If you've ever wandered through a forest and noticed what looks like long, green, fuzzy threads hanging from trees, you've likely encountered a lichen like Usnea. This nutrient-rich plant has been a staple in traditional medicine for generations. While it's been touted for various health benefits, including weight loss, it's crucial to approach these claims with caution. Current research doesn't fully support many of these alleged benefits, and there are potential adverse consequences associated with oral consumption of certain Usnea compounds. This article delves into the potential benefits of Usnea, particularly its role in weight loss, while also highlighting the risks and providing guidance on its safe use.
What is Usnea?
Usnea is a type of lichen that thrives on soil, rocks, shrubs, and the bark or branches of trees, especially pine trees. It's commonly found in temperate and humid climates. Often referred to as "old man's beard" due to its long, tangly, grayish-green appearance, Usnea may seem like a single plant species, but it's actually a symbiotic combination of a fungus and algae. The fungus provides structure and protection, while the algae supply nutrition, a mutually beneficial relationship that supports the health of the entire organism. The genus Usnea belongs to the Parmeliaceae family, encompassing around 600 closely related lichen species worldwide.
Traditional and Modern Uses
Usnea has a rich history of use in traditional medicine across various cultures. Ancient Greeks used it to treat urinary problems, while the Chinese employed it to remove phlegm. In South African folk medicine, it was used to treat wounds and inflammation in the throat and mouth. Even today, Usnea is found in herbal teas, tinctures, medical creams, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and personal care products. It's added to many cosmetics and personal care products since many of its ingredients have deodorant and preservative-like properties.
Active Ingredients and Their Potential Benefits
Usnea contains several active ingredients, including polyphenols and other antioxidants, with usnic acid being the primary active component, making up around 1% to 3% of the herb's dry weight. Among them, polyphenols, usnic acid, and depsides are credited for the most health benefits of Usnea. Compounds like benzofurans and depsidones may also have certain medicinal effects. These compounds are believed to contribute to various health advantages, including pain alleviation, cancer prevention, and weight reduction. Usnic acid was first isolated in 1844 and since then, has become the most studied and commercially valued lichen metabolite.
May Promote Wound Healing
One of the primary active ingredients in Usnea, usnic acid, may aid in promoting wound healing. Research conducted in test tubes suggests that this substance may combat germs that cause infections, lessen inflammation, and promote wound healing. Studies on rats demonstrate that when usnic acid is administered directly to wounds, it improves collagen production and other indicators of wound healing, potentially due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, there is evidence that usnic acid may provide defense against the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, which is often the cause of skin infections. However, it's not yet known whether the usnic acid concentrations in certain skin care products are enough to provide the same advantages.
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May Lower the Risk of Infection
According to research, usnic acid is a potent antibiotic that suppresses microbial activity and dramatically reduces the risk of viral and bacterial infections. It has been discovered that usnic acid works well against Staphylococcus aureus, which is resistant to antibiotics. Due to the staph bacteria's tolerance to several antibiotics, serious infections may be very dangerous to one's health.
May Protect Against Certain Cancers
Usnea is rich in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that helps fight cell damage caused by unstable compounds known as free radicals. In turn, this antioxidant activity may safeguard against various diseases, including cancer. Test-tube studies further suggest that usnic acid may help prevent cancer cell growth and kill cancerous cells while selectively avoiding non-cancerous ones. One study done on four different lichens found Usnea intermedia to be a promising solution for cancer treatment. Although these results are promising, more studies are needed.
Usnea and Weight Loss: A Closer Look
Usnic acid is often found in fat burners and other weight-reduction pills. It is believed to hasten weight loss by increasing your metabolic rate. Usnea lichen is often used in nutritional supplements that aid with weight reduction. Usnic acid may help with weight reduction since there is some evidence from animal research that it boosts metabolic activity and enhances cellular energy generation.
The Dark Side of Usnic Acid for Weight Loss
Despite their potential effectiveness, several cases indicate that usnic acid-containing oral weight-reduction pills, such as LipoKinetix, may result in liver failure or even death. The majority of patients healed after they stopped using these supplements, but several had died, needed an urgent liver transplant, or suffered from serious liver failure. Furthermore, certain usnic acid-containing weight-loss pills resulted in liver failure and even death. While it isn’t clear whether usnic acid caused all of the ill effects from these multi-ingredient supplements, usnic acid and fat burners containing usnic acid are not recommended to boost weight loss due to the notable safety concerns. Due to such safety concerns, it's best to avoid weight loss solutions containing usnic acid.
Risks and Side Effects
Most side effects of Usnea stem from the oral use of usnic acid. Studies have found that taking usnic acid by mouth increases the risk of severe liver failure, needing an emergency liver transplant, and even death. Animal research suggests that diffratic acid, another usnea compound, is toxic to the liver when consumed in large amounts . Moreover, some evidence indicates that drinking undiluted usnea tinctures or large quantities of strong usnea tea may cause stomach upset.
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Who Should Avoid Usnea?
Children and pregnant or breastfeeding women should completely avoid it, while all others should practice extreme caution. If you have liver disease, don't take Usnea by mouth.
Safe Use and Dosage
Rather than taking Usnea by mouth, many experts consider applying its products on the skin to be a safer option. This is because only a minimal amount of usnic will be absorbed by the skin. Since Usnea compounds don't dissolve well in water, you may wish to make a tincture in alcohol. You could also add other immunity-boosting herbs like yerba mansa, echinacea, and osha. Since different Usnea tincture brands have different strengths, though, always follow the guidelines shared by the manufacturers. To make a Usnea salve, infuse the dried lichen powder into oil and gently heat it for some time until the oil smells like Usnea. After straining, the filtered product can be made into a salve.
How to Prepare Usnea
Use Usnea straight or as a tea are not the best methods, as a tea does not extract the beneficial compounds from Usnea. Furthermore, Usnea should be washed several times before it is digestible as food. So alcohol extraction as a tincture works very well. Pack a mason jar or some other type of jar with usnea. Pack it in there, not too full though. Then fill the jar with enough alcohol to cover the lichen. Then close and let sit for six weeks before using.
A second way is heat extraction which involves a crockpot and a dishcloth. Then follow these steps:
- Chop your usnea into small sections. For this recipe, you will use only 1 oz or about the amount you can fit in the palm of your hand.
- Place all your herbal material in a mason jar.
- Pour enough water over the material until it is all covered. Stir and cap tight.
- Place a dishcloth in the bottom of your crockpot or cooking pot. This keeps the mason jar from superheating and burning your material. Place your jar on top of the dishcloth. Next, fill your cooking pot with water until it reaches the top of the pot or comes within 1 inch of the top of your mason jar.
- Turn the heat on low. Let this sit in your crockpot for 1 day. You may need to burp the jar many times a day to relieve pressure. DO NOT put cold liquids into or onto the hot jar as it could cause the glass to crack or explode.
- On day 2, remove the jar and let it cool. Once cool, open your jar and add roughly 2 shot glasses full of 95% drinking alcohol (vodka or brandy). (more if you have used a lot of Usnea) Stir and cap tight.
- Place your cooled jar back inside of your crockpot to sit for 6 days on low heat. Be sure to remove the jar once a day and let it cool. While it’s cooling down, add more water to your cooking pot to bring it back up to level. Continue to burp the jar to relieve any pressure built up in your jar. Once it’s cooled a bit, return it to the crockpot.
- When 6 days are up, remove the jar and let it cool. Strain the tincture from the plant material. It should now look brown and smell herby. Discard the plant material, and store your usnea tincture in a dark bottle in a cool, dry place.
Sustainable Harvesting
If you are foraging for Usnea for personal use, be aware that it’s slow growing and at risk of being over-harvested. To avoid depleting the supply, harvest it sustainably by only taking Usnea from tree limbs that have fallen to the forest floor. It’s best to purchase Usnea tincture from a trusted online shop that uses sustainable harvesting methods and has been verified by third-party organizations or experts in the field.
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Identifying Usnea
The best way to positively identify usnea is to gently pull apart the strands and see that it has a stretchy white core in the center. Usnea is the only lichen with a white core. Usnea is a great plant to forage in the fall and wintertime when there isn’t much else available. There is a close look-alike but will not have the characteristic white core. There are only two lichens that are poisonous enough to kill you. That would be the Wolf lichen and the Powdered Sunshine lichen. Both are yellow in color with the wold lichen being a greenish-yellow color. So don’t eat the yellow lichens.
The beard lichens like the Usnea lichen grow in trees. Since beard lichens, in general, are becoming more scarce it is best to harvest that Usnea or other beard lichens that have fallen off the tree.
Also, Usnea can sometimes be confused with Spanish Moss or Oak Moss. Spanish moss is not moss, to begin with. Spanish moss is a flowering plant in the bromeliad family. Spanish moss features long uniform strands and when pulled apart has a black central strand. The best way to tell the difference is oakmoss will grow on the tree truck while Usnea will grow on the tree branches.