Juniper Berry Usage

Contemporary herbalists primarily use juniper as a diuretic ("water pill") component of herbal formulas designed to treat bladder infections . A typical combination might include goldenrod , dandelion , uva ursi , parsley , cleavers, and buchu. The volatile oils of juniper reportedly increase the rate of kidney filtration, ¹ thereby increasing urine flow and perhaps helping to "wash out" offending bacteria. However, there is no direct scientific evidence that juniper is effective for bladder infections. Only a double-blind placebo-controlled study can prove a treatment effective, and none have been reported with juniper

Recently, gin-soaked raisins have been touted as an arthritis treatment. This is probably just a fad, but some weak evidence suggests that juniper may possess anti-inflammatory properties. ² Also, in test tube studies , certain constituents of juniper have been found to inhibit the herpes virus. ³ However, it is a long way from such studies to the conclusion that juniper is helpful for herpes infections .