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  • St. John's wort

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    Botanical description. St. John's wort is a perennial herbaceous plant with one or more erect rounded stems, 30-100 cm high. Two internally prominent ribs are clearly visible on the interstices of the stem, which change their position in the nodes( the planes in which the ribs of two adjacent internodes are located are locatedat an angle of 90 Leaves opposite, elliptical or oblong-ovate, entire, sessile with numerous translucent points - containers. Inside the latter there are droplets of resinous substances, which forcesbut refract light, and therefore the leaves appear hollow, the flowers are golden yellow, collected in the corymbose inflorescences, or panicles. When rubbing between the fingers of the flower buds, the hands are painted purple.

    Perianth double, regular, calyx of five lancet-shaped sepals, corolla of five oblongelliptical, mostly uneven petals, at the top of the oblique, with dark dots and dashes along the edge, stamens many, fused at the base in three bundles. Pestle one with three bars and the top of the ovary. Fruit is a multi-seeded ovate capsule, opening with three leaves.

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    Blossoms from June to August. Fruits ripen in August - September.

    Geographical distribution. grows in well-illuminated forest clearings, fringes, on clearings and in young pine plantations, in sparse pine and coniferous-small-leaved forests, in meadow steppes, in foothills on stony slopes, near roads, on borders, on margins of fields.

    Widespread in the European part of the USSR, the Caucasus, the foothill areas of Central Asia, Siberia, Baikal and Transbaikalia.

    The main areas of blanks are in Belarus, Ukraine, Volgograd, Pskov regions, Stavropol, Krasnodar and Altai territories of the RSFSR.

    Collection and drying. Collect the flowering tops of the plant before the appearance of immature fruit. They are cut with knives, sickles or pruners. Lower, coarse stem bases can not be collected. When harvesting, you should use cutting tools, otherwise you can tear out the plant with a rhizome, which leads to the destruction of thickets and a decrease in the quality of raw materials. Several flowering plants are left for seed reproduction. The collected grass is folded loose, not compacted, into sacks and quickly delivered to the drying site.

    Dry in attics, under canopies, in well-ventilated rooms or in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 40 °.Raw materials are scattered with a layer 5-7 cm thick and periodically mixed. Drying is finished at the moment when the stems become brittle.

    Medicinal raw materials. Finished raw materials - the herb of St. John's wort( Herba Hyperici) consists of leafy stems with flowers, buds and partly unripe fruits. Stems are opposite branched, rounded, with two longitudinal ribs, glabrous, up to 30 cm long. Leaves and flowers of the structure described. Sepals are lanceolate, thinly pointed.

    Smell weak, fragrant;taste bitterish, slightly astringent.

    Decoction of grass 1:10 is stained with iron-ammonium alum in black-green color.

    Art.324 GF X and GOST 15161-69 allow a moisture content of not more than 13%;ash not more than 8%;cauline parts( main stem and lateral branches) not more than 50%;crushed parts passing through a sieve with a hole diameter of 2 mm, not more than 10%;organic and mineral impurities not more than 1%.

    Inexperienced collectors often collect Hypericum maculatum Crantz instead of St. John's wort, instead of St. John's wort.(= H. quad-rangulum L.), which differs from the harvested species in that there are not two on the stem, but four ribs, two of which are main and two accessory ones, sepals stupid.

    Very rarely other species can be collected - Hypericum hirschum L., with a stalk without ribs. The whole plant is covered with hairs.

    St. John's wort - Hypericum elegans Steph.- has a thinly long teeth on the edge of the sepals with black glands on the ends of the denticles.

    St. John's wort - Hypericum montanum L. - stalk loosened tubular. Flowers are pale yellow.

    Chemical composition. The herb of St. John's wort contains about 10-12% of condensed tannins, 0.1-0.4% of the coloring substance of hypericin, which belongs to the group of dianetraquinone compounds, flavonoids( hyperoside, rutin, quercitrin, myricetin, leucoanthocyanins), 0.2-0, 3% essential oil, 17% resinous substances, saponins, carotene, vitamin C, etc.

    Action and application. The pharmacological action of St. John's wort is determined by its chemical composition. Assign for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract( ulcer, gastroenterocolitis, mowing, etc.), liver, gallbladder, as well as externally for the treatment of burns, difficult to heal wounds, ulcers;in stomatology with inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity( gingivitis, stomatitis, ulcers, aphtha, gingi-orientatitis, thrush, etc.).

    Inside designate as infusions and broth from 10 g. Raw materials for 200 ml of water for 1 tablespoon for 3-4 times a day for 20-30 minutes before meals, as well as tinctures of 30-40 drops per reception 3 times a dayday. Tincture is used externally for rinsing, rinsing( 1 teaspoon per 1/2 cup water), lubricating the gums. Infusions and herbs of St. John's wort are often cooked at home: 3 tablespoons of chopped herbs pour 250 ml of boiling water, insist for about 2 hours, filter and take 1/3 cup 3 times a day.

    Antibacterial drug noviimanin, obtained from the herb of St. John's wort, is used externally for the treatment of abscesses, phlegmon, infected wounds, as well as for inhalations in diseases of the upper respiratory tract, etc.

    For the treatment of wounds and ulcers, may be used hibernating oil, which is prepared fromfresh flowers: 1 part of the flowers are poured with 1 part 40% alcohol and 2 parts of sunflower oil. After infusion for 3 days, the mixture is boiled on low heat until the alcohol and water evaporate completely. The resulting oil is filtered hot.

    Such a popular and quite common herbaceous plant, like St. John's wort, can also serve as an excellent base for tinctures. And the number of diseases in which this tincture is able to help is simply enormous. However, immediately we want to warn you that this plant is poisonous and it must be taken only by coordinating your actions with the attending physician( especially in the treatment of microcirculatory disorders and peripheral circulation disorders with stagnation phenomena).

    Usually, tincture from St. John's wort is prescribed for such diseases as gastritis, cholecystitis, gall bladder congestion, hepatitis, dyskinesia of the biliary tract, kidney disease, liver, gastrointestinal tract, with initial symptoms of cholelithiasis, with functional renal glomerulus failure, flatulence and with a decrease in the filtration capacity of the kidneys.

    In addition, this tincture is also used for dental purposes: as a remover for bad breath, as a strengthening agent for weak gums, as an anti-inflammatory and astringent.

    This tincture in the form of a 1% solution in water is used for lotions for various burns, boils, carbuncles, panarits, trophic ulcers and infected wounds, as it significantly improves the reducing properties of tissues.

    Requires: 1 part of the stems and leaves of St. John's wort and 5 parts of alcohol 70% concentration.

    Method of preparation. Pour well washed stems and St. John's wort leaves with alcohol and insist in a dark place for 14 days. After that, filter and store in a dark cool place in a bottle of dark glass.

    How to use. As a rule, this tincture is taken 3-4 times a day for 40-50 drops. And to rinse your throat and mouth take 30-40 drops on half a glass of water.