Mother and stepmother what root system. Root system mother and stepmother. Application at home

The healing properties and contraindications of coltsfoot were known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. This plant was mentioned by Hippocrates, Pliny and Dioscorides. The grass was famous for its expectorant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic effect. Most often it was used in two cases - for coughing inside and purulent abscesses externally. Today it is one of the first medicinal plants for coughs. Grass is often included in pharmacy expectorant fees.

Features of the medicinal plant coltsfoot

What does coltsfoot look like and where can it be collected? What useful substances does it contain? How is the herb used in traditional and folk medicine? Are there any side effects and contraindications?

area

Coltsfoot is a widespread medicinal plant of the Eurasian continent. It can be found in Europe, the Urals, Siberia, Central and Asia Minor, the Caucasus and even the Arctic zone. In addition to Eurasia, the grass grows in North America and North Africa, but it is much less common here and is considered an introduced species. Loves clay soils, but also takes root well on sandy soils, river shallows. Grass can be found near rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, along cliffs, railway and construction embankments, quarries, wet ravines and slopes.



Botanical characteristic

What is the biological description of the coltsfoot plant? This is a perennial herb. It blooms in early spring, hence the popular name - "Rannik". The flowers are bright yellow, with the smell of honey. The creeping rhizome first throws out flowering shoots with reddish scales. Later, petiolate, heart-shaped leaves appear. From above they are smooth, cool due to evaporation, dark green (“stepmother”), and below they are whitish, pubescent, soft, warm (“mother”).

Collection and preparation

Healing properties found in the leaves, flowers, roots of coltsfoot. They are prepared at different times.


Most often, the leaves of the plant are harvested.

Healing effect of the herb

Medicinal properties of coltsfoot:

  • emollient;
  • secretory;
  • wound healing;
  • anti-inflammatory;
  • diuretic;
  • diaphoretic;
  • antispasmodic;
  • expectorant;
  • antiseptic;
  • soothing.

What is in the chemical composition?

  • Leaves coltsfoot: polysaccharides (inulin, dextrin), a lot of mucus, vitamin C and A, astringent tannin, essential oil, tannins, saponins, glycosides, plant sterols, organic acids, pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
  • Flowers coltsfoot: flavonoids, phytosterols, organic compounds (faradiol, arnidiol), glycosides, tannins, vegetable slime and bitterness, yellow pigment.

List of indications

What symptoms and diagnoses would benefit from coltsfoot treatment?

  • Respiratory system . Coltsfoot for coughing is one of the most popular and effective folk medicines. Helps with bronchitis, obsessive whooping cough, tracheitis, laryngitis, inflammation, abscess, pulmonary tuberculosis, bronchial asthma. The herb has the ability to thin sputum and remove excess mucus from the bronchi, softens dry cough well, makes it productive. It is recommended to take decoctions and infusions of herbs for ARVI and influenza to lower the temperature.
  • Digestive system. Useful properties of coltsfoot for digestion - choleretic, astringent, stimulating appetite, anti-inflammatory. The herb is used for diarrhea, gastritis and colitis. Medicinal enemas are made from decoctions for inflammation of the intestines.
  • urinary system. Grass is taken for swelling, inflammation of the kidneys and bladder.
  • Nervous system . It relieves tension and nervous excitement, helps with insomnia. Some herbalists indicate that the herb can stop epileptic seizures.
  • The cardiovascular system. Glycosides have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart and blood vessels. It is useful to drink coltsfoot in atherosclerosis, it prevents the formation of atheromatous plaques, stimulates lipid metabolism. This medicinal plant normalizes blood pressure, helps relieve headaches.
  • Outdoor use. Outwardly, you can use decoctions, dry herb powder, fresh leaves and juice. They are used to gargle the throat and mouth. Grass well heals ulcers with stomatitis, relieves inflammation of the gums. It treats purulent wounds, abscesses, skin ulcers, burns, inflamed veins with varicose veins, tumors, frostbite.
  • Cosmetology. Decoctions, infusions, fresh juice are used as tonics, lotions, face and hair masks. The herb has a tonic, refreshing, antiseptic effect. It is used for all skin types, it disinfects pimples and acne well. Useful for strengthening hair, restores its structure, eliminates dandruff. For hair care, it is used together with burdock root and nettle.
  • For weight loss. Normalizes metabolism due to the glycosides and phytosterols contained in it. These substances are involved in the biosynthesis of hormones, enzymes, cholesterol, bile acids, vitamins.

The herb has few contraindications. Do not take it orally during pregnancy, failure of the menstrual cycle, during breastfeeding, children under 6 years of age. You can not drink coltsfoot with liver diseases, individual intolerance. A high content of alkaloids can cause poisoning of the body, adversely affect the functioning of the liver, and lead to a carcinogenic effect. Therefore, medicines from this plant can be taken no more than 6 weeks throughout the year.

Application at home

What is the use of coltsfoot herb at home? Teas, decoctions, infusions, fresh juice, powder are prepared from it. Raw materials can be prepared independently or purchased at a pharmacy. The instructions for use indicate the main pharmacological action of the raw material - expectorant, anti-inflammatory, enveloping. Recommended for coughs with sputum difficult to separate.

Decoction

How to brew coltsfoot in order to preserve its useful properties as much as possible?

Cooking

  1. Pour in a glass of boiling water.
  2. Boil 1 minute.
  3. Insist 30 minutes.
  4. Strain.

Most often, leaves are taken for decoction, but you can also mix them with flower baskets. Take 3 times a day for ½ cup before meals. When coughing in such a decoction, it is recommended to add honey or raspberry jam. In case of digestive disorders, it is advised to drink unsweetened broth.

Infusion

The method of preparing the infusion differs from the decoction - it is not boiled, but only steamed. Cooler infusions (2 tablespoons of raw materials are taken per glass of water) are used externally or internally in a smaller dosage - 2 tablespoons each. spoons 3 times a day.

Cooking

  1. Take 1 tbsp. l. raw materials.
  2. Pour in a glass of boiling water.
  3. Insist 1-2 hours.
  4. Strain.

It is taken orally in the same dosage as decoctions. Infusions are often used for rinsing in otolaryngology and dentistry. Also, lotions, compresses, baths and baths for skin diseases are made from these medicines. There are positive reviews that decoctions and infusions relieve erysipelas, itching, suppuration with thrombophlebitis.

milk infusion recipe

  1. Take 1 tbsp. l. dry grass.
  2. Pour in a glass of boiled milk.
  3. Leave for 1 hour.
  4. Strain.

A popular cough remedy. Take ¼ cup warm, you can add honey.

Fresh juice and leaves

How can the juice and leaves of the plant be used?

It's important to know:

  • juice can be treated for no more than 7 days;
  • do not violate the dosage - adults do not take more than 3 tbsp. l. in a day;
  • before use in children, a mandatory consultation with a doctor is necessary;
  • with the appearance of side effects in the form of digestive disorders and allergies, immediately stop taking;
  • the juice contains many alkaloids that can cause poisoning and adversely affect the liver;
  • Before taking juice, you should consult your doctor if you have any chronic diseases.

Powder

The use of dry herb powder in folk medicine is effective in the following cases:

  • the powder is mixed with honey and washed down with water for tuberculosis;
  • with sinusitis and a severe runny nose, you can sniff it to cause sneezing;
  • when coughing during SARS, influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia, whooping cough, take ½ teaspoon of the powder with water or warm milk;
  • useful in diarrhea as an astringent;
  • sprinkle wounds, ulcers, burns, skin inflammations.

Features of use in women

How can grass be useful for women?

  • Most often it is used in home cosmetology - for hair and facial skin care.
  • In gynecology, the grass is used externally - for douching with inflammation of the urogenital area.
  • Pregnancy is a strict contraindication for internal use due to the abortive properties of the herb.
  • Pregnant women can use decoctions and infusions externally - for gargling, oral cavity, skin treatment.
  • During lactation, you also can’t drink grass, but compresses from its juice and decoctions help well with mastopathy.

Features of use in children

Some sources indicate that grass should not be given to children under 2 years old, in others - up to 6 years. The issue of age restrictions and safe use should be discussed with the pediatrician. Coltsfoot from coughing for children is a frequent appointment of doctors. Often, grass is included in breast fees. It is important to observe the dosage, not to exceed the course of treatment, to remember that allergies to medicinal herbs in children are much more common than in adults.

How safe is grass for babies? In rare cases, pediatricians prescribe her weak decoctions to babies up to a year old when coughing. Some mothers refuse to give medicine even as prescribed by a doctor because of the age limit indicated in the official instructions. What can be dangerous mother-and-stepmother for crumbs?

  • Bitterness and mucus can affect the digestive system and cause either constipation or diarrhea.
  • Alkaloids can adversely affect the liver.
  • Biologically active substances can cause an allergic reaction in the form of hives and itching.

The coltsfoot plant is a valuable medicinal raw material. Its main use is coughing for colds, SARS, influenza, bronchitis, tracheitis, pneumonia, pleurisy, tuberculosis, whooping cough. Also, the herb has pronounced anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. It is used externally in dentistry, otolaryngology, dermatology, and cosmetology.

Mother and stepmother(lat. Tussilago) - a genus of perennial herbaceous plants of the Aster family, or Compositae (Asteraceae). The only kind Mother and stepmother ordinary(Tussilago farfara). Among the people, this plant has a lot of names - mother grass, water burdock, cold lapukha, podbel, two-faced, butterbur. The grass is widespread in Eurasia (Western Europe, Siberia, Kazakhstan, mountains of Central and Minor Asia), in North Africa and North America. For growth, the mother and stepmother prefers clay and moist soils, free from turf. Although it can be found on pebbly and sandy river banks. It grows along the banks of rivers, lakes, meadows, embankments, slopes of ravines and landslides. The mother and stepmother is the most harmful in crops of vegetable crops, as it develops very quickly and grows intensively, which leads to the complete displacement of other plants.

mother and stepmother description

The root system is in the form of a long, creeping, branched rhizome, which deepens into the soil by about 1 m. Two types of shoots are formed from the buds located on the rhizome: vegetative and flowering. Already in early spring, flowering shoots begin to develop, they are erect, low, up to 30 cm high. Each shoot has a head (flower), which fades after flowering. The heads are bright yellow in color with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm. The flowers are both hollow, but barren. When ripe, the heads become fluffy, very similar to a dandelion. The flowering period begins as soon as the snow melts, in early spring.

Fetus- slightly curved cylindrical achene with a tuft. Flowering shoots die off after flowering.

Vegetative shoots begin to develop some time after the start of flowering. These shoots bear several round-heart-shaped, irregularly serrated leaves on long petioles that form a rosette. The upper surface of these leaves is smooth, and the lower surface is white tomentose. If you touch the leaf with your palm, you can feel that the leaf is warm from below and cold from above.

The plant is very prolific. The maximum number of seeds that one plant can produce is approximately 19,000 seeds. Seeds have high germination capacity and germinate in the soil from a depth of up to 2 cm.

mother and stepmother harmfulness

Mother and stepmother harms agriculture by littering plantations with cultivated vegetables. Measures to combat this weed should be aimed at the destruction of young rosettes. The maximum efficiency of this method will be achieved in the early stages of plant development. Very good results in the struggle are shown by a combination of surface treatment techniques with layer-by-layer deep loosening and cutting of rhizomes. Mother and stepmother shows resistance to widely used herbicides. It is necessary to use substances that penetrate into the rhizome. For example, tordan, banvel.

mother and stepmother medicinal properties

Since ancient times, the mother and stepmother was considered a medicinal plant. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was prescribed for the treatment of bronchial asthma and bronchitis. In Paris, the emblem of pharmacies was the image of this plant. Such emblems were hung over every shop that sold medicinal herbs.

The aerial part of the plant is used as a medicinal raw material. Flower heads are harvested during flowering, that is, in March-April. They are usually separated from the stem. It is necessary to dry in the shade, spreading out on paper in one layer. The collection of leaves begins after flowering, when they become smooth, but have not yet begun to become covered with brown spots. The best time for this is early summer. Dry the leaves as exactly as the flowers, in the shade and in one layer. Dried inflorescences are stored for two years, and leaves - three years.

The plant is very rich in useful trace elements. The leaves contain zinc, which allows the use of coltsfoot as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of tonsillitis, hoarseness, laryngitis, colds and other infectious diseases. Herb tincture is used externally in the treatment of skin infections, wounds, burns. Mother and stepmother has a beneficial effect on the digestive system, relieves diarrhea and is an appetite stimulant.

Also, the mother and stepmother is an indispensable assistant in maintaining and restoring the beauty of the skin and hair. This plant has a high content of amino acids - cystine, sulfur and silicon dioxide. Cystine helps to strengthen and grow hair, a high level of silicon soothes the scalp, eliminates dandruff and dead cells, gives elasticity and shine to hair. Mother and stepmother extract will help increase skin elasticity, thanks to this extract, the work of the sebaceous glands is regulated.

Mother and stepmother is able to normalize metabolism. Sometimes it is used for weight loss.

The use of drugs based on this plant has contraindications. Do not use infusion and decoctions for a long time, more than 1.5 months. Do not give to children under two years of age. It is also forbidden to take the mother and stepmother during pregnancy and lactating women. In no case should people with liver diseases consume this plant in any form.

Be careful! Self-medication is dangerous to life and health. Before using drugs, be sure to visit a doctor.

mother and stepmother photo


Common mother and stepmother (Tussilago farfara) Leaves of mother and stepmother (Tussilago farfara) Seeds of mother and stepmother (Tussilago farfara)

Common coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara L.)

The weed belongs to the Asteraceae (Composite) family.

culture. Often found in the fields of grain and row crops.

Prevalence.

Distributed everywhere.

Description.

Cotyledons 4...6 long, 1...2 mm wide, oblong. Leaves 15…20 long, 12…18 mm wide, rounded-ovate, with teeth, pubescent. The epicotyl is not developed. The hypocotyl is thickened. The plant has a bitter astringent taste.

The root system is in the form of brittle rhizomes covered with scales, penetrating the soil to a depth of 1 m. The stem is straight, pubescent, covered with leafy scales. The leaves are alternate, basal rounded heart-shaped, serrated, white-felt below, long-petiolate, stem lanceolate, smaller than basal. The flowers are yellow, pistillate, fertile, in baskets, marginal reed, inner tubular, bisexual, but sterile. The fruit is a cylindrical or tetrahedral, slightly curved, pale yellow or brown achene with a white, fragile achene, length 3...4, width 0.4...0.5, thickness 0.2...0.3 mm. The weight of 1000 seeds is 0.2…0.3 g.

Weed biology.

Rhizome perennial.

Seedlings from achenes and shoots from rhizomatous buds appear in March-May. Blooms until leaves appear in March-April. Fruits in April-May. Max. fecundity is 17000…19500 achenes, which germinate in the soil from a depth of no more than 2 cm. Freshly ripe seeds germinate.

Conditions affecting the development of the weed.

Moisture-loving plant. Aboveground organs are damaged at minus 2 °C.

Preparations for protection

View crop protection systems


How to get rid of coltsfoot in the garden: weed control

People often try to remove coltsfoot from their gardens and flower beds, but it also has useful uses. In addition, it is extremely difficult to remove all of it from the land.

1 Features and reproduction2 Methods of struggle3 What is useful grass

Features and reproduction

Coltsfoot is a herbaceous plant from the family of perennials belonging to the Compositae. It is well distributed on such continents as: Eurasia, North America and North Africa. This is an extremely unpretentious plant that can grow almost anywhere.

It begins to bloom in spring, when the snow melts. Golden-yellow flowers can often be seen next to the still melting snow cover. The fruits ripen by the end of May, beginning of June. By itself, it is not high, about 25 cm.

The coltsfoot is very fond of the sun, so she prefers unshaded areas. It will grow well in clay or loamy soil. But, despite its unpretentiousness, it does not grow in densely covered with turf areas.

It reproduces mainly vegetatively, but can also be using rhizomes, which occupies the entire territory that it can reach. The leaves are arranged so tightly that they form a cover in which it is very difficult to meet other weeds.

When the plant matures, it becomes like a dandelion. The seeds of the coltsfoot can be dispersed by gusts of wind. Up to 20,000 seeds per season can fall from one plant.

The coltsfoot has a very well developed root system. On its long petiole is a heart-shaped foliage. On the outside, the leaves are smooth and green, and on the inside, whitish and pubescent. The stem is about 20 cm long and ends in a flower.

Fighting methods

This plant is very well known to every gardener, since most of them have an eternal struggle with it. During digging and plowing, weed roots are cut into smaller ones, from which independent plants will sprout. There are several ways to deal with this weed:

The essence of the first method is the complete cleaning of the dug-up earth from all roots. In spring and summer, it is recommended, albeit sometimes, to dig up the coltsfoot. At the same time, get rid of sleepiness.
Weed solutions. Only the shoots that have appeared are poured with a solution and dug out when the earth turns yellow, and only then they are engaged in the formation of beds. This usually happens within 2 weeks.
Cover the ground with an opaque material (black film or roofing felt), since they will not have enough sunlight, the weeds will die out. But this will happen in about 6-8 weeks.
It will take 2-3 months to cut weeds (only applicable to perennials) with a shovel or chopper, adhering to a 2-week interval.
You will need a blowtorch. You can burn the ground parts of perennial weeds at intervals of 15-20 days.
We use herbicides on especially active weeds.
We will perform only in dry weather and in areas with soft, loose earth. With the help of a rake, the surface of the bed is treated from weeds.
Applies only to fruit crops. After the seedlings of plants have appeared on the surface, it will not be superfluous to mulch the earth with peat, humus or straw. The layer must be at least 5 and not more than 8 cm.

The main measures for weed control should be directed precisely at young shoots. A good result will be given by surface treatment with layer-by-layer deep loosening and cutting the rhizome with a non-moldboard tool.

What is useful herb

Flowers with leaves to a small extent, but still differ in their composition. They contain: malic and tartaric acid, carotenoids, vitamin C. Decoctions and tinctures with this plant are used as a good anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic agent that can disinfect.

Coltsfoot flowers can only be collected in spring, but leaves can be collected in early summer. Then they should be dried. This can be done either in a slightly chilled room, in the fresh air or in a dryer. The main thing is that the temperature does not exceed 30 degrees.

Preparations from coltsfoot are successfully used for cosmetic purposes.

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Rice. 4.23. flowering shoots

Leaves coltsfoot— folia farfarae

Mother and stepmother- tussilago farfara l.

Sem. Compositae– asteraceae (compositae)

Other names: water burdock, kamchuzhnaya grass, cold lapukha, mother grass, one-sided, forest lapushnik, two-faced, rannik, kolorechnaya grass.

perennial herbaceous plant height 10-25 cm.

Rhizome creeping, juicy, branched, with thin roots. In early spring, numerous flower-bearing shoots grow with underdeveloped scaly leaves, which carry one apical basket (Fig. 4.23.).

flowers golden-yellow in baskets: marginal - false-lingual, median - tubular.

Fetus- tetrahedral achene with a long white tuft.

basal leaves, used as raw materials, develop later, after fruit ripening (Fig. 4.24.).

Rice. 4.24. basal leaves

They are long-petioled, broadly ovate with a deep heart-shaped notch at the base, 10-15 cm in diameter, angular, unevenly dentate, rather dense, glabrous above, with white soft felt pubescence below. The venation is palmate with noticeable three bundles of veins (Fig. 4.25.).

Blossoms in April - May, fruits ripen in May - June.

Composition of coltsfoot

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The chemical composition of coltsfoot

  • polysaccharides - mucus (5-10%),
  • inulin,
  • dextrin,
  • as well as bitter glycosides (2.6%),
  • sitosterol,
  • saponins,
  • organic acids
  • ascorbic acid,
  • carotenoids,
  • essential oil traces
  • flavonoids,
  • tannins,
  • pyrrolizidine alkaloids in trace amounts.

Properties and uses of coltsfoot

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Pharmacotherapeutic group. Expectorant.

Pharmacological properties of coltsfoot

Coltsfoot drugs have:

  • expectorant,
  • anti-inflammatory,
  • emollient and
  • disinfectant action.

Anti-inflammatory and emollient action due to mucus. Spreading over the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, mucus forms a protective film that protects the epithelium from the irritating effects of cold, bacterial toxins, viruses, and irritating food ingredients. Under the protective film of mucus, the activity of the inflammatory process decreases, the damaged epithelium regenerates, its functions and cilia movements are normalized.

Saponins and organic acids dilute the pathological secrets of the respiratory tract resulting from inflammation, the vital activity of microorganisms and viruses, contribute to their faster evacuation, cleansing the respiratory tract and restoring gas exchange.

Increased anti-inflammatory action carotenoids and tannins. The amount of coltsfoot polysaccharides on experimental models of inflammation gives a distinct anti-inflammatory effect, the anti-exudative effect is most pronounced.

In terms of anti-inflammatory activity, coltsfoot polysaccharides are not inferior to indomethacin although their pharmacodynamics are different.

Application of coltsfoot

Infusion of coltsfoot leaves is used in the complex treatment of patients

  • bronchitis,
  • laryngitis,
  • pneumonia
  • bronchial asthma,
  • emphysema,
  • to prevent exacerbations
  • prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications.

Infusion coltsfoot is also used for

  • diseases of the upper respiratory tract,
  • chronic runny nose,
  • in occupational lung diseases and for their prevention.

Usually coltsfoot leaves are included in the fees.

In addition, coltsfoot is used inside in the form of aqueous extracts for gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, colitis.

With furunculosis, pustular rashes make lotions, compresses, wash the affected areas of the skin.

Spreading

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Spreading. The Eurasian species, widespread in all regions of the European part of the country, is common in Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Habitat. It grows on the banks of rivers and streams, coastal cliffs, screes, in damp ravines, along railway embankments, along highways. The plant forms dense thickets in places.

Procurement and storage of raw materials

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blank. The leaves are harvested in the first half of summer (June - July), when they are still relatively small, tearing off with a part of the petiole no more than 5 cm long. You should not collect too young leaves that have pubescence on the upper side, leaves affected by rust fungi and starting to turn yellow. In freshly harvested raw materials, the affected leaves are selected, loosely laid and transported.

Rice. 4.25. coltsfoot and possible impurities: coltsfoot: 1 - sheet from the upper side; 2 - sheet from the bottom side;
3 - leaf of felt burdock;
4 - leaf of butterbur hybrid.

Together with the coltsfoot, other plants from the Asteraceae family are often found, whose leaves are similar in appearance, but are not used in medicine (Fig. 4.25.). Butterbur, or false white (Petasites spurius (Retz.) Reinchb.), has triangular-heart-shaped leaves, from above with woolly ragged pubescence, from below snow-white, white or whitish-yellow felt.

Butterbur, or hybrid podbel (Petasites hybridus (L.) Gaertn.) has large round-triangular basal leaves, deeply cut at the base, almost bare from above, grayish-white below, soft-felt.

Felt burdock (Arctium tomentosum Mill.) has entire, oblong-ovate leaves (basal), with a distinct main vein.

Security measures. Not required. The plant actively reproduces by seed and vegetatively, with the help of rhizomes. When harvesting, it is necessary to leave part of the leaves.

Drying. The leaves are dried in attics under an iron roof or in the open air under a canopy, spread out in a layer of 1 sheet with the pubescent side down. In the early days, it is recommended to turn them 1-2 times a day to ensure even drying. Artificial drying is allowed at a temperature of 50-60 ºС. Raw materials easily absorb moisture and turn brown, so it must be protected from dampness. The end of drying is determined by the fragility of leaf petioles.

Standardization. GF XI, no. 2, Art. 16 and Change No. 1.

Storage. In a dry place on racks, packed in bags or bales. Shelf life up to 3 years.

External signs of raw materials

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Whole Raw Material

A mixture of whole or partially crushed leaves.
Leaves rounded heart-shaped, notched along the edge and unevenly sparsely and finely dentate, glabrous above, white-tomentose below from the abundance of tangled long hairs.
The length of the leaf blade is usually 8-15 cm, the width is about 10 cm, the length of the petiole is about 5 cm. The leaves should not be too young, i.e. should not have dense pubescence on the upper side.
Petioles thin, grooved above, often with preserved tomentose pubescence.
Color leaves are green on the upper side, whitish-gray on the lower side.
Smell missing.
Taste

Crushed raw materials

leaf pieces of various shapes, passing through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm.
Color grayish green.
Smell missing.
Taste slightly bitter with a slimy feeling.

Microscopy

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Looking at the top side of the sheet it can be seen from the surface that the epidermis consists of large polygonal cells with straight, often distinctly thickened lateral walls. Above the veins, the epidermal cells are elongated, the rest are isodiametric. Cuticle thick, wrinkly-folded, longitudinally folded above the veins.
Cells of the lower epidermis small, with strongly sinuous walls. Cuticle thin, wrinkly-folded, longitudinally folded above the veins. The epidermis is elevated above the air cavities, 1-2 stomata are located here.
stomata large, oval, anomocytic type. On the upper side of the leaf, stomata are rare, they have 4-5 parotid cells; on the bottom - numerous, with 7-9 parotid cells arranged radially. On both sides of the leaf, the cuticle forms radial folding around the stomata.
Upper side of the sheet almost naked, lower - covered with numerous simple hairs. The hairs consist of a short base, formed by 3-6 small cells, and a long terminal, cord-like, strongly sinuous cell.

Rice. 4.26. Microscopy of a coltsfoot leaf

The hairs are intertwined. The spongy tissue of the mesophyll has the character of aerenchyma - its cells are arranged in single-row chains that form large air cavities (Fig. 4.26).

Rice. 4.26. Microscopy of the coltsfoot leaf:

A - epidermis of the upper side of the leaf;
B - epidermis of the lower side of the leaf;
B - transverse section of the leaf: 1 - upper epidermis; 2 - palisade fabric; 3 - spongy tissue; 4 - lower epidermis; 5 - hair; 6 - stomata; 7 - air cavity.

Numerical indicators of raw materials

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Whole Raw Material

  • Humidity no more than 13%;
  • total ash not more than 20%;
  • browned leaves no more than 5%;
  • leaves affected by brown spots of rust, not more than 8%;
  • mineral impurity no more than 2%.

Crushed raw materials

  • Humidity no more than 13%;
  • total ash not more than 20%;
  • ash, insoluble in 10% hydrochloric acid solution, not more than 10%;
  • pieces of browned leaves no more than 5%;
  • pieces of leaves with brown spots of rust, not more than 8%;
  • particles that do not pass through a sieve with holes with a diameter of 7 mm, not more than 20%;
  • particles passing through a sieve with holes of 0.5 mm, not more than 5%;
  • organic impurities not more than 2%;
  • mineral impurity no more than 1%.

Medicines

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  1. Coltsfoot leaves, crushed raw materials. Expectorant.
  2. As part of the fees (feeding chest No. 1 and No. 2; expectorant fee; diaphoretic fee No. 2).
  3. Cough syrup with coltsfoot and plantain, syrup (component - extract).
  4. Elixir "Vivaton" (component - extract).

Water burdock, Kamchuzhnaya grass - it's all the same plant that is used in the treatment or prevention of various diseases. It has a strange structure of leaves: the top surface is hard, cold, and the bottom is warm, tender, hence the name. Grass coltsfoot - medicinal properties and contraindications for use, how to prepare healthy infusions, decoctions from leaves and flowers at home, find out further.

What is coltsfoot

Common coltsfoot (from Latin - tussilago farfara) is a perennial herbaceous grass. Feature - yellow small flowers, similar to tongues. They are collected in baskets. Leaves scaly, large. The top of the leaf is smooth, the bottom is pubescent, white tomentose. The plant reaches up to 20 cm in height. Basal leaves from afar look like burdock. Flowering begins in early spring, sometimes it can grow between unmelted snow.

Chemical composition

The herb is used in folk medicine, has a rich chemical composition. Useful substances are found in fresh, dried leaves, flowers. With the help of medicinal raw materials of the plant, decoctions, infusions, teas and other remedies for the treatment of diseases can be prepared. Next, consider what is contained in the flowers, leaves of the coltsfoot:

  • mucus-polysaccharides;
  • dextrin;
  • bitter glycosides;
  • inulin;
  • organic acids;
  • vitamin C;
  • vegetable essential oils;
  • carotenoids;
  • sitosterol;
  • saponins;
  • tannins;
  • flavonoids.

Water burdock flowers contain the following beneficial substances:

  • triterpene faradiol;
  • tetraterpene taraxanthin;
  • arnidol;
  • heptacosan hydrocarbon;
  • stigmasterol;
  • sitosterol;
  • tannins.

pharmachologic effect

Dry leaves of coltsfoot have an expectorant, anti-inflammatory effect. Mucus and acids help to thin the viscous secretion that is secreted in the upper respiratory tract, improve sputum production. Flowers with plant leaves:

  • have a diaphoretic effect;
  • provide a mucolytic effect;
  • eliminate inflammatory processes;
  • speed up recovery.

Fresh leaves are used like plantain - they are applied to festering ulcers, festering wounds and abscesses. Plant effects include:

  • antihypoxic;
  • multivitamin;
  • antioxidant;
  • cleansing.

Healing properties

The medicinal properties of the plant have a beneficial effect on the skin and the human body. Fresh leaves are applied to sore spots, and infusions, decoctions, teas, and ointments are made from dry raw materials. Fresh juice is taken for inflammatory diseases. The herb has a medicinal effect on the adult and children's body:

  • improves the immune system;
  • strengthens the body;
  • stimulates the functions of the endocrine glands;
  • provides diaphoretic, wound-healing effect;
  • expectorant effect;
  • stimulates the healing of wounds on the skin.

Indications for use

Useful properties of coltsfoot help to cope with many diseases. In the following list, you will find out what diseases the plant copes with. The above list is not complete, because many traditional healers hide coltsfoot recipes that help get rid of many diseases. Indications for the use of water burdock are as follows.

Respiratory diseases and viral infections

A person and a child can get sick with various respiratory infections throughout the year, and sometimes several times. These are acute infectious diseases that occur after the penetration of viruses into the human respiratory system. Inside, pathogenic organisms multiply, causing an inflammatory process. Coltsfoot - its medicinal properties and contraindications, will help cure diseases such as:

  • laryngitis;
  • bronchitis / pharyngitis;
  • Chronical bronchitis;
  • tracheitis;
  • bronchopneumonia;
  • pneumonia;
  • whooping cough;
  • bronchiectasis;
  • lung abscess;
  • SARS.

Diseases of the gallbladder and urinary tract

The kidneys are essential for the normal functioning of the human body systems. Organs perform excretory, metabolic, osmoregulatory and other functions. If a person has diseases of the urinary tract or gallbladder, this negatively affects the functions of the whole organism. Coltsfoot helps to cope with many problems of these organs and systems:

  • chronic prostatitis;
  • atherosclerosis;
  • prostatic hyperplasia;
  • thrombosis;
  • embolism;
  • aneurysms;
  • prostate adenoma;
  • hemorrhoids;
  • urolithiasis;
  • kidney cyst;
  • arthritis;
  • cystitis.

Medicinal properties in cardiovascular diseases

Thanks to the systemic circulation, the functions of the heart are performed, vascular tone is maintained, blood circulation throughout the body. In diseases of the cardiovascular system in folk medicine, water burdock is used to treat. If the functions of the heart, vascular tone are impaired, this can lead to the fact that the organs and tissues will not receive the necessary amount of blood and oxygen, there will be:

  • ischemia;
  • myocardial infarction;
  • stroke;
  • angina;
  • arrhythmia;
  • peripheral vascular disease;
  • hypertension;
  • disorders of the nervous system.

Damage to the skin

The skin is an integral part of our body: it shows the “consequences” of nutrition, a person’s lifestyle. The skin is also vulnerable, like our other organs, to various pathogenic microbes. Subsequently, the skin may suffer from psoriasis, dermatosis, dermatitis. In folk medicine, coltsfoot copes with various diseases of the skin:

  • psoriasis;
  • dermatitis;
  • dermatosis;
  • dandruff;
  • hair loss;
  • abscesses.

For weight loss

A medicinal plant can be not only a panacea for all diseases, but also a means for losing weight. You can use coltsfoot to eliminate excess fat - it has a good effect on the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract). But this effect can be obtained only in combination with sports and proper nutrition. The plant is used as a stimulant, aid to the stomach and intestines.

Features of use for children

For children under two years of age, it is forbidden to use preparations based on water burdock without consulting a pediatrician. Sometimes mothers simply add decoctions of the plant to baths while bathing. Dry leaves and flowers of water burdock should not be brewed for children during a prolonged cough, diathesis or high body temperature, it is better to consult a doctor. Fresh leaves can be applied like psyllium for minor injuries.

For women

Water burdock can treat various problems that are associated with gynecology. The plant and its composition are able to have anti-inflammatory effects on the female reproductive system. During pregnancy, you can do enemas for douching or wash with decoction. In oncology, an ammonia solution based on elecampane root is used. Coltsfoot does not apply during lactation.

Grass coltsfoot– application

Water burdock is used to treat various diseases, but not everyone knows when, in what form and what dosage is needed for various ailments. Coltsfoot - medicinal properties and contraindications are described earlier in the article, further are recipes for the preparation of infusions, decoctions, fresh juice and other uses of a botanical plant, dosage for various diseases.

leaf infusion

With poor digestion, cholecystitis, inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, it is necessary to prepare the following infusion:

  • 20 g of the plant must be crushed, pour a glass of boiling water, leave for half an hour, strain through a cloth.
  • Reception - 1-2 tablespoons 4 times a day.

For cough, acute or chronic bronchitis, pharyngitis, bronchial asthma, hoarse voice, gastrointestinal diseases, an infusion of the leaves of the plant is prepared:

  • 4 tsp leaves are crushed, brewed in a glass of boiling water, insisted for half an hour.
  • Then the infusion is filtered, they drink a quarter cup three times a day.

Decoction coltsfoot

With bronchitis, a decoction is prepared in milk. To do this, take a tablespoon of chopped herbs, pour 500 ml of milk, add fresh lard (on the tip of a knife), cook in a sealed container for about 10 minutes. Then the remedy is filtered and taken at night, 50 ml each. With shortness of breath, take 15 grams of crushed dry leaves, they need to be brewed with boiling water (0.2 l), insist until cool, filter. Take a tablespoon every 3 hours.

For pneumonia, you need to take 3 tablespoons of chopped herbs, pour a liter of boiling water in an enamel pan. Then the infusion should be boiled in a water bath in a sealed container for about 15 minutes, leave to cool. After - the mixture is squeezed and filtered. Boiled water is added to the infusion, a tablespoon of honey is added, and half a glass is taken three times a day.

In case of bronchial asthma, a glass of dry leaves is poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted for half an hour and filtered. You need to take ¼ cup four times a day. With colpitis, you need to prepare everything for douching. To do this, take a tablespoon of crushed leaves, pour a glass of boiling water, insist for half an hour, strain, add boiled water again. Douching is carried out with a warm decoction twice a day.

Fresh Juice

Fresh juice is squeezed from the fresh leaves of the plant. They can cure a runny nose. To do this, you need to drip into the nose 2-3 drops in each nostril throughout the day. Effective juice during seasonal diseases. To increase the immunity of the body, you need to drink fresh juice from the leaves of the grass. For a day you need to drink 1-2 tablespoons of juice 4-5 times. The course of treatment is 1 week in a row for several seasons.

Tea

Tea can be bought in cloth or paper bags, or you can pick leaves from the garden. The botanical appearance of the plant, without any impurities that may be in tea packages, will have a beneficial effect on your body. Tea is taken for dropsy, suffocation, chest diseases, cough. For brewing, take a teaspoon of chopped herbs, pour boiling water (a glass), cover with a lid and leave for up to 10 minutes. The tea needs to be filtered. Use three times a day for a cup in hot form.

Alcohol infusion

Alcohol tincture is prepared from the flowers of the plant and vodka. It can help with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For cooking, it is recommended to collect flower baskets immediately after they appear. The ratio of flowers and vodka is 1:1. The mixture is insisted for a week in the shade. Take 35-40 drops before meals. If there are remains of flowers in the blanks, you can make tea or a new alcohol tincture. Store in a thermos.

Powder

The powder is taken for colds, in the form of compresses for thrombophlebitis, for gargling. For colds, it is necessary to take a third of a teaspoon of the powder three times a day with plain boiled water. To rinse, take two tablespoons of plant powder, pour a glass of boiling water, insist for half an hour, filter. Then gargle with warm infusion 5-6 times a day.

Methods of application at home

Water burdock is used at home in various forms: baths, applications, compresses or inhalations for various respiratory diseases. To do this, it is not always necessary to boil the mixture. It is necessary to collect the leaves of the plant during flowering, when the grass contains a large amount of nutrients. The following are home remedies.

Applications

Applications from the plant are used for polyarthritis, rheumatism, furunculosis, ulcerative lesions, infected wounds, scrofulous ulcers, calluses. To use coltsfoot, you need to collect fresh leaves of the plant, knead, squeeze. The mixture is spread on the affected area, wrapped with parchment paper, fixed with a bandage. Sometimes you can boil dry leaves with boiling water, cool, apply to sore spots.

Inhalations for respiratory diseases

During colds, inhalations are made based on chamomile and water burdock. Take a teaspoon of herb and 2 teaspoons of chamomile. Then pour 0.5 ml of boiling water, boil over medium heat, cool to a warm state. Next, they bend over the pan, cover their heads with a towel, inhale the steam for 7-10 minutes. At the same time, not only the symptoms of a cold disappear, but also acne with acne.

Foot baths

Foot baths not only help to cope with fatigue and "buzz" of the legs. The plant can help with varicose veins in the legs. Baths can be taken several times a week. The duration of the procedure is about 25 minutes. To prepare a bath, pour two full handfuls of leaves with boiling water, insist a little. Then the infusion is poured into a bowl of hot water.

Leaf compress for lactation

During lactation, the woman's body itself decides when breast milk collection is required, in what quantities. In order to reduce the appearance of milk, to facilitate this process, to prevent the appearance of hardening and other pathologies of the breast, it is necessary to apply compresses directly to the chest. To do this, take the washed leaves of water burdock, apply them with a shiny side to the chest. Coltsfoot - its medicinal properties and contraindications, is used very often for these problems or possible diseases.

Contraindications and side effects

Despite the usefulness of coltsfoot, its medicinal properties and contraindications also exist. This also applies to side effects. The use of this plant may not always bring the desired effect from the course of treatment. The instructions say that herbal products should not be taken:

  • with increased sensitivity to the components of the drug;
  • during pregnancy, lactation;
  • children under 12;
  • liver disease;
  • delayed menstruation;
  • eczema.

In case of an overdose, symptoms of side effects can be observed: fever (fever), pain, abdominal discomfort, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, nausea. At the first sign, you should contact your doctor. At home, you need to wash the stomach with warm milk or activated charcoal in order to eliminate the symptoms of side effects.

As part of phytopreparations

Due to its qualities, coltsfoot - medicinal properties and contraindications, is used in various herbal remedies. Means contain vegetable raw materials. Coltsfoot drugs can treat various diseases of the respiratory system. Treatments include Broncholit, which contains sage, coltsfoot, Crimean rose, linden, mullein, elecampane root and other tinctures.

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Attention! The information presented in the article is for informational purposes only. The materials of the article do not call for self-treatment. Only a qualified doctor can make a diagnosis and give recommendations for treatment based on the individual characteristics of a particular patient.

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(lat. Tussilago) - a genus of perennial herbaceous plants of the family Asteraceae, or Compositae ( Asteraceae). The only kind Mother and stepmother ordinary (Tussilago farfara). Among the people, this plant has a lot of names - mother grass, water burdock, cold lapukha, podbel, two-faced, butterbur. The grass is widespread in Eurasia (Western Europe, Siberia, Kazakhstan, mountains of Central and Minor Asia), in North Africa and North America. For growth, the mother and stepmother prefers clay and moist soils, free from turf. Although it can be found on pebbly and sandy river banks. It grows along the banks of rivers, lakes, meadows, embankments, slopes of ravines and landslides. The mother and stepmother is the most harmful in crops of vegetable crops, as it develops very quickly and grows intensively, which leads to the complete displacement of other plants.

mother and stepmother description

The root system is in the form of a long, creeping, branched rhizome, which deepens into the soil by about 1 m. Two types of shoots are formed from the buds located on the rhizome: vegetative and flowering. Already in early spring, flowering shoots begin to develop, they are erect, low, up to 30 cm high. Each shoot has a head (flower), which fades after flowering. The heads are bright yellow in color with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm. The flowers are both hollow, but barren. When ripe, the heads become fluffy, very similar to a dandelion. The flowering period begins as soon as the snow melts, in early spring.

Fetus- slightly curved cylindrical achene with a tuft. Flowering shoots die off after flowering.

Vegetative shoots begin to develop some time after the start of flowering. These shoots bear several round-heart-shaped, irregularly serrated leaves on long petioles that form a rosette. The upper surface of these leaves is smooth, and the lower surface is white tomentose. If you touch the leaf with your palm, you can feel that the leaf is warm from below and cold from above.

The plant is very prolific. The maximum number of seeds that one plant can produce is approximately 19,000 seeds. Seeds have high germination capacity and germinate in the soil from a depth of up to 2 cm.

mother and stepmother harmfulness

Mother and stepmother harms agriculture by littering plantations with cultivated vegetables. Measures to combat this weed should be aimed at the destruction of young rosettes. The maximum efficiency of this method will be achieved in the early stages of plant development. Very good results in the struggle are shown by a combination of surface treatment techniques with layer-by-layer deep loosening and cutting of rhizomes. Mother and stepmother shows resistance to widely used herbicides. It is necessary to use substances that penetrate into the rhizome. For example, tordan, banvel.

mother and stepmother medicinal properties

Since ancient times, the mother and stepmother was considered a medicinal plant. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was prescribed for the treatment of bronchial asthma and bronchitis. In Paris, the emblem of pharmacies was the image of this plant. Such emblems were hung over every shop that sold medicinal herbs.

The aerial part of the plant is used as a medicinal raw material. Flower heads are harvested during flowering, that is, in March-April. They are usually separated from the stem. It is necessary to dry in the shade, spreading out on paper in one layer. The collection of leaves begins after flowering, when they become smooth, but have not yet begun to become covered with brown spots. The best time for this is early summer. Dry the leaves as exactly as the flowers, in the shade and in one layer. Dried inflorescences are stored for two years, and leaves - three years.

The plant is very rich in useful trace elements. The leaves contain zinc, which allows the use of coltsfoot as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of tonsillitis, hoarseness, laryngitis, colds and other infectious diseases. Herb tincture is used externally in the treatment of skin infections, wounds, burns. Mother and stepmother has a beneficial effect on the digestive system, relieves diarrhea and is an appetite stimulant.

Also, the mother and stepmother is an indispensable assistant in maintaining and restoring the beauty of the skin and hair. This plant has a high content of amino acids - cystine, sulfur and silicon dioxide. Cystine helps to strengthen and grow hair, a high level of silicon soothes the scalp, eliminates dandruff and dead cells, gives elasticity and shine to hair. Mother and stepmother extract will help increase skin elasticity, thanks to this extract, the work of the sebaceous glands is regulated.

Mother and stepmother is able to normalize metabolism. Sometimes it is used for weight loss.

The use of drugs based on this plant has contraindications. Do not use infusion and decoctions for a long time, more than 1.5 months. Do not give to children under two years of age. It is also forbidden to take the mother and stepmother during pregnancy and lactating women. In no case should people with liver diseases consume this plant in any form.

Be careful! Self-medication is dangerous to life and health. Before using drugs, be sure to visit a doctor.

mother and stepmother photo


Common mother and stepmother (Tussilago farfara) Leaves of mother and stepmother (Tussilago farfara) Seeds of mother and stepmother (Tussilago farfara)