Useful and medicinal properties of barberry ordinary
Family Barberry - Berberidaceae
The generic name comes from the Arabic beri - a shell that characterizes the shape of the petals. Specific definition in Latin means "ordinary".
Botanical Description. Barbaris is a deciduous shrub shrub. Shoots are brittle, young - yellowish or yellowish-purple, then they acquire a brownish-gray color. Leaves petiolate, collected in bundles on truncated shoots, back-ovoid or elliptical, up to 4 cm long and 2 cm wide, apex of leaf rounded or pointed. The edge of the leaf blade is sharp-toothed-fingered. The teeth turn into soft needles. Leaves from above are bluish-green, from below they are lighter. The spines are usually three-parted 1-3 cm in length. The flowers are yellow, collected in drooping brushes on the tips of shortened shoots. "The corolla consists of 6 petals, at the base of each of them there are 2 nectaries, the sepals are petal-shaped, stamens 6, pistil one, with a short columnand the upper single-cavity ovary Fruit is an elongated elliptical red berry of sour taste up to 1.2 cm long The seeds are oblong, slightly flattened and narrowed in the upper part
Barberry blooms in May and June, fruits ripen in August-October. They acquire yellow or red color. The berries remain on the branches for a very long time, sometimes throughout the whole winter.
Geographical distribution Barberry is known for a long time. As a fruit, and especially medicinal plant, the plant was used in Egypt as far back as the 7th century BC In Europe, barberry wasintroduced into culture from the XIV century
In the wild, barberry common grows from the south of the Leningrad region to the Crimea, Ciscaucasia and the Volga region. Grown in gardens, squares, parks on a vast territory from Arkhangelsk to the Far East. In the BSSR wild plants of barberry ordinary found in Polissya. Barbaris Amur wildly grows in the Far East, along the foothills of
forests of forests and stony banks of mountain rivers. In culture, almost throughout the entire territory of the USSR - from Kaliningrad to Khabarovsk.
Barbarians are winter-hardy and drought-resistant.
Collection and drying. In barberry, ordinary raw materials are the roots that serve to obtain berberine alkaloid, and leaves. The leaves are prepared in spring in the flowering period. They are torn off with their hands, trying not to damage the branches. Dry in the shade( under a canopy, in an attic).
The roots are harvested in autumn, when they are most rich in alkaloids. To preserve the natural thickets of barberry, the harvesting of roots is carried out at the same place in 5-10 years. Dig up no more than 1/3 of the roots, leaving untouched the rest of the root system. On the ground, prone to soil erosion, the harvesting of the roots does not produce. Dug roots should not be washed, but only shake them off the ground. Dry in well-ventilated attics, under canopies or in other shaded areas. It is also possible to produce drying in dryers at a temperature of no higher than 50 °.Dried roots are packed in bales, which are stored in a dry, shaded and regularly ventilated room.
Medicinal raw materials. Barberry root - Radix Berberidis according to FS 42-1152-78 is characterized by the following properties and numerical values: whole, almost cylindrical pieces of lignified roots up to 20 cm long, not more than 6 cm thick, brownish-gray, coarse-fiber, at a broken lemon yellow color. The smell is weak, specific, and bitterish. The moisture content is not more than 12%;total ash not more than 5%;roots, blackened at the break, - 5%;organic impurities not more than 1%;the content of berberine is not less than 9.5%.
A sheet of barberry ordinary - Folium Berberidis consists of whole leaves of a peculiar smell, sourish taste. FS 42-536-72 allows a moisture content of not more than 14%;ash not more than 5%;crushed parts passing through a sieve with a hole diameter of 3 mm, not more than 5%;leaves that have lost their green color, not more than 4%;other parts of barberry not more than 1%;organic impurity not more than 2%;mineral impurity not more than 1%.The content of alkaloids should be at least 0.15%.
Chemical composition. The fruits of barberry contain sugars, organic acids( malic, tartaric, lemon), 0.4-0.6% pectin, tannins and colorants, vitamin C, flavonoids and phenolic acids. In fruits and leaves, lutein and vitamin K are also found( 0.24-0.80 mg / 100 g).The color of the fruit is mainly due to pelargonidin-3-glnozide. Furokumarins are found in the vegetative organs of barberry.
Bark, roots, shoots, seeds, leaves and unripe fruits contain alkaloids. In mature fruits they are not present or contain in insignificant quantities.
In various organs alkaloids are found, differing in chemical structure and action on the body. Among nnh - berberine, oxyberberine, pal-matine, tetrahydropalmitin, barbamine and oxyacanthine. In various organs of barberry ordinary contains 10 alkaloids, the main ones belong to the isoquinoline series, among them the main place belongs to berberine.
Action and application. Sour fruit of barberry raises appetite, strengthens the separation of gastric juice, quenches thirst in febrile patients, they can be used as a capillary-strengthening and antisclerotic agent rich in flavonoids and phenolic acids.
Berberine has a versatile effect on the human body: lowers blood pressure, has a calming effect, slows the frequency of contractions of the heart, increases the separation of bile. Phenolacids of barberry have choleretic, diuretic and anti-inflammatory effects. Berberine bisulfate tablets are used for diseases of the liver and biliary tract, as well as infusion of 10 grams of leaves and 200 ml of water, which is taken 1 tablespoon 3-4 times daily before meals.
Tinctura Berberidis, a tinctura of leaves of ordinary barberry, causes a contraction of the smooth muscles of the uterus and constriction of the vessels, somewhat accelerates the coagulability of the blood, and has a moderate choleretic effect. It is prescribed for 30-40 drops 2-3 times a day with atonic bleeding and with subinvolution of the uterus.