Horsetail

Traditional Uses & Why Herbalists Value It

Horsetail belongs to Europe's diuretic tradition: herbs used to encourage urine production. Dried green shoots are prepared as tea, alone or in combinations with other urinary herbs. European monographs also document external washes, a separate tradition from drinking an infusion.

Plant Part, Preparation & Natural Constituents

The customary herbal material is the sterile green aerial growth. Naturally occurring constituents include silicic acid and silicates, along with flavonoids derived from quercetin and kaempferol. A cut-and-sifted herb is dried plant material; a concentrated extract has a different composition and strength.

What Modern Research Has Found

A randomized crossover trial in 36 healthy men found that 900 mg daily of standardized horsetail extract increased urine output compared with placebo during four-day treatment periods. This short extract study provides a human finding to accompany the herb's longstanding urinary-tea tradition.

Horsetail in Formulae

Kidney LifeBoost® Tea and Kidney Cleanse Drops and Kidney Cleanse Capsules combine horsetail with other herbs familiar from urinary herbal practice. Liver LifeBoost® Tea lists it as shavegrass. Deep Heat Muscle Ointment contains horsetail in a topical blend, a different preparation from the teas and drops.

Products Containing This Ingredient

• Deep Heat Muscle Ointment (5 oz)
• Kidney Cleanse Drops (2 fl oz)
• Kidney Cleanse Supplement (120 Veg caps) SpeedyVite® Organic & Wildcrafted Made in USA FREE EXPEDITED
• Kidney LifeBoost® Tea
• Liver LifeBoost® Tea

Sources & Further Reading

• European Medicines Agency: Horsetail herb >
• EMA assessment report: tradition, constituents and clinical research >
• PubMed: randomized clinical trial of standardized horsetail extract >