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Common mother and stepmother is distributed throughout the former USSR, except in the Arctic. It grows on clay and sandy soils, along ravines, banks of rivers and streams, clay cliffs, railroad embankments.
The flower baskets are used, which are collected at the beginning of flowering with the remainder of the peduncle not more than 5 cm, and leaves - in June, plucked to half of the petiole. Dried common mother urea has a bitter taste with a mucilaginous sensation, odorless.
Chemical composition and properties of mother urea
The properties of mother and stepmother have long been studied by healers and modern phytotherapists. Phytosterols, tannins, and yellow pigment have been found in the flower baskets. Leaves contain bitter glycoside tussilyagin, ascorbic acid, polysaccharides inulin and dextrin, gallic, malic and tartaric acids, essential oil, tannins (up to 17%), saponins, carotene, sitosterol, mucus (up to 10%), tannin (up to 17%).
Useful properties of mother and stepmother help to cure various ailments.
Features and uses of mother urea
Common mother and stepmother has anti-inflammatory action, increasing the secretion of bronchial glands, emollient, expectorant and diaphoretic action. In an experiment, it was found that the use of mother-macheca has an antispasmodic effect, if you make an aqueous decoction on the leaves of the plant.
The use of mother and stepmother is also recommended for respiratory diseases, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, inflammation of the lungs, bronchial asthma, sore throat.
In Bulgaria, in addition to the above mentioned diseases, it is used for inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, for lack of appetite and for skin diseases as an emollient.
Decoction of the leaves or crushed leaves, according to Bulgarian scientists has beneficial properties of mother and stepmother, which act relieving in inflammation of leg veins and in inflammation of the skin.
In Poland and the GDR it is used for respiratory diseases, cough, hoarseness, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the pharynx, bronchitis, pleurisy, bronchial asthma, inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, lack of appetite and others.
Externally, the use of mother and stepmother is recommended in the form of compresses, decoction or crushed leaves in abscesses, inflammation of the veins, burns, tumors, wounds, purulent skin diseases, sore throat - in the form of gargles, inflammatory bowel disease - in the form of enemas, inside - in the form of powder - 1 g drink hot milk or honey water.
In France, common mother and stepmother is used as a breast-lexir in conjunction with other herbs.
Infusion of flowers is recommended as an expectorant for coughs. Lecferc points out that an extract from the leaves of this plant with syrup, which has all the beneficial properties of mother-mache, can serve as a good tonic and can be used successfully in the treatment of influenza.
Leaves and flower baskets are included in the pharmacopoeia of 15 countries (Klan, 1948), including the USSR.
In domestic folk medicine infusion of leaves and decoction are used for cough, choking, dropsy, scrofula. Juice from fresh leaves and roots - in tuberculosis, malaria, as a choleretic and diaphoretic. Externally, the use of mother and stepmother is recommended in the form of a porridge of fresh leaves; - against tumors, abscesses, boils. Fresh leaves with the smooth side were applied to the head for headaches. Leaves and flowers are constituents of chest and diaphoretic collections.
We recommend the leaves of mother and stepmother as an anti-inflammatory, emollient, enveloping agent for diseases of the respiratory organs, as well as an antisclerotic agent for hypertension, atherosclerosis and other diseases..
