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Also referred to as "bearberry" in honor of the bears so fond of its bright red or pink berries, uva ursi (Arctostaphylos uva ursi) is an evergreen shrub that has long been popular for fighting urinary tract infections. Its leathery green leaves are formulated into teas, tinctures, capsules, and extracts for this purpose.
The plant grows throughout colder northern climates from North America to Asia and is particularly popular in Europe for treating urinary tract inflammation. Official physician handbooks in the United States listed uva ursi as a urinary antiseptic for a century up until the 1920s.
The antiseptic compound in uva ursi is arbutin, which the body converts into a substance with proven astringent and bacteria-killing powers called hydroquinone. Interestingly, arbutin taken alone is not as effective as the whole uva ursi plant in controlling urinary tract infections. That's because intestinal bacteria can break down arbutin, but they are less likely to do so in the presence of other uva ursi compounds.
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