Botanical name

Pinus mugo Turra

Family

Pine family (Pinaceae)

Common name

Dwarf mountain pine, Scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, Bog pine, Creeping pine, Mugo pine

Information about the plant

Pinus mugo, usually called mountain pine, is a central and southern European conifer that grows in the mountains and in the moorlands at the foot of the mountains. They form impenetrable belts of shrubby, thick, branched trees at the timberline of the Northern Limestone Alps, thus creating an effective avalanche barrier. On steep slopes, their branches usually lie close to the ground ("Legföhre"). The German name "Latsche" is etymologically based: "latschen" = to drag, to walk dragging; in fact, the lower part of the trunks on slopes often lies at an angle on the ground - it "latscht" on the ground - before the trunk rises in an arch. This gives the mountain pine a rather shrub-like appearance. At the valley bottom and on moors, it grows up to 10 m high.

The top of the mountain pine is conical to cylindrical, the bark is gray to black-brown. The blunt needles are 3 to 5 cm long, have wax strips on both sides and are arranged in pairs on short shoots that surround the twig like bottle brushes. The cones are ovoid or conical, initially standing upright, later also horizontally or inclined downwards.

Medicinally used parts of plants (herbal drug)

The essential oil extracted from the fresh needles and twigs (mountain pine oil - Pini pumilionis aetheroleum) is used. It is obtained from the fresh, crushed twigs and the attached needles of 5- to 7-year-old trees by steam distillation.

Constituents of the herbal drug

Mountain pine oil consists of approx. 70% monoterpene hydrocarbons: pinene, Δ3-carene, myrcene, limonene, and others; bornyl acetate dominates among the oxygenated monoterpenes; it also contains sesquiterpenes, including caryophyllene, longifolene, and ß-cubebene.

Quality of the drug

The quality of mountain pine oil (Pini pumilionis aetheroleum) is specified in the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.).

Medical applications

Recognised medical use

Mountain pine oil has not yet been processed by the HMPC or the ESCOP.
Traditionally, mountain pine oil is used to treat rheumatic ailments (heat therapy) and nerve pain. It is also used for inhalation in cases of colds affecting the upper respiratory tract.

Traditional use

Mountain pine oil has not yet been classified as a traditional medicinal product.

Herbal drug preparations in finished dosage forms

Mountain pine oil is used externally in alcoholic solutions (also added to rubbing alcohol), ointments, creams, oils, and baths (cold baths).

Dosage

Finished medicinal product: see patient information leaflet.
Mountain pine oil is used externally. For inhalation, add 2 to 3 drops of mountain pine oil to 1 liter of hot water and inhale several times a day. Add 5 g oil as a bath additive to a full bath (35 - 38°C) and bathe in it for 10 to 20 minutes.

Preparation of a tea

Not applicable.

Notes

Do not use mountain pine oil in cases of bronchial asthma and whooping cough, and never in the eye area.
In infants and children up to 2 years of age, mountain pine oil can induce a glottis spasm (laryngospasm), in the worst case with respiratory arrest; therefore, never apply mountain pine oil to the face! It is not recommended for children under 4 years of age.
Do not use baths in cases of major skin injuries, inflammatory skin diseases, fever, heart failure, and high blood pressure.

Side effects

Irritation of the skin and mucous membranes.

Interactions

None known.

References

Herbal drug monographs

None published

Further literature

Commentary on the European Pharmacopoeia (Mountain pine oil, No. 2377) 175