Latex traditionally effective for common warts (lab studies confirm antiviral activity).
Alkaloids (chelidonine, berberine, sanguinarine) show choleretic activity in animal studies.
Topical (put on the skin) antimicrobial (slows the growth of germs) activity supported by small clinical reports.
Māmirān-e kabir has appeared in Persian, Greek, and European materia medica for over 2,000 years. Its bright orange sap was used topically to remove warts and calluses, while small internal doses of the dried herb were used as a bitter to stimulate bile flow. Modern hepatotoxicity (liver damage) reports have moved internal use into the strictly practitioner-supervised category — but the traditional knowledge and the topical applications remain valid and well documented.
Known to botanists as Chelidonium majus.
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.
Chapter 2 of 13
The Essentials: What Else to Know
Family: Papaveraceae (poppy family).
Greater celandine is the clearest example in this library of a herb with a long, respectable traditional record and a modern safety problem serious enough to override it. European regulators restricted it after cases of liver injury. The history is worth knowing; the herb isn't worth taking.
Chapter 3 of 13
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 considers greater celandine warm and dry, with strong bitter and cleansing (mufattih) action — particularly on the liver and bile ducts. Avicenna and Razi describe it for jaundice, sluggish bile, and 'cold' liver conditions, always in small, measured doses combined with milder protective herbs.
Chapter 4 of 13
What Persian Medicine Says: In the Household
It was used: topical fresh latex applied to warts, corns, and calluses. Bitter tincture (drops only) for sluggish bile and digestive heaviness.
Wash for irritated skin and minor fungal patches.
The orange sap was the folk remedy for warts across Europe and western Asia for centuries, dabbed straight from a broken stem. It carried the reputation of an eye herb too, from the old belief that swallows used it to open their chicks' eyes.
Chapter 5 of 13
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 6 of 13
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 7 of 13
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 wart treatment: fresh sap, one daily drop, protect surrounding skin with petroleum jelly.
Chapter 8 of 13
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.
In the kitchen: a single drop of fresh yellow latex applied directly to a wart, once daily, 1–2 weeks. Cooled decoction of dried herb as a compress for irritated skin.
Chapter 9 of 13
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 are mildly sedative and add to sleeping tablets and alcohol. (moderate concern)
Chapter 10 of 13
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 may raise intraocular pressure.
Chapter 11 of 13
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 more slowly and most older adults are already taking something the liver has to process.
Chapter 12 of 13
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 13 of 13
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.