Essiac
| Alternative medicine | |
|---|---|
| Claims | Treatment of cancer and other illnesses. |
| Related fields | Alternative medicine |
| Year proposed | approx 1920 |
| Original proponents | Rene Caisse |
| Subsequent proponents | Essiac Products Inc. |
| MeSH | C111756 |
| See also | List of questionable cancer treatments |
Essiac is an herbal tea promoted as an alternative treatment for cancer and other illnesses. There is no evidence it is beneficial to health, and it may be harmful.
The exact composition of Essiac is unclear, but it reportedly contains burdock (Arctium lappa), sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), slippery elm bark (Ulmus rubra), and Indian rhubarb (Rheum officinale) or turkey rhubarb (Rheum palmatum). Some formulations may also contain watercress, blessed thistle, red clover, and kelp. From the 1920s through the 1970s, Essiac was promoted as a cancer treatment by Rene Caisse, a Canadian nurse, who claimed that it had been given to her by an Ontario Ojibwa patient she treated. However, this has never been substantiated. There is no evidence that Essiac is a Native American or First Nations remedy, and there are multiple factors that indicate the formula is not from any Native American culture. Several of the plants in the mixture (burdock, sheep sorrel, Indian rhubarb and turkey rhubarb) are not indigenous to the Americas, and were not growing in the wilds of Northern Ontario during the time Caisse began prescribing this tea. The name "Essiac" is Caisse's surname spelled backwards. Today, Essiac is often sold with apparatus (such as bottles and infusers) for making the tea, and is sometimes promoted with untrue claims that scientific studies have shown it to be effective.
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