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← The ApothecaryCupressaceaeripe cone berries (galbuli), essential oil distilled from the berries, boughs, roots and bark (North American Indigenous use)Fact-checked 24 October 2026

Juniper

Juniperus communis

Also calledCommon juniper · Juniper cone berry (Juniperi galbulus / pseudo-fructus) · Wacholder (German)

A widespread conifer of Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America whose aromatic cone 'berries' flavour gin and have long been used to increase urine and settle the stomach. The EMA registers berry and oil products as traditional medicines for minor urinary complaints and dyspepsia; there are no published clinical trials.

What it is used for

  • EMA traditional use of the cone berry to increase urine and flush the urinary tract in minor urinary complaints. No clinical studies have been published; rat studies show increased urine output.1,2

  • EMA traditional use for dyspepsia and flatulence; Commission E (1984) accepted only dyspepsia. No clinical trials.1,2

  • Flatulence is part of the EMA traditional-use indication for both the berry and the oil.1,3

  • EMA traditional use of juniper oil as a bath additive to help relieve minor muscle and joint pain.3

  • Cough
    Traditional

    Several Indigenous North American peoples, among them the Cheyenne, Bella Coola and Carrier, drank decoctions or infusions of boughs, cones or roots for coughs and colds.4

How it is prepared

infusion

Crushed dried cone berries steeped in boiling water, with plenty of fluid through the day.

EMA monograph (2023): 2–2.5 g in 150 ml boiling water, 1–3 times daily (2.5–6 g/day) for urinary use; 1–4 times daily (up to 10 g/day) for dyspepsia (adults).

Urinary tract infections · Indigestion and dyspepsia

tincture

Alcoholic tincture of the berries.

EMA monograph (2023): tincture 1:5 in 45% ethanol, 1–2 ml 3 times daily.

Urinary tract infections

bath

Juniper essential oil added to a warm full bath (35–38 °C) for 10–20 minutes.

EMA juniper oil monograph: 1–1.5 g oil per full bath, 3–4 times weekly (from age 12).

Muscle pain and cramps

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy
Avoid
Breastfeeding
Insufficient data
Children
EMA: oral use not recommended under 18; oil baths not under 12.

Interactions with medicines

  • phenprocoumon / warfarin-type anticoagulantsModerateA single case report of a fall in INR, needing a 28% higher phenprocoumon dose, in a patient eating 5–7 juniper berries daily; causality 'possible'.
Interaction checker →

Do not use if

  • Severe kidney disease, including interstitial nephritis, pyelitis and pyelonephritis (EMA)
  • Conditions where reduced fluid intake is advised (EMA)
  • Oedema from impaired heart or kidney function (EMA, oil)

Side effects

  • None known at monograph doses (EMA)
  • Skin irritation; positive patch tests reported
  • Older texts warn of kidney irritation from large doses of the oil; EMA found these warnings poorly supported and largely copied from turpentine oil

Toxicity

Older handbooks warn of kidney damage from long use or large doses, mostly from the essential oil; EMA found no clinical evidence for this from the berries. In rats, berry extracts prevented embryo implantation, so EMA advises against use in pregnancy and breastfeeding for lack of data. EMA notes that some reported toxicity may come from confusing the berries with the oil, or J. communis with other Juniperus species.

In the healing traditions

  • European folk medicine

    Juniper berry

    Used to 'clean the kidneys' (Dodoens, citing Galen), and for dyspepsia, cystitis, gout, menstrual pain, cough and rheumatism; in Hungary one of 50 plants with at least a century of continuous use, for stomach, rheumatic and urinary complaints.

    Rembert Dodoens, Cruydt-Boeck (1608), as cited by EMA

  • Western herbalism

    Juniperi galbulus

    The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia of 1976 listed it as diuretic, antiseptic, carminative, stomachic and antirheumatic; the 1996 edition kept only the diuretic action.

    British Herbal Pharmacopoeia 1976, 1983, 1996

  • Indigenous North American

    Juniper

    Cheyenne: cones chewed or boughs infused for colds, coughs and high fever, and leaves burned as ceremonial incense. Bella Coola: decoction of roots, branches and bark for stomach pain, heartburn and lung cough. Blackfoot: berry decoction for lung diseases. Carrier: berry decoction with kinnikinnick for tuberculosis.

    Hart 1981; Smith 1929; Turner 1973; Johnston 1987 (via NAEB)

Active compounds

α-pinene
main monoterpene of the berry oil (20–50% per Ph. Eur.); the berries contain at least 10 ml/kg oil
terpinen-4-ol
oil component (0.5–10%) once blamed for kidney irritation; later studies did not find it nephrotoxic
sabinene, β-myrcene, limonene
other monoterpenes of the volatile oil

History

Rembert Dodoens wrote in 1608, citing Galen, that the berries 'clean the kidneys'. Reports of the oil's diuretic effect in people date from the 1890s, and juniper berry was a standard item of the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia from 1976; Varro Tyler argued in 1982 that safer diuretics had made it obsolete.

Sources

  1. 1.EMA/HMPC: European Union herbal monograph on Juniperus communis L., galbulus (pseudo-fructus) – Revision 1 (2023)
  2. 2.EMA/HMPC: Assessment report on Juniperus communis L., galbulus (pseudo-fructus) – Revision 1 (EMA/HMPC/241319/2021)
  3. 3.EMA/HMPC: Community herbal monograph on Juniperus communis L., aetheroleum
  4. 4.Native American Ethnobotany Database (NAEB): Juniperus communis
  5. 5.GBIF: Juniperus communis L. (IUCN Least Concern)

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.