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Wild dagga

Leonotis leonurus

Also calledWilde dagga (Afrikaans, 'wild cannabis') · Lion's ear, lion's tail

An orange-flowered South African shrub of the mint family, widely used in traditional medicine as a decoction for skin complaints, headache, chest infections, constipation and bites, and smoked for epilepsy and its mild calming, cannabis-like effect. Despite its name it is unrelated to cannabis. The evidence is from tradition, cell and animal work only, and high doses of the shoot extract were toxic to rats.

What it is used for

  • Dried leaves and flowers are smoked, or a decoction taken, for epilepsy. In zebrafish larvae, the smoke extract and its two main labdane diterpenoids (leoleorins A and B) suppressed chemically induced seizure-like behaviour. No human studies.1,2,3

  • Non-healers use it for its calming effect, and the smoked leaves are said to relieve anxiety. The smoke extract showed anxiolytic-like activity in zebrafish larvae.2,3,4

  • Used for intestinal worms, constipation and digestive problems. A leaf diterpenoid, leoleorin C, had only moderate activity against a free-living lab nematode.5

  • Decoctions are applied to the skin or taken by mouth for eczema, skin rashes, boils and itching.1,4

  • Haemorrhoids
    Traditional

    Traditionally used as a decoction for haemorrhoids.1

  • Headache
    Traditional

    Decoctions are used for headache.1,4

  • Decoctions are used for spider and snake bites.1

How it is prepared

decoction

Leaves or aerial parts boiled in water, taken by mouth or applied to the skin (traditional South African use).

Eczema and dermatitis · Headache · Haemorrhoids

inhalation

Dried leaves and flowers smoked (traditional use for epilepsy and calming).

Epilepsy and seizures · Anxiety and nervous tension

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy
Insufficient data
Breastfeeding
Insufficient data

Side effects

  • Mild euphoria and psychoactive effects when smoked

Toxicity

In female rats an aqueous shoot extract killed animals at 3200 mg/kg; repeated dosing changed blood cell counts (from 200 mg/kg in the chronic study) and liver and kidney markers, and caused breathing difficulty and organ damage. The authors advised caution in medicinal use. Commercial products have been found spiked with synthetic cannabinoids.

Dangerous lookalikes

Leonotis nepetifolia, a closely related species very similar in habit.

In the healing traditions

  • African traditional medicine

    Wilde dagga

    Decoction used on the skin and by mouth for haemorrhoids, eczema, rashes, boils, itching, muscular cramps, headache, epilepsy, chest infections, constipation, spider and snake bites; also hypertension. Dried leaves and flowers smoked for epilepsy and a mild euphoria; roots used extensively too.

  • Modern pharmacology

    Leonotis labdane diterpenes

    More than 50 compounds isolated, mainly labdane diterpenes led by marrubiin; leaf leoleorins bound several central nervous system receptors in screening assays, and a cannabinoid-like compound (adrenoyl-ethanolamine) was tentatively identified in the flowers.

Active compounds

marrubiin
the major labdane diterpene reported in the plant
leoleorins A–J
labdane diterpenoids of the leaves; A and B are the main constituents of the smoke and were anticonvulsant in zebrafish; leoleorin C binds the sigma-1 receptor (Ki 2.9 μM)
adrenoyl-ethanolamine (tentative)
endocannabinoid-like compound tentatively identified in white-flowered plants
leonurine (not present)
the alkaloid often claimed in popular literature has never been found by scientific analysis of this plant

History

The Afrikaans name wilde dagga means 'wild cannabis', for the mild euphoria of the smoked leaves, though the plant is unrelated to cannabis; Leonotis is Greek for 'lion's ear'. A 2015 review of literature from 1900 onward found that leonurine, the psychoactive alkaloid often credited to it, had never been detected by scientific analysis.

Sources

  1. 1.Nsuala BN, Enslin G, Viljoen A. 'Wild cannabis': a review of the traditional use and phytochemistry of Leonotis leonurus. J Ethnopharmacol 2015 (abstract)
  2. 2.Nsuala BN et al. Chemical profiling, anticonvulsant and anxiolytic effects of the smoke constituents isolated from Leonotis leonurus. J Ethnopharmacol 2024 (abstract)
  3. 3.Nyazema NZ, Chanyandura JT, Egan B. The use and potential abuse of psychoactive plants in southern Africa. Front Pharmacol 2024;15:1269247
  4. 4.Hunter E et al. Toward the identification of a phytocannabinoid-like compound in the flowers of Leonotis leonurus. BMC Res Notes 2020
  5. 5.Makhubu FN et al. Isolation and characterisation of nematicidal compound, leolorin C, from Leonotis leonurus acetone leaf extract. J Ethnopharmacol 2022 (abstract)
  6. 6.Maphosa V, Masika P, Adedapo A. Safety evaluation of the aqueous extract of Leonotis leonurus shoots in rats. Hum Exp Toxicol 2008 (abstract)
  7. 7.Wu H et al. Labdane diterpenoids from Leonotis leonurus. Phytochemistry 2013 (abstract)

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.