The chemical composition of motherwort grass. Motherwort - medicinal properties, use in traditional medicine, contraindications

Syn.: emshan, evshan.

widespread herbaceous plant, which has a sedative effect.

Ask the experts

flower formula

In medicine

Free the intestines, drink "" - a natural laxative collection of medicinal herbs. Works fast but gently!

children

As a medicine, an infusion of chopped motherwort herb can be used for children from 12 years of age.

Classification

AT temperate zone About 15 species of motherwort grow in Eurasia, 9 species are found in Russia. The motherwort genus belongs to the Lamiaceae family (lat. Lamiaceae). In medicine, 2 types of motherwort are widely used.

motherwort five-lobed - lat. Leonurus guinguelobatus Gilib.;

motherwort heart (common) - lat. Leonurus cardiaca L (L. cardiaca L. subsp. villosus (Desf.) Jav..

Botanical description

Motherwort five-lobed is a perennial herbaceous plant with a height of 50-150 cm (200 cm). Has one or more stems. The stem is erect, tetrahedral, branching, shortly curly-haired along the ribs. The leaves are petiolate, opposite, bright green, grayish below, covered with hairs. The lower leaves to the middle of the leaf are palmate-five-separate, the upper leaves are three-lobed. The flowers are pink, collected in false dense whorls in the axils. top leaves. The plant blooms from June to September. Motherwort flower formula: Ch(5)L(2.3)T4P2. Four-nut fruits.

motherwort heart – it is a perennial herbaceous plant up to 150 cm high. The stem is erect, tetrahedral. The leaves are petiolate, opposite, dark green, covered with small dense hairs. The lower ones are rounded or ovate, palmately five-parted to the middle of the leaf, the upper ones are simpler. The flowers are pale pink, collected in false dense whorls in the axils of the upper leaves. The plant blooms from June to September. Four-nut fruits.

Spreading

Motherwort five-lobed grows on loamy and sandy loamy soils along edges, clearings in coniferous and mixed forests. The plant is found in wastelands, in weedy places. Distributed in the European part of Russia, except for the Far North, found in the Caucasus, Western Siberia, Belarus, Ukraine, Central Asia.

Motherwort grows in weedy places, abandoned parks, gardens, near fences, among bushes, near housing. Widely distributed throughout the European territory of Russia and Western Siberia, except for the Far North, in the Baltic States, Belarus, the Black Sea region.

Distribution regions on the map of Russia.

Procurement of raw materials

As a medicinal raw material, the herb (aerial part) of motherwort (Leonuri herba) is used. Motherwort grass is harvested in the phase of the beginning of flowering. The tops of stems up to 40 cm long are harvested, avoiding cutting stems thicker than 5 mm. Raw materials are collected in dry weather, dried in the open air in the shade, in attics or in dryers at a temperature of 50-60ºС.

Chemical composition

The main active ingredients of motherwort herb are flavonoids, iridoids and alkaloids.

The plant contains alkaloids (up to 0.4%): leonurine, leonuridine, stachidrine; choline; sapononins, flavonoids: quercetin, rutin, quinqueloside, cosmosiin, hyperoside, quercetin, quercetin-7-glucoside, isoquercetin; iridoids: galiridoside, 8-acetylharpagide, ayugozide, ayugol, harpagide; essential oil(up to 0.9%), which includes limonene, linalool, caryophyllene, α-humulene, α- and β-pinene; diterpenoids, steroidal glycosides, caffeic acid glycoside, paracoumaric acid, tannins (up to 2.5%), marubin bitterness, dyes, resins, vitamin C, carotene; macro- and microelements.

Pharmacological properties

Motherwort grass has pronounced sedative (soothing) properties. Plant preparations have antispasmodic and anticonvulsant effects, slow down the rhythm and increase the strength of heart contractions, have a pronounced hypotensive and cardiotonic effect. Motherwort has a beneficial effect on carbohydrate and fat metabolism, reduces the level of glucose, lactic and pyruvic acids, cholesterol, total lipids in the blood, and normalizes protein metabolism.

With heart failure, motherwort reduces swelling by increasing urination, with hypertension - lowers blood pressure, reduces headaches, improves sleep and general well-being.

Motherwort tincture is used as a sedative for increased nervous excitability, in the early stage of hypertension, and sleep disorders.

Iridoids have different properties: immunostimulating, choleretic, laxative, antimicrobial, fungicidal, antitumor, etc., but primarily sedative, therefore they are considered as a class of natural compounds for the creation of new herbal medicines. Plant iridoids increase the effectiveness of complex therapy for arterial hypertension, accompanied by psychoemotional disorders, and allow reducing the doses of antihypertensive drugs.

The antispasmodic activity of motherwort grass is due to the action of flavonoids and iridoids. The bitterness and flavonoids of the plant improve digestion and have a choleretic effect; triterpenes exhibit cardiotonic properties, anti-atherosclerotic activity, enhance the action of cardiac glycosides.

According to a number of authors, motherwort tincture depresses certain functions of the central nervous system 2-3 times more than valerian tincture. In this regard, motherwort preparations in some cases are more effective than valerian. Also, motherwort tincture (due to rutin) had a more pronounced antioxidant effect compared to hawthorn tincture.

When taking motherwort preparations, the therapeutic effect occurs rather slowly, so their dose is selected individually, taking into account clinical picture diseases.

Application in traditional medicine

AT traditional medicine motherwort is used as a tonic, effective remedy against fear, against worms, feelings of heaviness in the stomach and mucus, as a remedy for goiter, impotence, prostate adenoma, as a diuretic. Externally, motherwort tincture was used for compresses for burns and the treatment of trophic ulcers.

In Russian folk medicine, motherwort has found application as a remedy for palpitations, against "heaviness of the stomach" and catarrh of the lungs. Since the thirties of the twentieth century, it has been used in medicine as a sedative in the form of a water-alcohol extract.

In folk medicine of Ukraine, the plant is prescribed for rheumatism, edema of cardiac and pulmonary origin, fright, menstrual disorders, bronchial asthma.

In Romania, the plant is used as a heart remedy, also in Graves' disease and epilepsy. In England, motherwort is used for hysteria, neuralgia, heart weakness and shortness of breath.

History reference

Motherwort is a traditional medicinal plant. The healing properties of motherwort are mentioned in many herbalists of the 15th century. The plant was proposed to be used to normalize high blood pressure, calm the rapid heart rate during palpitations that occur against the background of neurosis.

Literature

1. State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR. Eleventh edition. Issue 1 (1987), issue 2 (1990).

2. State Register medicines. Moscow 2004.

3. Medicinal plants of the State Pharmacopoeia. Pharmacognosy. (Edited by I.A. Samylina, V.A. Severtsev). - M., "AMNI", 1999.

4. "Phytotherapy with the basics of clinical pharmacology", ed. V.G. Kukes. – M.: Medicine, 1999.

5. P.S. Chikov. "Medicinal plants" M.: Medicine, 2002.

6. Sokolov S.Ya., Zamotaev I.P. Handbook of medicinal plants (phytotherapy). – M.: VITA, 1993.

7. Mannfried Palov. "Encyclopedia medicinal plants". Ed. cand. biol. Sciences I.A. Gubanov. Moscow, Mir, 1998.

8. Turova A.D. "Medicinal plants of the USSR and their application". Moscow. "The medicine". 1974.

9. Lesiovskaya E.E., Pastushenkov L.V. "Pharmacotherapy with the basics of herbal medicine." Tutorial. – M.: GEOTAR-MED, 2003.

10. Medicinal plants: A reference guide. / N.I. Grinkevich, I.A. Balandina, V.A. Ermakova and others; Ed. N.I. Grinkevich - M.: graduate School, 1991. - 398 p.

11. Plants for us. Reference manual / Ed. G.P. Yakovleva, K.F. Pancake. - Publishing house "Educational book", 1996. - 654 p.

12. Medicinal plant materials. Pharmacognosy: Proc. allowance / Ed. G.P. Yakovlev and K.F. Pancake. - St. Petersburg: SpecLit, 2004. - 765 p.

13. Forest cosmetics: Reference manual / L. M. Molodozhnikova, O. S. Rozhdestvenskaya, V. F. Sotnik. - M.: Ecology, 1991. - 336 p.

14. Healthy skin and herbal remedies / Ed.-comp.: I. Pustyrsky, V. Prokhorov. - M. Machaon; Minsk: Book House, 2001. - 192 p.

15. Nosov A. M. Medicinal plants. - M.: EKSMO-Press, 2000. - 350 p.

16. Phytotherapy of allergic skin diseases / V.F. Korsun, A.A. Kubanova, S. Ya. Sokolov et al. - Minsk: "Polymya", 1998. - 426 p.

motherwort heart

The generic name comes from two words: Latin leonis - lion and Greek yoke - tail (due to the distant similarity of inflorescences with a lion's tail brush). The species definition in Greek means "hearty" - as applied to medicine.

But you can’t say “hearty” about the appearance of motherwort, rather “prickly” - its tall, hollow, hairy stem bears prickly bracts that sensitively scratch hands when harvested.

Motherwort is a perennial herbaceous hairy plant with a woody rhizome from which numerous adventitious roots extend. The stem is tetrahedral, erect, 50-150 (200) cm high. The whole plant is slightly pubescent, the leaves are dissected (lower) and three-lobed (upper). The flowers are pink, collected at the top of the stem in semi-whorls in the axils of the upper leaves, forming, especially before flowering, spike-shaped, and during flowering - discontinuous inflorescence. The flowers are small, but good honey plants. The fruit (called coenobia) consists of four nuts sitting at the bottom of a non-falling prickly calyx. After flowering, the bracts become very prickly.

Blooms in June-July. The fruits ripen in July-August.

As the Russian name shows, motherwort grows in wastelands, along fences, near dwellings, in weedy places, fallow lands, on borders, less often in forest glades, pastures and floodplain meadows. It occurs throughout the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in the south of Western Siberia.

Attention!

Motherwort can often be found in roadside weeds, but should not be collected along roads with heavy traffic - find cleaner places.

Collection and drying

The aerial parts of plants are collected by cutting off the upper parts of the stem up to 40 cm long and not more than 5 mm thick. The collection is made at the very beginning of flowering, when the flowers of the lower semi-whirls have blossomed, and the upper ones are still in the budding stage. At this time, the raw material contains the maximum amount of biologically active substances. With a later collection, their content decreases, and when dried in natural conditions, flowering continues and the grass becomes very prickly. Collection time is usually middle lane The European part of Russia on June 25-30, and in the Caucasus - in the first half of June. After the main collection, additional ones are produced, breaking off or cutting off the resulting axillary shoots. After 3-5 years of operation of thickets, you need to take a year break to fully restore them.

Dry in the shade or dryers at a temperature of 40-50 °.

The smell of medicinal raw materials is weak, the taste is bitter.

Chemical composition

Motherwort herb, collected at the beginning of flowering, contains up to 0.4% alkaloids leonurine and leonuridine, amine stachydrine, flavonoids (quinqueloside, rutin, quercitrin and others), saponins, tannins, organic acids, up to 0.05% essential oil, bitter and sugary substances, carotene.

Action and application

Preparations of motherwort heart have a sedative and hypotensive effect, slow down the heart rate. The action is explained by the presence of alkaloids and flavonoids. Motherwort is shown in the initial stages of hypertension. Often medicines from motherwort are used for neuroses, angina pectoris, myocarditis, heart defects, brain contusions, mild forms of Graves' disease, vegetovascular dystonia, etc. This plant is also used for various violations of the sexual cycle in women, with uterine fibroids. Motherwort also helps with tumors and gangrenous wounds. The herb extract increases the intervals between seizures in epilepsy, this is confirmed by clinical trials.

It is used in the form of a tincture - 30-40 drops each, a liquid extract - 15-20 drops each and an infusion of 15 g of raw materials per 200 ml of water - 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day for cardiac neuroses and increased nervous excitability. Motherwort tincture can be made at home: mix the grass juice in half with vodka and take 1 teaspoon 3 times a day before meals with palpitations, cardiovascular neuroses, increased nervous excitability, the initial stages of hypertension, cardiosclerosis, myocarditis, heart defects, etc.

For chronic catarrhs ​​of the stomach or intestines, use steam or cold infusion from a dry plant - 2 tbsp. tablespoons of crushed raw materials in 1 glass of water. You can also take it as a powder on the tip of a knife 2-4 times a day. Motherwort is sold in pharmacies in the form of a dry herb and an alcoholic tincture, it is part of a bitter tincture used to improve appetite and regulate activity. gastrointestinal tract, as well as in the composition of sedative fees.

Attention!

Motherwort has no serious contraindications, except that you should not use it for hypotension. It happens rarely, but with prolonged use it can cause an allergic reaction up to complete intolerance.

Herbal baths with motherwort

Collection 1. Creeping couch grass (rhizome), chamomile (grass), mountaineer (grass), horsetail (grass), motherwort (grass), creeping thyme, or thyme (grass) - all equally. Take 250-300 g of a mixture of dry herbs and the same amount of hay dust. The bath has a calming, restorative effect, stimulates metabolic processes. Can be used for obesity.

Collection 2. Oregano (grass) - 3, nettle (grass) - 4, motherwort (grass) - 5, chamomile (grass) - 3, knotweed, or knotweed (grass) - 5, common hop ( bumps) - 4. The effect of the bath is soothing and restorative. Indicated for various nervous disorders.

The source of information

1. Illustrated encyclopedia "Medicinal herbs of Russia";
2. "Medicinal plants" Popov V.I., Shapiro D.K., Danusevich I.K.;
3. "Plants are your friends and enemies" Akhmedov R.B.

doctor of agricultural sciences, professor botanists of the RGAU-MSHA named after K.A. Timiryazev

Generic name for motherwort Leonurus comes from latin words leo which means lion and ura- the tail was given to the plant by the Danzig botanist Jacob Brein (1637-1697). Translated from German, its name sounds like "lion's tail". The name coming from the time of Theophrastus - Cardica - means "favorable for the heart."

The medicinal properties of the plant determined its species name - hearty, and the shape of the leaves determined the name of another species - five-lobed.

This plant has many popular names, and almost all of them characterize either its appearance, or medicinal properties - hairy motherwort, woolly motherwort, hairy motherwort, dog nettle, heart grass, core, deaf nettle, wild nettle, chicken trail.

It has been known in Europe since the time of Theophrastus and Dioscorides. In the first printed German herbal "Gart der Gesundheit" (1485), it is mentioned in chapter 106 under a Greek name and is recommended for heart ailments with reference to Dioscorides. Unlike most other plants, it is also drawn, so there is no doubt about the accuracy of the species definition.

Paracelsus and Fuchs recommended an infusion of motherwort on wine for palpitations (in modern terms - tachycardia), convulsions, and a decoction of water for epilepsy and as a diuretic. There is a well-recognized picture of a motherwort in L. Fuchs' "New Herbalist".

In general, the genus motherwort ( Leonurus) from the Lamiaceae family (Lamiaceae) includes 24 species, which are divided into three sections and 5 subsections. Our medicinal motherworts belong to the section Leonurus subsections too Leonurus. But the species used in oriental medicine (Chinese, Korean) - to the section Cardiochilium.

Applied in European countries and we have motherwort cordial, or ordinary (Leonurus cardiaca) is a perennial herbaceous plant with a short woody rhizome and lateral roots extending from it and from the tap root. It has a lot of synonyms in the literature: L. villosus DESF. et SPRENG, L. campestris ANDRZ., L. canescens DUMORT., L. trilobatus(Lam.) Dulac and quite old Cardiaca vulgaris Moench, C. trilobata Lam.

The root system of motherwort is located shallow in the soil. The stems are green, often reddish-violet, erect, branched in the upper part, tetrahedral, ribbed, hollow, covered with protruding long hairs, 50-200 cm high.

The leaves are petiolate, opposite, gradually decreasing towards the top of the stem, dark and bright green above, grayish below. The lower leaves are rounded or ovate, petiolate, with heart-shaped bases, five-parted; medium oblong-elliptical or lanceolate, short-petiolate, three-parted or three-lobed, with wide oblong dentate lobes; apical - simple, with two lateral teeth.

The flowers are small, pink, equipped with hairy awl-shaped bracts, sitting in spaced whorls, forming long spike-shaped apical inflorescences. Calyx conical, indistinctly bilabiate, glabrous, sometimes slightly hairy, 5-6 mm long, with 5 veins and 5 subulate teeth 3-3.5 mm long, of which the lower one is bent down, and the upper ones are protruding. Corolla pink or pinkish-violet, two-lipped, 10-12 mm long, equipped inside with a hairy ring with an obovate pubescent upper lip and a three-lobed lower one; the middle oblong-ovate lobe exceeds the lateral ones. The fruit consists of four 3-sided dark brown nuts 2-3 mm long, enclosed in the remaining calyx. Motherwort blooms in June-July; after mowing in the period of mass flowering, under favorable conditions, after 1.5-2 months, secondary flowering of the aftermath is observed. Seed ripening occurs in August-September and begins with the lower inflorescences. Propagated mainly by seeds.

As for the five-lobed motherwort, it is customary to designate it in European pharmacopoeial publications as a subspecies of heart motherwort Leonurus cardiaca L. var. villosus, and in our literature it is referred to as Leonurus quinquelobatus Gilib.

The range of the five-lobed motherwort coincides with the range of the main species. It differs from motherwort in that the plate of its lower and middle leaves is five-parted, and the upper ones are three-lobed, in addition, the stems, like the whole plant, are covered with protruding long hairs. It is he who is allowed for use in the European Pharmacopoeia.

When harvesting wild-growing raw materials, mistakes happen. So, other types of motherwort are prohibited for use in official medicine - gray-gray and Tatar, sometimes growing in the same places, as well as black motherwort related to motherworts, vaguely resembling motherwort.

Motherwort gray (Leonorus glaucescens Bunge) has a bluish color due to the pubescence of the whole plant with dense, short, downward and pressed hairs. Calyx narrowly conical, somewhat humpbacked, with 5 veins, 7-8 mm long, covered with tightly appressed hairs; corolla light pink, 10-12 mm long.

Motherwort Tatar (Leonorus Tataricus L.), unlike the previous species, has bare, thinly dissected leaves and is pubescent with long hairs only in the upper part of the stem. Calyx broadly conical, long-haired, 5-6 mm long, with 5 veins; corolla pink-violet, 10 mm long.

At black milkwort (Ballota Nigra D.) stem short-hairy (hairs tilted down), leaf blades rounded or oblong-ovate with a truncated or shallow heart-shaped base, entire; corollas 12-15 mm long, dirty pink and, unlike motherworts, without swelling under the ring of hairs in the tube; calyx tubular-funnel-shaped, five-toothed, with 10 veins.

temperate fan

These are widespread plants. The range of motherwort is located in the temperate zone of Eurasia. It is widely distributed throughout almost the entire European part (except for the northern, semi-desert and desert regions), in the south of Western Siberia, in Western and Eastern Transcaucasia, and is found everywhere in Ukraine, in the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory. To the east, its range narrows, entering only a small tongue into southern regions Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan.

Both species usually grow near dwellings, often as weeds. Motherwort grows scattered, sometimes forming thickets in weedy places, fallows, wastelands (hence the Russian name of the plant), along the edges of fields, along roads, along cliffs, near fences. Occurs in small groups among bushes, forest clearings, forest edges, forest belts, pastures.

Motherwort five-lobed is more widely distributed in the middle and southern regions of the European part, the Crimea, and the Caucasus; found in Western Siberia, as well as in the north-west of the European part of our country. Often forms thickets on the site of former buildings.

Only the tops are suitable

Medicinal raw materials are the tops of stems up to 40 cm long with flowers and leaves (grass).

Wild motherwort is harvested at the beginning of the flowering of the lower flower whorls (in June-August), cutting off the tops of the stems and side shoots with flowers and leaves with knives, sickles or secateurs. Rough stems thicker than 5 mm, as well as damaged or yellowed leaves, are not allowed in the raw material. Marriage is considered belated raw materials with strongly lignified cup-leaves and prickly teeth; there should be no plants harvested at the time of fruiting. Cleaning is best done after the dew has disappeared in dry weather. Cut grass is quickly sent to dryers (temperature regime of artificial drying is 50-60 ° C), to attics or under sheds, preventing self-heating of the green mass. With natural drying, it is necessary to provide good ventilation, spread the grass on a cloth, paper or other clean surface with a layer of 5-7 cm and mix it periodically. Drying time is about one week. The end of drying is determined by the fragility of the stem.

The shelf life of raw materials is 3 years.

From forest to garden

Motherwort introduced into the culture. It is cultivated in many farms specializing in the cultivation of medicinal plants. At the Middle Volga zonal experimental station VILAR, the Samara variety was bred and released. Possible culture in home gardens.

The very extensive natural range of motherwort indicates its good adaptability to various soil and climatic conditions. It is successfully cultivated on soddy-podzolic soils, on leached dry chernozems and podzolized soils. The culture is extremely unpretentious to soil fertility and moisture supply.

Soil preparation for motherwort does not have any features and is carried out according to general rules. Motherwort is cultivated in one place for 3-4 years. To obtain a high yield of grass during the entire period of cultivation, 8-10 kg / m 2 of organic fertilizers and 40 g / m 2 of mineral fertilizers in terms of ammophos should be applied for digging the site.

Freshly harvested motherwort seeds have a reduced germination rate (30-35%) and an extended germination period. As the seeds are stored, they undergo post-harvest ripening, and their germination rate after 2 months is 80-85%. Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of +2+4°C, optimum temperature+20°С. The first shoots appear in favorable conditions for 4-5 days, but the total germination period is extended and lasts 15-20 days. Seeds belong to the group of mesobiotics, and even in the 46th year of storage, their germination capacity remains within 75-80% of the original. The total life span of seeds is 8-9 years.

For autumn sowing, before winter (7-10 days before the onset of permanent frosts), dry seeds are used, planting them to a depth of 1-1.5 cm with a seeding rate of 1 g / m 2. When spring sowing, the seeds can be stratified for a month at a temperature of 0 + 4 ° C. In this case, they are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm with a seeding rate of 0.8 g / m 2 . When sowing together with seeds per 1 m 2, 3 g of granular superphosphate or nitrophos are used. Row spacing 60-70 cm.

Care consists in loosening the row spacing, removing weeds, feeding, watering during the dry period. Top dressing in the first year of life is carried out a month after emergence, and transitional areas should be fed twice: in early spring and after the first harvest. The application rate of mineral fertilizers in each case is 20 g of nitrogen and 25 g of phosphorus per 1 m 2.

Passing crops are harrowed in early spring, and then fed and loosened. Harvesting is best done in the second year after sowing. Motherwort grass is harvested in the phase of mass flowering when 1/3 flowers open in the lower part of the inflorescence. The upper leafy part of the plant is cut off. The second collection is held a month and a half after the first. Seeds are harvested by hand in the phase of their full maturation. Seed plots for raw materials are not used.

The yield of dry grass for two collections is up to 800-900 g / m 2, seeds - up to 50 g / m 2 .

Family Lamiaceae

Genus Leonurus L - Motherwort

Motherwort has been used in folk medicine since the 15th century. From the 30s. In the 20th century, it began to be used in medicine as a sedative in the form of a water-alcohol extract. Introduced into scientific medicine in Russia since 1932.

Description

Motherwort - Leonurus cardiaca L. Perennial herbaceous plant from the family Lamiaceae (labiaceae) with a short woody rhizome and lateral roots extending from it and from the tap root. The root system is located shallow in the soil.

stems green, often reddish-violet, erect, branched in the upper part, 0.5-2 m high.

Leaves petiolate, opposite, gradually decreasing towards the top of the stem, dark green above, with a grayish honeydew below. The lower leaves are long-petiolate, five-parted; medium short-petiolate, tripartite or three-lobed, with wide oblong dentate lobes; apical simple, with two lateral teeth.

flowers small, pink, equipped with hairy awl-shaped bracts, sit in spaced whorls, forming long spike-shaped apical inflorescences. Seeds - dark brown nuts long
2-3 mm. Motherwort blooms in June-July; after mowing during the period of mass flowering under favorable conditions, after 1.5-2 months, a secondary flowering of the aftermath is observed. Seed ripening occurs in August-September and begins with the lower inflorescences, Propagated mainly by seeds.

Along with the motherwort, the five-lobed motherwort (Leonurus quinquelobatus Gilib.), which is very close to it, is used, the range of which coincides with the range of the main species. It differs from motherwort in that the plate of its lower and middle leaves is five-parted, and the upper ones are three-lobed, in addition, the stems, like the whole plant, are covered with protruding long hairs.

Spreading

The range of motherwort is located in the temperate zone of Eurasia. It is widely distributed throughout almost the entire European part (except for the northern, semi-desert and desert regions), in the south of Western Siberia, in Western and Eastern Transcaucasia, and is found everywhere in Ukraine, the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory. To the east, its range narrows, entering only a small tongue into the southern regions of Siberia and Northern Kazakhstan. Both species usually grow near dwellings, often as weeds. Motherwort grows scattered, sometimes forming thickets in weedy places, fallows, wastelands (hence the Russian name of the plant), along the edges of fields, along roads, along cliffs, near fences. Occurs in small groups among bushes, forest clearings, forest edges, forest belts, pastures.
At the Middle Volga zonal experimental station VILAR, the Samara variety was bred and released.

Growing on the site

The culture is extremely unpretentious to soil fertility and moisture supply.

Soil preparation for motherwort does not have any features and is carried out according to general rules. Motherwort is cultivated in one place for 3-4 years. To obtain a high yield of grass during the entire period of cultivation, 8-10 kg / m2 of organic fertilizers and 40 g / m2 of mineral fertilizers in terms of ammophos should be applied during the digging of the site.

reproduction

For autumn sowing, before winter (7-10 days before the onset of permanent frosts), dry seeds are used, planting them to a depth of 1-1.5 cm with a seeding rate of 1 g / m2. When sown in spring, the seeds can be stratified for a month at a temperature of 0-4 °C. In this case, they are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm with a seeding rate of 0.8 g/m2. Row spacing 60-70 cm.

Care

Care consists in loosening the row spacing, removing weeds, fertilizing, watering during the dry period. Top dressing in the first year of life is carried out a month after emergence, and transitional areas should be fed twice: in early spring and after the first harvest. The application rate of mineral fertilizers in each case is 20 g of nitrogen and 25 g of phosphorus per 1 m2.
Passing crops are harrowed in early spring, and then they are fed and loosened. Harvesting is best done in the second year after sowing. Motherwort grass is harvested in the phase of mass flowering when 1/3 of the flowers open in the lower part of the inflorescence. The upper leafy part of the plant is cut off. The second collection is held 1-1.5 months after the first. Seeds are harvested by hand in the phase of their full maturation. Seed plots for raw materials are not used. Freshly harvested motherwort seeds have a reduced germination rate (30-35%) and an extended germination period. As the seeds are stored, they undergo post-harvest ripening, and their germination rate after 2 months is 80-85%. Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 2-4 °C, the optimum temperature is 20 °C. The first shoots appear in favorable conditions on the 4-5th day, but the total germination period is extended and lasts 15-20 days. Seeds belong to the group of mesobiotics, and even in the 4th-6th year of storage, their germination capacity remains within 75-80% of the original. The total life span of seeds is 8-9 years.

The plant is tall, and therefore it is better to place it near the fence, in the background of the mixborder.

Medicinal raw materials

Tops of stems up to 40 cm long with flowers and leaves (grass) are used. Rough stems thicker than 5 mm, as well as damaged or yellowed leaves, are not allowed in the raw material. Marriage is considered to be raw material of a belated collection with strongly lignified sepals and prickly teeth; there should be no plants harvested at the time of fruiting. Cleaning is best done after the dew has disappeared in dry weather. The cut grass is dried in a dryer at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, as well as in attics or under sheds, spreading the grass on a cloth, paper or other clean surface with a layer of 5-7 cm thick and periodically mixing it. Drying time is about one week. The end of drying is determined by the fragility of the stem. Shelf life of raw materials is 3 years.

Chemical composition

Active ingredients

In the grass of the described motherworts, alkaloids (0.035-0.4%) were found, contained only at the beginning of flowering; stachidrine, saponins, tannins, bitter and sugary substances, essential oil (0.05%), rutin, carotene were also found. A new flavonoid glycoside was isolated. The main active ingredients in motherwort heart and five-lobed are flavonol glycosides.

Application

Medicinal
Application in official and traditional medicine

Indications for the appointment of motherwort five-lobed and heart are almost the same. These medicinal plants are used not only in Russia, but also in other countries.
Motherwort preparations are non-toxic, have a calming effect on the central nervous system, sedative properties, lower blood pressure, slow down the rhythm of heart contractions and increase their strength, and have anticonvulsant activity in the experiment. They have a beneficial effect on carbohydrate and fat metabolism, reduce the level of glucose, lactic and pyruvic acids, cholesterol, total lipids in the blood, and normalize protein metabolism.
In practical medicine, motherwort preparations are used as substitutes for valerian. They are used as a means of regulating the functional state of the central nervous system, as a sedative for cardioneurosis.
Motherwort preparations are used as a sedative for increased nervous excitability, cardiovascular neurosis, hypertension, coronary disease heart, myocarditis, insomnia, vegetovascular dystonia, neurasthenia and psychasthenia, neuroses. Positive results gives the use of motherwort in patients in premenopausal and menopausal periods with functional disorders of the central nervous system. It is also prescribed for neuroses of the gastrointestinal tract, flatulence, spastic pains.

In Romania physicians use it not only as a heart remedy, but also in Graves' disease and epilepsy. In England motherwort is recommended for hysteria, neuralgia, heart weakness and shortness of breath. In Bulgaria motherwort is used as a hemostatic agent. It was established in the experiment that motherwort preparations accelerate the process of blood coagulation.

In Bulgarian folk medicine motherwort is also used as a tonic for tuberculosis, various nervous diseases, as a diuretic and as a means of regulating the menstrual cycle.
In the folk medicine of Ukraine, the aerial part was used as an antitussive agent for bronchial asthma, it was also used for cystitis, edema, rheumatism, epilepsy, and gastric colic.
In Russian folk medicine, motherwort is known as a remedy for palpitations. They are taken for all kinds of unrest, nervous shocks, hysteria, neurasthenia, heart weakness, neuroses of the cardiovascular system, angina pectoris, cardiosclerosis, myocardial dystrophy, various forms hypertension (as a means of dilating blood vessels, lowering blood pressure), impotence and many other diseases.

Use at home

The people prefer a fresh plant, using the juice squeezed out of it. Dried motherwort is consumed in a correspondingly increased amount: 1 tbsp. spoon topped with finely cut plant on | 1 glass of boiling water in the form of infusion in two doses. Juice from a fresh plant s is taken 3 times a day, 30-40 drops per 1 tbsp. a spoonful of water half an hour before meals.
Both juice from a fresh plant and an infusion from a dried one are taken with weakened activity of the heart, with heart neurosis, weak pulse, shortness of breath. It is also used for gastrointestinal diseases. Motherwort is also used for various nervous shocks, fears, stresses, etc. as a calming nervous system, preferring it to valerian and bromides.
With increased blood pressure, it is used in a mixture in equal parts with marsh cudweed grass, hawthorn flowers and mistletoe leaves, 40 g per 1 liter of boiling water.
For the winter, motherwort is prepared by mixing 2 parts of fresh juice with 3 parts of alcohol. Take 3 times a day, 25-30 drops in water.
To prepare motherwort herb infusion, 15 g (4 tablespoons) of raw materials are placed in an enamel bowl, pour 200 ml (1 cup) of hot boiled water, cover with a lid and heat in boiling water in a water bath with frequent stirring for 15 minutes, cool for 45 minutes at; room temperature, filter, the remaining raw material is squeezed out. The volume of the resulting infusion is added with boiled water to 200 ml. Take 1/3 cup 2 times a day 1 hour before meals.
The prepared infusion is stored in a cool place for no more than 2 days. Motherwort tincture is prepared with 70% alcohol (1:5). Transparent liquid of greenish-brown color, weak odor, bitter taste. Available in dropper bottles of 25 ml. Assign 30-35 drops 3-4 times a day.

honey plant

Motherwort is a good honey plant, it secretes nectar even during a drought.

Technical application

Fatty oil from motherwort seeds is suitable for making high-quality varnishes, as well as for impregnating paper and fabrics in order to make them waterproof. From the plant, you can get a fiber that is close in quality to flax fiber and Chinese hemp. The aerial part of motherwort stains fabrics in a dark green color.

Motherwort is one of the most famous weeds that have medicinal properties and are recognized by scientific medicine in most countries. The Latin name Leonurus quinquelobatus (five-lobed motherwort) testifies to characteristic structure plant leaves, cut into five parts ("blades"). According to the Linnean classification, the plant is called Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), which traces an obvious indication of its healing qualities. Some folk healers call motherwort heart dagga - a native of Latin America, known under the name "lion's tail" (in Latin - Leonotis Leonurus) - from time immemorial used by shamans during magical rituals. It is worth noting that all plants of the genus Leonurus have medicinal properties to one degree or another, therefore, traditionally, different peoples use all kinds of motherwort (P. Siberian, P. gray), which are not included in the register of medicinal raw materials.

In European herbalists, motherwort "got" already in the 15th century, and after some 4 centuries it received universal recognition, and since 1930 it has been successfully competing with valerian in terms of treating heart diseases.

For medicinal purposes, flowering grass tops are used, which are harvested during flowering (June - August). Motherwort is the eternal companion of man, and can often be found in landfills and garbage heaps near housing. For frequent motherwort settles on the sides of country roads, and by the way, all of the listed places - bad option for harvesting medicinal plants. You can get environmentally friendly medicinal raw materials if you are engaged in harvesting motherwort that grew in the steppe, along dry bends of rivers, etc. For drying, motherwort is spread in a loose layer under sheds, or, tied into bundles, hung in attics.

In folk medicine, the use of motherwort root is practiced, which is dug up in the fall, at the end of the plant's growing season.

Chemical composition

The pharmacological action of motherworts, in particular, motherwort heart, is determined by the presence of a group of characteristic alkaloids (leonurine, stachidrine, etc.). Not the last role is also played by flavonoids (quercetin, rutin, etc.) and saponins, which have a versatile effect on the body.

As mentioned earlier, motherwort confidently competes with valerian preparations, since its effect is much stronger ( certain types, for example, Siberian motherwort, more powerful than valerian 3 or more times).

A sedative (sedative) effect is one of the main properties that are emphasized when motherwort is used in medical practice, although the cases of prescribing drugs among different peoples differ in many respects.

In Bulgarian medicine, motherwort is traditionally prescribed to relieve convulsions as a sedative in the treatment of neuroses. In Bulgaria, motherwort is often used as a diuretic and hemostatic (anemia) agent. Painful menstruation, neuroses against the background of menopause - here Bulgarian doctors turn to motherwort preparations for help. Bulgarian folk healers consider motherwort an indispensable general tonic in the treatment of tuberculosis.

Czechs, Romanians and Hungarians resort to the help of motherwort in case of pain in the region of the heart, with palpitations, etc.

English doctors prescribe motherwort tincture for weakening the heart muscle; prescribed to patients suffering from hysterical seizures; used in diseases of a neuralgic nature.

Americans practically do not use valerian, but in every home medicine cabinet of a resident of the United States there is a motherwort tincture.

In Russia, motherwort is considered an excellent remedy for lowering blood pressure.

Briefly describe the pharmacological effects on the body, then in a row the most significant medicinal properties you need to include the following:

- Hypotensive.
- The ability to stimulate the heart muscle, increasing the amplitude of heart contractions, and at the same time reducing the frequency.
- The ability to expand the coronary vessels of the heart, as a result of which the flow of oxygen increases.

Brief list of indications for use motherwort:

- Cardiovascular neuroses;
- Overexcited state of the nervous system;
— Hypertension ( early stages diseases);
- Diseases of the heart and blood vessels (myocarditis, defects, angina pectoris, cardiosclerosis, etc.);
- Goiter (Basedow's disease);
- Poisoning by nicotine (with the phenomena of myocardiopathy);
- To enhance the action of anticonvulsants.

Motherwort preparations

- Motherwort tincture. Prepared with alcohol 76% strength. The proportions of raw materials to the extractor are 1:5. Insist 2 - 3 weeks. The drug is prescribed, depending on the nature of the disease, up to 4 times a day, from 30 to 40 drops per dose.

- Infusion of herbs. Pour 2 tbsp. raw materials with half a liter of boiling water, and infuse for 2 hours. Take 3-4 times a day for half a cup. The infusion is indicated for increased nervous excitability, sleep disturbance (insomnia), neuroses of cardiac origin, etc. Also, taking the infusion increases diuresis and promotes expectoration, and therefore it is often prescribed for edema (dropsy), colds.

- Liquid motherwort extract. This therapeutic drug was developed on the basis of the Research Institute of one of the Moscow institutes of clinical medicine and successfully tested in the hospital of the hospital. Botkin and in other medical institutions. The drug is prepared by repercolation (multiple infusion of fresh portions of medicinal raw materials) in 70% alcohol. In the conclusion on the drug, the experts noticed that in patients who took the extract, the general overexcitation decreased, the heart rate stabilized. The liquid extract proved to be effective in the treatment of myocardiopathy secondary to nicotinism. It also indicates a decrease in blood pressure and a decrease in shortness of breath in patients suffering from essential hypertension. Recommended dosage: 15 to 25 drops 3-4 times a day.

- Tea. If you look at it, tea is the same infusion, only the duration of infusion during the preparation of the drug is significantly reduced. For 250 ml of boiling water you will need 2 tbsp. dried and crushed raw materials. Insist 10 - 15 minutes. Tea is consumed without sweeteners, drinking in small sips. When it is reasonable to carry out long-term, course treatment, such a drug is used in 3-4 doses during the day. The course of treatment, depending on the nature of the disease and the achievement therapeutic effect may vary within 2-4 weeks. Tea is indicated for the same diseases as motherwort infusion.

– Collection with motherwort. A tea blend that, in addition to motherwort, includes other medicinal plants, often has a more effective effect when compared with monopreparations. In all cases, when it is reasonable to use motherwort infusion or tea, a collection that includes the following components has a good effect: valerian root - 5 parts, 10 parts each of St. John's wort, lemon balm leaves and hawthorn flowers; motherwort - 20 parts. All ingredients must be thoroughly mixed and stored in a sealed container. To prepare the drug, you need 2 tsp. herbal mixture in 250 ml of boiling water. After a five-minute infusion, the tea is ready to drink.

- Calming collection. The remedy was proposed by Bulgarian folk healers, and is intended for the treatment of patients suffering from vegetative-vascular dystonia, against which there is a sleep disturbance, a feeling of inexplicable anxiety, an increased heart rate, etc. The herbal collection does not contain narcotic properties in its composition, however, it has a mild sleeping pill action and a pronounced sedative effect. Which includes motherwort, valerian root, St. John's wort and lemon balm leaves in a ratio of 2:1:1:1. The preparation is prepared according to the method indicated in the description of the brewing of the collection with motherwort.

- With hypertension. The composition of the herbal collection includes white mistletoe (leaves), motherwort herb color, hawthorn and cudweed swamp (at the rate of 30-40 g each per 1 liter of water). Pour the mixture with boiling water, let it brew (in a thermos) for 2 hours, strain and store in the refrigerator. Drink a third of a glass three times a day. Depending on the therapeutic effect obtained, the drug can be continued after a week break. It should be noted that this drug is effective only in the treatment of hypertension in the initial stage.

- From high pressure. For 1 liter of boiling water, you need to take 1 tbsp. following herbs: knotweed, calamus root, motherwort, bearberry leaves. Insist in a thermos all night. Dissolve the same amount of May honey in half a liter of vodka, mix with infusion of herbs and continue infusion for another 9 days. Use in the morning and in the evening, starting with 1 tsp, with a smooth ascent during the week to 1 tbsp. appointment. If necessary, the course of treatment can be repeated by preparing a new portion of the drug.

- Dysmenorrhea. The cessation of menstruation may be a consequence of the physiological restructuring of the body (menopause), or it may be a consequence of disturbances in the body. In any case, to get rid of unpleasant symptoms (nervousness, flushing of blood to the head, headaches, etc.), a collection prepared from medicinal herbs helps: blackberry leaf - 25 g, cudweed herb - 15 g, motherwort, odorous woodruff - 20 each g, hawthorn color - 10 g. Brew like tea, for 250 ml of boiling water 2 tsp. herbal mixture (infuse for 10 minutes). The expected effect should appear in 7-10 days.

— Epilepsy. This drug will not be able to cure the disease, but it will help reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures. The composition of the collection includes: curly lily tubers, motherwort, Danish astragalus, open backache (sleep-grass), lemongrass berries and horsetail ephedra grass (each 1 tsp). This amount is enough to prepare 300 ml of infusion (pour boiling water and leave for 15-20 minutes). You need to take the remedy in the morning and in the evening.

— Tremor. Involuntary trembling of the hands and head often indicates the development of parkinsonism, but can also be the result of disorders of the nervous system. Here it is appropriate to resort to the help of medicinal herbs by preparing a collection consisting of 150 g of hawthorn fruit, valerian root and motherwort grass - 100 g each, mint leaves, dill seeds and hop seedlings - 50 g each. For 2 cups boiling water - 2 tbsp. l. mixture, cook for 5 minutes, leave for 2 hours in a thermos. Take 50 ml 3 times a day. Daily prepare a new portion of the drug. Treatment requires perseverance and duration - to conduct monthly courses with breaks of 10 days.

- With infertility. Often, difficulties with conception do not have a pathological background, and in such cases, traditional healers advise using a collection of herbs a month or two before the supposed conception: calendula flowers, motherwort, immortelle (not cumin, namely immortelle!) And chamomile, buckthorn bark, horsetail , St. John's wort, yarrow, bearberry and plantain leaves. All herbs are taken in equal weight proportions. Half a liter of boiling water requires 10 tsp. herbal mixture. Insist 2 hours. Take 100 ml three times a day.

Motherwort and homeopaths did not ignore, who adopted the drug, named the same as the plant - Leonurus cardiaca. "Leonorus cardica" is prepared from fresh herbs in the form of an alcohol tincture and is prescribed, as a rule, in dilution D1. Prescribe a homeopathic tincture of 10 - 15 drops up to 3 times a day for flatulence, menopausal disorders and heart weakness.

Side effects and contraindications

Categorical contraindications to treatment with motherwort have not been officially found, however, doctors do not advise using its monopreparations in case of bradycardia and hypotension (low blood pressure). At the same time, taking into account the fact that other ingredients can be introduced into the formulation of drugs, which, theoretically, have their own contraindications. It is better to entrust a specialist to decide on the use of this or that remedy.

An overdose of motherwort preparations is fraught with unpleasant consequences, which include vomiting and diarrhea (often with blood).