Oshá

Other common names include: Bear Root, Chuchupate, Colorado Cough Root, Indian Parsley, Mountain Lovage, Perejil de Campo, Persil Indien, Porter's Licorice Root, Racine d'Ours, and Wild Celery Root

Osha, Ligusticum porteri, is a slow-growing plant in the apiaceae family native to high elevations in North America. The root of Osha has been used as a traditional/herbal medicine in Native American and Hispanic cultures. The root has been used topically as a dressing, paste or liniment, used as an ointment, or ingested as tea or tincture.

Osha contains chemicals that might help fight bacterial and viral infections. It is often confused with hemlock, which is poisonous, because the leaves are similar.

Some people use osha for immune support, sore throat, bronchitis, cough, common cold, influenza, swine flu, pneumonia, respiratory tract infections, COPD, skin infections, and viral infections (such as herpes and HIV/AIDS).

Medical Publications

Investigation of the cytotoxicity, antioxidative and immune-modulatory effects of Ligusticum porteri (Osha) root extract on human peripheral blood lymphocytes
Quantitative HPLC method for determining two of the major active phthalides from Ligusticum porteri roots
Chemotypic variation in oshá (Ligusticum porteri) in Colorado, USA
Effects of Ligusticum porteri (Osha) Root Extract on Human Promyelocytic Leukemia Cells
Z-ligustilide: A review of its pharmacokinetics and pharmacology
Z-ligustilide and anti-inflammatory prostaglandins have common biological properties in macrophages and leukocytes
Modulation of multi-drug resistance (MDR) in Staphylococcus aureus by Osha (Ligusticum porteri L., Apiaceae) essential oil compounds
Phthalides: Distribution in Nature, Chemical Reactivity, Synthesis, and Biological Activity
ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF Ligusticum porteri
Effects of Light Environment on Recovery from Harvest and Antibacterial Properties of Oshá Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae)1
The antifungal potential of (Z)-ligustilide and the protective effect of eugenol demonstrated by a chemometric approach
(Z)-3-butylidenephthalide from Ligusticum porteri , an α-glucosidase inhibitor
Gastroprotective effect of diligustilide isolated from roots of Ligusticum porteri coulter & rose (Apiaceae) on ethanol-induced lesions in rats
Acute toxicity and mutagenic activity of Mexican plants used in traditional medicine
The Genus Ligusticum in North America: An Ethnobotanical Review with Special Emphasis upon Species Commercially Known as ‘Osha’

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