A tall (25-40 m tall) evergreen tree of the pine family. It has a pyramidal-conical crown and a cylindrical trunk covered with a smooth thin dark gray bark. The leaves (conifers) are linear, flat, 20-30 mm long and 1.5-1.8 mm wide, hard, single, placed in a double-row comb, dark green on top, with two whitish stripes on the bottom, notched at the top. Male cones are oval, 5-8 mm long, single, placed in the upper part of last year’s shoots. Female cones are greenish, located in the lower part of last year’s shoots, consist of numerous seed and covering scales; ripe cones are upright, cylindrical, 10-15 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide, brown, fall apart after maturity (only their stems remain on the shoots); their covering scales are longer than the seeds and protrude in the form of a spike. It is pollinated in May.
Distribution . White fir is widespread in the Carpathians, where it is one of the main forest-forming species. It occasionally occurs in southwestern areas and on the plain, forming pure and mixed forests. In Polissia and in the Forest Steppe, it is cultivated in gardens and parks, in separate forestry.
Procurement and storage . Buds, this year’s green shoots (hereinafter – shoots), green unripe cones (hereinafter – cones), needles, resin and its processing products are used for medical purposes. Shoots are collected during May and the first decade of June and used fresh. Resin (turpentine) is harvested during the growth period of young cones (June-August) in dry weather. The pulp (containers of resin) are located in the bark and have the appearance of thickenings. To stimulate the formation of sap, the surface of the trunk is hit with a wooden hammer, as a result of which a sap of considerable size appears at the place of impact. The bottom of the resin is pierced with a pointed tube and the resin is squeezed into a bottle or jar. Turpentine (Oleum Terebinthinae) is obtained from the resin. From the needles, shoots and cones, essential oil is obtained, which is a raw material for the production of synthetic medical camphor.
Chemical composition . Buds, shoots, needles and cones of fir contain essential oil (0.6-3.0%), tannins, ascorbic acid (more than 0.3% in needles), carotene, tocopherols. The composition of the essential oil includes bornyl acetate (30-60%), free borneol, camphene (10%), a-pinene (10%), B-pinene, santhene, bisabolene, dipentene, phellandrene. Resin is a solution of resin (rosin), the amount of which reaches 70%, in essential oil (turpentine). The main components of the resin are resin acids (up to 50%) and resins.
Pharmacological properties and use.A camphor solution is used in complex therapy for acute and chronic heart failure, collapse, in case of respiratory depression in pneumonia and other infectious diseases, in case of poisoning with sleeping pills and narcotics. The use of camphor is contraindicated in epilepsy and a tendency to convulsive reactions. When used externally, camphor products have an irritating and partially antiseptic effect, which is why they are used for myositis, neuritis, joint rheumatism, etc. Camphor is included in the composition of the ingredients of a number of complex products: camphor-valerian drops (see the article Medicinal Valerian); pepper-camphor liniment, camphocin (see the article One-year capsicum pepper); ointment “Gevkamen”, ointment “Efkamon”, pocket inhaler Ingakamf, aerosol “Camphomen” (see the article Peppermint); liniment “Sanitas” (used for rubbing in joint and muscle rheumatism, arthritis and exudative pleurisy as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent). Galenic fir products are used in folk medicine. An infusion of shoots or a decoction of buds, which have expectorant, diuretic, disinfectant, “blood-cleansing” and pain-relieving properties, are given orally for inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout, cystitis, stomach ulcers. A decoction of needles is prescribed internally as an effective means for the prevention and treatment of scurvy. As an external remedy, fir is used for frostbite (compresses), inflammation of the larynx (rinse), varicose veins (compresses or rubbing), baldness in women and smelly sweating of the feet (baths). ulcerative rheumatism, arthritis and exudative pleurisy as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent). Galenic fir products are used in folk medicine. An infusion of shoots or a decoction of buds, which have expectorant, diuretic, disinfectant, “blood-cleansing” and pain-relieving properties, are given orally for inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout, cystitis, stomach ulcers. A decoction of needles is prescribed internally as an effective means for the prevention and treatment of scurvy. As an external remedy, fir is used for frostbite (compresses), inflammation of the larynx (rinse), varicose veins (compresses or rubbing), baldness in women and smelly sweating of the feet (baths). ulcerative rheumatism, arthritis and exudative pleurisy as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent). Galenic fir products are used in folk medicine. An infusion of shoots or a decoction of buds, which have expectorant, diuretic, disinfectant, “blood-cleansing” and pain-relieving properties, are given orally for inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout, cystitis, stomach ulcers. A decoction of needles is prescribed internally as an effective means for the prevention and treatment of scurvy. As an external remedy, fir is used for frostbite (compresses), inflammation of the larynx (rinse), varicose veins (compresses or rubbing), baldness in women and smelly sweating of the feet (baths). An infusion of shoots or a decoction of buds, which have expectorant, diuretic, disinfectant, “blood-cleansing” and pain-relieving properties, are given orally for inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout, cystitis, stomach ulcers. A decoction of needles is prescribed internally as an effective means for the prevention and treatment of scurvy. As an external remedy, fir is used for frostbite (compresses), inflammation of the larynx (rinse), varicose veins (compresses or rubbing), baldness in women and smelly sweating of the feet (baths). An infusion of shoots or a decoction of buds, which have expectorant, diuretic, disinfectant, “blood-cleansing” and pain-relieving properties, are given orally for inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout, cystitis, stomach ulcers. A decoction of needles is prescribed internally as an effective means for the prevention and treatment of scurvy. As an external remedy, fir is used for frostbite (compresses), inflammation of the larynx (rinse), varicose veins (compresses or rubbing), baldness in women and smelly sweating of the feet (baths). A decoction of needles is prescribed internally as an effective means for the prevention and treatment of scurvy. As an external remedy, fir is used for frostbite (compresses), inflammation of the larynx (rinse), varicose veins (compresses or rubbing), baldness in women and smelly sweating of the feet (baths). A decoction of needles is prescribed internally as an effective means for the prevention and treatment of scurvy. As an external remedy, fir is used for frostbite (compresses), inflammation of the larynx (rinse), varicose veins (compresses or rubbing), baldness in women and smelly sweating of the feet (baths).
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – a decoction of dried buds (10 g, or 1 tablespoon of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water) for half or a third of a glass 2-3 times a day after meals;
infusion of shoots (30 g of raw material per 1 liter of boiling water, infuse for 10 minutes, strain) one and a half cups 3 times a day;
30 g of needles are washed with cold boiled water, poured with a glass of boiling water, boiled for 20 minutes, cooled, honey or sugar is added to taste and drunk during the day.
Externally – compresses from the decoction (50 g of needles per 1 liter of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, strain) on the frostbitten parts of the body;
rinsing with infusion (boil 250 g of needles in 1 liter of water for 5 minutes, infuse for 2 hours, strain), and make a neck compress from boiled needles (hold for 6 hours);
compress or rubbing with a decoction (500 g of needles per 1 liter of water, boil for 10 minutes, strain) for varicose veins;
100 g of a mixture (equally) of needles and cones is poured with 1 liter of boiling water, infused for 20 minutes, filtered and the infusion obtained in this way is used every day for a week for sitz baths for baldness or for foot baths for smelly sweating.