Name: Field steel

 

Field harrow (Ononis arvensis L.)

Field hoarder is a herbaceous perennial from the Moth family (Papilionaceae). Other names: plowed harrow, wolchug.

Description:

Perennial herbaceous plant with ascending or erect strongly branched stems, shaggy with simple and glandular hairs; leaves on petioles are trifoliate, only the upper ones are entire; stipules are amplexicaulous, fused with petiole; leaflets oval sharp-toothed, bottom with glandular hairs, sticky. Flowers on short pedicels, collected in pairs in leaf axils, pink or white-pink, up to 30 mm long, bisymmetrical, the largest upper petal (“flag”), 15-20 mm long, broadly elliptical, two lateral petals (“wings”). “) oblong, two lower petals (“boat”) are equal or slightly shorter than the lateral ones, folded and pointed into a subulate beak; 10 stamens fused into a tube. The fruit is a swollen pod with 2-4 seeds. Blossoms in June-July. Harrow grows on the indigenous banks of rivers in open places.

Harvesting, description of raw materials:

For medicinal purposes, the root of the harrow is used – Radix Ononidis, which is harvested in the fall. The roots are dug up, cleaned from the ground and the remains of the stems, washed in water, cut into pieces 8-10 cm long and dried in the open air or in ventilated warm rooms. . At the break, the roots are slightly fibrous, yellowish-white or grayish in color. The taste is slightly bitter with a sugary-sweet aftertaste.

Contains active substances:

The roots of the field harrow contain flavone glycosides, ononin, onone, triterpene alcohol onocerin, essential and fatty oils, resins and other substances.

Medicinal use:

In medical practice, decoction and tincture of harrow are used to treat hemorrhoids. The roots have a hemostatic, diuretic and intestinal function regulating action. In folk medicine, it is used for rheumatism, as well as a diaphoretic and diuretic plant.