The current case study involves a single case of ureteric calculi complicated with enlarged prostate, increased creatinine and previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus, where Hydrangea arborescence and Berbaris vulgarisused with a positive outcome.

The main medicinal use for Hydrangea root is as a diuretic, to increase the outflow of urine via the kidneys. Hydrangea root seems most useful for these specific conditions.

The famed American physician Dr. Edward E. Shook explains how a patient of his had sharp stones in the kidneys. Under X-ray, the stones were seen to be piercing the ureter.

After treatment with hydrangea, the stones were passed without any damage to the ureter and were found to be smooth and round. Shook explained that once the sharp edges of the stones are dissolved, all pain, hemorrhage, and inflammation subside.

As well as having a dissolving effect on the sharp-edged crystalline structure of the stone, hydrangea chemically breaks down the stone into the “softer” compounds of sulphides and sulphates, which do not damage the ureter as they pass through.

You are all familiar with this ornamental plant and I imagine for many of you, colorful hydrangeas adorn your gardens. But did you now that these beautiful flowers also have a number of potential health benefits?

While scientific research into the benefits of the plant is rare, there is plenty of historical and anecdotal evidence to support its use. It is primarily used to treat urinary tract infections, kidney stones and for a variety of autoimmune disorders. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of this wonderful plant, please read on.

Hydrangea, like chanca piedra, is also considered an antilithic herb, which prevents stones or gravel from forming in the kidneys and bladder. As an antilithic herb, it can also assist the body in removing stones and gravel from these organs once they’ve formed. This was a primary use of hydrangea by Native Americans — a sort of kidney detox. The findings of Japanese researchers amplify observations of nineteenth-century American physicians who used hydrangea primarily as a treatment for “kidney gravel,” small stones in the kidneys that could be passed with a minimum of pain after treatment with the herb.

Water extract of Hydrangea paniculata (HP) stem, rich in coumarin glycosides, has been demonstrated to have renal protective effect in several experimental kidney injury animal models. Currently, it is under pre-clinical development as a class 5 herbal drug against membranous nephropathy.