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Partridge berry

Mitchella repens

Also calledPartridgeberry · Squaw-vine, squawberry (Felter 1922) · Checkerberry · Deerberry · One-berry

A small evergreen creeper of North American woods with paired white flowers and scarlet berries. Several Indigenous nations used it around childbirth and for menstrual pain, and Eclectic physicians adopted it as a 'partus praeparator' to be taken in late pregnancy. It has never been tested in clinical trials, and its safety in pregnancy is unknown.

What it is used for

  • Cherokee and Iroquois used it to ease childbirth and labour pains; King's (1898) records that Indigenous women drank a decoction for weeks before confinement, and Felter (1922) wrote that if it had any virtue it lay in calming nervous irritability in late pregnancy. No clinical studies.1,2,3

  • Period pain
    Traditional

    Taken by the Cherokee for 'monthly period pains' and menstrual cramps; King's lists amenorrhoea, some dysmenorrhoea and menorrhagia.1,3

  • Delaware infusion for 'suppressed menses' and to strengthen the 'female generative organs'.3

  • Diarrhoea
    Traditional

    Cherokee decoction with milk for dysentery; King's notes the berries were a popular remedy for diarrhoea.1,3

  • Delaware herbal steam of the roots or twigs for rheumatism and stiff joints; Abenaki poultice for swellings.3

  • King's gives a salve of the strong decoction boiled down with cream for sore nipples; the Cherokee also used it for sore nipples.1,3

How it is prepared

decoction

The whole plant boiled in water (King's says it yields its virtues to boiling water or alcohol).

King's 1898: strong decoction, 2–4 fluid ounces 2 or 3 times a day (historical dose).

Period pain · Childbirth and labour

ointment / salve

2 ounces of herb made into a strong decoction with a pint of water, strained, mixed with an equal volume of cream and boiled down to a soft salve, applied to sore nipples after each feed (King's 1898).

Breast-milk supply

syrup

Compound Syrup of Partridgeberry ('Mothers' Cordial'), which also contained Helonias, Viburnum opulus and Caulophyllum, with brandy, sugar and essence of sassafras.

Felter 1922: 2–4 fluid ounces 3 times a day (historical dose).

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

Safety

Pregnancy
Insufficient data
Breastfeeding
Insufficient data

Toxicity

No modern toxicity or pregnancy-safety data were found. The Delaware are recorded as using it for suppressed menses (classed in NAEB as an abortifacient use), which argues against assuming it is safe in pregnancy.

In the healing traditions

  • Indigenous North American

    Partridgeberry (Cherokee, Iroquois, Delaware, Abenaki, Chippewa)

    Cherokee: for period pains, to ease childbirth, dysentery, piles, hives and sore nipples, and given to babies before nursing. Iroquois: berries to prevent severe labour pains, decoction for pregnant women with side or labour pains, compound remedies for painful urination, back pain and babies' rashes. Delaware: infusion for suppressed menses and steam for rheumatism. Abenaki: poultice for swellings.

    Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany Database (Hamel & Chiltoskey 1975; Herrick 1977; Tantaquidgeon 1942, 1972; Rousseau 1947)

  • Western herbalism

    Mitchella (Eclectic)

    Parturient, diuretic and astringent; uterine tonic for amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea and menorrhagia; a 'partus praeparator' in late pregnancy and part of the compound syrup 'Mothers' Cordial'.

    King's American Dispensatory (1898); Felter, Eclectic Materia Medica (1922)

Active compounds

saponin-like substance
frothing principle reported in 1887; no alkaloid, glucoside or volatile oil found (King's, Felter)

History

Felter wrote in 1922 that, based on the practice and traditions of American Indians, the plant was 'eagerly adopted into domestic and early botanic and Eclectic therapy'. King's called it 'peculiarly American, not being noticed or used by foreign practitioners'. The berries are edible but nearly tasteless and persist through the winter.

Sources

  1. 1.Felter HW, Lloyd JU. King's American Dispensatory (1898): Mitchella — Henriette's Herbal
  2. 2.Felter HW. The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1922): Mitchella — Henriette's Herbal
  3. 3.BRIT Native American Ethnobotany Database: Mitchella repens L. (Moerman)

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.