Large celandine – Chelidonium niajus L. Ukrainian name – chistotil zvichayny, popular names – lastovine zilla, gladushnik, gladishnik, glechkopar, zelemozen, rostopasti, rostopash, prozornik, butterwort, cipe zilla, starovyna.
The poppy family is Papaveraceae.
The herb is used for medicinal purposes.
It occurs almost throughout Ukraine, mainly in the forest-steppe, in the south of the forest and in the north of the steppe regions; in the Carpathians it rises to the subalpine belt. It grows in weedy places in yards, under fences and steppes of buildings, along the borders of gardens, in parks. In some places in deciduous and pine forests, as well as in plantings (white acacia, oak, etc.), it forms sparse thickets on tens and even hundreds of hectares. It usually grows in groups of bushes.
Stocks of raw materials are large. Dozens of tons of grass can be harvested annually. Industrial blanks are expedient in Chernihiv, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk regions. The average annual harvesting of celandine grass in the republic in 1974-1976. amounted to 23 tons.Large celandine – Chelidonium niajus L. Ukrainian name – chistotil zvichayny, popular names – lastovine zilla, gladushnik, gladishnik, glechkopar, zelemozen, rostopasti, rostopash, prozornik, butterwort, cipe zilla, starovyna.
The poppy family is Papaveraceae.
The herb is used for medicinal purposes.
It occurs almost throughout Ukraine, mainly in the forest-steppe, in the south of the forest and in the north of the steppe regions; in the Carpathians it rises to the subalpine belt. It grows in weedy places in yards, under fences and steppes of buildings, along the borders of gardens, in parks. In some places in deciduous and pine forests, as well as in plantings (white acacia, oak, etc.), it forms sparse thickets on tens and even hundreds of hectares. It usually grows in groups of bushes.
Stocks of raw materials are large. Dozens of tons of grass can be harvested annually. Industrial blanks are expedient in Chernihiv, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk regions. The average annual harvesting of celandine grass in the republic in 1974-1976. amounted to 23 tons.
Great celandine is a perennial herbaceous plant with many-headed, short rhizome and few roots. Stem one (rarely several) 30-80 cm high, branched in the upper part. The leaves are alternate (up to 15 cm long), light green above, glaucous below, pinnately dissected. The flowers are yellow, collected in simple 4-8-flowered umbellate inflorescences on the tops of the stem and branches. The fruits are single-celled, pod-like capsules that open with flaps. The seeds are shiny, small, black or brown with a white cartilaginous appendage. The plant blooms in May – June. The fruits ripen in June-July. With early mowing in July-August, aftermath blooms. The plant is poisonous.
Grass is harvested during flowering (May-July), cutting the plants with knives or sickles, and in dense standing – by mowing with scythes without coarse ground parts.
Dry grass in attics or under sheds with good ventilation, spreading a thin layer (3-5 cm) on paper or cloth and stirring frequently. With slow drying and in those cases when the grass is spread out in a thick layer, it turns brown and even rots. The yield of dry raw materials is 23-25%.
According to GF-IX Art. 236 raw material (grass) consists of gray-green ribbed branched stems up to 50 cm long and 5 mm thick, with leaves 5-13 cm long and 5-11 cm wide, yellowish-green above, grayish-green below, with yellow flowers and unripe fruits. The smell is peculiar. Taste is not determined – poisonous! Humidity must be no higher than 14%. In raw materials, no more than 3% of browned and darkened grass, 1% of organic and 0.5% of mineral impurities are allowed.
The total ash content should not exceed 15%, and ash insoluble in 10% hydrochloric acid should not exceed 2%.
Dry grass is packed in bags weighing 15 kg or in bales weighing 50 kg. Store in a group of potent raw materials in dry, well-ventilated areas. Storage period up to 3 years. There is no annual activity control. See page 44 for precautions when handling raw materials.
Celandine contains alkaloids close to opium (chelidonin, homochelidonin, protopine, chelerythrin, etc.), carotene, vitamin C, resins.
The herb is used as a remedy for removing warts, corns, age spots, in the form of an infusion for the treatment of liver diseases.