Parts Most Frequently Used: Inner Bark

Flavors/Temps: Warm, Slightly Bitter

Caution: Be sure to take slippery elm with at least 8 ounces of liquid.  It is recommended that if you are using other herbs or drugs, these should be taken an hour before consuming slippery elm, due to its high mucilage content that can slow the absorption of the active ingredients in other herbs and medicines.

History/Folklore: The inner bark is collected in spring from the bole and larger branches. As the wood has no commercial value trees are often stripped and allowed to die. The inner bark is sold powdered or in flat pieces 2-3 feet long and several inches wide.  It is tough and flexible. Ten year-old bark is considered the best quality. For best results the powder needs to be greyish or fawn-colored, not dark or reddish.

The common name of “red elm” derives from the inner heartwood of the tree being a reddish brown color.

Chopped bark is suitable for poultices, but the inner bark is considered best for making teas.

The mucilage in slippery elm is responsible for the herb’s ability to sooth sore throats, stomach and intestines. The herb’s ability to aid digestion is such that it is being studied for its capacity to help aid weight loss.

A teaspoon of the powdered bark mixed with water to make a smooth paste, can have boiling water (or milk) added it to with cinnamon, orange peel, nutmeg and honey added as seasonings for an easy nutritious gruel.

As a remedy for typhoid fever, a gruel drink of slippery elm was taken until thirst was quenched. It helped cleanse, heal and strengthen the lungs.

As a tonic, the herb is said to benefit the adrenal glands, respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract.

To treat dysentery and diseases of the bowels, slippery elm can be mixed with warm water and injected into the intestines.

The phenolic compounds in slippery elm contribute to the plant’s ability to help protect the body from stress and anxiety.

Slippery elm is popularly used in formulas to help treat breast cancer because of its anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting abilities.

A clean diet (low in processed foods and red meat and with lots of vegetables) and a daily tea of saffron and slippery elm bark showed remarkable results in treating chronic cases of plaque psoriasis.

Native Americans use the bark to prepare a healing salve used to treat boils, abscesses, wounds, ulcers and burns. They would soak the bark and then apply it to wounds as a natural bandage, allowing it to dry over the wounds. They would also wrap slippery elm around stored foods to help prevent spoilage.

5 tablespoons of powdered slippery elm bark can be dissolved in a cup of water.

Slippery elm is good for treating constipation in dogs and especially cats.