Section 5

The therapeutic efficacy of plants is due to the content in them of a large complex of diverse and complex in its chemical composition and therapeutic effect of active active substances. Alkaloids are substances produced by plants and are complex nitrogen-containing compounds of basic character. Their chemical structure is very diverse.In different species of plants alkaloids accumulate unevenly, and in conifers they are almost nonexistent. Especially rich in alkaloids are plants of the nightshade and poppy families. Alkaloids in the same plants can vary in the amount of their content depending on the time of year and place of their growth.The amount of alkaloids in plants is usually small: from traces to 2-3% of the dry weight of the plant (in cinchona bark they are up to 16%).

Glycosides are substances produced by plants that consist of two components, a sugar part and a non-sugar part, or aglycon. Glycosides are widespread in the plant world and can be found in all parts of plants, easily broken down into the sugar part and aglycone in the presence of water and enzymes (or enzymes). Cardiac glycosides have an effect on the heart muscle and have the greatest use in medicine. Bitter glycosides, or bitters, are substances of plant origin. They have a bitter taste and have a certain physiological effect on the body - increase the secretory activity of the gastrointestinal tract, contribute to the excitement of appetite and improve digestion. Saponins (from Latin Sapo - soap) - glycosides that do not contain nitrogen in their composition, found in plants most often. Saponins are well soluble in water and alcohol.

Polysaccharides - complex carbohydrates, a numerous and widespread group of organic compounds, along with proteins and fats, necessary for the vital activity of animal and plant organisms. Polysaccharides are one of the main sources of energy formed as a result of metabolism of the organism.Gummi - colloidal translucent, mostly sticky substances of different chemical composition. Gum is based on polysaccharides with calcium, magnesium and potassium salts of saccharocamedium acids.Mucilages contained in plants are nitrogen-free substances, different in their chemical composition, close to pectins and cellulose. Pectins are from the Greek pektos, meaning coagulated, condensed. Pectins are part of the intercellular, gluing substance, they are close to gum and mucilage. Starch is the end product of assimilation of carbonic acid by plants and is deposited mainly in tubers and fruits of plants.Fiber, or cellulose, is a complex carbohydrate belonging to the group of non-sugar-like polysaccharides.

Essential oils are volatile, strong smelling substances produced by plants and are most often mixtures of various chemical compounds derived from terpenes. There are 2,500 known essential oil-producing plants in the world. Essential oils are greasy to the touch, but differ from fatty oils in their volatility, similar to ether, which is where their name comes from. Essential oils are found in various parts of plants - in flowers, leaves, fruits, and sometimes in underground parts. Organic acids are organic compounds with the properties of acids, formed in the body as a result of biochemical processes. They are contained dissolved in the cell sap of many plants, are found in the form of salts, and often in the free state, accumulating in significant quantities in seeds, fruits, berries, as well as in the roots, leaves and stems of some plants. The most common organic acids in plants are malic, citric, tartaric, oxalic, salicylic, formic, acetic and other acids.

Vitamins (from Latin vita - life and amine - nitrogen compound) are biologically active organic substances, different in their chemical nature and physiological action, necessary for the processes of assimilation by the body of all food substances, for the growth and restoration of cells and tissues and for other vital processes.It is well known that in diseases, especially infectious diseases, liver diseases, pregnancy, the need for vitamins increases. For example, in diseases of the cardiovascular system, the need for ascorbic acid is greater the more severe and active the process. Vitamin deficiency disrupts metabolism, reduces performance, causes rapid fatigue, worsens the nervous system and causes other painful phenomena.

Every plant and animal organism contains all known chemical elements and their isotopes. They are an integral part of the fluids, tissues and bones of the human body. The use of trace elements increases the therapeutic properties of vitamins and allows you to reduce their doses. Chemical elements (9 kinds)-carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, silver and iron-make up about 99% of the living weight of plants, humans and animals and are called macronutrients. For the normal vital activity of the organism and metabolism, all trace elements are required in very small, so-called biotic, doses. Human tissues and organs sometimes accumulate trace elements in large doses: for example, cadmium accumulates in the kidneys, zinc, nickel - in the pancreas, lithium, heavy metals are mainly concentrated in the blood formed elements, while aluminum and silicon are mainly in the blood plasma, in serum of protein fractions of the most rich in trace elements gamma-globulin.

Tannins, or tannides, are found in almost all plants in varying quantities and are nitrogen-free aromatic compounds derived from polyatomic phenols. Tannins are accumulated in various plant organs, mainly in the bark and wood of trees and shrubs, as well as in the underground parts of herbaceous perennials; the green parts of most plants are poorer in tannins. Tannins and plants containing them are used externally as an astringent and bactericidal agent for inflammations of the mouth and pharynx, alveolar pyorrhea, burns and bleeding, and internally as an anti-inflammatory and anti-diarrheal agent. Pigments are coloring organic substances of plants, complex organic compounds; many are chemically poorly understood. Pigments are found mainly in the roots, flowers, leaves of plants, as well as in the peels of fruits. Plants containing coloring organic substances have long been used in folk medicine for various diseases, especially as disinfectants and wound-healing agents.

Amino acids are organic compounds that are the basic element in all protein substances of animal and plant organisms. Amino acids are also part of antibiotics, vitamins and other compounds important for the body. Currently, approximately 20 different amino acids have been isolated. Organic resins are substances of plant origin, of complex chemical composition, close to essential oils, usually insoluble in water, but soluble in organic solvents (alcohol, ether, gasoline, etc.). The chemical composition of resins is not yet sufficiently studied. Organic resins do not go rancid, do not rot, do not spoil, are easily inflammable. Fatty oils are organic compounds that are esters of glycerol and higher fatty acids. Fats are composed of fatty acids and unsaturated acids. Fatty oils often have fatty acids in their composition. These are palmitic, stearic, myristic, lauric and other acids.

The section provides basic facts about the benefits of natural herbal ingredients - medicinal plants. All medicinal plants have a botanical description (excluding commonly known ones), flowering and fruit ripening time, distribution and growing places, parts of the plant used, time when medicinal plants are collected, smell and taste of plant raw materials, list of chemicals found in the plant.In covering the experience of folk medicine, the author used domestic literature available to the author.

Aire is a perennial herbaceous, marsh or coastal plant of the aroid family, 60-70 cm tall. The rhizome is thick, white inside, spongy, branching, creeping, lined with numerous roots from below. It is distributed almost all over the European part of the USSR, in the Caucasus, Siberia, and Central Asia. It grows along the banks of rivers, streams, water basins with muddy soil and in swampy areas. Sometimes forms thickets.Used rhizomes (iris root), dug in the fall or early winter, when the water level drops. The smell is fragrant, the taste is spicy and bitter.The medicinal properties of aira are due to the fact that it contains a large percentage of useful substances. The use of aira in medicine is quite wide. Acorin increases excitability to gustatory irritation and increases the reflex separation of gastric juice.