Bitter lettuce; lettuce opium; poisonous lettuce
Lactucae virosae herba; Lactucarium (dried latex)
Flowering herb; dried latex
Indications/uses: Wild lettuce herb is used traditionally as a sedative in irritable cough and as a mild hypnotic in insomnia. It is rarely used alone but is common in products also containing valerian, hops and passion flower.
Evidence: Despite a long history of use, there is no clinical evidence to support the use of wild lettuce herb or latex as a sedative. The sesquiterpene lactones are mildly sedative and have analgesic properties.
Safety: Generally thought safe in normal doses, despite a long-standing reputation as a ‘legal high’ (drug of abuse) and previous use as a mild substitute for opium. No evidence of opioid-like effects has been found in either clinical or pre-clinical studies.
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