Mullein
No controlled human trials of mullein for lungs, cough or asthma were located. Two trials in children with ear infections tested herbal ear drops that combine mullein with garlic, calendula and St. John's wort. Ear pain fell in every group, mostly with time, and the drops matched anesthetic drops. No side effects were documented.
- Status
- Dietary supplement in the US. Not approved by the FDA as a drug for any use.
- Also called
- Verbascum thapsus, common mullein, great mullein, mullein leaf, mullein tea, mullein ear oil, mullein garlic ear drops
- Taken for
- lung health, cough, asthma, bronchitis, respiratory health, ear infections, ear pain
Strong several reviews agree · Moderate one review or consistent trials · Limited one or a few small studies · Untested no study in people, listed with what it rests on
Shown to help0
No benefit shown in research yet.
Reported risks0
No risks sourced yet.
What people take it for, and what was found
Mixed results1
Ear pain from middle ear infection
Small trials found herbal ear drops with mullein eased children's ear infection pain as much as anesthetic drops, but most pain resolved with time.
The numbers and sources
- Effect
- In 103 children aged 6 to 18 with ear pain from acute otitis media, herbal ear drops containing garlic, mullein, calendula and St. John's wort in olive oil reduced pain over 3 days as much as anesthetic ear drops [1]. In 171 children aged 5 to 18, the same herbal mix with lavender and vitamin E, alone or with other treatments, improved pain in every group over 3 days. The authors found that about 80% of the pain was self-limited and explained by time, and the group with the largest treatment effect explained 7.3% of total pain reduction [2].
- Population
- Children with acute otitis media [1][2].
- Sources
- [1], [2]
- Caveats
- Both trials tested combination ear drops, not mullein alone, and neither had a placebo group. Both were run by the same research group [1][2].
Claimed, not studied in people1
Lung health, cough and asthma
Not studied in people. The EU medicines agency lists mullein flower tea as a traditional herbal medicine for sore throat with dry cough and cold, based on long-standing use.
No study in people. This rests on documented traditional use.
The numbers and sources
- Effect
- The European Union herbal monograph adopted by the European Medicines Agency's herbal committee in 2018 lists mullein flower, as a tea taken by mouth, as a traditional herbal medicinal product used to relieve symptoms of sore throat associated with dry cough and cold. It states the indication rests exclusively on long-standing use, and gives no well-established use indication [3].
- Population
- Traditional use in Europe, as reviewed by the European Medicines Agency [3].
- Sources
- [3]
- Caveats
- Traditional use is a record of how long people have used it, not a test of its effect. The monograph covers sore throat with dry cough and cold only, not asthma, bronchitis or lung health. No controlled trial in people was located.
Doses studied
The ear trial used 5 drops of the combination herbal oil three times a day [2]. No human dosing evidence was located for mullein taken by mouth.
Risks
Checked, no increase found1
Side effects in trials
One trial reported no side effects from herbal ear drops containing mullein in children. No data on oral mullein were located.
Sources
- Sarrell EM, Mandelberg A, Cohen HA. Efficacy of naturopathic extracts in the management of ear pain associated with acute otitis media. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 2001. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.155.7.796
- Sarrell EM, Cohen HA, Kahan E. Naturopathic treatment for ear pain in children. Pediatrics. 2003. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.111.5.e574
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Verbascum thapsus L., V. densiflorum Bertol. (V. thapsiforme Schrad) and V. phlomoides L., flos. EMA/HMPC/611537/2016. 2018. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-monograph/final-european-union-herbal-monograph-verbascum-thapsus-l-v-densiflorum-bertol-v-thapsiforme-schrad-and-v-phlomoides-l-flos_en.pdf