Sour sorrel (Rumex acetosa); common sorrel; Buckwheat family (Polygonaceae); sour sorrel
There are hardly any people who do not know this plant. Many of us love green borscht with sorrel, seasoned with sour cream and a boiled egg, vitamin salads, to which it gives a pleasant sour taste. Hobbyists grow special varieties of plants in their backyards.
Sorrel is a herbaceous perennial with a ribbed stem, up to 1 m tall. The leaves are alternate, at the base of the stem — with bells (arrow-shaped), long-petiolate; the upper ones are sessile, lanceolate-arrow-shaped. The flowers are unisexual (a dioecious plant), red, pink, or yellowish, collected in a complex spike-like inflorescence, blooming in July-August. The fruit is a three-sided dark brown nut, ripening in August-September. In natural places where sorrel grows, it is common in meadows, forest edges and meadows. A common plant in the middle zone of Russia, it often occurs in Siberia, where it goes north to Taimyr. It grows throughout the territory of Ukraine in wet places – in swamps, meadows, meadows. It is widely grown as a vegetable crop.
In medicine, the aerial part (root leaves), roots or the whole plant are used. The leaves are used fresh, and the roots and grass are dried.
Sorrel leaves contain proteins, flavone compounds, organic acids, vitamins C (up to 90 mg%), A, B1, iron salts and many complex organic substances. The root contains many glycosides.
Sorrel preparations stimulate urinary and bile secretion, in large doses they increase intestinal peristalsis (laxative effect), in small doses they have astringent properties. Thanks to the flavone compounds included in the plant, they also act as an anti-inflammatory, vaso-strengthening and anti-sclerotic agent. Useful use of sorrel in diabetes. Externally, plant infusions are used as an astringent for various inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity and angina. Fresh crushed leaves are applied to wounds and ulcers.
For consumption, young leaves are used, which are usually collected before flowering, they are used to prepare borschts, soups, purees, and fillings for pies. Leaves can also be prepared as a reserve: canned in the form of puree, dried, salted and fermented.
Plant products are contraindicated for people suffering from kidney disease. It is not recommended to eat sorrel for patients with peptic ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum, as well as gastritis and enterocolitis. With excessive consumption of dishes with sorrel, a violation of salt metabolism is possible.
Sorrel root powder. 0.5 g at night as a laxative.
Infusion of grass with roots. 20 g of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water. Insist for 15-20 minutes, filter. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day as a tonic.
Juice from fresh leaves. 1 tablespoon 3 times a day before meals as a choleretic agent.