Blessed Thistle (Cnicus benedictus), or Saint Benedict’s Thistle has a long history as a healing remedy in Europe and the Middle East, becoming famous as a remedy during the bubonic plague. It was known as the “Monk’s Tonic”, and is one of the ingredients in the famous D.O.M. Benedictine Liqueur.
When taken internally, this herb has healing properties including: digestive support, increased urine outflow, promotion of milk flow in breast feeding mothers, appetite encouragement, as well as the treatment of colds, cough, cancer, infections and diarrhea. When applied externally to the skin, blessed thistle can be used in the treatment of infection and boils.
Current studies are showing one of the major active ingredients in this plant, cnicin is one of the most promising anti-virals against Covid 19. See the information below:
“cnicin as the most promising anti-SARS CoV-2 hit that might inhibit viral multi-targets. The subsequent in vitro validation confirmed that cnicin could impede the viral replication of SARS CoV-2 in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC50 value of 1.18 µg/mL. Furthermore, drug-like property calculations strongly recommended cnicin for further in vivo and clinical experiments. The present investigation highlighted natural products as crucial and readily available sources for developing antiviral therapeutics.”