Juniper

Scientific name: Juniperus communis

Common names: Juniper Berries, Juniper Bush, Juniper Bark

Ayurvedic names: Hapusha 

Chinese names: Du song, Kuei

Bangladesh names: Havasha

Arabic names: Arar

Rainforest names:

Family: Fabaceae

Approximate number of species known:

Collection: Berries best collected in the ripe when not shrivelled.

Common parts used: Berries, twigs

Collection:

Annual/Perennial: Perennial

Height: 2 to 3 feet

Actions: antiseptic, Diuretic, carminative, anti-rheumatic, anti-microbial, emmenagogue, stimulant, tonic,

Known Constituents: Oil: monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, sugar, flavone glycosides, resin, tannin

Constituents Explained:

Description: 

Traditional Use:

A classic urinary tract herb.  A very ‘old school’ kidney herb that has been used by many of the big names in Herbalism.    The berries have been used as a disease preventative, the nerves, the vision, gout, pain in the body, and for the stomach and bowels.1  It has been used to prevent excessive bleeding in hemarroids.1

Clinical Studies:

Juniper essential oil (Juniperi aetheroleum) was obtained from the juniper berry, and the GC/MS analysis showed that the main compounds in the oil were alpha-pinene (29.17%) and beta-pinene (17.84%), sabinene (13.55%), limonene (5.52%), and mircene (0.33%). 

Juniper essential oil was evaluated for the antimicrobial activity against sixteen bacterial species, seven yeast-like fungi, three yeast and four dermatophyte strains. 

Juniper essential oil showed similar bactericidal activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species, as well as a strong fungicidal activity against yeasts, yeast-like fungi and dermatophytes.

The strongest fungicidal activity was recorded against Candida spp. and dermatophytes.

References:

Pepelinjak S, Kosalec I, Kalodera Z, Blazevic N. “Antimicrobial Activity Of Juniper Berry Essential Oil (Juniperus Communis L., Cupressaceae).” 2005 December http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16375831