Myrica gale.   Sweet Gale, Bog Myrtle, Dutch Myrtle   Family: Myricaceae         
The foliage has a sweet resinous scent and is a traditional insect repellent, used by campers to keep biting insects out of tents. It is also a traditional component of Royal wedding bouquets and is used variously in perfumery and as a condiment.
In north-western Europe (Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands), it was much used in a mixture called gruit as a flavouring for beer from the Middle Ages to the 16th century, but it fell into disuse after hops supplanted gruit herbs for political and economic reasons. In modern times, some brewers have revisited this historic technique and in Denmark and Sweden the plant is commonly used to prepare home-flavoured schnaps.
PART USED: Above ground
TASTE: Astringent   ODOR: Aromatic- recalling that of bay leaves.
ACTIONS
1. Aromatic.[1]
2. Astringent.[1]
USES: The aromatic fruits and leaves are used either fresh or dried to flavour soups, stews etc. They are sometimes put in beer and ale to improve the flavour and increase foaming.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: The plant has been listed as an abortifacient and therefore should not be consumed by women who are, or might be, pregnant.[2]
PREPARATIONS: The dried leaves make a delicate and palatable tea.
    

ORIGIN: Britain, Scandinavia, France, Portugal, North America and part of Russia.
DESCRIPTION: Leaves: leathery, lanceolate-obovate, about 2-3 cm long and 1 cm wide, with small resinous glands.
References
 Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research
The methylated dihydrochalcones are bacteriostatic and fungistatic in vitro.
References
[1] Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations  R.C. Wren Revised by Elizabeth M. Williamson and Fred J Evans. First published in Great Britain in 1988 and reprinted in 1989 and 1994 by the C. W. Daniel Company Limited. 1 Church Path, Saffron Walden Essex. Published 1988 Printed and bound by Biddles, Guildford ISBN 085207 1973.

Chemical composition and anticancer activity of leaf essential oil of Myrica gale L.
Sylvestre M, Legault J, Dufour D, Pichette A.
Abstract
Myrica gale L. (Myricaceae), a native plant from Canada used in traditional medicine, was extracted by hydrodistillation and the oil was collected after 30 and 60 min. The chemical composition of these two extracts was determined using GC-MS analysis. We identified 53 components and myrcene (23.18-12.14%), limonene (11.20-6.75%), alpha-phellandrene (9.90-6.49%) and beta-caryophyllene (9.31-10.97%) were the major components in the 30- and 60-min fractions, respectively, whereas higher caryophyllene oxide content was detected in the 60-min fraction (9.94%) than in the 30-min fraction (3.47%). The anticancer activities of these extracts were assessed against human lung carcinoma cell line A-549 and human colon adenocarcinoma cell line, DLD-1. The 60-min fraction showed higher anticancer activity against both tumor cell lines with an IC50 value of 88 +/- 1 microg/ml. The 30-min fraction had an IC50 value of 184 +/- 4 microg/ml for A-549 and 160 +/- 3 microg/ml for DLD-1. The higher cell growth inhibition induced by the 60-min fraction, as compared to the 30-min fraction, could be due to sesquiterpene enrichment.
PMID: 15898708 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2003.12.004
Phytomedicine. 2005 Apr;12(4):299-304. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

C-methylated dihydrochalcones from Myrica gale L: effects as antioxidants and as scavengers of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl.
Malterud KE1, Diep OH, Sund RB.
Abstract
A number of isomeric or chemically closely related C-methylated dihydrochalcones, which is a rare substance class, has been isolated from the fruit exudate of Myrica gale L. and subjected to the following tests: 1) inhibition of lipid peroxidation induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide or bromotrichloromethane in isolated rat hepatocytes, 2) inhibition of peroxidation induced by Fe2+ ions in a cell free system with linolenic acid as substrate, 3) scavenging activity against the diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical, and 4) inhibition of enzymatic lipid peroxidation in linoleic acid by soybean 15-lipoxy-genase. One of the compounds (myrigalone B = MyB; 2',6'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-3',5'-dimethyldihydrochalcone) showed good activity in all tests whereas the others were inactive or slightly active, except that myrigalone A (MyA; 3-(1-oxo-3-phenylpropyl)-1,1,5-trimethylcyclohexane-2,4,6-trione)) like its synthetic analogue MyA* (the polar part of MyA) was nearly as active as MyB in 4). The antioxidant properties of MyB are probably due to its radical scavenging activity and may be related to its conformation, which differs from that of the other compounds.
PMID: 8822045 Pharmacol Toxicol. 1996 Feb;78(2):111-6. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov