Stellaria media. Alsine media   Common chickweed, Star weed   Family: Caryophyllaceae    
PART USED: Aerial parts- collected during the flowering period .
TASTE: Slightly saline  ODORLESS
ACTIONS
GROUP: Herbs for trauma and recovery- Vulnerarys
1. Topically- Most often used in the form of ointment.[3] Antipruritic.[1] Vulnerary.[1,3] Emollient.[1,3]
2. Antipruritic.[3]
3. Emollient.
4. Refrigerant.
5. Antirheumatic.[1,3]
INDICATIONS
1. Topically- as ointment for eczema, pruritic skin eruptions, psoriasis, indolent ulcer.[1] Poultice for carbuncle or abscess, eczema.[1]
2. Pruritic skin eruptions. Eczema. Psoriasis. Ulcers. Boils. Carbuncles
3. Rheumatism.[1,2,3]
4. Gastrointestinal tract inflammation. Gastric ulcer. Colitis. Diarrhea.
5. Sore eyes. Styes.
SPECIFIC INDICATIONS: Topical application as an ointment in pruritic skin eruptions.[1]
COMBINATIONS
- Skin problems-in ointment, use with Marshmallow and Slippery elm bark.
PREPARATIONS   3X /day
Dried herb  1-5 g, or by infusion.[1]
Fluid extract  1:1 in 25% alcohol 1-5 ml.[1,2,3]
Tincture  1:5 in 45% alcohol  2-10 ml.[1]
Local: The fresh washed herb as a poultice.  Ointment 1:5 in lard/paraffin base.[1]
The infusion as a lotion.[1,2]
    

ORIGIN: Britain.
HABITAT: A common weed. Grows in moist places, often in gardens.
DESCRIPTION: Herb with diffusely branched decumbent or ascending green soft leafy stems. Leaves; ovate about 1 cm long by 0.5 cm broad.  Flowers; singly in the axils of the upper leaves, petals white and narrow.
References

Constituents

Research

Anti-hepatitis B virus activity of chickweed [Stellaria media (L.) Vill.] extracts in HepG2.2.15 cells.
Ma L, Song J, Shi Y, Wang C, Chen B, Xie D, Jia X.
Abstract
Stellaria media (Linn.) Villars is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for over 200 years, mainly for the treatment of dermatitis and other skin diseases. It has also been used as an anti-viral agent. All the fresh chickweed juice samples used in this study were prepared using macroporous resin and ultrafiltration technology. The anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity of S. media was evaluated in vitro using the human HBV-transfected liver cell line HepG2.2.15. The concentrations of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) in HepG2.2.15 cell culture medium were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after S. media-n (SM-n) treatment for 6 or 9 days. HBV DNA was quantified using transcription-mediated amplification and real-time polymerase chain reaction. In HepG2.2.15 cells, 30 µg/mL SM-3 effectively suppressed the secretion of HBsAg and HBeAg with inhibition rates of 27.92% and 25.35% after 6 days of treatment, respectively. Consistent with the reduction in HBV antigens, SM-3 also reduced the level of HBV DNA in a dose-dependent manner. The characterization and quantitation of the chemical composition of SM-3 showed the presence of flavonoid C-glycosides, polysaccharides, and protein, which exhibited diverse antiviral activities. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that SM-3 possesses potential anti-HBV activity in vitro. This is the first report demonstrating the anti-HBV effects of S. media, which is currently under early development as a potential anti-HBV drug candidate.
PMID: 22810196 DOI: 10.3390/molecules17078633  Molecules. 2012 Jul 18;17(7):8633-46. doi: 10.3390/molecules17078633. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov