🤧 Medicinal Plants for Cold / Flu
A cold clears up on its own — herbal medicine therefore does not target the virus but the symptoms: keeping the mucous membranes moist, easing expectoration and making a fever more bearable. The classics are hot infusions of elderflower or lime blossom to encourage sweating, plus mucilage-rich teas that coat an irritated throat.
40 plants from our database are traditionally associated with Cold / Flu – each with a profile, active compounds, safety notes and sources. Poisonous and legally controlled species are deliberately left out of this list; they remain reachable through the search and the plant index.
These plants are traditionally used for the listed conditions. Not medical advice — consult a doctor or pharmacist for persistent symptoms.
Raw onion as spring tonic and digestive stimulant: promotes salivary and gastric secretion, mildly supports blood pressure regulation, traditionall…
Folk use of leek as a mild digestive and intestinal remedy.
Prevention of atherosclerotic vascular changes; supportive use in slightly elevated blood lipids and mild hypertension.
Infusion from fresh or dried stalks and leaves: 1–2 tsp chopped lemongrass in 200 ml hot water, steep 10 minutes.
Expressed juice from fresh flowering herb (EMA well-established use) for short-term prevention and treatment of upper respiratory tract colds.
Traditionally used to relieve cough associated with colds and as an inhalation or bath additive to help clear the upper airways; registered in the…
Infusion of the flowering herb (1–2 g per cup, steep 10 min) for catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, hay fever, and sinusitis.
Beech bark decoction was used in European folk medicine for fever, colds, and mild respiratory complaints.
Flower infusion for feverish colds and influenza-like illness — Kommission E positive monograph based on natural salicylate compounds.
Fresh berries and pressed juice as an exceptionally vitamin-C-rich food source — traditional immune support in Northern/Central Europe and Central…
Infusion of dried aerial parts (leaves, stems) is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for upper respiratory tract infections, chronic cough,…
Traditional root decoction as expectorant for cough and bronchial catarrh — classic application in European phytotherapy (ESCOP, Wichtl).
Infusion of 1–2 dried bay leaves for flatulence, bloating, and mild catarrh of the respiratory tract.
Traditional horehound herb tea as expectorant for cold-related and irritative cough, and as a bitter remedy for loss of appetite and dyspeptic comp…
Warm catnip tea is considered diaphoretic and antipyretic.
Tulsi tea from dried leaves and flowers has been used in Ayurveda for centuries as a rasayana (rejuvenating agent) and adaptogen.
Traditional folk-medicinal use as an aromatic infusion for dyspeptic complaints (bloating, flatulence, loss of appetite) and for catarrhal upper-re…
The root extract is used traditionally to relieve common cold symptoms.
Tea from fresh spring shoots (Maiwipferl): finely chopped young shoot tips are steeped in hot water for 5 minutes.
Secretolytic and secretomotor cough tea for cold cough with thick mucus.
Inhalation of pine needle oil (Pini aetheroleum) or an infusion of young shoots traditionally relieves catarrh of the upper and lower respiratory t…
Traditional use as steam inhalation for the common cold, bronchitis and catarrhs of the upper respiratory tract.
Traditional diaphoretic flower tea for feverish colds — perspiration-promoting use recognised by EMA as traditional use.
Folk use for rheumatic complaints, gout and as a spring detox cure — often blended with other diuretic herbs.
In Austrian and Central European folk medicine, rowan berries were used as tea, syrup, or jelly for colds, flu, cough, bronchitis, and fever.
Clinically documented exclusively as the combination product Esberitox® N (Schaper & Brümmer): Echinacea purpurea root + Baptisia tinctoria root +…
Traditional diaphoretic tea at the first signs of a cold.
Traditional diaphoretic tea for the onset of a cold.
Traditional cough tea for dry irritant cough and catarrh of the respiratory tract (EMA traditional use).
Traditional infusion of flowering vervain herb for catarrhal conditions of the respiratory tract — a constituent of the well-known combination prod…
Infusion of the flowering aerial parts (1–2 g per cup, steep 10 min) for mild colds, coughs, and catarrh of the upper respiratory tract.
Folk cough and cold tea — mucilaginous, mildly diaphoretic, traditionally for catarrh of the upper respiratory tract.
Ginger rhizome as universal culinary and household spice — fresh, dried, candied, as syrup or pickle.
Chronic cough, bronchial catarrh, stuck mucus (folk medicine)
Sloes eaten raw after the first frost or processed as jam and juice.
Lungwort tea made from aerial parts is traditionally used in European folk medicine for coughs, bronchitis, and throat complaints.
Decoction of willow bark (standardised to salicin) for low back pain, mild joint complaints and fever — positively assessed by Commission E; the EM…
Traditional cold remedy 'Haldi-Doodh' (turmeric latte) — Ayurvedic home remedy for colds, sore throat and febrile infections.
Steam inhalation with peppermint oil for symptomatic relief of cold symptoms and upper respiratory tract catarrh (EMA traditional use).
Soothing tea for dry irritated cough and hoarseness.
Different concern? All complaints at a glance · all plants