Cascara Sagrada Bark Powder

Cascara Sagrada Bark Powder, 1 lb.



The dried, aged bark of this tree has been used continuously for at least 1,000 years by both native and immigrant Americans as a laxative natural medicine, commercially called "Cascara Sagrada", but old timers call it "chitticum bark."

Cascara Sagrada means "sacred bark" in Spanish.
Long used as a laxative by Native American groups of the northwest Pacific coast, chitticum bark or Cascara Sagrada was accepted in medical practice in the United States in 1877, and by 1890 had replaced the berries of the European Buckthorn (R. catharticus) as a commonly used laxative. It is still the principal ingredient in many commercial, over-the-counter laxatives in North American pharmacies.

The bark is harvested mostly from wild trees; over-harvesting in the middle 1900s eliminated mature trees near many settled areas. Once stripped from the tree, the bark is aged for about 1 year to make its effect milder.