Perennial herbaceous plant with a fleshy, brown, short rhizome and thin adventitious roots. Leaves collected in a basal rosette, ovate, crenate, wrinkled, narrowed into a winged petiole. The flowers are fragrant, large, regular, on rather long pedicels, collected at the end of the flower arrow in an umbrella with several bracts.
Calyx non-falling, tubular, with five teeth. The corolla is falling, regular, funnel-shaped, with a five-part limb. Stamens 5, pistil 1, with upper ovary. The fruit is a multi-seeded pod surrounded by the remaining calyx. The seeds are small. Blooms in April-May.
Distributed in the south of the forest and forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, it also penetrates into the steppe zone. In the South-East, it is replaced by large-cup primrose.
Medicinal raw materials in scientific medicine are flowers, or rather their corollas, collected from fully blooming flowers. In folk medicine, medicinal raw materials are rhizomes with roots and leaves. The people collect a plant with flowers during flowering, and rhizomes with roots – in autumn or early spring, until the leaves are completely formed. The rhizome and roots are valuable in that they contain saponins, vitamins C, A and essential oil, and the leaves are especially rich in carotene and ascorbic acid (vitamins A and C), which are most common at the end of flowering, around mid-June. Corollas of flowers are dried in the air in the shade, preferably in dryers, the roots are also dried. Leaves dried quickly at very high temperatures (120-130°C) retain up to 94% ascorbic acid. Raw materials are stored in closed jars.
In pharmacological terms, spring primrose is primarily valuable as an active expectorant, 5 times stronger than senega.
Its value as an expectorant, replacing senega and ipecac, has long been recognized by scientific medicine, in addition, primrose has low toxicity.
In medicine, primrose is used as a diaphoretic, antipyretic and antitussive, as well as a good remedy for scurvy. Primrose preparations increase the secretion of mucus by the glands of the bronchi and the excretion of urine.
In folk medicine, simple decoctions of primrose are always used for bronchitis, pneumonia, heart pain, chest pain, cough, consumption, whooping cough, and diseases caused by weight lifting.
In rheumatism, products from this plant are useful as an analgesic for joint pain, and as a diuretic for all diseases of the kidneys and bladder. They are used for chronic constipation, also for headaches, in particular migraines.
With hypovitaminosis (with a lack of vitamins in the body), characterized by weakness, lethargy, lack of appetite, pallor and roughness of the skin, loosening of the gums, powder from crushed primrose leaves helps. For babies, this infusion has a mild hypnotic effect.
Leaves in a number of countries are used as a salad. This is justified by the high content of vitamin C in them. The plant is not poisonous, therefore, if there are no products from it in pharmacies, you can safely prepare them yourself.
Application
Root decoction: 20 g per 400 ml; half a glass 3-4 times every day.
A decoction of the leaves (stored in a closed vessel): 5 g, or 1 teaspoon, brew in half a glass of boiling water, after 20-30 minutes. after insisting in a closed vessel, drink in two divided doses.
Infusion of flowers: 4 g per 200 ml; 1/2 cup 3 times a day for paralysis, loss of strength, etc.
Infusion of the whole plant: 40-60 g per 1 liter of water – for all colds, chronic constipation, migraines, etc.
And also give respect to the statue of the First Flower of Spring