Latex traditionally effective for common warts (lab studies confirm antiviral activity).
Alkaloids (strong plant compounds that act on the body even in small amounts) — chelidonine, berberine, sanguinarine — get the bile flowing in animal studies.
Small clinical reports back its germ-fighting action when used on the skin.
Traditionally valued as part of a balanced wellness routine.
What Else to Know
Māmirān-e kabir has appeared in Persian, Greek, and European materia medica for over 2,000 years. People used its bright orange sap on warts and calluses, while small internal doses of the dried herb served as a bitter to stimulate bile flow. Modern hepatotoxicity (liver damage) reports have changed how we approach it. Internal use now belongs strictly under practitioner supervision, though the traditional knowledge and topical (put on the skin) uses remain well documented.
Known to botanists as Chelidonium majus.
Greater celandine is one of the clearest examples in this library of tradition meeting a serious modern safety concern. It has a long, respected history, but cases of liver injury were serious enough for European regulators to restrict it. The history is worth knowing. Taking the herb isn't worth the risk.
Chapter 2 of 14
The Essentials: A Few Last Essentials
Perennial herb 30–90 cm tall with lobed, blue-green leaves and small four-petaled yellow flowers. The signature feature is a bright orange-yellow latex that flows from any broken stem or leaf — the source of both its traditional use and its risk.
Family: Papaveraceae (poppy family).
Chapter 3 of 14
What Is In It
Primary compounds
Coptisine.
Other notable constituents
Antioxidants: Flavonoids (a family of protective plant compounds)
Notable: Isoquinoline alkaloids (strong plant compounds that act on the body even in small amounts): chelidonine, Carotenoid pigments (yellow latex)
Chapter 4 of 14
What Studies in People Show
What studies in people show
Multiple documented cases of acute hepatitis followed greater celandine use, with liver enzymes normalising after stopping.Moderate evidence
European regulators restricted oral greater celandine products after reviewing the hepatotoxicity (liver damage) case series.Moderate evidence
Chapter 5 of 14
How It Is Prepared
Fresh sap dabbed directly on a wart, historically once or twice daily.
Dried aerial parts were tinctured, a preparation now restricted in several countries.
Never taken as a strong decoction (a drink made by simmering the plant in water). Even traditional texts kept the dose small.
Topical (put on the skin) wart treatment: fresh sap, one daily drop, protect surrounding skin with petroleum jelly.
Chapter 6 of 14
How It Is Prepared: Other Ways to Use It
Internal use: only under licensed herbalist or naturopath supervision.
Discontinue all internal use at the first sign of nausea or yellowing.
PRACTITIONER ONLY: 1–2 mL of a 1:5 tincture (a liquid extract made with alcohol) in water, up to 2× daily.
Never use the fresh plant or raw sap internally.
A single drop of fresh yellow latex applied directly to a wart, once daily, 1–2 weeks.
Cooled decoction (a drink made by simmering the plant in water) of dried herb as a compress for irritated skin.
Chapter 7 of 14
Medicines and Interactions
General cautions
Medication interaction:
Avoid with any liver disease, hepatitis, or hepatotoxic medication.
Specific medicines
Medication interaction:
Any liver-processed medicine — Celandine has caused acute hepatitis in documented cases. Combined with paracetamol, statins (cholesterol-lowering medicines), methotrexate or antifungals, the risk compounds. (high concern)
Medication interaction:
Sedatives — Celandine alkaloids (strong plant compounds that act on the body even in small amounts) are mildly sedative and add to sleeping tablets and alcohol. (moderate concern)
Chapter 8 of 14
Who Should Be Careful
General caution:
Pre-existing liver disease (any cause).
General caution:
Documented cases of acute hepatitis from internal preparations — internal use is NOT a self-care herb.
General caution:
Glaucoma — the alkaloids (strong plant compounds that act on the body even in small amounts) may raise intraocular pressure.
Chapter 9 of 14
Pregnancy, Children and Older Adults
General
Pregnancy and breastfeeding:
Avoid in pregnancy, breastfeeding, and in children.
Children:
Children under 18 — internally.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Pregnancy and breastfeeding:
Avoid completely. The alkaloids cross the placenta and there's no safety data worth the name.
Children
Children:
Not for children internally. Even the traditional external wart use is better replaced with a pharmacy treatment on a child's thin skin.
Older adults
Older adults:
Avoid. Older livers clear alkaloids (strong plant compounds that act on the body even in small amounts) more slowly and most older adults are already taking something the liver has to process.
Chapter 10 of 14
What Persian Medicine Says
Persian temperament: Hot & Dry (3rd degree). Classed as strongly hot and drying, which in the old system was itself a warning about dose.
Persian medicine describes greater celandine as warm and dry, with strong bitter and cleansing (mufattih) action — especially on the liver and bile ducts. Avicenna and Razi wrote about it for jaundice, sluggish bile, and 'cold' liver conditions. Even then, they kept doses small and measured, and paired it with milder protective herbs.
In the Household
Topical fresh latex applied to warts, corns, and calluses.
Bitter tincture (a liquid extract made with alcohol), drops only, for sluggish bile and digestive heaviness.
Wash for irritated skin and minor fungal patches.
For centuries, people across Europe and western Asia dabbed the orange sap from a broken stem straight onto warts. The plant also became known as an eye herb because of an old belief that swallows used it to open their chicks' eyes.
Chapter 11 of 14
What It Goes With
Herb:
Chamomile
Where celandine was once put on skin, chamomile was the milder companion in the same wash. Chamomile is the one to keep.
Pairing:
Calendula
For a skin blemish, calendula does the gentle work celandine was credited with and has no liver record against it.
Chapter 12 of 14
Through the Year
Spring:
Spring
First flowers and the most abundant sap. This is when the wart remedy was used.
Summer:
Summer
Still in flower and still sappy. The plant self-seeds everywhere in a damp garden.
Autumn:
Autumn
Dying back. Little traditional use at this point.
Winter:
Winter
Dormant.
Chapter 13 of 14
Sources
Chelidonium majus: hepatotoxicity case series — World Journal of Hepatology (NIH PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/.
EMA HMPC Monograph: chelidonium majus — European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/herbal.
Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, Book II — Translation, Laleh Bakhtiar.
Sad Giah Hezar Darman (صد گیاه و هزار درمان) — One Hundred Plants and One Thousand Remedies — Dr. Hossein Erfani, 4th edition (1375 / 1996–1997). Primary traditional Persian herbal reference cited throughout this platform. Presented as traditional knowledge, not as modern medical proof.
Office of Dietary Supplements: fact Sheets — US National Institutes of Health (NIH). https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/.
Herbal Database: memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/diagnosis-treatment/symptom-management/integrative-medicine/herbs.
Chapter 14 of 14
Sources (continued)
Herbs at a Glance: uS NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/herbsataglance.
FoodData Central: searchable nutrient database — US Department of Agriculture (USDA). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/.
The Nutrition Source: harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/.
PubMed — peer-reviewed biomedical literature — US National Library of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/