Popular names: helminthic grass, cat soap, lihodeyka, dog tongue, dog root.
BLACK ROOT (Cynoglossum officinale L.)Biennial (sometimes perennial) herbaceous plant of the borage family (Boraginaceae), up to 1 m high. The plant is completely pubescent, and the hairs grow from almost imperceptible warts. The root is taproot, vertical, slightly branched, up to 2.5 cm thick in diameter. Stems (2-3) straight, branched above, softly pubescent. Leaves alternate, lanceolate, appressed-pubescent, almost tomentose below; the lower ones are long-leaved, the middle and upper ones are sessile. The flowers are dirty dark purple, sometimes with a white or blue tint, collected in whorls at the top of the stem and form a paniculate inflorescence. The fruit consists of 4 flattened nuts with hooked spikes on the plane. Blossoms in May – June, fruits ripen in August – September. All parts of the plant have an unpleasant mousey odor that disappears when dry. Distributed in the European part of the CIS, in the Caucasus, in Western and Eastern Siberia, Central Asia. It grows on slopes, cliffs, pebbles, steppe meadows, as a weed on fallow lands, wastelands, railway embankments, along roads, within dwellings, sometimes on the edges of pine forests, along river banks. The plant is poisonous! The medicinal properties of black root have been known since ancient times. Amirdovlat Amasiatsi wrote that if you hang its root on the neck in case of a headache, it will cure the headache, and if you prepare an ointment and lubricate dense ulcers, it will help and soften them. The medicinal properties of black root have been known since ancient times. Amirdovlat Amasiatsi wrote that if you hang its root on the neck in case of a headache, it will cure the headache, and if you prepare an ointment and lubricate dense ulcers, it will help and soften them. The medicinal properties of black root have been known since ancient times. Amirdovlat Amasiatsi wrote that if you hang its root on the neck in case of a headache, it will cure the headache, and if you prepare an ointment and lubricate dense ulcers, it will help and soften them.
COLLECTION AND DRYING OF RAW MATERIALS
For medicinal purposes, the roots and leaves of black root are used. The roots are dug up in late summer – early autumn and, after being cleared of the earth and stems, they are dried in well-ventilated areas. The leaves are harvested during the flowering of the plant and dried in the shade in the open air. The raw material consists of long narrow leaves with or without petioles. The finished raw material has a grayish-green color, a peculiar smell, astringent taste. In appearance, the plant is somewhat similar to medicinal ankhuz (Anchusa officinalis L.), which is distinguished by pubescence of hard, erect hairs, rarer and smaller lower leaves, inflorescences that do not stretch after flowering, purple or blue flowers, a calyx that does not open with fruits, hiding fruitlets.
PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
The plant has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, astringent, sedative, expectorant, epithelial action; when used externally, it exhibits antipruritic properties, promotes tissue regeneration.
APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE
Underground part. Official in Denmark, Spain, Norway, Portugal, France, Chile. Used in homeopathy. In folk medicine, a decoction, infusion, tincture, juice – a sedative for pain, convulsions, coughs, diseases of the stomach and lungs; externally – for rheumatism, bone fractures, condyloma of the anus, wen, tumors, burns, boils, wounds, snake bites. In the folk medicine of Belarus, a decoction – for bites by rabid animals, an ointment (root, ground into powder, mixed with fat) – for rheumatism, from aching bones, for abscesses; tincture (on vodka) – applied to wounds. Aerial part. Infusion – with dysentery, uteroptosis; externally – with scrofula. Leaves. Outwardly – with tumors, cuts.
DOSAGE FORMS, METHOD OF APPLICATION AND DOSES
♦ Black root infusion: 2 g of well-ground raw materials are poured into 200 ml of boiling water, infused, then filtered. Take 1/2 teaspoon 3 times every day under medical supervision. ♦ Black root juice: take 5-10 drops of fresh juice 3 times every day. and only under the direction and under the supervision of a physician. The plant has a curare-like effect, in case of an overdose it causes paralysis of the central nervous system. In addition, remote poisoning by the raw material of the plant is likely.* When hay contains more than 1%, cases of sheep poisoning are known.
APPLICATIONS IN OTHER FIELDS
Insecticide. Repellent. It is planted in gardens to protect fruit trees and flower beds from mice and rats (rodents do not tolerate the smell of blackroot). In addition, these rodents do not tolerate the smell of the plant and leave their dwellings and cellars, in which the leaves and stems of the black root are decomposed. In the past, root powder mixed with bread and lard was used to control mice and rats. The root is suitable for dyeing fabrics red. Honey plant is recommended to be sown near apiaries to improve honey collection. In autumn, the roots and stems with leaves are laid out in the omshanik so that the mice do not enter the hive.