Hyssop - Hyssop Officinalis

Monograph: Hyssop (English) (PDF Version - 36 K)

This monograph is intended to serve as a guide to industry for the preparation of Product Licence Applications (PLA) and labels for natural health product market authorization. It is not intended to be a comprehensive review of the medicinal ingredient.

Notes

  • Text in parentheses is additional optional information which can be included on the label at the applicant's discretion.
  • The solidus (/) indicates that either term and/or statement may be selected on the label.

Date

January 30, 2026

Proper name(s), Common name(s), Source information

Table 1. Proper name(s), Common name(s), Source information
Proper name(s) Common name(s) Source information
Source material(s) Part(s) Preparation(s)
Hyssopus officinalis Hyssop Hyssopus officinalis Herb Top Dry

References: Proper name: USDA 2024; Common name: Gardner and McGuffin 2013; Source information: Bradley 2006.

Route of administration

Oral

Dosage form(s)

This monograph excludes foods or food-like dosage forms as indicated in the Compendium of Monographs Guidance Document.

Acceptable dosage forms for oral use are indicated in the dosage form drop-down list of the web-based Product Licence Application form for Compendial applications.

Use(s) or Purpose(s)

  • Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine (as an expectorant) to help relieve excess mucous of the (upper) respiratory passages (anticatarrhal) (Williamson 2003; BHP 1983; Felter and Lloyd 1983; Grieve 1971; Wren 1907).
  • Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine (as a carminative) to help relieve flatulence/to help expel/relieve intestinal gas (Williamson 2003; BHP 1983; Felter and Lloyd 1983; Wren 1907).
  • Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine (as a digestive tonic) to aid digestion (Williamson 2003; Blumenthal1998; Felter and Lloyd 1983; Grieve 1971; Wren 1907).

Notes

  • The above uses can be combined on the product label if from the same traditional or non-traditional system of medicine (e.g., Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine to aid digestion and to help relieve intestinal gas).
  • For multi-ingredient products:
    • To prevent the product from being represented as a "traditional medicine", any indicated traditional use claim must refer to the specific medicinal ingredient(s) and recognized traditional system of medicine from which the claim originates when 1) both traditional and modern claims are present or 2) when claims originate from multiple systems of traditional medicine (e.g., Hyssop is traditionally used in Herbal Medicine to aid digestion).
    • When ALL of the medicinal ingredients (MIs) in the product are used within the SAME identified system of traditional medicine AND the product makes ONLY traditional claims, listing of MIs in the traditional claim(s) is not required.

Dose(s)

Subpopulation(s)

Adults 18 years and older

Quantity(ies)

Methods of preparation: Dry, Powdered, Non-Standardized Extracts (Dry extract*, Tincture, Fluid extract, Decoction, Decoction concentrate, Infusion, Infusion concentrate)

3 - 16 grams dried herb top, per day; Not to exceed 4 grams per single dose (Bradley 2006; Williamson 2003; BHP 1983; Felter and Lloyd 1983; Grieve 1971).

*Note: Solvents allowed for the method of preparation "Non-Standardized Extracts (Dry extract)" as part of this monograph are ethanol and/or water only.

Direction(s) for use

No statement required.

Duration of use

No statement required.

Risk information

Caution(s) and warning(s)

  • Ask a health care practitioner/health care provider/health care professional/doctor/physician if symptoms persist or worsen.
  • Ask a health care practitioner/health care provider/health care professional/doctor/physician before use if you are breastfeeding.

Contraindication(s)

Do not use if you are pregnant (Gardner and McGuffin 2013; Bradley 2006).

Known adverse reaction(s)

No statement required.

Non-medicinal ingredients

Must be chosen from the current Natural Health Products Ingredients Database (NHPID) and must meet the limitations outlined in the database.

Storage conditions

Must be established in accordance with the requirements described in the Natural Health Products Regulations.

Specifications

  • The finished product specifications must be established in accordance with the requirements described in the Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate (NNHPD) Quality of Natural Health Products Guide.
  • The medicinal ingredient must comply with the specifications outlined in the NHPID.

EXAMPLE OF PRODUCT FACTS:

Consult the Guidance Document, Labelling of Natural Health Products for more details.

Product Facts Table

References cited

  • BHP 1983: British Herbal Medicine Association (BHMA) Scientific Committee. British Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Bournemouth (GB): British Herbal Medicine Association; 1983.
  • Blumenthal M. The Complete German Commission E Monographs. Austin (TX): American Botanical Council; 1998.
  • Bradley PR, editor. British Herbal Compendium: A Handbook of Scientific Information on Widely Used Plant Drugs, Volume 2. Bournemouth (GB): British Herbal Medicine Association; 2006.
  • Felter HW, Lloyd JU. King's American Dispensatory, Volume 1, 18th edition. Sandy (OR): Eclectic Medical Publications; 1983 [Reprint of 1898 original].
  • Gardner Z, McGuffin M, editors. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. 2nd edition. Boca Ration (FL): Taylor and Francis Group; 2013.
  • Grieve M. A Modern Herbal, Volume 1. New York (NY): Dover Publications; 1971 [Reprint of 1931 Harcourt, Brace & Company publication].
  • USDA 2024: United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS), Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) - Global. U.S. National Plant Germplasm System. [Accessed 2024 May 23]. Available from: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearch
  • Williamson EM. Potter's Herbal Cyclopaedia: The Authoritative Reference work on Plants with a Known Medical Use. Saffron Walden (GB): The C.W. Daniel Company Limited; 2003.
  • Wren RC. Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations. Saffron Walden (GB): The C.W. Daniel Company Limited; 1907.

References reviewed

  • Bartram T. Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. New York (NY): Marlowe and Company; 1998.
  • BHP 1996: British Herbal Medicine Association (BHMA) Scientific Committee. British Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Bournemouth (GB): British Herbal Medicine Association; 1996.
  • Bove M. An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants, 2nd edition. Toronto (ON): McGraw-Hill; 2001.
  • Brinker F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions, 4th edition. Sandy (OR): Eclectic Medical Publications; 2010.
  • Burkhard PR, Burkhardt K, Haenggeli CA, Landis T. Plant-induced seizures: reappearance of an old problem. Journal of Neurology 1999;246(8):667-670.
  • Felter HW. The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Sandy (OR): Eclectic Medical Publications; 1983 [Reprint of 1922 original].
  • Hoffmann D. Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. Rochester (VT): Healing Arts Press; 2003.
  • Leung AY, Foster S. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics, 2nd edition. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2003.
  • Millet Y, Jouglard J, Steinmetz MD, Tognetti P, Joanny P, Arditti J. Toxicity of some essential plant oils. Clinical and experimental study. Clinical Toxicology 1981;18(12):1485-1498.
  • Mills E, Duguoa J, Perri D, Koren G. Herbal Medicines in Pregnancy and Lactation. An Evidence-Based Approach. New York (NY): Taylor and Francis; 2006.
  • Moerman DE. Native American Ethnobotany. Portland (OR): Timber Press; 1998.
  • Tilgner S. Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth. Creswell (OR): Wise Acre Press; 1999.
  • Tisserand R, Balacs T. Essential Oil Safety Toronto (ON): Churchill Livingstone; 1995.

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