Prickly lettuce is unlike farmed lettuce, which is tender and milky, just as it is used in salads; however, it lacks practically any medicinal properties. Instead, it is a valuable remedy used in ancient times when it is green, wholly grown, and mature (wild lettuce is even better).
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Healing Properties and Uses
The leaves of prickly lettuce contain chlorophyll, mineral salts, vitamins, and a bitter substance. However, the active components that act on the nervous system are found in the milky latex, which springs from the plant’s stems when cut. Lactucarium is obtained from this latex by employing a process called solidification.
Prickly lettuce leaves, and especially latex, have the following properties:
Sedative, similar to opium, though unlike this, lettuce does not have any toxic effect so that it may be used even with children. In this way, it calms excessive activity and eases sleep.
Anaphrodisiac. It helps control sexual excitation. Dioscorides said that “it stops wet dreams and represses the disorderly appetite for fornication.”
The white leaves of farmed lettuce lack most of the active ingredients that have a soothing effect on the nervous system. These ingredients are more concentrated in the green leaves and, in general, in the latex of prickly lettuce.
Prickly Lettuce Scientific Facts
Other names: Acrid lettuce, poison lettuce, green lettuce, wild lettuce.
French: Laitue sauvage, laitue vireuse.
Spanish: Lechuga silvestre, lactucario.
Environment: Grows widespread on the dry fields and rocky slopes of Central and South Europe.
Description: This is a plant of the Compositae family, growing from 0.4 to 1.5 m high. Its stem is vertical and solid, green or violet-colored, from which big, tooth-edged leaves grow.
Parts of the plant used medicinally: Leaves and latex.
How to use Prickly Lettuce
During ten minutes, decoction with one hundred grams of lettuce per liter of water. Drink three cups, sweetened with honey, every day and another cup before bed. Use wild lettuce, or well-grown and blooming, when farmed lettuce.
Lactucarium. Usually from 0.1 to 1 g in a daily intake.
Fresh juice: You can obtain this by utilizing a blender. Drink half a cup two or three times a day, especially before going to bed. It may be mixed with lemon juice.
DISCLAIMER: All content on this website is presented solely for educational and informational objectives. Do not rely on the information provided as a replacement for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical expert. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have any preexisting medical concerns, talk to your doctor before using any herbal or natural medicines.
REFERENCES
George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. “Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants.” George D. Pamplona-Roger, M.D. Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Ed. Francesc X. Gelabert. Vols. 1 San Fernando de Henares: Editorial Safeliz, 2000. 160. Print.