Name: Rosemary officinalis
Diseases and effects: delayed menstruation, nervous disorders, menopause, loss of strength, cardiac neurosis, neuritis, colds.
Active substances: essential oil, alkaloids, rosmaricin, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, pinenes, camphene, cineol, borneol, camphor, caryophyllene, bornylacetate.
Harvest time: June – August
Botanical description of rosemary officinalis
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Lamiaceae family – Labiatae.\r
Perennial evergreen shrub 0.5-1.5 meters high.\r
The leaves are small, narrow, obtuse, opposite, oblong-lanceolate, leathery. The leaves are dark green above, white-tomentose below, with a sharply protruding midrib, white-haired. The leaves of rosemary officinalis have a characteristic odor.\r
The bark is grayish-brown.\r
The flowers are two-lipped, pale purple and pale blue with a two-lobed upper and three-lobed lower lip, collected in small racemes. Calyx campanulate, two-lipped, pubescent. Stamens 2, they are longer than the corolla. Pistil with bipartite style and upper four-parted ovary.\r
The fruit of rosemary officinalis is four nuts, brownish, rounded ovoid, located at the bottom of the calyx.\r
Blooms in February-May.\r
Procurement and cultivation of rosemary officinalis
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Grow rosemary officinalis in pots, flower beds. As an essential oil plant, it is cultivated mainly in the Crimea, Transcarpathia and Transcaucasia. On the soil, this plant does not withstand temperatures below + 10-12 ° C.\r
For medicinal purposes, the leaves are collected and harvested. Harvest time is from June to August. Sometimes annual stems with leaves are harvested during flowering.\r
The chemical composition of rosemary officinalis
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Rosemary leaves contain essential oil (up to 1.2%), alkaloids (up to 0.5%, including rosmaricin), acids (ursolic and rosmarinic). The composition of the essential oil includes pinenes (up to 30%), camphene (up to 20%), cineole (10%), borneol (10%), 1-camphor (up to 7%), caryophyllene (8%), bornyl acetate (2% ).\r
Pharmacological properties of rosemary officinalis
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An aqueous infusion of rosemary enhances heart contractions, briefly increases blood pressure, accelerates the onset of menstruation, has a choleretic, general tonic and analgesic effect.\r
Dosage forms and uses of rosemary officinalis
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Infusion of rosemary officinalis : 1 teaspoon of rosemary leaves per 500 ml of boiling water insist 30 minutes, filter. Take 1-2 tablespoons 3 times every day as a means of stimulating menstruation, with nervous disorders in menopause, as a tonic for loss of strength, cardiac neuroses and as a choleretic agent. Used for baths and washes for neuritis and colds.\r
Poultices : 2-3 tablespoons of young rosemary stems with leaves are scalded with boiling water, wrapped in gauze. Hot pads are applied to sore spots.