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Capsella bursa-pastoris
CautionGewöhnliches Hirtentäschel · (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
Cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
Description
Tiny, heart-shaped seed pods give shepherd's purse its name and make it recognisable year-round along paths and fields. The flowering herb has long been folk medicine's foremost styptic plant, even serving as a substitute for ergot preparations during World War I, and Commission E confirms its use for excessively heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding. In folk practice, compresses of the herb were also applied to stop bleeding from minor wounds and nosebleeds. In spring, its young leaves count among the traditional 'nine herbs' of Maundy Thursday soup and taste nutty and cress-like. The choline- and tyramine-like compounds it contains have a uterus-contracting effect, so shepherd's purse should be avoided during pregnancy; anyone on blood-pressure or anticoagulant medication should seek medical advice first, and continuous, uninterrupted use is not recommended.
CONTRAINDICATED during pregnancy
Strictly to be avoided in pregnancy. Shepherd's purse was historically a classic labour stimulant ('midwives' herb') used specifically to stimulate uterine contraction and to staunch postpartum bleeding — therefore contraindicated before onset of labour due to possible risk of abortion and premature contractions. Also no culinary use in larger amounts.
Critical drug interactions with:
MAO-Hemmer (Tranylcypromin, Moclobemid, Selegilin)
Classic for excessively heavy, prolonged or too frequent menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia, metrorrhagia) as well as symptomatic post-bleeding and capillary oozing. Positively assessed by German Commission E ('Bursae pastoris herba').
Preparation & dosage
Main folk-medicine preparation for hemostasis: for menorrhagia, nosebleeds, hemorrhoidal bleeding and postpartum bleeding. Shepherd's purse tincture served as a substitute for ergot preparations in World War I.
Preparation & dosage
Folk-medicine wound compress for minor bleeding cuts and abrasions, nosebleeds (tampon), hemorrhoidal bleeding and superficial skin injuries — hemostatic and astringent.
Preparation & dosage
Spring wild herb: young basal leaves are used raw in salads, as a spinach substitute, in wild-herb soups, herbed quark and pestos — nutty cress-like flavour (glucosinolates, typical of Brassicaceae). Vitamin- and mineral-rich, traditionally one of the 'nine herbs' of Maundy Thursday soup.
Preparation & dosage
Folk medicine for bleeding gums, mild gum inflammation (gingivitis) and bleeding mouth after tooth extraction — astringent and hemostatic.
Preparation & dosage
Folk-medicine support for mild high blood pressure complaints and as a mild diuretic for fluid retention — the blood-pressure regulating and mildly diuretic properties have been used for centuries (tyramine content, flavonoids).
Preparation & dosage
Shepherd's purse contains choline, acetylcholine and tyramine-like substances with uterus-contracting and blood-pressure / heart-rate-modifying activity. Contraindicated during pregnancy (traditional labour stimulant; used in obstetrics specifically to stimulate uterine contractions). With existing hypertension or anticoagulant therapy only after medical consultation. Prolonged uninterrupted intake not recommended — use as a cure around menstruation. Hemostatic activity weakens markedly with prolonged dry storage; prefer fresh drug or freshly prepared tincture.
⏱ Max continuous use: 4 weeks
Strictly to be avoided in pregnancy. Shepherd's purse was historically a classic labour stimulant ('midwives' herb') used specifically to stimulate uterine contraction and to staunch postpartum bleeding — therefore contraindicated before onset of labour due to possible risk of abortion and premature contractions. Also no culinary use in larger amounts.
Insufficient safety data during lactation. Due to amines (choline, acetylcholine, tyramine) and traditional use as a uterotonic, therapeutic intake should be avoided during breastfeeding or only with midwife/doctor consultation. Small culinary amounts of young spring leaves in salads are considered safe.
No internal therapeutic use in infants and toddlers under 6 years — no paediatric dose data, and the circulatory-active constituents (acetylcholine, tyramine) can act unpredictably in small children. Older school-age children may receive small short-term amounts (e.g. half a cup of tea for nosebleed, culinary in wild-herb salad).
Drug interactions
Antikoagulanzien und Thrombozytenaggregationshemmer (Warfarin, Phenprocoumon, DOAKs, ASS, Clopidogrel)
Shepherd's purse acts traditionally hemostatically through flavonoid- and tannin-mediated capillary sealing and through uterus-contracting amino acids. With concurrent anticoagulant therapy effects can antagonize — reduced anticoagulant effect, risk of thromboembolic events. INR monitoring recommended.
Antihypertensiva und Diuretika (ACE-Hemmer, Sartane, Beta-Blocker, Thiazide, Schleifendiuretika)
Mild blood-pressure-lowering and diuretic properties of the plant can potentiate the effects of antihypertensive and diuretic drugs — risk of hypotension, dizziness, electrolyte shifts. Monitor blood pressure and adjust dose if needed.
Schilddrüsenhormone und Thyreostatika (Levothyroxin, Carbimazol, Thiamazol)
Glucosinolates (sinigrin and other mustard-oil glycosides), typical of Brassicaceae, can inhibit iodine uptake by the thyroid with prolonged high-dose intake (goitrogenic effect). With existing thyroid disease and therapy avoid therapeutic long-term use; culinary amounts are unproblematic.
MAO-Hemmer (Tranylcypromin, Moclobemid, Selegilin)
Shepherd's purse contains tyramine-like biogenic amines. With concurrent MAOI therapy the inactivation of these amines is reduced — risk of hypertensive crisis (blood-pressure spikes, headache, palpitations). Avoid therapeutic use in this combination.
Contraindications
- Pregnancy (uterus-contracting action, traditional labour stimulant — risk of abortion and premature labour)
- Known allergy to Brassicaceae (cruciferae: mustard, horseradish, cabbage family, rapeseed)
- Therapy with anticoagulants or platelet aggregation inhibitors (without medical consultation)
- Manifest hypertension under ongoing antihypertensive therapy (without medical consultation)
- Hyper- and hypothyroidism under ongoing therapy (glucosinolate-mediated iodine interference)
- Treatment with MAO inhibitors (tyramine-like amines — possible hypertensive crisis)
- Infants and toddlers under 6 years (internal therapeutic use)
Harvested part: flowering herb
- Time of day:
- Collect on sunny dry mornings after dew has dried — highest active ingredient content before full ripening of the characteristic heart-shaped pods ('purses'). Prefer plants with fresh flowers and beginning pod formation.
- Drying:
- Cut aerial parts (flowering herb, ca. 10-20 cm) with scissors. Tie loosely into small bunches and hang upside down in airy shade OR spread loosely on cloths/sieves. Drying temperature max. 35-40 °C to preserve thermolabile constituents (acetylcholine, vitamin C). Confusion risk low — shepherd's purse has unmistakable heart-shaped pods; only before flowering possible confusion with other Brassicaceae rosettes. After 5-8 days crisp-dry, store in dark airtight jars or paper bags.
- Storage:
- 12 months — Dry, light-protected, airtight — shelf life ca. 1 year. Important: the hemostatic action of the herb weakens markedly with prolonged storage. Prefer fresh plant for tinctures; use up dried drug preferably within one year.
- Time of day:
- For wild-herb cuisine harvest fresh young basal leaves before flowering — February to April (spring) and again September-October (autumn re-growth). Older leaves become tough, fibrous and very pungent due to elevated glucosinolate content.
- Drying:
- Do not dry for culinary purposes since flavour and vitamin C are largely lost on drying. Process fresh (salad, soup, pesto, spinach substitute) or briefly blanch and freeze in portions — frozen leaves largely retain aroma and vitamins.
- Storage:
- 6 months — Fresh in refrigerator wrapped in damp cloth keeps only 1-2 days; frozen up to 6 months. No worthwhile long-term dry storage as culinary herb.
- Cholin, Acetylcholin und weitere biogene Amine (Tyramin, Histamin)OtherContent: 0,2-0,3 % Cholin; Spuren Acetylcholin/TyraminAerial parts
Pharmacological lead substances: acetylcholine and choline act uterus-contracting, which mechanistically explains the traditional use as labour stimulant and for menorrhagia/postpartum bleeding. Tyramine can affect blood pressure and heart rate — rationale both for the hemostatic action (vasoconstriction) and for the MAOI interaction warning.
- Flavonoide (Rutin, Hyperosid, Quercetin, Luteolin-7-rutinosid, Diosmin)FlavonoidContent: 0,6-1,5 %Aerial parts
Rutin and hyperoside act capillary-sealing and antioxidant — they reduce the permeability of small blood vessels and thus support the hemostatic and oedema-reducing effects of the drug (also for hemorrhoidal bleeding and nosebleed). Diosmin is also used in modern venous preparations.
- Glucosinolate (Sinigrin, Glucotropaeolin, Glucocochlearin)GlycosideContent: 0,1-0,3 %Aerial parts
Characteristic mustard-oil glycosides of the Brassicaceae — give shepherd's purse its sharp cress-like flavour and are cleaved by the enzyme myrosinase to pungent mustard oils (allyl mustard oil from sinigrin) on tissue injury. They act antimicrobial and mildly circulation-stimulating; responsible for the goitrogenic property (thyroid iodine uptake inhibition) on prolonged use.
- Triterpensaponine (Capsellinsäure-Derivate)SaponinContent: Spuren bis 0,2 %Aerial parts
Mildly anti-inflammatory and slightly hemostatic via membrane stabilization of erythrocytes and thrombocytes. Contribute to the overall action of the drug but are not the lead substance.
- Kaliumsalze und organische Säuren (Apfelsäure, Bursinsäure, Fumarsäure)MineralContent: Kalium ca. 2-4 %Aerial parts
The high potassium content and organic acids explain the mild aquaretic (diuretic) action — rationale for folk use in fluid retention and mild urinary tract complaints. Bursic acid is a species-specific acid named after 'Bursa pastoris'.
- Phytosterole (beta-Sitosterol, Stigmasterol, Campesterol)OtherContent: Spuren bis 0,1 %Aerial parts
Contribute to mild anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating effects. Beta-sitosterol is also present in other Brassicaceae and many medicinal plants — not specific to shepherd's purse, but a consistent accompanying compound.
- Vitamin C, Vitamin K, CarotinoideVitaminContent: Vitamin C 30-90 mg/100 g; Vitamin K SpurenLeaf
Vitamin K contributes to the procoagulant action (carboxylation of coagulation factors II, VII, IX, X) — molecular rationale for the hemostatic tradition. Vitamin C and carotenoids support the value as a spring wild herb in wild-herb cuisine.
- [1]MonographKommission E Monographie (positiv) — Bursae pastoris herba (Hirtentäschelkraut), Bundesanzeiger Nr. 173 vom 18.09.1986; Anwendungsgebiete: symptomatisch bei Menorrhagien und Metrorrhagien sowie äusserlich bei Nasenbluten und oberflächlichen blutenden Hautverletzungen(accessed: 2026-05-19)
- [2]MonographESCOP Monograph — Bursae pastoris herba (Shepherd's Purse Herb), European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy(accessed: 2026-05-19)
- [3]MonographPlants For A Future — Capsella bursa-pastoris (Shepherd's Purse)(accessed: 2026-05-19)
- [4]MonographHeilkräuter-Lexikon: Hirtentäschelkraut (Capsella bursa-pastoris)(accessed: 2026-05-19)
- [6]MonographHenriette's Herbal Homepage — Capsella bursa-pastoris (Shepherd's Purse), King's American Dispensatory 1898(accessed: 2026-05-19)
- [5]BookMadaus, Gerhard — Lehrbuch der biologischen Heilmittel (1938), Band II: Capsella bursa-pastoris (Public Domain)(accessed: 2026-05-19)
- [7]WikipediaWikipedia (DE): Gewöhnliches Hirtentäschel (Capsella bursa-pastoris)(accessed: 2026-05-19)