Herb
Colchicum (Autumn Crocus)
Historical claim, not recommended: an old source listed colchicum for dysentery, but this plant is genuinely poisonous with no safe self-dosing amount.
🛑 RemedyRank warns against this
Colchicum and colchicine are poisonous, with no safe self-dosing amount.
This page exists so the reasons are written down plainly, not because the practice is recommended. Nothing is sold here. If a doctor has prescribed something for a diagnosed condition, follow their guidance — that is a decision between you and them, and it is a different thing from trying this at home.
📊 How it ranks (our editor score) — 25/100Tap to see the breakdown
👶 Safe for children?
This remedy carries age-related cautions. Please read them before giving it to a child, and check with your pediatrician or pharmacist first.
- It should be avoided entirely in pregnancy, breastfeeding, in children, and with kidney or liver disease.
🌱 What it is
Colchicum, or autumn crocus, is a flowering plant that is the natural source of colchicine, a compound also used in a tightly controlled prescription form for gout.
📜 Where it comes from
An old remedy book listed colchicum, also called autumn crocus or meadow saffron, among herbs "used successfully" against amoebic dysentery. The plant has a genuinely ancient medical history reaching back to Greco-Roman writers, but its narrow safety margin was often glossed over in later folk retellings.
🥄 How to use it
RemedyRank does not recommend this in any home form. See a doctor for proper diagnosis and prescription treatment of dysentery, especially after travel.
How much: None. Not recommended at any dose.
Why it works: The old claim supposed the plant would fight the infection causing dysentery, but colchicum does nothing to treat the underlying amoebic infection and is genuinely poisonous; overdose causes severe vomiting, diarrhea, organ failure, and can be fatal.
⚠️ Cautions
- Colchicum and colchicine are poisonous, with no safe self-dosing amount.
- Overdose can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, and organ failure.
- It can be fatal, and the plant or its preparations should never be used at home.
- Amoebic dysentery is a serious parasitic infection needing proper medical diagnosis and prescription treatment.
📚 Learn more
🌿 Deeper natural detail
🩺 The conventional view
💬 Ask Remy about Colchicum (Autumn Crocus)
📚 Resource confidence
Based on mentions in health references
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