Pilewort (aka Lesser Celandine, figwort, Ranunculus ficaria) whole plant extract, characterised by spectrophotometric profile, propylene glycol.

1 ounce liquid in glass, dropper top bottle
Made in France

Sold from 1996 – 2003     Reintroduced 2008

Pilewort (Ranunculus ficaria, Lesser Celendine) is a member of the buttercup family; it is a meadow flower in Europe, where poets, including William Wordsworth, have written poems about its beautiful appearance.

Pilewort, however, wasn’t named for its beauty. Rather, its name stems from its signature, historical use. The “pile,” in pilewort, comes from piles, the old word for hemorrhoids. The “wort,” in pilewort, comes from another old word, the Old English word, wyrt, meaning plant. In modern parlance, therefore, pilewort means hemorrhoid plant. Pilewort is listed in the British Herbal Pharmacopeia (1983) for its namesake use.

The naming of pilewort reflects an old custom, explained as follows by the Oxford English Dictionary website:

“A word with the suffix -wort is often very old. The Old English word was wyrt, from German
origins that connect it to root. It was often used in the names of herbs and plants that had medicinal uses, the first part of the word denoting the complaint against which it might be specially efficacious.

By the middle of the 17th century, wort was beginning to fade from everyday use.”

The word wort is rarely used today, but there are exceptions. For example: St. John’s Wort.

Pilewort is known today as a cosmetology product in Europe. It is used in high-end, natural skin care products, because of its many beneficial qualities, including slight analgesic, softening, and lightening properties as well as its significant astringent action. Besides its most famous use – applied to hemorrhoids -- it is also used in varicose vein and anti-wrinkle creams.

USE: Topical use only. Wet cotton ball, cotton pad, or tissue, with pilewort extract. Apply sparingly to skin. Do not apply to broken or bleeding skin.