Mullein: Benefits for Your Lungs, Uses, Tea Recipe & Ear Oil

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Mullein soothes your lungs and throat: its soft leaves and yellow flowers coat a raw throat, calm your airways and help loosen phlegm. That's why people have used it for coughs, colds and chest congestion for centuries,9 and it's why Europe's medicines regulator recognizes mullein flower tea to relieve a sore throat with a dry cough.12 So if you're nursing a scratchy throat or a cough that won't quit, this is a good herb to know. Steeped in olive oil, its flowers have long been a home remedy for an aching ear too, and below you'll learn how to make both the tea and a garlic-mullein ear oil.137

A cough is your body doing its job, working to clear something out of your airways, so I want to know why the phlegm is there in the first place. Phlegm and mucus that keep building up are what Chinese medicine calls dampness, and the root cause usually sits in your digestion and on your plate.67 Picture a sink that keeps filling up: you'd open the drain, but you'd also turn down the tap. I work on both ends the same way, cutting what makes the mucus and helping your lungs clear what's already there, and that second job, the drain, is where mullein comes in.

Fall is the right time to get to know this herb. As I've explained on my show, traditional Chinese medicine connects the fall to the lungs and the colon, what's called the metal element, and it's the season when trees let go of their leaves.8 Grief is the emotion most tied to the lungs in that tradition, so fall is a good time to let go of what you're still holding on to.78 Fall is also when cold and flu season begins, and in Ancient Remedies, mullein appears in my prescriptions for bronchitis, lung infections and ear infections.7

Did you know?

• People once dipped tall mullein stalks in suet or wax and burned them like torches, which earned the plant names like Candlewick Plant and Torches.15

• In 1883, a physician at St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin called mullein "a trusted popular remedy in Ireland" and reported good results in 6 of 7 patients with tuberculosis who were treated with it.5

• The fine hairs on mullein leaves may themselves have helped people cough up phlegm, but traditional recipes strain them out before drinking.5

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What is mullein?

Mullein is the common name for the genus Verbascum, a group of more than 300 species.13 This page is about common mullein, and it's hard to miss. It grows up to about 6½ feet (2 meters) tall, with broad leaves at its base, felted like soft flannel, and yellow flowers that bloom from June to September. It grows wild across Europe and much of the United States.51 In Europe, people have long gathered the flowers of two close relatives, Verbascum densiflorum and Verbascum phlomoides, for tea, and Europe's herbal monograph covers all three.12 The parts you use are the leaves and the flowers, since the old handbooks don't describe a medicinal use for the root.1

The flowers carry the compounds that make mullein work: a soothing mucilage, which is a soft, slippery gel, along with verbascoside, saponins and flavonoids.1 Its leaves have been medicine for centuries, which echoes Ezekiel's vision of the trees by the river: "the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine" (Ezekiel 47:12).

A short history of mullein

People have trusted mullein with their coughs for a very long time. The English herbalist Maud Grieve called it "a remedy of the greatest antiquity for coughs," and in Ireland, where people grew it in their gardens and Dublin's best chemist shops sold it, it was a leading remedy for tuberculosis.5 A German herbal from 1564 praised it as an expectorant, an herb that helps you bring up phlegm, and centuries later, from 1938 to 2006, German handbooks were still documenting the flowers for catarrh, the congestion and mucus of a chest cold.1

Mullein had a place in American medicine too. The 1898 King's American Dispensatory recommended the tea for coughs, protracted colds, catarrh, diarrhea and hemorrhoids, and the 1918 U.S. Dispensatory listed mullein flowers as official.19 In Spain, traditional medicine uses it for hoarseness, tonsillitis, colds, coughs, asthma and bronchitis. People brew it alone or with thyme, mint, rosemary, mallow or hawthorn flower, then sweeten it with honey.13 That's not far from the mullein-thyme tea in the recipes below.

Today, Europe's herbal medicines committee recognizes mullein flower tea as a traditional medicine, and that status rests on long-standing use.21 Generation after generation, people have turned to the same plant for the same complaint, and lab studies have started to explain some of how it works.

What is mullein good for?

How does mullein work in your body?

A long cough leaves the moist lining of your throat and airways raw, and when that lining is irritated or infected, it makes extra mucus. That lining is where mullein goes to work, and it does three jobs there: it coats and calms the lining, helps you bring up phlegm, and backs up your defenses.113 The steps below follow it from the first tickle to a clearer chest.

Mullein isn't forcing anything here, because each of those steps supports something your airways already do to protect themselves. Your body was designed to clear an irritant and heal the lining behind it, and mullein just helps that work along.

Mullein benefits

Mullein's top uses start with your lungs and throat, where people have leaned on it the longest: soothing a sore throat and dry cough, clearing phlegm from your chest and easing ear pain. Newer research adds wound healing, germ-fighting and calmer inflammation.

Why does phlegm build up in your lungs?

In traditional Chinese medicine, you can see dampness for yourself: stick out your tongue in a mirror, and a coating, typically at the back, is a sign of it. It's common with bronchitis and other respiratory infections.6 As for where all that dampness comes from, I teach that damp lungs usually start with weak digestion, which creates mucus throughout the body, and with mucus-promoting foods such as dairy, peanuts, soy products and sugar.7

I learned about dairy and mucus firsthand, because when I drank conventional milk as a kid and into my early 20s, I'd have phlegm in my throat within minutes.21 Every winter in high school, I also came down with bronchitis that hung on for two to three months,22 and when I stopped eating dairy in college, the bronchitis stopped.22 Later I tried goat milk and did well with a little of it, and over time I added goat cheese, sheep cheese and kefir.22

What should you eat when bronchitis hits? The foods I list as harmful include conventional dairy, sugar, artificial sweeteners and processed and fried food, while the ones I list as healing include bone broth, ginger, miso, pears, rice congee and plenty of warm fluids with Manuka honey.7 Our guide to the best foods for your lungs goes further. As the weather turns cold, keep your neck and chest wrapped in warm layers to protect your lungs. Try yoga or qigong too, both of which can expand and protect them.7

How do you use mullein for your lungs?

For a lung infection, mullein is one of my top five prescriptions, as a natural expectorant and virus fighter at 1,000 mg three times a day, alongside echinacea, elderberry, probiotics and astragalus.7 For bronchitis, I list mullein, licorice root or NAC, and the plan reaches past herbs into how you sleep and how you handle stress: a humidifier in your bedroom at night to loosen mucus, plenty of warm fluids with Manuka honey, and prayer and daily downtime to lower stress.7

Moist air is your friend here, because steam helps loosen mucus too, a bit like soaking a crusty pan before you scrub it. When your throat feels sore or dried out, a humidifier and steam from a hot shower are two of the simplest things you can do.6 For bronchitis, add 10 drops of eucalyptus oil to a pan of just-boiled water, lean over it with a towel draped over your head, and breathe in the steam for 5 to 10 minutes.7

When you're sick, I recommend herbal teas with a little local honey or Manuka honey, and Manuka honey is so good for a sore throat.6 Mullein tea fits right into that routine, alongside the rest of our natural cold remedies and sore throat remedies. So when you feel that first tickle in your throat, put the kettle on.

How to use mullein: tea, capsules, tincture and oil

Which form should you choose? That depends on what you're treating, and here are the forms and the amounts behind them:

• Tea: 1.5 to 2 grams of dried flowers in 150 mL (about 2/3 cup) of boiling water, steeped 10 to 15 minutes and strained, three or four times a day, up to 8 grams a day.21 A teaspoon of dried flowers weighs about 1.1 grams, so a dose is about 1½ to 2 teaspoons.1

• Capsules: 1,000 mg three times a day, my dose for a lung infection.7

• Tincture: 7.5 to 10 mL of a 1:5 tincture twice a day; a stronger 1:1 liquid extract is taken at 1.5 to 2 mL twice a day.1

• Ear oil: warm garlic-mullein oil, a few drops in the affected ear; the recipe and amounts are below.7

Mullein uses for your body

You'll notice the same pattern as its history here, with your lungs and throat at the center:

• Sore throat and dry cough: a strained cup of tea, three or four times a day.2

• Chest congestion: tea or capsules, with steam and a humidifier at night.7

• Earache: a few drops of warm garlic-mullein oil.7

• Minor scrapes: a cooled tea used as a wash, the way it's been used on wounds and burns.1

• Achy joints: warm, boiled leaves laid over the joint.13

• Loose stools: a cup of tea, its traditional use for diarrhea.913

Mullein tea and other mullein recipes

Mullein tea takes 15 minutes, and the one step that really matters is straining it well, because a regular tea strainer lets mullein's fine hairs slip through, while a paper coffee filter or a tightly woven cloth catches them.51 For a cough syrup made with honey, see our homemade cough syrup, and for a simple cup, sweeten it with raw local honey or Manuka honey once it has cooled a little.

Thyme is a traditional partner for mullein in Spanish cough remedies,13 and thyme tea and ginger tea with a little honey are also two of the herbal teas I name for a cold.6

Those amounts and the rest time come from my ear-infection prescription,7 while the trials gave 5 drops three times a day.34

The slow method takes patience, but it gives you a garlic-free oil to keep on hand for the ears or for a homemade salve.

Mullein side effects and safety

Mullein is gentle at traditional amounts. Europe's herbal review lists no known side effects for the tea and found mullein flower safe at the recommended doses.21

Strain out the hairs. The fine hairs on the leaves and flowers can tickle or irritate your throat, so always strain the tea through a paper coffee filter or a tightly woven cloth.5

Use the leaves and flowers only. Mullein seeds were traditionally used to stun fish and aren't eaten.241

Ear oil needs an intact eardrum. The ear-drop trials included only children whose eardrums weren't perforated.10 Skip ear oil if the ear is draining, has tubes or may have a torn eardrum.

Keep garlic oil cold. Garlic stored in oil at room temperature has caused botulism, so keep garlic-mullein oil in the refrigerator, throw out what's left after 4 days, and use it only in the ear.2530

Skin. A few people have developed rashes from handling mullein, mostly people who handled the plant at work; if a rash appears, stop using it.262728

Pregnancy and breastfeeding. No one has studied mullein's safety in pregnancy or while nursing, so Europe's herbal review advises against using it then.2

Children. Europe's tea dose is set for ages 12 and up, because younger children haven't been studied; the ear-drop trials enrolled children 5 and older.210 Never give honey to a baby under 12 months.

Warning signs. See a doctor if you're short of breath, run a fever, cough up thick, pus-like phlegm, or your cough gets worse or lasts more than a week.2 The same goes for ear pain with a high fever or drainage, and for any ear pain in a baby. Pneumonia can be deadly, and an acute lung infection is exactly what conventional medicine's tools were built for, and mullein can keep supporting your lungs alongside that care.7

The bottom line

Mullein: frequently asked questions

References

1. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC). Assessment report on Verbascum thapsus L., V. densiflorum Bertol. (V. thapsiforme Schrad) and V. phlomoides L., flos. EMA/HMPC/611531/2016. 27 March 2018. Section 1 (constituents: 2-3% water-soluble polysaccharides, verbascoside about 0.6% in V. densiflorum flower, saponins), section 2 (Table 2 historical uses incl. Commission E 1990, Expanded Commission E 2000 and Wichtl "steep for 10-15 min and strain"; "The seeds seem mainly to have to be utilised as piscicide"; section 2.3, first version of the monograph published in 2008), sections 4-5 (no clinical efficacy or safety trial data; one VigiLyze hepatitis report up to Nov 2017; "can be recognised as safe when used in recommended dosages").
2. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC). European Union herbal monograph on Verbascum thapsus L., V. densiflorum Bertol. (V. thapsiforme Schrad) and V. phlomoides L., flos. EMA/HMPC/611537/2016. Adopted 27 March 2018. Sections 4.1 (traditional use: "to relieve symptoms of sore throat associated with dry cough and cold"), 4.2 (herbal tea 1.5-2 g in 150 ml boiling water, 3-4 times daily; daily dose 4.5-8 g; not under 12), 4.5 (interactions: none reported), 4.6 (pregnancy and lactation not recommended for lack of data), 4.8 (undesirable effects: none known).
3. Sarrell EM, Mandelberg A, Cohen HA. Efficacy of naturopathic extracts in the management of ear pain associated with acute otitis media. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155(7):796-9. doi:10.1001/archpedi.155.7.796. PMID:11434846
4. Sarrell EM, Cohen HA, Kahan E. Naturopathic treatment for ear pain in children. Pediatrics. 2003;111(5 Pt 1):e574-9. doi:10.1542/peds.111.5.e574. PMID:12728112
5. McCarthy E, O'Mahony JM. What's in a Name? Can Mullein Weed Beat TB Where Modern Drugs Are Failing? Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:239237. doi:10.1155/2011/239237. PMID:20953419 (PMC2952292)
6. Axe J. How to Prevent & Heal Cold & Flu Naturally (Foods, Supplements, & Herbs for Rapid Recovery). The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2024 (dampness, the tongue coating, phlegm and mucus, and herbs such as osha root or mullein, at 18:01; quoted, lightly edited, from 18:09; humidifier and steam for a sore or dried-out throat, at 30:34; Manuka honey for a sore throat, at 30:55; dairy thickens mucus, at 32:04; herbal teas such as ginger and thyme tea with local or Manuka honey, at 33:26; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw-cciZ5TTY).
7. Axe J. Ancient Remedies. Little, Brown Spark; 2021 (Prescriptions for 70+ Conditions: bronchitis entry, TCM perspective, foods that harm and heal, "Other remedies: Take licorice root, mullein, or N-acetylcysteine (NAC)," humidifier and eucalyptus steam, p. 224; COPD entry, "avoid smoke, perfume, and insect spray," p. 229; ear infection entry, TCM root cause, foods that heal and #1 garlic mullein oil, p. 237; asthma entry, "Ancient perspective: Asthma is usually caused by dampness in the lungs, kidney qi deficiency, and excess mucus caused by spleen imbalance," p. 220; pneumonia entry, "can be deadly," "Unprocessed grief, the emotion most associated with lungs, can play a role," and #5 "Mullein. Natural expectorant and virus fighter. Take 1,000 mg 3 times daily," p. 270; lung and colon system, emotions that impair lung-intestine function (grief, sadness, hanging onto hurts from the past), p. 199; lung organ system section, "Lung dampness" and everyday strategies to protect lung function).
8. Axe J. How to Fix Your Metabolism | Haylie Pomroy. The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2025 (Dr. Axe: in traditional Chinese medicine, the fall is connected to the lungs and the colon, the metal element, at 56:19; trees losing their leaves and letting go of what you're still holding on to from the past, at 56:28; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY1NxS7C2To).
9. Felter HW, Lloyd JU. King's American Dispensatory. 18th ed., 3rd rev. Cincinnati: Ohio Valley Co.; 1898. Verbascum (Mullein) entry.
10. Foxlee R, Johansson A, Wejfalk J, Dawkins J, Dooley L, Del Mar C. Topical analgesia for acute otitis media. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;2006(3):CD005657. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005657.pub2. PMID:16856108 (PMC9006341)
11. Turker AU, Gurel E. Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus L.): recent advances in research. Phytother Res. 2005;19(9):733-9. doi:10.1002/ptr.1653. PMID:16222647
12. Speranza L, Franceschelli S, Pesce M, Reale M, Menghini L, Vinciguerra I, et al. Antiinflammatory effects in THP-1 cells treated with verbascoside. Phytother Res. 2010;24(9):1398-404. doi:10.1002/ptr.3173. PMID:20812283
13. Blanco-Salas J, Hortigón-Vinagre MP, Morales-Jadán D, Ruiz-Téllez T. Searching for Scientific Explanations for the Uses of Spanish ... Medicine: A Review on the Case of Mullein (Verbascum, Scrophulariaceae). Biology (Basel). 2021;10(7):618. doi:10.3390/biology10070618. PMID:34356473 (PMC8301161)
14. Taleb S, Saeedi M. The effect of the Verbascum Thapsus on episiotomy wound healing in nulliparous women: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021;21(1):166. doi:10.1186/s12906-021-03339-6. PMID:34103042 (PMC8186151)
15. Zgórniak-Nowosielska I, Grzybek J, Manolova N, Serkedjieva J, Zawilińska B. Antiviral activity of Flos verbasci infusion against influenza and Herpes simplex viruses. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 1991;39(1-2):103-8. PMID:1666504
16. Turker AU, Camper ND. Biological activity of common mullein, a medicinal plant. J Ethnopharmacol. 2002;82(2-3):117-25. doi:10.1016/s0378-8741(02)00186-1. PMID:12241986
17. Calabrese G, Zappalà A, Dolcimascolo A, Acquaviva R, Parenti R, Malfa GA. Phytochemical Analysis and Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Osteoarthritic Bioactive Potential of Verbascum thapsus L. (Scrophulariaceae) Leaf Extract Evaluated in Two In Vitro Models of Inflammation and Osteoarthritis. Molecules. 2021;26(17):5392. doi:10.3390/molecules26175392. PMID:34500824 (PMC8434610)
18. Escobar FM, Sabini MC, Zanon SM, Tonn CE, Sabini LI. Antiviral effect and mode of action of methanolic extract of Verbascum thapsus L. on pseudorabies virus (strain RC/79). Nat Prod Res. 2012;26(17):1621-5. doi:10.1080/14786419.2011.576394. PMID:21999656
19. Song X, He J, Xu H, Hu XP, Wu XL, Wu HQ, et al. The antiviral effects of acteoside and the underlying IFN-γ-inducing action. Food Funct. 2016;7(7):3017-30. doi:10.1039/c6fo00335d. PMID:27326537
20. Grigore A, Colceru-Mihul S, Litescu S, Panteli M, Rasit I. Correlation between polyphenol content and anti-inflammatory activity of Verbascum phlomoides (mullein). Pharm Biol. 2013;51(7):925-9. doi:10.3109/13880209.2013.767361. PMID:23627472
21. Axe J. 60 Million Americans Have This Hidden Infection Right Now. The Dr. Josh Axe Show. 2026 (damp-forming foods and his conventional milk, phlegm and winter bronchitis, at 14:19 to 15:01; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvOBcpB_Jkg).
22. Axe J, Rubin J. The Biblio Diet. Hachette Book Group; 2025. ISBN 9781546008439 (dairy chapter: phlegm with milk and cheese, high-school winter bronchitis that lasted two to three months, gone after he stopped dairy in college; later goat milk, goat cheese, sheep cheese and kefir).
23. Kalinina SA, Elkina OV, Kalinin DV, Syropyatov BY, Dolzhenko AV. Diuretic activity and toxicity of some Verbascum nigrum extracts and fractions. Pharm Biol. 2014;52(2):191-8. doi:10.3109/13880209.2013.822001. PMID:24074166
24. Svanberg I, Locker A. Ethnoichthyology of freshwater fish in Europe: a review of vanishing traditional fisheries and their cultural significance in changing landscapes from the later medieval period with a focus on northern Europe. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2020;16(1):68. doi:10.1186/s13002-020-00410-3. PMID:33121508 (PMC7597041)
25. Morse DL, Pickard LK, Guzewich JJ, Devine BD, Shayegani M. Garlic-in-oil associated botulism: episode leads to product modification. Am J Public Health. 1990;80(11):1372-3. doi:10.2105/ajph.80.11.1372. PMID:2240308 (PMC1404905)
26. Romaguera C, Grimalt F, Vilaplana J. Occupational dermatitis from Gordolobo (Mullein). Contact Dermatitis. 1985;12(3):176. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.1985.tb01093.x. PMID:3158474
27. Castro AI, Carmona JB, Gonzales FG, Nestar OB. Occupational airborne dermatitis from gordolobo (Verbascum densiflorum). Contact Dermatitis. 2006;55(5):301. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.2006.00923.x. PMID:17026698
28. Flores Echaiz C, Al Ali A, Cao AQ, Sasseville D. Simultaneous contact dermatitis caused by Asteraceae and Verbascum thapsus. Contact Dermatitis. 2017;76(5):316-318. doi:10.1111/cod.12710. PMID:28386973
29. Abdel Rahman RT, Kamal N, Mediani A, Farag MA. How Do Herbal Cigarettes Compare To Tobacco? A Comprehensive Review of Their Sensory Characters, Phytochemicals, and Functional Properties. ACS Omega. 2022;7(50):45797-45809. doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c04708. PMID:36570239 (PMC9773184)
30. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Botulism (home-prepared foods: "Refrigerate homemade oils made with garlic or herbs. Throw the oils away after 4 days.").

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS

Doctor of Natural Medicine · Founder, DrAxe.com

Dr. Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist, and multiple New York Times bestselling author. He has spent 20+ years in clinical practice helping people heal at the root cause and founded one of the most-visited natural-health platforms in the world.

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