Table 1.
Ethnomedicinal uses of Betula species.
| Plant name | Vernacular name (Locality) | Part used | Ethnobotanical uses | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betula alnoides Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don | Paiyun (Jajarkot district, Nepal) | Bark | A decoction of the bark is boiled to a gelatinous mass which is applied to treat micro-fracture or dislocated bone. | Manandhar, 1995, Manandhar, 2002 |
| Bark | Bark is boiled with water and the liquid mass is applied to dislocated bone and injury. Bark is chewed orally to treat sore throat and to check excessive menstruation. | Rajbhandari (2001) | ||
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. | Paper birch (USA) | Whole plant | Used as a preservative | Moerman (1998) |
| Betula pendula Roth | Breza (Bosnia and Herzegovina) | Leaf, Bark | Fluid unction with Arctium lappa for increased growth of hair and dandruff (Arnica, Betula) | Broza et al. (2010) |
| Juice for renal gravel. | ||||
| Tea for renal ailments, rheumatism and blood purification | ||||
| Tea for urinary tract infections (Betula, Althaea officinalis, Equisetum, Salvia, Uva), (Betula, Althaea officinalis, Equisetum, Salvia) | ||||
| Tea for renal ailments (Betula, Salix), (Betula, Ocimum, Solidago) | ||||
| Decoct for asthma (Betula, Pimpinella major, Pimpinella saxifraga, Potentilla, Ruta) | ||||
| Decoct for hindered diuresis (Betula, Saponaria, Solidago) | ||||
| Decoct for rheumatism (Betula, Populus alba, Sambucus nigra, Tilia, Urtica), (Betula, Sambucus nigra, Tilia, Urtica) | ||||
| Decoct for enlarged spleen (Betula, Coriandrum) | ||||
| Breza Silver birch (Bosnia and Herzegovina; Western Balkan Peninsula; Southeast Europe) | Bark, Leaves | Used for renal diseases and ague | Broza et al. (2011) | |
| As a mixture with other drugs, used for urogenital tract ailments: urinary bladder infections, urinary tract infections, purification of urinary bladder, renal inflammations, renal stones and hindered diuresis; for arrhythmia, blood purification, purification of lungs, rheumatism, arthritis, common cold and fever | ||||
| Urogenital tract ailments, rheumatism, skin problems, blood system disorders, respiratory tract ailments and influenzal infections. | ||||
| Breza (Prokletije Mountains; Montenegro) | Leaves | Bacterial and inflammatory disease of the urinary tract and for kidney stones | Menković et al. (2011) | |
| Externally for hair loss and dandruff | ||||
| Breza (Bulgaria) | Bark | Infusion, decoction; diuretic, cholagogue | Leporatti and Ivancheva (2003) | |
| Oqkayın (Toshkent, Djizzax, and Samarqand provinces; Uzbekistan, Central Asia) | Resin | Against rheumatic pain; ingested 3 times a day for 3 weeks | Sezik et al. (2004) | |
| Batoula (Lebanon) | Leaves | Arthritis-sleep in a sack filled with leaves | Marc et al. (2008) | |
| Arthritis and rheumatism-decoction for bathing | ||||
| Bedoll (Pallars; Pyrenees, Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula) | Bark, Leaves | Oral; Tisane (infusion or decoction), direct ingestion is antiarthrosic, useful against hypercholesterolemia, anticephalalgic, anticholagogue, antihelminthic, salutiferous | Agelet and Vallès (2003) | |
| Bidollo betulla Silver birch (Marches region; Central-Eastern Italy) | Bark | Decoction, in external washes; to prevent hair loss | Pieroni et al. (2004) | |
| Buds and leaves | Decoction, in external application; cicatrizing | |||
| Betulla (Italy) | Bark | Infusion, decoction; antipyretic, diuretic, cholagogue, diaphoretic | Leporatti and Ivancheva (2003) | |
| Infusion, decoction; in skin diseases | ||||
| Betulla (Lucca Province, north-west Tuscany, central Italy) | Bark and sap | Against cold | Pieroni (2000) | |
| Against alopecia (decoction of the bark, then adding sap) | ||||
| Symida (Thessaloniki (N Greece) | Leaves | Infusion, decoction; for metabolic diseases (urea, uric acid), systematic diseases (arthritis, rheumatisms), skin diseases (cellulites) and urogenital system (diuretic, renal disorders) | Hanlidou et al. (2004) | |
| Silver Birch (Transylvania, East and Central Romania) | Leaves | As a foment for cold; | Papp et al. (2014) | |
| As a bath and foment for rheumatism and arthritis; | ||||
| For kidney stones as a tea with Alnus glutinosa, Origanum vulgare and Equisetum arvense; | ||||
| For heart and liver disease, flatulence and renal pain, for gall stones | ||||
| Bark | For wounds. | |||
| Sap | For kidney disease; as an appetite stimulant, for stomach and liver disease; for colds; for chilblain as a foment. | |||
| Betula platyphylla Sukat. var. japonica (Miq.) Hara | Jajaknamu (Southern mountainous region of Korea) | Stem | Decoction given orally; bone diseases | Kim and Song (2011) |
| Betula pubescens Ehrh. Syn-Betula alba L | Batoula (Morocco: Tafilalet) | Aerial part | Cardiac disease; hypertension | Eddouks et al. (2002) |
| Abedul, bidueiro (El Caurel; Galicia, northwest Spain) | Sap fresh plant | Bath, as a vulnerary | Blanco et al. (1999) | |
| Inflorescences | Decoction is used against gout | |||
| Vidoeiro Vido (Tras-os-Montes; northern of Portugal) | Flowers, leaves, bark and resin (in Spring). | Bile stimulant; diuretic; soporific and anti-edema; against cholesterol and urea; against gout; calculus | Neves et al. (2009) | |
| Anti-edema; anti-podagric; cholagogue; complexion; diaphoretic; diuretic; hypocholesterolemia; lithiasis treatment; vulnerary | ||||
| (West Azerbaijan; Iran) | Leaves | Sambucus nigra L. flowers in combination with Arctium lappa L. leaves, Malva sylvestris L. leaves, Betula alba L. leaves; all the ingredients are boiled in 1 l of water and then clean clay is added in order to produce a cream to be applied to epidermis | Miraldi et al. (2001) | |
| Betula pumila L. var. glandulifera Regel | Bog birch (USA) | Flower | Smoke inhalation used for respiratory tract diseases | Moerman (1998) |
| Betula utilis D.Don | Joonsh, Zhoonsh (Bulashbar Nullah, Astore; Northern Pakistan) | Bark | Local people cover Desi ghee in its bark and burry in the soil; as the time passes (10–20 years), the taste of Ghee becomes pleasant. This ghee is more valuable than normal Desi Ghee | Shinwari and Gilani (2003) |
| Due to the water proof nature of the paper, they spread this paper on the roofs of their houses like sheets during construction as well as cover the potatoes and wheat which are present in small digs made in the fields | ||||
| Towa (Western Ladakh, India) | Bark, Root | Jaundice, burns, leprosy and bronchitis | Angmo et al. (2012) | |
| Bhuj (Humla district; Western Nepal) | Bark | Wounds are covered by papery barks for antiseptic purpose | Rokaya et al. (2010) | |
| For the storage of food grains, the hole is dug in the ground and all sides of hole are covered by papery barks supported by young branches of Pinus wallichiana. The hole is filled with food grains, covered by soil and stored for futher use | ||||
| Birch (Leepa valley; Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan) | Bark | Powder taken orally; used for leprosy and convulsion; tonic | Mahmood et al. (2012) | |
| Bhojpattra (India) | Stem bark | Abortifacient | Malhi and Trivedi (1972) | |
| Bhojpattra (Johari tribals; Uttarakhand, India) | Stem bark | Antiseptic, for ear complaint, hysteria, jaundice | Malhotra and Balodi (1984) and Chopra et al. (1986) | |
| Bhojpattra (Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India) | Stem bark | For wounds | Negi et al. (1985) | |
| Bhojpattra (North India) | Resin | For cuts and burns | Shah (1982) and Shah and Joshi (1971) | |
| Contraceptive | ||||
| Bhuj (Nepal) | Bark | A paste made from the bark is used as a poultice on cuts, wounds and burns. | Manandhar (2002) | |
| Bark | Decoction is used for sores. | Rajbhandari (2001) | ||
| Bhuj (Dolpa, Nepal) | Bark | Poultice used in wounds, swellings etc. | Ghimire et al. (2008) | |
| Resin | Used in bile and phlegm disorders. | |||
| Buspath (Manang, Nepal) | Bark and leaves | Mixture of bark and leaves with other herbs is used to treat fever. | Ghimire et al. (2008) and Gewali and Awale (2008) | |
| Bark and resin | Antiseptic, carminative. Bark decoction is useful for sore throat. Bark is used for bacterial infections, skin diseases, bronchitis cough. | Baral and Kurmi (2006) | ||
| Betula species (Betula pendula, and Betula pubescens) | Birch (Northern, Central and Eastern Europe) | Tree sap | Lung diseases, gout, skin diseases, infertility, revitalization, stomach diseases, kidney stones, jaundice, diuretic, rheumatism, arthritis, liver disease, pneumonia, cholera. | Svanberg et al. (2012) |