Wood Betony was much used by Native Americans and prized for it’s medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities. As an alternative medicine it is an emmenagogue , anodyne, anti-tumor, aphrodisiac, blood tonic, cardiac, poultice, stomachic. A medicinal infusion of the roots is used as blood tonic, cardiac for anemia and heart troubles and to treat stomach aches, ulcers, and bloody diarrhea. The roots are added to food as an aphrodisiac. A medicinal infusion of the fresh leaves or dried herb has been used to treat a sore throat, tonsillitis, cough and bronchitis. Infusion also used to treat headaches, dizziness, urinary, bladder and kidney pain. Wood Betony was once the sovereign remedy for all maladies of the head, and its properties as a nervine and tonic are still acknowledged, though it is more frequently employed in combination with other nervines than alone.