Juniper & Asthma

Junipers are spreading across the landscape in America, wiping out grassland habitats, contributing to forest fires and raising incidences of allergy and asthma, reports The Red Cedar Task Force for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. Eastern red cedar is one of the most widespread junipers in Oklahoma but mountain juniper is also very widespread in North America, says allergy expert Dr. Harris Steinman, and it is an extremely potent allergen.

Mountain Juniper

• Berry-producing trees do not produce pollen

  Mountain juniper is a very hardy evergreen, says Dr. Steinman, and can live up to 2,000 years. Like most species of juniper, it produces large amounts of pollen that are spread for long distances in the air by wind. Juniper pollens are among the most allergenic of the Cypress family, Steinman says, and affect more people than pine pollen.

  Female trees, those that produce berries, do not produce pollen.

Cross-Reactivity

• The spread of junipers destroys grassland habitats

  Dr. Steinman explains that even though some varieties of juniper are more allergenic than others; exposure to these allergens causes people to become more susceptible to all juniper allergens. This is called cross-reactivity. Twelve varieties of juniper and other cedars can trigger similar reactions because of cross-reactivity.

Why Mountain Juniper Is So Allergenic

• The similiarity of juniper pollens makes cross-reactivity common.

  Dr. Steinman says that mountain juniper causes asthma, hay fever and allergic conjunctivitis and is the leading cause of allergy in Texas as well as one of the leading causes of allergy in Oklahoma. He reports that scientists who have studied the allergic reactions to mountain juniper and other junipers theorize that the carbohydrate nature of its pollen may account for its ability to travel through the respiratory tract mucus.

Two Sources of Health Effects

• Burning junipers can threaten air quality.

  The Red Cedar Task Force explains that junipers affect air quality in two ways: by the pollen that triggers allergic reactions and asthma and by the burning of junipers either accidentally or deliberately to halt their growth.

  The true number of people affected by spreading junipers is unknown, says the Task Force, because most people don’t seek out testing and instead treat their symptoms with over-the-counter medications.

Juniper to Treat Asthma?

• Native Americans have long used juniper as a medicine

  Ironically, Mountain juniper was used for many medicinal purposes by American Indians, including the treatment of asthma, according to the USDA National Resources Conservation Service.

  Juniper berries, branches, leaves and roots have been made into teas, tonics and salves to treat everything from arthritis and colds to diarrhea and hyperactivity.

  The Cheyenne made tea from Juniper leaves to treat coughs. A number of tribes used juniper branches to make a tea for colds and pneumonia and the Gros Ventres used juniper berries to cure asthma.