Cleavers (Galium aparine)
By Marie White
I was first introduced to cleavers by a local clinical herbalist during a late spring herb walk in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada in 2018—in those sweet pre-pandemic times when we passed around bottles of tinctures for all of us to taste from, squirting a couple of drops on the webbing between thumb and forefinger and licking it up.
In my home of Québec, we would call this plant “Gaillet” in French. Cleavers is an alterative herb that assists the body with restorative cleansing, a powerful lymphatic tonic, and a beneficial urinary herb for the whole genito-urinary system. Energetically speaking, cleavers works on untangling emotional issues like relationship building and boundaries.
Therapeutic uses of cleavers
Cleavers has a high water content, which can point us toward a few indications for the therapeutic use of cleavers.
Water as in cleansing (as an alterative, especially in the spring)
Supporting the lymphatic system (moving the lymph, breast health)
Water as in supporting the urinary system (kidneys and genitourinary health)
Water as emotional body (untangling relationship issues)
Which parts of cleavers are used in herbal medicine?
Cleavers belongs to the Rubiaceae family. The parts used in herbal medicine are the flowers, leaves, and stems—in other words, the whole aerial parts.
Cleavers possesses many beneficial properties for health and wellness. It is a lymphatic, diuretic, alterative, anti-inflammatory, tonic, and astringent herb.
Cleavers for gentle cleansing
As an alterative herb, cleavers offers light, daily cleansing support especially beneficial in the spring and following the semi-hibernation period some of us can go through in the winter. It helps open the elimination channels and enhance the natural detoxification process in a gentle way. Think of it as a general tonic action. Cleavers pairs well with nettle for that purpose, along with dandelion leaf.
Cleavers and lymphatic health
Cleavers has an affinity for the lymphatic system and helps to move stagnation through the body. The lymphatic system is cleansed by using cleavers as it moves lymph and expels toxins.
The draining and circulatory action of cleavers is particularly useful to breast tissue, where lymph can become stagnant over time and may lead to cysts. Take cleavers as a tonic for six to twelve months for healthy breasts.
A 2016 study on the effect of cleavers against breast cancer cells has shown that cleavers is a beneficial and valid remedy to help slow the spread of breast cancer. Within only 72 hours after use, cleavers extract exerts toxicity against breast cancer cell lines while remaining safe to normal, healthy breast tissue.
You can pair cleavers with another lymphatic tonic, calendula, for that purpose.
Cleavers and urinary health
Cleavers is a diuretic and has demulcent properties which are soothing to the kidneys and the urinary system, and the herb is especially useful in the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Cleavers is a valuable remedy for genitourinary conditions like:
Cystitis
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
Prostatitis
Chronic UTIs
Interstitial cystitis
Cleavers is cooling and reduces inflammation throughout the urinary tissues, including the bladder and urethra and genitourinary system overall.
Cleavers has been one herb in formulations used by naturopaths for the treatment of acute UTIs. One case-study reported that a woman with recurring UTIs had no recurrence of urinary tract infection for one year while using an herbal formulation that contained cleavers for its demulcent, alterative and diuretic properties.
Pair cleavers with dandelion leaf, milky oats or oat straw, marshmallow, and an antibacterial herb like uva ursi for that purpose.
Active constituents in cleavers
Active constituents in cleavers include phenols, tannins, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins, iridoids, asperuloside, alkanes, flavonoids, and saponins.
According to Naturopathic Doctor and Clinical Herbalist Marisa Marciano, ND, cleavers has properties as:
Adaptogen
Lymphatic tonic & cleanser
Anti-tumor
Anti-inflammatory
Astringent
Detoxifier
Alterative
Hypotensive
Mild laxative
Diuretic
Vulnerary
Cleavers as a resilient, adaptable, and sustainable herbal remedy
Cleavers is one of those underappreciated edible and medicinal plants that thrive in human-generated, anthropogenic habitats like garden beds, sidewalk cracks, trailheads, and just about anywhere the soil has been disrupted.
Herbs like cleavers, along with dandelion, burdock, and St. John’s wort have been categorized as weeds or invasives, but this limited view overlooks their therapeutic actions.
The same qualities that make certain plants ‘invasive’ also allow them to thrive in stressful, climatically unstable environments. They rely on active constituents that, once consumed by humans in the form of herbal remedies, may offer us an advantage in the context of stressful and unstable environments as well.
In this era of rapidly changing ecosystems and concern over endangered and over-harvested species, ‘weeds’ like cleavers show up as abundant sources of resilient, adaptable, energy-efficient and sustainable food and medicine for humans, animals, and the earth.
How to work with cleavers as a herbal remedy
Cleavers is one of those herbs that is best prepared fresh. I like to make strong herbal infusions with fresh cleavers; I freeze it into ice cube trays for later use. The infusion can be drunk or applied over the breasts as a compress (pair with calendula or rosemary tea for that purpose).
If you have access to a juicer, you can also juice fresh cleavers. You might need to add a bit of water to facilitate the process, but the resulting juice is forest-green and potent. The juice can be frozen and then popped into smoothies later on.
You can tincture cleavers fresh, either in alcohol or glycerin or a mix of both.
For oil infusions, I like to lightly air dry fresh cleavers for a couple of hours before chopping and infusing in organic olive oil for 2-4 weeks.
Recommended dosage for cleavers is 2-4g herb infused in water as an infusion, up to three times daily or 2-4mL of liquid extract (tincture), three times daily. Cleavers can also be applied topically as a herbal oil or salve, as needed.
Want more herbal goodness?
🌼Sign up for the HerbRally newsletter and receive these THIRTEEN herbal freebies!
VIDEO | Most Vital Herb in David Hoffmann’s First-Aid Kit
WEBINAR | Herbal First Aid with Heather Irvine
EBOOK | 86 Page Plant Healer Book
30 DAYS FREE | HerbRally Schoolhouse
EBOOK | Calendula for Radiant Skin by Rosalee de la Forêt
VIDEO | 5 Herbal Events Around the World presented by Bevin Clare
BOOK DISCOUNT | The Essential Guide to Western Botanical Medicine
PRIVATE COMMUNITY | HerbRally Facebook Group
BOOK EXCERPT | 36 Pages from Plant Healer's "Nourishing Foods" Book
DISCOUNT | 15% off all Mountain Rose Herbs products
DISCOUNT | Mushroom Revival
AUDIO | Hour-long Adaptogens Class with Heather Irvine
DISCOUNT | 10% off all HerbRally products
👉 CLAIM YOUR FREEBIES!
Marie White is a herbalist and author. Her practice centers on intimate herbalism, which embraces body literacy, nature connection, community care, and embodied wellness. Her current focus is on herbal medicine for fertility, conception, contraception, and reproductive health. Marie is the author of The Intimate Herbal: A Beginner’s Guide to Herbal Medicine for Sexual Health, Pleasure and Hormonal Balance. She stewards regenerative medicinal herb gardens with her partner in love & life. Find her on IG at @intimateherbalism
Sources:
Atmaca, H. (2016, June 20). “Effects of Galium aparine extract on the cell viability, cell cycle and cell death in breast cancer cell lines.” PubMed Central (PMC). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27085941/
DiPasquale, R. (2008, January 1). “Effective use of herbal medicine in urinary tract infections.” Europe PMC. https://europepmc.org/article/med/22432459
https://thenaturopathicherbalist.com/herbs/g-h/galium-aparine-cleavers/
https://www.herbancura.com/knowledge-shares/disturbance-ethnobotany