Drosera rotundifolia has been shown by scientific research to be effective when used as an anti-inflammatory drug, but the most common usage of the plant is as part of a homeopathic remedy. The most common homeopathic usage of drosera rotundifolia is for the treatment of whooping cough, but generally speaking, the treatment is often given for ailments involving the throat or chest. Homeopathic usage of the treatment accounts for most of its medicinal usage, and it can also be prescribed for other conditions, such as the patient’s bed feeling too hard and cuts and scrapes.
Research has shown that the drosera rotundifolia plant is an effective anti-inflammatory. It has been shown to be more effective than hydrocortisone when administered at 10 times the dosage. Despite the much larger dose required, the plant extract still has been shown to possess medicinal qualities. Scientists believe that the anti-inflammatory effect may be a result of flavonoids within the plant.
Most usage of drosera rotundifolia as a medical treatment is done by practitioners of homeopathic medicine. This field operates on the assumption that small amounts of an active substance diluted in large amounts of water can have a beneficial effect on the body. When drosera rotundifolia is prepared as a homeopathic treatment, it is diluted one part active ingredient to ten parts water. This diluted preparation is then itself diluted one part active ingredient to ten parts water. This diluting can happen as many as thirty times with this treatment.
Homeopathic practitioners prescribe drosera rotundifolia for many different ailments involving the throat or respiratory system, particularly whooping cough. Generally homeopathic medicines have a wide range of possible uses, and it is often considered on a person-by-person basis. Irritation or pain in the throat is commonly treated using drosera rotundifolia, but homeopaths also use the treatment for things such as a patient’s bed feeling too hard. Many different types of cough, not just whooping cough, are treated using the plant extract by homeopathic practitioners.
It is important to note that empirical scientific research supporting the effectiveness of homeopathic treatments is virtually non-existent. Most regulatory associations, such as the Food and Drug Administration in the US, do not support the use of homeopathic medicines. This is because they have been shown through scientific research to be no more effective than a sugar pill, or placebo. Presumably, this is due to the very small amount of an active ingredient actually found in any homeopathic treatment.
