Agnus Castus

Introduction 

Common name: 

• Chasteberry

Synonyms:

• Chaste tree

Family / Group / Class / Order:

• Verbenaceae

Habit and habitat / Description:

• Vitex agnus-castus is a deciduous shrub/small tree with aromatic, palmate leaves and spikes of lavender-blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, is drought-tolerant, and grows 10-20 feet tall. Its peppercorn-like fruits are used medicinally for female reproductive health, and the plant is popular ornamentally. It’s hardy in USDA zones 6-9 and relatively pest-free.

Name of prover:

• Franz Hartmann

Introduction and history:

• Vitex Agnus castus is known since ancient times
  to suppress sexual desire in men and women. It was used by Greek monks to
  lower their sex drive centuries ago.[1]

Doctrine of signature:

• "Chaste" Tree and Reproductive Effects: The most prominent association is the plant’s common name, "Chaste Tree" (and related names like Monk’s Pepper). This name comes from the historical belief that the plant suppressed libido, particularly in men. In the Doctrine of Signatures, this supposed ability to "calm" sexual desire was linked to its use in treating imbalances in the female reproductive system – a kind of sympathetic connection, where a perceived effect in one area was thought to translate to a similar effect in a related area. The idea was that if it could suppress male libido, it could also regulate female hormonal issues.

Parts used:

• Tincture is prepared from ripe berries

Constitution

Physical make up:

Prematurely old age .[2]

Temperament:

Melancholic

Diathesis:

Lymphatic

Relation with heat & cold:

Chilly

Miasm:

Sycotic, Syphilitic

Clinical

Clinical conditions:

Agalactea. Anus, excoriation and chaps of. Ascites. Dislocations. Gonorrhoea, secondary. Gouty joints. Gums, ulcerated. Impotence. Knees, coldness of. Leucorrhoea. Mouth, ulcers in. Rheumatic nodes. Spleen, swelling of, induration of. Sprains. Sterility. Testicles, swelling of, induration of. Toothache.[2]

Sites of action / Pharmacodynamics:

Male and Female genital organs.

Causation (Causes / Ailments from):

Sexual excesses, repeated attacks of gonorrhoea or gleet,
sprains or from overlifting

Physiological action:

1. The most effective point of attack of Agnus in the organism is the sexual
sphere.
2. A prominent remedy for sprains and strains.

Patho-physiological: changes / Pathogenesis:

1. It lowers sexual vitality, with corresponding mental depression and loss of
nervous energy.
2. Premature old age from abuse of sexual power. History of repeated
gonorrhoea.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (psychology)

1. Sexual melancholy.
2. Fear of death.
3. SADNESS WITH IMPRESSION OF SPEEDY DEATH.
4. Absentminded, forgetful, lack of courage.
5. Illusion of smell – herrings, musk. Nervous depression and mental
forebodings.
6. Has to read a sentence twice before he can comprehend it.

Guiding Symptoms

Generalities:[3]

The most effective point of attack of Agnus upon the organism is the sexual organism. It lowers sexual vitality, with corresponding mental depression and loss of nervous energy. It shows this distinctive influence in both sexes, but is more pronounced in men. Premature old age from abuse of sexual power. History of repeated gonorrhoea. A prominent remedy for sprains and strains. GNAWING ITCHING IN ALL PARTS, ESPECIALLY EYES. Tachycardia caused by tobacco in neurotic young men.

Head:

Tearing, with pressure in the temple and forehead, worse during motion.

Contractive headache, above the temples from reading.

Pain in upper head, as from staying in a close-room; looking to one point relieve it.

Eye:

PUPILS DILATED. [BELL.] Itching about eyes; photophobia.

Nose:

Odor of herring or musk. Aching in dorsum better pressure.

Face:[4]

Corrosive itching on the cheeks. Formication in the cheeks. Rending, tearing under alveoli of right lower jaw.

Mouth:

Ulcers in the mouth and gums. Teeth are painful when touched by warm food or drink.

Stomach:

Nausea with a sensation as if intestines were pressed downwards, wants to support bowels with hands. Only the most simple food agrees. Eructations smell like urine.

Abdomen:

Spleen swollen, sore. Stools soft, recede, difficult. Deep fissures in anus. Nausea with SENSATION AS IF INTESTINES WERE PRESSED DOWNWARDS; wants to support bowels.

Rectum & Anus:

Difficulty of passing soft stool . When pressing at stool, discharge of prostatic fluid. Sensation as of subcutaneous ulceration near the anus, only when walking. Corrosive itching of the perineum. Rhagades at the anus. Deep fissures of the anus, often giving pain when walking.

Urinary Organ:

Frequent micturition.

Sexual Organ:

Yellow discharge from urethra. No erections. IMPOTENCE. PARTS COLD, RELAXED. DESIRE GONE. [SELEN.; CON.; SABAL.] Scanty emission without ejaculation. Loss of prostatic fluid on straining. Gleety discharge. Testicles, cold, swollen, hard, and painful.

Scanty menses. Abhorrence of sexual intercourse. Relaxation of genitals, with leucorrhoea. AGALACTIA; with sadness. Sterility. Leucorrhoea staining yellow; transparent. Hysterical palpitation with nose bleed.

Extremities:

Hard pressure in right axilla and upper arm, worse from touch and motion. Swelling of the finger joints, with arthritic, tearing pains.Lancinating pain in the right hip-joint. Heaviness of right foot, as from a weight. Stitches in the legs (left big toe). Tearing pain in joints of toes, worse when walking.

Skin:

Corrosive itching on different parts of the body, better by scratching, but it soon returns. Itching around the ulcers, in the evening.

Fever:

Pulse small, slow, imperceptible. Chilliness, internal with trembling, the external skin is warm. Much chilliness, with cold hands. Flushes of burning heat, principally in the face, with cold knees in the evening in bed. Perspiration almost only on the hands, when walking in the open air.

Important characteristic features

Keynotes / Redline:

Guiding:

-Eyes-Pupils dilated.

-Nose-Odours of herring and musk.

-G.I.T.-Spleen swollen.

-Stools soft, recede, difficult.

-Deep fissures in anus.

-Nausea, with sensation as if intestines were pressed downwards, wants to support bowels.

-Male genitalia-Impotence.

-Desire gone [Con, Sabal, Sel].

-Parts cold, relaxed, swollen, hard and painful.

-Scanty emission without ejaculation.

PQRS:

1. Lack of sexual power and lack of self confidence, with depression and mental apathy.

2. Self contempt from sexual abuse.

3. Women with excessive sexual desire and lasciviousness or sterility and loss of sexual desire.

4. Nervous debility in unmarried person.

Confirmatory:

– Mental depression, apathy and great sadness with impotency.

Nucleus symptoms:

Therapeutic Value:

Agalactia, Depression, Fissures (anus), Gonorrhoea,
Impotence, Leucorrhoea, Pupils dilated, Sexual melancholy, Spleen swollen,
Sprains, Sterility, Strains, Tachycardia.

Modality

Aggravation:

• Sexual excess
• Sprains or overlifting
•  Warm room
•  Touch

Amelioration:

• Open air
• Pressure

Remedy Relationship

Complimentary:

Calad. , Sel.

Follows Well:

Ars, Bry, Ign, Lyc, Puls, Sel, Sulph

Antidoted By:

Camph, Nux-v

Comparison

Dose

Potency

Duration of Action

References

[1] Textbook of Homeopathic Materia Medica By Dr J. D. PATIL 

[2] Dictionary Of Practical Materia Medica (All 3 Vol.) By Clarke J. H.

[3]Materia Medica By Boericke W.

[4]Concise materia medica by Dr.S.R.Phatak

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