Name: Rosemary spravzhnіy – rosemary officinalis
Real rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis); medicinal rosemary; medicinal rosemary
A small (60-120 cm tall) evergreen shrub of the labium family. Stems are woody, branched, with four-sided straight, pubescent branches at an early age. The leaves are opposite, sessile, linear, leathery, entire, with bent downward edges, dark green above, almost bare, whitish from dense pubescence below. The flowers are bisexual, irregular, collected by 5-10 in racemes on shortened twigs. The corolla is blue-violet, sometimes white, double-lipped, with a tube protruding from the calyx; the upper lip is straight, notched, the lower lip is three-lobed, with a bent toothed middle and oblong side lobes. The fruit consists of four one-seeded nut-shaped lobes. Blooms in March – May.
Spread. Real rosemary comes from the Mediterranean. On the territory of Ukraine, mainly in the Crimea, it is grown as an essential oil plant, as well as for decorative purposes.
Procurement and storage . Rosemary leaves (Folia Rosmarini officinalis) are used for medicinal purposes. Immediately before flowering or during flowering, young shoots of plants are cut and dried, spread out in a thin layer, in a well-ventilated room or under shelter in the open air. When the raw material dries, the leaves are separated from the stem parts and stored in well-closed jars or cans. To facilitate the separation of the leaves, raw materials are exposed to the sun for 1-2 hours before drying. Artificial drying is carried out at a temperature of 35-40°. Dry leaves yield 20%. Rosemary essential oil (Oleum Rosmarini) is produced from fresh leaves.
The plant is official in many European countries.
Chemical composition . Rosemary leaves contain up to 2.5% of essential oil, 0.5% of alkaloids (including rosmaricin), picrosalvin bitterness (1.2%), tannins (5-8%), flavones, B-sitosterol, amyrin, betulin, choline, resinous substances, wax, nicotinamide, nicotinic, ursolic, rosmarinic, glycolic and caffeic acids and minerals (up to 10%). The essential oil contains pinenes (30%), camphene (20%), cineol (10%), borneol (10-1%), camphor (7%), caryophyllene (up to 8%), bornyl acetate (2%), limonene, myrcene, pulegone, menthone, isomenthone, cymol, terpineol, menthol and other substances.
Pharmacological properties and use. Preparations of real rosemary relieve spasms of the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, biliary and urinary tracts, and peripheral blood vessels (as a result, there is a slight increase in urine output, a slight decrease in blood pressure, improvement in the outflow of bile), strengthen the biliary function of the liver, activate the secretion of gastric juice, and have a tonic effect (clinically confirmed in recovering patients who have undergone debilitating diseases and severe surgical operations, and in elderly people with impaired cerebral blood circulation and senile changes in the heart), contribute to the increase of milk in breastfeeding women, have emenagogue properties (restore the normal course of menstruation, eliminate the painful phenomena that accompanied them earlier). It is especially appropriate to prescribe them for spasms of the biliary and urinary tracts, spastic colitis, atonic dyspepsia, general weakness, physical and mental fatigue, cardiac neuroses, menstrual cycle disorders and nervous disorders in the climacteric period. A positive therapeutic effect is observed in insomnia, hysteria, neurasthenia, epilepsy, migraine, dizziness, vegetative dystonia, hypertension, impotence, flatulence, asthma, chronic bronchitis and flu. When applied externally, infusion of rosemary leaves is considered a good remedy for inflammation of the oral cavity and throat (rinse), for healing wounds and boils (compresses), for baldness (rubbed into the hairy part of the head), for neuritis and colds (baths), for baldness in women (douching). Rosemary essential oil is used for rubbing against rheumatism. Rosemary is part of a number of foreign combined products (balsofletol, boldoflorin, depuratum, divinal, dolopax, likoactin, peru bor, romarinex, arthrodinat, fitodolor, roimex, togal, dracodermalin, rovalind, kardalep, dolexamed, dinpresan, etc.). It should be remembered that rosemary is contraindicated for pregnant women (it has an abortifacient effect). In overdose, rosemary products cause vomiting, gastroenteritis, fatty liver, kidney irritation with albuminuria, leukocytosis, uterine bleeding, and even death due to pulmonary edema.
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – infusion of leaves (1 tablespoon of raw material per 400 ml of boiling water, infuse for 2 hours, strain) half a glass 3 times a day before meals;
infusion of leaves on wine (40 g of raw material per 1 liter of white wine, infused for 2 days) 1 tablespoon before meals to restore and improve eyesight.
Externally – rinsing, compresses and douching with infusion (prepared as in the previous prescription); rubbing with a solution of rosemary essential oil (diluted with alcohol in a ratio of 2:100);
1-2 tablespoons of a mixture of leaves of true rosemary, flowers of medicinal chamomile and wild-flowered wild plant, taken in a ratio of 1:2:2, boiled for 30 minutes in 500 ml of water, cooled, filtered and used for baths and compresses for purulent inflammation of the finger (panaritium) ;
200-300 g of rosemary leaves are poured with 2-3 liters of boiling water, infused for 15 minutes, and the resulting infusion is added to a full bath (water temperature 32-40°, duration of the procedure – up to 30 minutes; do not take at night, it does not help falling asleep);
200 g of a mixture (equally) of rosemary leaves and sage, bitter wormwood herb and black elder flowers are boiled for 20 minutes in 10 liters of water and the resulting decoction is added to a full bath, which has tonic properties (water temperature 34-36°, duration of the procedure — 10 minutes; do not take at night, does not help to fall asleep!).