Mossy larkspur
.Shaggy larkspur is a perennial herbaceous plant of the sponge family. Stem mossy, root leaves oblong-lobed, narrowed into petioles at the base. Stem upper oblong, cuneate at the base, sessile, apex usually three-lobed. Flowers blue, in six many-flowered rings, in the corners of the apical, sometimes colored leaflets, converged by a more or less dense, at the base interrupted inflorescence. Calyx bell-shaped, five-toothed; corolla shriveled after flowering and remaining at the fruit with a hairy ring in the lower part of the tube, with a very short, emarginate or bipartite upper and three-lobed lower lip, the middle lobe of which is large obovate. The stamens are 4, protruding above the upper lip; anther nests are divergent, then fused together. Ovary four-lobed, with a subpestiferous disk at the base, four-nested, with one seedpod in each nest.
The fruit breaks into 4 wrinkled, round-ovate nuts.
The mossy fig blooms in early June.
Grows in meadows, between shrubs, in groves, at the edges of forests.
The above-ground part is used.
The chemical composition has not been studied.
Action and application
.It is not used in scientific medicine. In domestic folk medicine, the plant is used as an astringent, diuretic, styptic, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing agent. It is used as a mild remedy for lung diseases, bronchitis, as an expectorant, for chest pains. Infusion of the herb is used for diarrhea, stomach ulcers, female diseases, rheumatism and colds. Decoction of leaves is used in the form of baths for low weight and also to strengthen hair.
In Bulgarian folk medicine, the above-ground plant part is used for stomach diseases, as a metabolism-improving remedy, for diseases of the liver and gallbladder (gallstones) in the form of decoction at the rate of: 6-8 g finely chopped herb on 200 ml of boiling water, after cooling, strain and take 1 tablespoon 5 times a day.
Zhivochka mossy is used as a styptic, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing agent and especially for lung diseases. The above-ground part of the plant is used for this purpose.
Joster laxative
.Laxative joster (laxative cherry) is a shrub or tree up to 8 m tall, from the cherry family with reddish-gray (or brown), shiny bark on young branches. Branches are tapering, stout, with large prickles at the ends of the branches. Leaves are suffused, elliptic or rounded-ovate, petiolate, finely toothed along the edge, dark green, on elongated pedicels, gathered in bunches in leaf axils of young shoots. Fruits are juicy bony, spherical, almost black, shiny, 6-8 mm in diameter with 3-4 seeds. Honeybee. Laxative joster blooms in May - June, fruits ripen in September - October (Fig. 22).
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Laxative joster is distributed almost all over the European part of the USSR, in the Caucasus, Crimea, Siberia, Central Asia. Grows in deciduous forests, on sunny rocky places, in groves and between shrubs.
The fruit (berries) used are ripe, almost black, without stalks. The smell of joster laxative has a faint odor, the taste is bitter.
Chemical composition
.Anthraglycosides, jos-terin, etc. are found in the fruits., pectin substances, mucilage, sugars, flavone glycosides, and free franguloemodin, organic acids.
Joster's effects and uses
Laxative joster is used in phytotherapy. Decoction, infusion of fruits have mild laxative and antibacterial properties.
The action occurs predominantly in the large intestine.
The therapeutic effect is due to the presence of anthraglycosides in the fruit. The drugs are used in atonic and chronic constipation.
In Russian folk medicine, the use of laxative joster was recommended as a laxative, for dropsy and is considered an old Russian folk anti-cancer remedy that has been used since the 16th century.
In folk medicine in Western Europe, the fruit is used for dropsy, gout and chronic skin diseases.
The fruit of the joster is official in the USSR. Included in laxative collections.
The use of laxative joster is recommended by phytotherapists as a diuretic and laxative for indications.
Wort of St. John's wort
.St. John's wort is a perennial herbaceous plant of the St. John's wort family, 30-60 cm tall. Stems among several, erect, smooth, with two edges, branched at the top. Leaves are suffused, oblong or oval, entire-edged, with numerous translucent black glands. Flowers are large, bright yellow, collected in wide-medellated, almost shield-shaped inflorescences.
St. John's wort blooms in June through August. Perganos (Fig. 23).
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St. John's Wort - cases of poisoning of cattle, small cattle and horses have been reported (1956). Cultivated in the USSR as a medicinal plant and for the liquor industry.
Use the leafy tops of the herb with flowers, collected during the initial flowering period. The smell of St. John's wort has a faint, aromatic, the taste is slightly astringent, bitter.
Chemical composition
.The herb contains essential oil (0.1%), tannins (up to 12%), flavonoids (hyperoside, rutin, quercitrin, isoquercitrin, quercetin), azulene, vitamins C and PP, carotene, choline, nicotinic acid, anthocyanins (5-6%), saponins, ceryl alcohol, traces of alkaloids, hypericin pigment, resinous and other substances. The herb has a bactericidal effect.
The effects and treatment of St. John's wort
The active substances of St. John's wort have pronounced astringent and antimicrobial, styptic, anti-inflammatory and stimulant properties. According to animal experiments, the infusion and extract from the plant are minimally toxic. When administered intravenously, treatment with St. John's wort stimulates heart activity and increases blood pressure, constricts blood vessels. According to S. А. Tomilin (1945), St. John's wort produces a tonic effect on the circulatory organs and acts as a clearly expressed choleretic.
Treatment with St. John's wort is recommended as an infusion or decoction for rheumatism, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcer, gastroenterocolitis, diarrhea), liver disease, gall bladder, cystitis, urinary incontinence in children, hemorrhoids, as well as an external remedy for burns II-III degree, for lubrication of the gums, mouthwash for gingivitis, stomatitis, as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent.
St. John's wort oil is used to treat wounds, ulcers, burns, in the form of oil compresses. To do this, 1 part of flowers should be infused in 2 parts of peach, almond or olive oil for 3 weeks.
In Bulgaria, treatment with St. John's wort (its above-ground part) is used as an anti-inflammatory and astringent (the effect of tannin-like flavonoids) for diseases of the digestive tract, gallbladder and liver diseases. Most often a decoction of St. John's wort is used. In folk medicine, St. John's wort, in addition to the above diseases, is used in ulcer, gout, sciatica, joint rheumatism, tuberculosis, hemorrhoids, etc.
In France, St. John's wort is used as a diuretic, heart stimulant and tissue regeneration remedy. St. John's wort oil finds use in the treatment of ulcers and burns.
In Poland, treatment with St. John's wort is used as a styptic, wound-healing agent, for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, constipation, neurasthenia, neuralgia, headaches and insomnia.
The herb St. John's wort is included in the Pharmacopoeia of four states (Klan, 1948), including the 1968 State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR.
Preparations from St. John's wort: infusions, decoctions, tinctures. The herb is included in various collections and serves as a raw material for imanine, and is also included in ointments.
In Russian folk medicine treatment with St. John's wort is widely used in rheumatism, sciatica, gout, pulmonary tuberculosis with hemoptysis, bleeding and bleeding in women, hemorrhoids, liver disease, mastopathy, various inflammatory processes, boils, etc. п.
In the folk medicine of Uzbekistan, St. John's wort is used as a specific remedy against liver and stomach cancer. Abu Ali Ibn-Sina recommended St. John's wort as a wound healer, analgesic for sciatic nerve inflammation, diuretic and for malignant ulcers.
The herb is used in the food industry to prepare bitter tinctures and as a spice flavoring for various fish products.
The above-ground part of St. John's wort, collected in the early flowering period, we use as an astringent, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, styptic, in dysentery, gastroenterocolitis, stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer..
