Name: Rutka likarska – medicinal fume
Medicinal turnip (Fumaria officinalis); wild rue, chimney; Rutkovy family (Fumariaceae); medicinal smoke
There are plants that are not included in the Pharmacopoeia, but since ancient times they have enjoyed a lasting reputation as medicinal plants and are traditionally used in folk medicine. These include, for example, medicinal turnip, a herbaceous annual. It has nothing in common with garden rue, except for one of the names. The height of the plant is 20-30 cm, it is all covered with grayish-green waxy felt. The leaves are pinnately divided, the flowers are pinkish-purple, irregular. Blooms from June to October. It grows throughout the European part of Russia, except for the Arctic, as well as in the Caucasus, in the southern part of Western Siberia and everywhere in Ukraine. A common plant in fallow meadows, sometimes as a weed in crops in fields and gardens. It does not form continuous thickets, as a rule, it grows scattered.
For medicinal purposes, the herb of medicinal rue is collected during flowering. The entire aerial part of the plant is cut. Raw materials are dried in the air or in well-ventilated rooms. Stored in a dry place throughout the year.
The aerial part of the medicinal root contains alkaloids (0.2-1.6%), tannins (about 3%), resins (4.7%), fumaric acid, vitamins C and K.
Since this plant is part of the Pharmacopoeia of Brazil and France, rue grass is harvested for export. Previously, it was included in the I-III editions of the Pharmacopoeia of the USSR, now it is used only by folk healers.
In folk medicine, infusions and infusions of the herb rue are used as an antispasmodic, analgesic, choleretic, diuretic and intestinal peristalsis stimulant. Improves appetite. In some countries, for example in Bulgaria, traditional healers use the plant to treat hepatitis (jaundice), and for skin rashes, ringworm, and scabies, they recommend applying its fresh juice externally. Rutka grass is an effective tonic after serious illnesses. Among the people, it is also used for depressed states (depression), hysteria, stomach ulcers and flatulence. In combination with other herbs, the plant is part of medicinal collections used for diseases of the upper respiratory tract and some heart defects.
It is believed that there are no contraindications to the use of rue, but there are data that the active substances can accumulate in the body, so self-medication should not be done.
Herbal infusion. 2 teaspoons of raw materials per 200 ml of boiling water. Insist to room temperature, filter. Take 2 tablespoons 3-4 times a day for 30 minutes. before meals (bile diuretic).
Herbal infusion. 1 tablespoon of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water. Insist until cooling, filter. Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day before meals to stimulate appetite.
Herbal tincture. Chopped raw materials are placed in a bottle with a capacity of 0.5 l and filled to the brim with 70% alcohol. Insist for a week. Take 20-30 drops 3-4 times a day for 30 minutes. before eating Externally, the tincture is used to treat skin diseases.
According to some Ukrainian authors, in particular I.M. Nosalya, medicinal root has toxic properties, so it is used with caution in dosage and most often in a mixture with other medicinal plants.