Name: Rutvytsia smerducha – Stinking Basil
Stinking beetroot (Thalictrum foetidum); stink bug
A perennial herbaceous short-glandular downy plant of the family of the sedum family. The stem is erect, 15-50 cm tall. The leaves are alternate, broad-triangular, 3-4-pinnate, with small rounded-ovate leaflets that are three-lobed at the front; the lower leaves are petiolate, the upper ones are almost sessile. The flowers are regular, bisexual, on legs, drooping, collected in a sparse spreading panicle; perianth simple, cup-shaped, with 4 ovate purple leaves; filaments of stamens not expanded. Fruits are sessile ovoid ribbed glandular-downy achenes. Blooms in July.
Spread. Stinking beetroot grows on rocks and grassy slopes in Roztochchi-Opilla and in the Western Forest Steppe (single locations).
Procurement and storage . For medicinal purposes, rutabaga grass (Herba Thalictri minoris) is harvested by cutting off the tops of stems 30-35 cm long during flowering. The collected raw materials are tied into small bundles and hung to dry in the shade in a draft or in a ventilated room. Store separately from other raw materials, following the rules for storing poisonous plants. The shelf life is 3 years. Pharmacies do not release raw materials.
Chemical composition. The aerial part of the plant contains triterpene saponins, up to 2.2% of alkaloids (berberine, fetidine, talictrinine, isotetrandrine, berbamine), tannins (1.63-5.45%), flavonoids (rutin, glucoramnin, kaempferol, quercetin, flavesuetin. ranunculetin), cardenolides, essential oil and organic acids.
Pharmacological properties and use . In scientific medicine, tincture of the St. John’s wort herb is used as a means that expands blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. It is used in the treatment of the initial stages of hypertension and angina pectoris and in the case of circulatory disorders. In folk medicine, rue is used as a sedative, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, diuretic and antiemetic agent. An infusion of the herb is given internally for neuroses and convulsive conditions, overstrain, indigestion and diarrhea, liver and gall bladder diseases, edema and dropsy, and internal and external bleeding. As an external remedy, herbal infusion is used to wash wounds, ulcers, purulent rashes, etc.
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – tincture (made with 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1:10) 20-40 drops 2-4 times a day for 3-4 weeks; herbal infusion (10 g of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water) on a tablespoon 3-4 times a day.
Externally – washing with infusion (prepared as in the previous recipe). The plant’s inherent toxic properties require caution when using it.