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Buchu

Agathosma betulina (P.J.Bergius) Pillans

Rutaceae // leaf

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Uses & evidence

Uses and evidence recorded
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Preparation

infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract
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Safety

Safety information available
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Research

No linked research on file
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Overview

Plant parts

leaf

Known constituents

diosphenol, pulegone, volatile oil

Research corpus coverage

Materia medicaPet safety

Chemistry notes

  • CHEMISTRY: Relevant reported constituents include diosphenol; pulegone; volatile oil; constituent presence alone does not establish clinical efficacy.

Uses & Evidence

Traditional / historical use

Documented traditional use — not a claim of established efficacy.

  • TRADITIONAL: Buchu has been used for urinary complaints; this records historical/traditional use and does not establish efficacy.

    MODERATE · regulatory monograph · WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants

Modern evidence

  • EVIDENCE: For the major use set (urinary complaints), the evidence assessment is insufficient: Insufficient clinical evidence; traditional use only.

    LOW · regulatory monograph and mixed scientific literature · WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants

Preparation

Forms used traditionally

infusion/teatincturepowder/capsuleextract

A listed form does not imply it suits every plant part, or that one preparation is interchangeable with another — see the plant’s own notes below.

  • PREPARATION: The medicinal material is leaf; traditional and modern forms include infusion/tea, tincture, powder/capsule, extract. No dose or potency is specified.

    MODERATE · regulatory monograph · EMA European Union herbal monographs and list entries

    Preparation-specific evidence should not be generalized across extracts, teas, oils, or whole herb.

Safety

Cats & dogs

  • Caution

    Buchu essential oil is included in the page's list of common essential oils that can cause poisoning in animals.

    Intrinsic toxicity · OTHER · essential oil · LOW · poison_control_database · Essential Oils | Pet Poison Helpline®

Additional safety notes (general, unstructured)

Free-text safety notes carried from their source — not broken out by species, route, or hazard type, and not equivalent to the structured records above. Each note names the kind of source it came from.

  • SAFETY: Major issues include Kidney irritation; pulegone-related liver toxicity concern. Contraindications/cautions include Kidney/liver disease; pregnancy.

    HIGH · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

  • SAFETY: Clinically relevant interaction concerns include Diuretics, lithium and hepatotoxic drugs.

    MODERATE · observational/case series and expert review · LiverTox: Herbal and Dietary Supplements

    Some interactions are theoretical or based on case reports/pharmacokinetics rather than outcome trials.

  • SAFETY: Pregnancy/lactation reference: Avoid in pregnancy/lactation.

    MODERATE · regulatory monograph or evidence synthesis · WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants

    Absence of evidence is not evidence of safety.

  • Buchu essential oil is included in the page's list of common essential oils that can cause poisoning in animals.

    LOW · poison_control_database · Essential Oils | Pet Poison Helpline®

    The source lists the combined wording “pennyroyal buchu,” so it is unclear whether buchu is intended as a separate listed oil.

Preparation × species risk matrix

Unknown means insufficient evidence was located — not that a form is safe.

Cats

  • essential oilCaution
  • tinctureCaution
  • concentrated extractUnknown
  • glyceriteUnknown
  • infused oilUnknown
  • salveUnknown
  • smoke/combustionUnknown
  • tea/infusionUnknown
  • whole herbUnknown

Dogs

  • essential oilCaution
  • tinctureCaution
  • concentrated extractUnknown
  • glyceriteUnknown
  • infused oilUnknown
  • salveUnknown
  • smoke/combustionUnknown
  • tea/infusionUnknown
  • whole herbUnknown

Identity

  • Synonym

    GBIF resolves Barosma betulina (P.J.Bergius) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl. as a synonym of Agathosma betulina. The older name still appears in herbal and taxonomic literature.

    HIGH · GBIF Species Match API

Botanical synonym

Barosma betulina (P.J.Bergius) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl.

Taxonomic identity note

  • Buchu is treated here as Agathosma betulina (P.J.Bergius) Pillans in the family Rutaceae; recorded older names include Barosma betulina (P.J.Bergius) Bartl. & H.L.Wendl..

Sources

Research records are source-linked but may not yet be editorially reviewed.