Queen Anne’s Lace
daucus carota l. subsp. carota
Medicinal Actions
Analysis pending research update.
Primary Conditions Treated
General Dosage
1–2 raw carrots; 1–2 cups carrot juice; 2–4 g dry herb, or in tea, 3 ×/day; 2–4 ml liquid extract 3 ×/day.
Safety & Contraindications
Class 2b. CAN cautions that furanocoumarins are phototoxic and may cause dermatosis. 60% antifertility effects in rats are reported. Conversely, 20%, 40%, and 10% activities were exhibited by aqueous, alcoholic, and petrol extracts, respectively. Weak estrogenic and antiimplantation activity reported for seed extracts. Coumarin is a weak estrogen. Excessive doses may interfere with blood pressure, cardiac, and hormone medications. “In view of the documented estrogenic activity and potentially toxic irritant volatile oil, excessive doses of wild carrot during pregnancy and lactation should be avoided”. Seeds contain psychoactive myristicin. The faces of my granddaughter and Judi’s daughter, especially their noses, turned orange after eating a full bottle of carrot baby food. Seed oil LD50 = >5000 mg/kg orl mus, LD50 = >5000 mg/kg der gpg, antispasmodic. Cholinergic activity reported for choline, no real surprise there. A 1995 study of carrot extracts showed that it protected the liver from carbon-tetrachloride damage.