Large-flowered foxglove -Digitalis grandiflora M i l l _ The Ukrainian name is foxglove velikokvitkova, popular names are thimble, thimble, tensioner, live bells, etc.
Norichnikov family – Scrophulariaceae
Leaves are used for medicinal purposes.
It occurs in Polissya and in the northern part of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, often in the Carpathians and on the Right Bank and not often – on the Left Bank. It grows in sparse forests and thickets of shrubs, on forest edges and glades, overgrown forest clearings, forms thickets on tens of hectares. The main blanks can be produced in the Transcarpathian, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Khmelnitsky and Vinnitsa regions. The reserves of raw materials are significant, but at present the need for raw materials is almost completely covered by cultivated digitalis, the raw materials of which are more homogeneous and of better quality.
Large-flowered foxglove is a perennial herbaceous plant with a short, thick rhizome and cord-like roots. Stem one (or several), straight, unbranched, up to 125 cm high, glabrous below, glandular-pubescent above. Basal and stem leaves entire, oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, light green above, grayish-green below, unequally serrated, more or less pubescent, especially below along the veins. To the top of the stem, the size of the leaves decreases. The lower leaves have winged petioles, the upper ones are sessile, amplexicaul. The flowers are large, 2-4 cm long, drooping, on short stalks, collected in a one-sided brush. Pedicels, calyxes, corollas outside and peduncles glandular-hairy. The corolla is irregular (oblique), shaped like a thimble (hence the name of the plant), pale yellow, inside with brownish veins. The fruit is a glandular-pubescent, multi-seeded box, twice the size of the calyx. Blossoms in June-July, fruits ripen in August-September.
Basal leaves are harvested from plants of the first year of life in August-September, and from plants of the second and subsequent years – before flowering (June-July), tearing them off with their hands and folding them into baskets without compacting them.
The leaves are dried in attics under an iron roof or under sheds with good ventilation, spreading a thin layer (2-3 cm) on paper or cloth and stirring frequently. It is better to dry in dryers at a temperature of 55-60 °. The yield of dry raw materials is 19-20%.
According to GF-X Art. 277 raw material consists of bare leaves, dark green above, whitish-gray below, up to 30 cm long and up to 6 cm wide. Smell is weak, peculiar. Taste is not determined – poisonous! Humidity is not higher than 13%.
Not more than (percent) is allowed in raw materials: darkened leaves – 1, crushed parts (passing through a sieve with a hole diameter of 2 mm) – 2, other parts of foxglove – 1, organic and mineral impurities – 0.5 each.
Dry leaves are packed in bales or plywood boxes lined with thick paper, weighing 50 kg. Store in dry, well-ventilated areas. The raw material is very hygroscopic, so it will need to be stored in a group of potent raw materials in especially dry rooms on the top racks. Storage period up to 2 years. The activity of raw materials is controlled annually.
The leaves contain cardiac glycosides, saponins and flavonoids. Used for chronic heart failure.