Botanical Name: Frangula Purshiana

Cascara sagrada bark is aged for a year after harvesting. The bark is often used for its mild laxative properties. The bitter bark can be made into an extract or drunk as cascara sagrada tea. Cascara Sagrada is classified as a “bitter herb” and a tonic for the digestive system. Herbal bitters cause the “bitter reflex” which begins a cascade of actions in the body to prepare the digestive system for food. Cascara sagrada is never to be used fresh and must be aged for at least a year to break down its anthrone chemicals.

The taste of bitter on the tongue stimulates the brain to release the digestive hormone gastrin. This begins a chain of neural and endocrine actions including; appetite stimulation, the release of digestive enzymes from the pancreas, duodenum, and liver, stimulation of the smooth muscle of the stomach to increase the rate of gastric emptying, and contraction of the oesophageal sphincter to prevent the movement of acidic stomach contents back upwards into the esophagus.

The bark of the Cascara tree is also rich in the compound, emodin, which is known to be anti-fungal and anti-microbial.

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