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Shepherd's purse is distributed throughout the former USSR, except in the Far North. It grows along roads, in fields, vegetable gardens, orchards, and vacant lots.
The above-ground part of the plant with root leaves is used, which is collected during flowering. Dried shepherd's purse has a faint odor, the taste is bitter with a mucilaginous sensation.
Chemical composition and properties of shepherd's purse
Shepherd's purse herb contains many useful trace elements. Vitamins C and K, choline, acetylcholine, inositol, potassium, flavone glycoside, tannins, resins, malic, citric, tartaric, fumaric, bursic acids, tyramine, saponin, and hyssopine rhamnoglycoside are found in it. The leaves have phytoncidal activity.
Useful properties of shepherd's purse are used by healers to treat various diseases.
The effects and uses of shepherd's purse
Shepherd's purse herb has styptic property and causes contraction of uterine muscles. According to recent data, aqueous and alcoholic extracts have hypotensive effects. Used shepherd's purse in gynecology and obstetric practice in meno- and metrorrhagia, after childbirth, with pulmonary bleeding, with renal bleeding - together with the herb horsetail (by prescription and under the supervision of a doctor).
In Poland, shepherd's purse is used as a styptic.
In Bulgaria, shepherd's purse is used as a styptic for uterine, gastric and pulmonary bleeding. In addition, it has been experimentally established that preparations from the shepherd's purse plant cause a decrease in blood pressure, increase the contraction of the uterine musculature, constrict peripheral blood vessels.
In France, shepherd's purse is used to regulate the menstrual cycle, reduce high blood pressure and as a good styptic.
In China, shepherd's purse herb is grown in vegetable gardens with more succulent leaves, with a high content of carotene, vitamin B ascorbic acid, calcium and phosphorus salts.
Shepherd's purse herb is official in the former USSR and the Netherlands (Klan, 1948).
In domestic folk medicine is widely used shepherd's purse in pulmonary, renal, uterine, gastrointestinal bleeding, wounds, fever, diarrhea, decoction or water diluted juice from fresh plants - with liver disease, hepatic colic, kidney and bladder disease, metabolic disorders. Infusion of shepherd's purse plant is prescribed as a styptic for uterine cancer.
The leaves of the fresh shepherd's purse plant are eaten, used in salads and soups; the seeds can substitute for mustard.
We use the above-ground part of shepherd's purse as a styptic..
