Horse Sorrel
.Horse sorrel is a perennial herbaceous plant of the buckwheat family, 60-150 cm tall, with a short, multi-headed rhizome and a strong, weakly branched root. The stem is erect, furrowed, ending in a long panicle of small greenish flowers.
The lower stem leaves are large and broad, the upper leaves small and narrow. The Latin name rumex means "spear", a name given because of the shape of the leaves. Horse sorrel blooms in June-July (Fig. 91).
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Widespread throughout the USSR, except in the North. It grows in floodplain meadows, along river banks, hillsides, in groves, in forest glades, near roads. Horse sorrel grows best in moderately moist soils.
The roots of sorrel harvested in the fall are used, their taste is astringent, reminiscent of rhubarb.
Chemical composition
.Sorrel roots contain tannins (8-12%), flavonoids, vitamin K, essential oil, resins, iron, organic acids (oxalic, caffeic and others); leaves contain ascorbic acid (60.5 mg%), flavone glycosides (hyperazide and rutin), carotene; leaves and stems contain organic acids; flowers contain ascorbic acid (68.4 mg%). The plant has antibacterial activity.
Action and application
.In small doses, horse sorrel has an astringent property, in large doses - laxative, close in action to rhubarb. Relaxing effect occurs in 10-12 hours from the time of ingestion. The active ingredients have a stimulating effect on the musculature of the large intestine, contributing to the softening of fecal masses. With prolonged use, addiction may occur. In small doses (2.5-5 g) it has choleretic action of reflex nature. Hypotensive effects of horse sorrel preparations have been noted by some.
Used horse sorrel in the form of infusion, decoction, extract for the treatment of colitis, enterocolitis and hemocolitis, with hemorrhoids, fissures of the anus, as an antiprognostic, antizyngotic and styptic agent. In the form of powder - in anemia and as a means of regulating the gastrointestinal tract.
In Chinese medicine, sorrel roots in the form of decoction used as a laxative, raw crushed root or squeezed from its juice - externally for skin diseases.
In the GDR and FRG sorrel roots are used for irritation of the pharynx, larynx, catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, cough, runny nose, frontitis, headache (in the form of rubbing fresh juice or in the form of extract) (Bassler).
In domestic folk medicine infusion of horse sorrel is used for scurvy, ulcerative stomatitis, gingivitis.
In Uzbekistan, young leaves and petioles are consumed as food.
Foliage tops of horse sorrel, collected during the flowering period, we use as an astringent (in small doses), styptic, anti-rotten remedy for colitis, enterocolitis and hemorrhoids.
Eucalyptus spherical
.Balloon Eucalyptus is an evergreen tree, up to 50-70 m tall, the tallest tree in the world (found up to 155 m), very fast growing, from the myrtle family. The root system is powerful and the wood is strong. Eucalyptus means "well covered" in Greek: "ev" for well, "calyptue" for covered. Bark of trunk and branches is smooth, whitish-gray, outer layer is peeling. Young shoots are tetrahedral, covered, as well as leaves, with wax-like patina of bluish color. Leaves of young plants and shoots are sessile, subdivided, ovate or broadly lanceolate. Leaves of older plants are dark green, broader and longer, alternate, short-petioled, entire-edged, drooping, dense. The pulp of the leaves, in the receptacles, contains essential oil.
Flowers are large, solitary, axillary, sessile on a short peduncle, buds are tightly closed with caps that fall off when the flower blooms (Fig. 92).
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Eucalyptus essential oil gives the leaves of the plant a pungent specific odor. The balloon eucalyptus blooms in the fall, in its 3rd year of life.
The home of the eucalyptus is Australia, where it is called the "diamond of the forests", "tree of life" and "tree of wonders", and the island of Tasmania. In the USSR it is cultivated in the area of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, mainly in Adjara and Abkhazia (humid subtropics).
Eucalyptus leaves and the essential oil extracted from them are used. The smell of the leaves is strong, aromatic, the taste is spicy-bitter.
Chemical composition
.Fresh Eucalyptus leaves essential oil (up to 3.5%), the main constituent of which is cineol, well soluble in cold water; tannins (5-6.3%), organic acids, bitters, etc. In the bark, as in the leaves, tannins are found up to 10%.
Action and application
.Eucalyptus preparations have analgesic, antiseptic, anthelmintic, anthelmintic, antiparasitic, expectorant properties.
Cineole has a pronounced pro-hyvomicrobial property against a number of microorganisms. The disinfectant action of the essential oil is 3 times that of carbolic acid, but is much less poisonous.
Eucalyptus globularis is used in medicine in the form of infusion, decoction, tincture and essential oil. Infusion is used in acute gastrointestinal diseases, cough, as an expectorant and disinfectant, as an antiseptic is used in respiratory diseases, laryngitis, tracheitis, catarrhal and putrefactive bronchitis, pleurisy, abscesses and gangrene of the lungs; for washing infected wounds, ulcers, fistulas, phlegmons, pleurisy, purulent mastitis, open fractures, chronic osteomyelitis, etc. The casts are used to prepare an infusion and decoction, which are used, in eye practice for blepharitis, and in skin practice for certain pustular diseases of the skin. Eucalyptus essential oil is also used in osteomyelitis, carbuncles, phlegmons, in gynecological practice with erosions, cervical ulcers, for moist inhalations for diseases of the upper respiratory tract and nasopharynx, in a mixture with water or in an alcohol solution as a deodorizing agent. Externally, it is prescribed as an analgesic and distraction agent for neuralgia, rheumatism, sciatica. The essential oil is included in the composition of complex preparations.
In Bulgaria, eucalyptus leaves are used as a local anesthetic, vasoconstrictor, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic in bronchitis and bronchial asthma in the form of hot infusion (5 g per 250 ml of water), but more effective effect is noted from inhalation of essential oil. Eucalyptus essential oil dissolved in sunflower oil (2:100) is a good remedy for lubricating the nasal passages during flu and colds.
In France, Eucalyptus globulus finds use as an antifever remedy, especially when quinine is ineffective. Dr. Verlev-Leclerc in his book Herbal Medicine (1954) indicates that eucalyptus can be used in the form of extract, syrup, tincture and tablets.
Eucalyptus leaf and essential oil are included in the State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR, 1968.
Eucalyptus leaves are widely used by us as an antimicrobial, antiseptic, analgesic for sore throats and chronic tonsillitis.
According to our observations, the antiseptic property of the infusion of eucalyptus leaves is so pronounced that after its prolonged use completely removed indications in tonsillectomy. Method of preparation and use: 10 g crushed leaves brew 200 ml of boiling water, do not boil, stew for an hour. Gargle the throat in the morning after meals, after lunch and at night. The infusion can be prepared for 2 days..
