Lobelia

Lobelia inflata · Indian tobacco

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Smoking cessation¹ Asthma¹ Depression¹ Induced vomiting¹	Nicotine-containing products¹ Pregnancy or breastfeeding² Digestive disorders²

Lobelia (Lobelia inflata, Indian tobacco) is an herb whose main alkaloid, lobeline, resembles nicotine in activity through nicotinic receptors and acts on the central nervous system¹. Patients take it for smoking cessation, asthma, depression, and to induce vomiting¹.

Human research is limited, mostly smoking cessation studies, and the rest rests on animal and cell work.¹ A review and a large multicenter trial did not support lobeline for smoking cessation¹. Human data are lacking for asthma, and depression rests on animal studies¹. In vitro, a 2025 review of traditional medicinal plants listed lobeline among constituents modulating lung and colorectal cancer signaling pathways; no human trial has tested this. Products listing lobelia number 375, and the sampled products are liquid extracts; see Form comparison.

The most consequential caution is additive toxicity with nicotine, which is listed as a reason not to take lobelia with nicotine-containing products¹. Lobelia is among herbal stimulants linked to adverse cardiovascular effects³. Health Canada labels ask for a practitioner's advice before use with cardiac or respiratory disorders or high blood pressure².

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

9 sources, 5 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources