Blue Vervain

Western herbalists use the dried leaf and flowering top as an infusion or tincture. They class blue vervain as a bitter nervine: relaxing and mildly sedative, and also bitter, so it is given for poor appetite and sluggish digestion. Taken hot, it is used as a diaphoretic in fevers.

It has been used for convalescence, depression, headaches, jaundice, cramps, coughs and fevers, and applied externally to wounds, ulcers and acne ^{29Reference 29North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Verbena hastata (blue vervain) — description, distribution, ethnobotany — species databaseView study →}. It is chosen for tension and restlessness, and for nervous headache.

Blue vervain was used by many nations across its range ^{28Reference 28Botanical Research Institute of Texas · 1975Native American Ethnobotany Database — Verbena hastata LView study →}.

The Cherokee took it for colds, coughs, the early stages of fever and to bring on sweating, as a tonic, to strengthen the stomach, for afterpains and for “female obstructions”. A compound was taken for flux, old bowel complaints and dysentery, and the roots steeped in spirits were used for dropsy. The leaves, seeds and roots were also used as an emetic ^{28Reference 28Botanical Research Institute of Texas · 1975Native American Ethnobotany Database — Verbena hastata LView study →}.

Among the Iroquois, a compound decoction of the roots was taken for worms and stomach cramps, a root infusion was used as ear drops, and a decoction of the whole plant was taken for “summer complaint”. A wetted root was applied to the head to cool it, and a cold infusion of the leaves was used as a charm to make an unwelcome person leave ^{28,30Reference 28Botanical Research Institute of Texas · 1975Native American Ethnobotany Database — Verbena hastata LView study →Reference 30Native Plant TrustGo Botany: Verbena hastata LView study →}.

The Dakota drank a leaf decoction for stomach ache, and the Menominee a root infusion to clear cloudy urine. The Delaware used a root compound for chills, the Mahuna the roots for stomach fevers, and the Chippewa a snuff of the dried flowers for nosebleed ^{28Reference 28Botanical Research Institute of Texas · 1975Native American Ethnobotany Database — Verbena hastata LView study →}.

The Omaha steeped the leaves as a tea-like drink, and the Concow ground the seeds into pinole ^{28Reference 28Botanical Research Institute of Texas · 1975Native American Ethnobotany Database — Verbena hastata LView study →}.

Almost all of this work is on common vervain. A 50% methanolic extract applied to the skin at 1–3% reduced carrageenan-induced swelling in rats, and at 3% the effect matched piroxicam gel ^{7Reference 7Calvo · 2006AnimalAnti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of the topical preparation of Verbena officinalis L. — ratView study →}. Applied to the skin, a leaf extract strongly reduced TPA-induced ear swelling, with a smaller effect on paw swelling ^{8Reference 8Calvo et al. · 1998AnimalAnti-inflammatory activity of leaf extract of Verbena officinalis L. — mouse/ratView study →}. Methanolic, flavonoid-enriched and CO₂ extracts were anti-inflammatory and protected the stomach in rats ^{9Reference 9Speroni et al. · 2007AnimalEffects of differential extraction of Verbena officinalis on rat models of inflammation, cicatrization and gastric damage — ratView study →}.

Verbenalin reduced lung inflammation in mice by acting through the GPR18 receptor ^{10Reference 10Yang et al. · 2023AnimalVerbenalin alleviates acute lung injury induced by sepsis and IgG immune complex through GPR18 receptor — in vivoView study →}. Blue vervain’s flavonoids luteolin and apigenin and its verbascoside have also been studied for effects on NF-κB and COX-2.

Gap: no study of blue vervain, and much of the effect was shown on the skin rather than by mouth.

This is the only indication with a direct V. hastata measurement. The whole-plant extract and its isolated constituents, including verbenalin, hastatoside, verbascoside and the triterpene acids, inhibited the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in vitro ^{1Reference 1Yokosuka et al. · 2021In vitroChemical Constituents of the Whole Plant of Verbena hastata and Their Inhibitory Activity Against the Production of AGEs — in vitroView study →}.

In common vervain, water and hydromethanolic extracts, including infusions and decoctions, scored strongly on DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and CUPRAC assays ^{11Reference 11Polumackanycz et al. · 2022In vitroChemical Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Common and Lemon Verbena — in vitroView study →}, and caffeoyl derivatives from the leaves were the main radical scavengers ^{12Reference 12Casanova et al. · 2008In vitroAntioxidant and antifungal activity of Verbena officinalis L. leaves — in vitroView study →}. GC-MS-profiled fractions also showed polyphenol-linked antioxidant capacity ^{13Reference 13Nisar et al. · 2022In vitroMetabolic Profiling by GC-MS, In Vitro Biological Potential, and In Silico Molecular Docking Studies of Verbena officinalis — in vitroView study →}.

The activity tracks rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid and verbascoside, all present in blue vervain.

Gap: all of it is in vitro, and the anti-AGE result is a single cell-free screen.

In rats, both hastatoside and verbenalin from common vervain promoted sleep, increasing non-REM sleep ^{4Reference 4Makino et al. · 2009AnimalHastatoside and verbenalin are sleep-promoting components in Verbena officinalis — animal modelView study →}. Both iridoids occur in blue vervain ^{1Reference 1Yokosuka et al. · 2021In vitroChemical Constituents of the Whole Plant of Verbena hastata and Their Inhibitory Activity Against the Production of AGEs — in vitroView study →}, and hastatoside was first described from V. hastata and V. officinalis ^{2Reference 2Rimpler et al. · 1979Hastatoside, a New Iridoid from Verbena hastata L. and Verbena officinalis LView study →}.

A crude extract of common vervain at 50–300 mg/kg was anxiolytic and sedative in mice: it increased time in the open arms of the elevated plus maze and in the light compartment of the light–dark box, and lengthened thiopental-induced sleep ^{5Reference 5Khan et al. · 2016AnimalAnticonvulsant, Anxiolytic, and Sedative Activities of Verbena officinalis — mouseView study →}. At 100–500 mg/kg it also delayed and shortened chemically induced seizures ^{5Reference 5Khan et al. · 2016AnimalAnticonvulsant, Anxiolytic, and Sedative Activities of Verbena officinalis — mouseView study →}. A 2025 study of standardised common vervain extracts reported effects on the nervous system in behavioural tests ^{6Reference 6Koshovyi et al. · 2025AnimalVerbena officinalis LView study →}.

Gap: no study in people. The behavioural results are from animals, mostly with common vervain, and the sleep study used purified iridoids.

Two blue-vervain marker iridoids protect the liver in mouse injury models. Verbenalin, given by mouth, reduced alcohol-associated steatohepatitis by regulating MDMX/PPARα-mediated ferroptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction ^{14Reference 14Dong et al. · 2023AnimalVerbenalin attenuates hepatic damage and mitochondrial dysfunction in alcohol-associated steatohepatitis by regulating MDMX/PPARα-mediated ferroptosis — mouseView study →}. Hastatoside reduced carbon-tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis by targeting glycogen synthase kinase-3β ^{15Reference 15Du et al. · 2023AnimalHastatoside attenuates carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis by targeting glycogen synthase kinase-3β — mouseView study →}.

Both compounds were used in purified form, from common vervain.

Verbenalin reduced amyloid-beta production in cell and animal models of Alzheimer’s disease ^{16Reference 16Lim et al. · 2022AnimalVerbenalin Reduces Amyloid-Beta Peptide Generation in Cellular and Animal Models of Alzheimer’s Disease — animal modelView study →}, and protected SH-SY5Y nerve cells against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced oxidative and nitrosative stress in vitro ^{17Reference 17Demiryürek et al. · 2023In vitroProtective effects of verbenalin and (+)-eudesmin against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced oxidative/nitrosative stress in SH-SY5Y cells — in vitroView study →}.

Under the name cornin, the same molecule, given intravenously at 25 mg/kg daily for 14 days after a stroke in rats, increased new blood-vessel growth and improved recovery through the Ang1/Tie2 and Wnt/β-catenin pathways ^{18Reference 18Xu et al. · 2016AnimalCornin increases angiogenesis and improves functional recovery after stroke via the Ang1/Tie2 axis and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway — ratView study →}. It also limited brain injury after ischaemia and reperfusion by restraining autophagy through PI3K/Akt/mTOR ^{19Reference 19Lan et al. · 2022AnimalCornin protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by preventing autophagy via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway — ratView study →}.

A whole ethanol extract of common vervain reduced stroke damage in rats through the IL-17A pathway ^{20Reference 20Zhang et al. · 2024AnimalEthanol extract of Verbena officinalis alleviates MCAO-induced ischaemic stroke by inhibiting IL17A pathway-regulated neuroinflammation — in vivoView study →}, and computer modelling identified its iridoids and flavonoids as possible anti-Alzheimer’s compounds ^{21Reference 21Peng et al. · 2022Integrating transcriptome and chemical analyses to reveal the anti-Alzheimer’s disease components in Verbena officinalis — in silicoView study →}.

Gap: most of this work gave the isolated iridoid by injection, and no study has tested it by mouth.

Cornin, the same molecule as verbenalin, protected rat hearts against ischaemia and reperfusion injury when given intravenously at 30 mg/kg, and preserved phospho-CREB and phospho-Akt signalling in oxygen-starved heart cells ^{22Reference 22Xu et al. · 2016AnimalCardioprotection against experimental myocardial ischemic injury using cornin — ratView study →}.

The same molecule reduced the progression of preeclampsia through NO signalling and NF-κB inactivation in cell, mouse and zebrafish models ^{23Reference 23Xu et al. · 2026AnimalCornin, a compound from Verbena officinalis L, ameliorates preeclampsia progression through activating NO signaling and deactivating NFκB — in vivoView study →}.

Gap: one rat study, by injection, of an isolated compound.

Common vervain essential oil was antibacterial and antifungal in vitro, most notably against Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ^{24Reference 24De Martino et al. · 2009In vitroChemistry, antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal activities of volatile oils and their components — in vitroView study →}. A 50% methanolic leaf extract and its caffeoyl derivatives were antifungal ^{12Reference 12Casanova et al. · 2008In vitroAntioxidant and antifungal activity of Verbena officinalis L. leaves — in vitroView study →}.

Blue vervain’s own essential oil has a different composition, rich in 1-octen-3-ol and palmitic acid ^{3Reference 3Lawson et al. · 2021The Volatile Phytochemistry of Seven Native American Aromatic Medicinal PlantsView study →}.

Gap: the active preparations were the essential oil and solvent fractions of common vervain, while blue vervain is taken as a water or alcohol extract.

Semi-purified fractions of common vervain were active against LOX-IMVI melanoma cells in vitro, with IC₅₀ values as low as about 2.85 µg/mL ^{25Reference 25Nisar et al. · 2022In vitroIn Vitro Antimelanoma Properties of Verbena officinalis Fractions — in vitroView study →}. A common vervain extract inhibited H22 solid tumours in mice while affecting immune measures ^{26Reference 26Kou et al. · 2013AnimalStudy on in-vivo anti-tumor activity of Verbena officinalis extract — animal modelView study →}.

Gap: no active compound was identified, and there are no data on blue vervain.

Toxicity. There are no reports of serious toxicity. Its marker iridoid verbenalin was not mutagenic in a bacterial reverse-mutation (Ames) test; repeated-dose, reproductive and carcinogenicity testing has not been done ^{27Reference 27Kubica et al. · 2020ReviewVerbena officinalis (Common Vervain) — A Review on the Investigations of This Medicinally Important Plant Species — reviewView study →}.

Large doses. Blue vervain is intensely bitter, and large doses cause vomiting and diarrhoea ^{29Reference 29North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Verbena hastata (blue vervain) — description, distribution, ethnobotany — species databaseView study →}.

Medicines. It may interfere with blood-pressure medication and hormone therapy ^{29Reference 29North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Verbena hastata (blue vervain) — description, distribution, ethnobotany — species databaseView study →}. Its mild sedative action could add to that of sedatives, hypnotics or other central nervous system depressants; this has not been studied.

Identity. “Vervain” is shared by several plants, including lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora), a different genus that is the source of most “vervain” trials and products. Check that the product is Verbena hastata.