Agrimony

Specific Indications. - Deep-seated colicky pain in lumbar region with uneasy sensations reaching from kidneys and hips to the umbilicus; atony or irritation of the urinary tract, with muddy, ill-smelling urine.

Action and Therapy. - A mild tonic and astringent, indicated as abovementioned, and of considerable value in cystic catarrh and nephritic irritation from the presence of gravel. It is also sometimes used as a gargle, and internally for mucous profluvia from any of the mucous structures of the body. The infusion is especially useful. We have known it to give relief in abdominal pain due to faulty intestinal digestion. Dribbling of urine in old persons is said to be relieved by agrimony.

The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D. (1922)

In herbal medicine

Bald's Leechbook advised the use of Agrimony as a cure for male impotence - saying it should be boiled in milk, and that it could excite a man who was "insufficiently virile;" it also states that when boiled in Welsh beer it would have the opposite effect.

In traditional herbal medicine it was recommended as a cure for insomnia, often being incorporated in herbal pillows. It was also believed to be able to draw out splinters.

Modern herbalists prescribe it for disorders of the kidneys, liver and bladder, and for irritable bowel syndrome. It is a mild astringent.