Our Cistus Ladanifer herbs

Zistrosenkraut

All of our herbs are hand-harvested from leaves of the Cistus Ladanifer plant. They are then dried, cut and filtered. In some countries, the eastern cousin of Cistus Ladanifer, Cistus Incanus, is already a popular healing herb and is used as a herbal tea. In regards to Cistus Ladanifer though, we are only just now rediscovering the potential of this plant. With all indicators pointing towards evidence that Cistus Ladanifer is just as beneficial for improving general physical and mental wellbeing as Cistus Incanus.

Cistus Ladanifer herb properties

A survey conducted in the southwest of Portugal’s Algarve region in 2006 demonstrated that Cistus Ladanifer herbs have medicinal properties. This survey also showed that Cistus Ladanifer has been historically found in one form or another as tea or poultice and that it can be inhaled or ingested.

There are plenty of other studies on the properties and types of Cistus Ladanifer products, such as the essential oil for example. The scientific data on Cistus Ladanifer herbs, however, is quite rare.

In saying that, there is one study that compared water-based extracts of several Cistus species. The results of this study prove that Cistus Ladanifer contains a tannin which possesses antioxidant, antitumor, antiatherosclerotic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-hepatotoxic and antiviral properties.

Cistus Ladanifer or Cistus Incanus?

Instead of relying on the research of others, we decided to carry out our comparisons between a sample of local Cistus Ladanifer herbs and a sample of Cistus Incanus herbs. The purpose of this experiment wasn’t to determine which herb is better or worse. On the contrary, we merely wanted to prove that Cistus Ladanifer is a viable alternative to the already widely-used Cistus Incanus.

To ensure complete impartiality, the test of the Cistus Ladanifer and Cistus Incanus samples was carried out by an independent food laboratory in Italy using the method of spectrophotometry. The results of this test, which took into account key polyphenol markers for both herbs, showed that both Cistus Ladanifer and Cistus Incanus are almost identical in terms of their genetic properties.

The reason why we were so interested in the polyphenol content of both plants has to do with the fact that polyphenols are organic compounds associated with health benefits such as improved digestion, brain function and blood sugar levels. There’s also evidence they may protect against blood clots, heart disease and even certain cancers.

Taking all of this into account, we believe that Cistus Ladanifer herbs show a lot of potential. As such, we promise to continue investigating the benefits of the Cistus Ladanifer plant and share our findings with you.