Essiac

Essiac, marketed as Flor Essence, is a tisane promoted as an herbal alternative treatment for cancer and other illnesses. As with many alternative remedies, the exact composition of essiac is unclear, but it reportedly contains burdock, Indian rhubarb, sheep sorrel, and slippery elm bark. Some formulations may also contain watercress, blessed thistle, red clover, and kelp. From the 1920s through the 1970s, essiac was promoted as a cancer treatment by Rene Caisse, a Canadian nurse, who claimed that it had been given to her by a patient and that the recipe derived from an Ontario Ojibwa medicine man. The name is Caisse's surname spelled backwards.