Botanical name: Scutellaria lateriflora
Other names: Mad Dog Weed, Virginian Skullcap, Blue Pimpernel
Family: Lamiacea
Part used: aerial parts
Taste (rasa): bitter (tikta)
Energy (veerya): cooling (sheeta)
Post digestive effect (vipak): pungent (katu)
Dosha effect: decrease pitta & kapha
Action (karma): nervine, antispasmodic, sedative, degestive, tonic, diuretic, antibacterial, astringent, anti-histaminic.
Dose: Infuse 1 to 2 teaspoons of skullcap per cup of boiled water for 15 minutes.
 
Skullcap is a prized herb for the brain and nervous system. Often prescribed for strengthening, calming and sedating the nervous system. It is highly esteemed by many herbalists as a nerve food, and for its ability to relax tension, while at the same time renewing and reviving the central nervous system.
 
Ref: ‘Ayurvedic Medicine by Sebastian Pole; ‘Ayurvedic Pharmacology & Therapeutic Uses of Medicinal Plants’ by Vaidya V.M. Gogte; ‘Yogi of Herbs’ by V. Lad & D. Frawley; ‘Herbs Are Special’ by Isabel Shipard.