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Goat's Rue - Galega officinalis

COMMON NAMES Goat's rue, French lilac

LATIN NAME Galega officinalis

FAMILIES Leguminosae Fabaceae

PARTS USED Flower, leaf, stem, seed

DESCRIPTION Goat's Rue is a bushy perennial with has erect, hollow, smooth, branching stems which may reach five feet tall. Its bright green compound leaves consist of 13 to 17 lance-shaped leaflets, each one to two inches long. Goat's Rue flowers range in color from lilac to white, grow in spikes and produce red-brown seedpods in the autumn that can hold 2 to 6 kidney-shaped seeds.

HABITAT Goat's rue is indigenous to central and southern Europe, Russia, Japan, and Asia Minor. It is naturalized and widely cultivated in Britain. It grows in damp meadows and on river banks, as well as in other low, moist areas.

FOLKLORE AND TRADITIONAL USES The dried flowers of goat's rue have been used to help increase the milk supply in female goats. The Latin name, Galega, which is derived from the Greek word gala or milk, reflects this use. It is also known in England as "cheese rennet" because the juice that is extracted from the green parts of the plant is used for making cheese and clotting milk. This plant has often been used as cattle feed. Some sheep have died after eating it, revealing the fact that it can be toxic.

MEDICINAL USES Goat's Rue was once used to treat the plague, intestinal worms, fevers, and snakebites. The herb has since been shown in some cases to increase the production of milk in lactating mothers up to 50 percent. Some doctors do not recommend this use of the plant, however, because its effect on infants is not known. Galegine is an alkaloid that has been isolated from goat's rue - it lowers blood sugar levels and thus may be useful in fighting diabetes mellitus. A synthetic drug based on guanidine was introduced in France during the late 1950s, and it was approved by the FDA in 1995.

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