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Herb library · Herb · Ligusticum porteri

Osha

A root from the Rocky Mountains, also used in Mexican folk medicine, sold mostly for colds and flu. It has not been studied in people; the research so far is lab and animal work.

Traditional use

A traditional Native American herb, also widely used in Mexican folk medicine for painful complaints and other purposes, and by Spanish New Mexicans among the plants taken to bring on menstruation. Hispanic families in the San Luis Valley of Colorado named osha among the popular herbs of their home medicine when a pharmacist interviewed them in the 1980s, and it is sold in herb markets from central Mexico to the US Southwest under the name chuchupate. Today the root is sold for colds, flu, indigestion and body aches.

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

    Colds, flu, pain and digestion: no studies in people were found. Extracts and compounds from the root reduced pain responses in mice and showed effects in cells in the lab, which does not show what the root does in people.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • PregnancyDo not use it in pregnancy: in New Mexican folk medicine it is among the plants taken to bring on menstruation, and its safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding is unknown.
  • NoteThere is no safety research in people, so side effects and interactions are unknown.
  • 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.

Sources

  1. Antinociceptive activity of Ligusticum porteri preparations and compounds (2014) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Investigation of the cytotoxicity, antioxidative and immune-modulatory effects of Ligusticum porteri (Osha) root extract on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (2016) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Analysis of Southwestern Colorado Ligusticum porteri by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (2023) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  4. Plants used as abortifacients and emmenagogues by Spanish New Mexicans (1979) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  5. Pharmacological aspects of selected herbs employed in Hispanic folk medicine in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, USA: I. Ligusticum porteri (osha) and Matricaria chamomilla (manzanilla) (J Ethnopharmacol, 1985) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  6. A study of four medicinal plant complexes of Mexico and adjacent United States (J Ethnopharmacol, 1987) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  7. Plants used as abortifacients and emmenagogues by Spanish New Mexicans (1979) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.