Rumex crispus

Specific Indications. - Vitiated blood with chronic skin disorders; low glandular and cellular deposits with tendency to indolent ulcers; feeble recuperative power; chronic sore throat, with glandular engorgement and hypersecretion; cough, with shortness of breath and praecordial fullness; dry, irritative laryngo-tracheal cough; stubborn, dry summer cough; nervous dyspepsia, with epigastric fullness and pain extending into the chest.

Action and Therapy. - Rumex is decidedly alterative and might be used more extensively for that purpose. It should especially be brought into requisition in depraved states of the body fluids with tendency to chronic skin disorders, with glandular engorgement, tendency to ulceration, and slow recuperative powers.

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

Uses and toxicity

It can be used as a wild leaf vegetable; the young leaves should be boiled in several changes of water to remove as much of the oxalic acid in the leaves as possible, or can be added directly to salads in moderate amounts. Once the plant matures it becomes too bitter to consume. Dock leaves are an excellent source of both vitamin A and protein, and are rich in iron and potassium. Curly Dock leaves are somewhat tart due to the presence of high levels of oxalic acid, and although quite palatable, this plant should only be consumed in moderation as it can irritate the urinary tract and increase the risk of developing kidney stones.

The roots have also been used medicinally as an astringent, tonic, and laxative. Compounds contained in the plant's roots have been clinically verified to bind with heavy metals such as lead and arsenic and expel them from the body by stimulating biliary function in the liver. The plant is considered a highly effective blood cleanser and is used by herbalists to assist the body in eliminating heavy metals and to treat other hepatic disorders.