Useful and medicinal properties of plantain flea
Synonyms: flea grass, flea, flea seed, flea.
Description. Annual herbaceous plant of plantain plant( Plantaginaceae) up to 40 cm high. Root fusiform, small. The stalk from above and in the inflorescences is many-leaved, very branching. Leaves are small, 20-30 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, entire, linear, opposite. Inflorescences - ovoid heads on elongated peduncles. The flowers are small, with a pinkish-brown aureole. Fruit is a box 3-4 mm long. Seeds are reddish-brown, shiny, smooth, 2-3 mm long. Blooms in June - August. Seeds mature not simultaneously from August to September. Weight of 1000 seeds - 0,4-0,5 g.
Medicinal raw materials: seeds and fresh grass.
Biological features. Plantain flea has a short vegetative period, so it can be cultivated in areas with a temperate and moderately warm climate. This unpretentious plant. The seeds become very mild when wet.
Places of growth. Most often grows on dry slopes.
Distribution. Plantain flea in the wild grows on dry slopes in Transcaucasia. In Ukraine( in the Sumy and Poltava regions), the plantain of the flea is cultivated as a medicinal plant.
Chemical composition. Psyllium seeds contain a significant amount of mucus, proteins, fatty oil, mineral salts and iridoid glycoside aucubine. In the grass of plantain, except for slimes, there is aukubin, flavonoids and other substances.
Application. Seeds of plantain flea( whole or pounded) are used as a laxative for chronic
chronic constipation. The laxative effect is caused by mucous substances: when wetting, especially in the alkaline environment of the intestine, there is a significant swelling of the seeds, which increases the volume of the contents of the intestine and enhances peristalsis due to mechanical irritation of the mucous membrane. In addition, the presence in the seeds of a large amount of mucus causes their enveloping, emollient and anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to adsorb bacteria. It has been experimentally proved that the flea plantain accelerates the process of folding the blood. Proceeding from this, the use of decoction and mucus from the seeds of plantain is recommended for ulcerous lesions of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract and for chronic inflammatory diseases complicated by bleeding. Locally, in the form of poultices from crushed seeds, soaked in hot water, the plantain flea is used for inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes, for skin diseases( ulcers, swelling), for the treatment of nipple cracks in nursing mothers( poultices are applied to cracks after each feeding).Pharmacy preparation "Plantain juice", consisting of a mixture of equal volumes of freshly harvested leaves of plantain plantain leaves and plantain of plantain of flea, is prescribed internally with anacid gastritis and chronic colitis, with peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum( with normal acidity) and externally for wound healing, cuts. In combination with antibiotics and sulfanilamide preparations, juice from fresh fleecia plantain leaves is used for chronic dysentery.
Agrotechnics of cultivation. Site selection. The most suitable for plantain flea are light chernozems, fertile sandy loams and loamy soils. In the field crop rotation it is recommended to sow after winter, leguminous and tilled crops that are fertilized.
Soil treatment. The main autumn soil cultivation is carried out in the same way as for other row crops. Presowing cultivation is carried out to a depth of 5-6 cm with simultaneous harrowing and rolling by a light roller.
Application of fertilizers. To ensure the fertility of the soil it is recommended to apply organic
for the predecessor, and mineral fertilizers( 50-70 kg / ha of active ingredient) for the main autumn plowing.
Reproduction. Plantain flea propagate with seeds. The seeding rate is 5-6 kg / ha with a row spacing of 45-60 cm and the depth of embedding is 2-3 cm. After the predecessors( row crops) in areas that are clean from weeds, it can be sown in rows with a continuous method at a seeding rate of 10-12 kg/ ha. The yield of seeds with continuous sowing is higher than that of a wide-row crop.
Caring for plantations. After the emergence of sprouting, the first loosening of the rows is carried out, and when a second pair of real leaves is formed, they are harrowed. Then, as necessary, process the aisles and weed out the weeds in rows.
Harvesting of the plantain leaves of the flea plant, intended for the production of juice, is produced during the period of mass flowering. The plantain is harvested with a harvester equipped with a stalker, and immediately transported to the processing site - to the currents under the canopy. Seeds are harvested at the time of full ripening in the inflorescences of the lower tiers, when they are not yet crumbling;The unripe seeds of the middle and upper layers ripen during drying.
Drying. Drying should be in clear dry weather, because even with a slight moistening the seeds become sticky and thresh them hard, and sometimes completely impossible. Because of this, the collected mass should be laid out for drying with a thin layer( up to 8-10 cm) and systematically turned over. Dried grass threshed on threshing floor, the seeds are cleaned on a winnowing machine. With proper agrotechnics, the average yield of seeds is 8-9 q / ha.
Packing. Seeds are packed in bags of 30 kg.
Storage. In a dry, well ventilated area.
Quality requirements. Finished plantain seed flea must be reddish-brown, shiny, smooth, oval, shallow, 3 mm long,
1 mm wide. Allowed: moisture not more than 13%, underdeveloped seeds - 3%, organic impurities - 1%, mineral -
2%.For sowing, the largest ripened seeds with an germination of not less than 80% are selected.
Grass must meet the requirements of FS 42-567-72.