Broom

Scientific Name(S): Cytisus scoparious (L.) Link, sometimes referred to as Sarothamnus scoparious (L.) Wimm. Family: Fabaceae (Papilionaceae or Leguminosae)

Common Name(S): Bannai, besenginaterkraut (German), broom, broom top, ginsterkraut (German), herbe de genet a balais (French), herba genistac scopariae, herba spartii scoparii, hog week, Irish broom top (English), sarothamni herb, scoparii cacumina (Latin); scotch broom, Scotch broom top (English). Scotch broom should not be confused with Spanish broom (Spartium junceum), which also is pharmacologically active. The related Cytisus laburnum (golden chain) contains the toxic alkaloid cytisine.

Botany: Broom is native to central and southern Europe. It grows throughout the United States along the Eastern coastline and across the Pacific Northwest. The plant grows as a deciduous bush up to 6-feet tall and possesses 5-sided, greenish, rod-like twigs with small leaves. On flowering, it show yellow, butterfly-like flowers that bloom from May to June. It is often used as an outdoor ornamental to hold steep, barren banks in place. The crude drug is made up mostly of short fragments (1-2 inches) of the woody twigs.

History: In early American traditional medicine, a fluid extract of broom was used as a cathartic and diuretic. Large doses of the extract were used as an emetic. An alkaloid derived from the plant (sparteine) was once used to induce labor and as an antiarrhythmic, but has now been abandoned for safer compounds.

The plant has been touted as a potential drug of abuse or "legal high." In describing the preparation of the drug, some counter-culture magazines suggest that the flowers be collected and aged for about 10 days in a closed jar. The moldy, dried blossoms are then pulverized, rolled in cigarette paper and smoked like marijuana.

Before the advent of hops, the tender green tops were used to impart bitterness and to increase the intoxicating effects of beer. In homeopathy, extracts of the plant are used for the management of arrhythmias, congestion of the head and throat, and occasionally for diphtheria.

Uses of Broom

Extracts have been used for cathartic, diuretic, emetic, antiarrhythmic and labor-inducing effects. Tender plant tops have been used to flavor beer and increase its intoxicating effect. Leaves and aged flowers have been smoked to produce euphoria.

Side Effects of Broom

Although broom appears an effective agent for heart and circulatory disorders, the FDA has designated broom an unsafe herb.

Dosage

Encapsulated butcher's broom extracts, in the amount of 1,000 mg three times per day, can be used for chronic venous insufficiency . These extracts are often combined with vitamin C and/or flavonoids. Standardized extracts (9-11% ruscogenins) can be taken in the amount of 100 mg three times per day.

Toxicology: Sparteine is an oily liquid that vaporizes readily when heated. Therefore, persons who smoke broom cigarettes may inhale significant amounts of thealkaloid. One such cigarette is said to produce a feeling of relaxation and euphoria lasting about 2 hours. However, some studies indicate that doses in excess of that which one would obtain by smoking the leaves would be needed to induce euphoria; the same studies concluded that "apparently this plant is not very toxic and the use of it as a 'legal high' probably would not precipitate a severe toxic episode."

Smoking broom cigarettes may pose a number of health hazards. These include adverse cardiac effects such as headaches, uterine stimulant effects and residual effects. The inhalation of moldy plant material cannot be recommended as this may be associated with the development of pulmonary aspergillosis or similar fungal infections.

Broom tea is contraindicated during pregnancy because it can increase the tonus of the gravid uterus. For simifar reasons (tonus increasing properties), it is not recommended with hypertensive individuals.

The FDA considers broom an unsafe herb. Symptoms of toxicity suggest nicotine poisoning and are characterized by tachycardia with circulatory collapse, nausea, diarrhea, vertigo and stupor. The seeds have been used as a coffee substitute, a dangerous and unwarranted practice.

Summary: Broom is a traditional medicinal herb that is found throughout many regions of the United States and Europe. Broom contains the pharmacologically active alkaloid sparteine, which has oxytocic and antiarrhythmic properties. The plant has been touted as a "legal high," but the authenticity of these experiences has been doubted. The German Commission E monograph on this herb lists its uses as an effective agent for functional disorders of the heart and circulation. Nevertheless, broom is considered an unsafe herb by the FDA and should not be used in modern therapeutics.