidney failure).
- InteractionA meta-analysis found lower fasting blood sugar with nettle, so people taking diabetes medicines should talk with their doctor first.
- PregnancyNot recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding (EMA).
- NoteEU products for joint pain are not for under 18s.
- 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.
“The dried stalks were crumpled in the hands or gently pounded with a stone to free the fiber from the woody part. The first method was more common. The fiber of nettles was used by Nebraska tribes for spinning twine and cordage.”
“Nettles are so well known, that they need no description; they may be found by feeling, in the darkest night.”
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
The Hebrew kimmosh is a stinging nettle. Tristram (1898) says commentators agree on this and names the Roman nettle, Urtica pilulifera, as the commonest in the land, a relative of the common nettle on this page. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 474 (opens in a new tab)
For, behold, when they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them up. Memphis will bury them. Nettles will possess their pleasant things of silver. Thorns will be in their tents.
A stinging nettle (Hebrew kimmosh), most likely the Roman nettle Urtica pilulifera rather than the common nettle on this page (Tristram, 1898). H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 474 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Assessment report on Urtica dioica L.; Urtica urens L., radix (EMA/HMPC/322627/2023) (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
- Assessment report on Urtica dioica L.; Urtica urens L., herba (EMA/HMPC/261303/2022) (opens in a new tab) · EMA · read September 25, 2026
- Stinging nettle root extract (Bazoton-uno) in long-term treatment of benign prostatic syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter study (Urologe A, 2004) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Urtica dioica for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study (J Herb Pharmacother, 2005) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- The effect of nettle (Urtica dioica) supplementation on the glycemic control of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Phytother Res, 2020) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Randomized controlled trial of nettle sting for treatment of base-of-thumb pain (J R Soc Med, 2000) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Randomized, double-blind study of freeze-dried Urtica dioica in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (Planta Med, 1990) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Risks and benefits of commonly used herbal medicines in Mexico (Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 2008) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.