Herbal Diuretics - Are they effective for weight loss? How do they compare to prescription water pills?

An herbal diuretic is an herb or herbal extract that leads to excess fluid excretion through the kidneys. Many prescription diuretics are used to lower blood pressure. There are several herbal diuretics that are found in certain herbal weight loss products. Some of these herbal diuretics are derived from caffeine. Most of the herbal diuretics are not toxic but have been known to interact with medications (for example, lithium, Lanoxin or conventional diuretics such as Lasix or Esidrex). Herbal diuretics do not provide enough water loss to be considered effective in losing weight.
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Review of herbal diuretics
Herbal medicines as diuretics: a review of the scientific evidence.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2007 Oct 8; Wright CI, Van-Buren L, Kroner CI, Koning MM. Nutrition, Nutrition and Health Enhancement, Unilever Food and Health Research Institute, Olivier van Noortlaan 120, PO Box 114, 3130 AC, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands.
One class of clinical medicines used to lower blood pressure are known as diuretics and work by increasing the excretion of urine from the body as well as the amount of sodium in urine. There are a growing number of studies purporting diuretic effects with traditional herbal medicines. The aim of this article was to review these studies and identify which herbal extracts promote diuresis (which we assessed on terms of urine excreted and urinary sodium excretion) and also to identify the research needs in this area. We identified a number of species and genuses reporting herbal diuretic effects. Of these, the most promising, at the present time, are the species Foeniculum vulgare, Fraxinus excelsior, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Petroselinum sativum and Spergularia purpurea, and species from the genuses Cucumis (Cucumis melo and Cucumis trigonus), Equisetum (Equisetum bogotense, Equisetum fluviatile, Equisetum giganteum, Equisetum hiemale var. affine and Equisetum myriochaetum), Lepidium (Lepidium latifolium and Lepidium sativum), Phyllanthus (Phyllanthus amarus, Phyllanthus corcovadensis and Phyllanthus sellowianus) and Sambucus (Sambucus mexicana and Sambucus nigra). However, there the number of studies is limited and we recommend that further studies be conducted to confirm reported herbal diuretic effects.

Examples of herbal diuretics
Dandelion is a natural herbal diuretic. It may produce weight loss by decreasing body water, but this is not a healthy way to lose weight. Dandeiion may cause allergic reactions and heartburn.
Horse chestnut has aescin and aesculine which may influence fluid output.
Uva ursi is one of the most well-known herbal diuretics. Uuva ursi contains arbutin which may increase urine output.

Questions
I am taking prescription diuretics not for blood pressure issues but since I have ankle edema especially before my period. I need a natural substitute that will help with that problem.
    We are not aware of effective diuretics that are herbal but we await results of studies.