Popular names: wall shandra, white shandra.
Parts Used: Above-ground part of the plant.
Pharmacy name: Shandra herb – Marrobii herba (formerly: Herba Marrubii).
Botanical description. Shandra reaches a height of 60 cm. Its hollow tetrahedral stem has dense felt pubescence. Lower leaves with longish petioles, round-ovate, up to 3.5 cm in length. They are crenate-toothed, slightly pubescent on the upper side, covered with dense felt pubescence on the lower side. As you move up the stem, the petioles become shorter and the leaves become smaller. The white flowers are in dense whorls in the axils of the leaves. Blooms from June to September. The homeland of this medicinal plant is Southern Europe; it is now distributed almost throughout Europe. It grows in gravelly places, near hedges and fences.
Collection and preparation. After the flowers open, the tops of the plants are cut off, tied in bunches, and hung to air dry. To get good material, it is not necessary to take rough lower parts.
Active ingredients: about 0.3-1.0% marrubiin (yaacton from the diterpene series, bitter in taste), other bitters, resins and essential oil; significant content of tannins (about 5-7%).
Healing action and application. I consider it unjustified that scientific medicine at the present time refuses to use this medicinal plant, for it is an effective remedy for diarrhea of various nature, also for coughs, and stimulates the appetite well. Such use is quite justified, since bitterness increases the secretion of gastric juice and the secretion of bile. The essential oil and tannins help with diarrhea, and the expectorant effect on coughs is due to marrubiin. In all these cases, tea is taken.
- Shandra tea: 2 teaspoons topped with shandra herb, pour 1/4 liter of boiling water, let it brew for a while (3-5 minutes) and strain. It is recommended to drink 3-5 cups of tea every day.
My special advice. Those who suffer from diseases of the gallbladder often need tea, which would give him relief, since the defeat of the gallbladder is associated with a number of painful phenomena. Experience has shown that a tea mixture with chandra and other herbs that act on the gallbladder most often helps in cases where other appropriate remedies are ineffective.
- Shandra tea mixture: Shandra herb 20.0 Peppermint leaves 10.0 Dandelion root 10.0 Wormwood herb 10.0
Pour two teaspoons of this mixture with boiling water and let it brew for 10 minutes, covered. After straining, the tea is ready to drink. Drink 3 times every day for 1 cup in small sips and slowly; tea should be warm enough, but not hot.
Application in folk medicine.Here, the cough action is in the foreground – and this, perhaps, goes back to P.A. Mattiolus, the court physician of Ferdinand I. In 1563, he wrote the following: “The leaves of white shandra, infused with water or wine, with the addition of honey or sugar, and drunk, thin and remove mucus from the lungs and chest. They also help against coughing … Mattiolus gives other indications: shandra allegedly acts against worms, with jaundice, pain in the stomach, bloating, nervous disorders, diseases of the liver and gallbladder, general weakness, poorly healing wounds, pain during menstruation and other female diseases . All this has not yet been forgotten in folk medicine, but, in my opinion, when using shandra, it should be limited to cases of cough, diseases of the gallbladder and liver, and loss of appetite. However,
Side effects are unknown.