Yarrow

Other names: Cut, Cut grass, Green grass, Kashka, Whitehead, Bloodthirsty, Mother liquor, White porridge, Hare grass.

Diseases and effects: epistaxis, pulmonary and uterine bleeding, bleeding gums, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, ulcerative spastic colitis, flatulence, hemorrhoids, wounds, cuts, ulcers, urolithiasis, inflammatory diseases of the bladder , acne.

Active substances: essential oil, chamazulene, azulenes, camphor, alpha-pinenes, beta-pinenes, borneol, cineole thujone, caryophyllene, esters, cineole, apigenin, luteolin, tannins, resins, formic acid, isovaleric acid, ascorbic acid, acetic acid, carotene, vitamin K, bitters, millefolide, matricin, rutin, luteolin-7-glucoside, stachydrine, achillein, beniticin.

Collection time:  June – July Botanical description \ rDistribution \ rChemical composition \ rPharmacological properties and medical significance \ rApplication \ rProcessing rules \ rDoses, dosage forms and method of application \r\r

Botanical description of common yarrow 

\rPerennial herbaceous plant of the Compositae (aster) family – Composite, with a thin creeping cord-like rhizome , from which shoots with rosettes of basal leaves and unbranched flowering stems extend.\r

Stems 20 to 80 cm high, straight, almost unbranched and downy.\r

Leaves lanceolate, alternate, twice or thrice pinnatisected, 3-15 cm long and 0.5-3 cm wide with numerous (15-30) lagging primary segments with 9-15 serrated lobules. The lower leaves are petiolate; medium – small, sessile; the common stem of the sheet is flat.\r

Inflorescences  – numerous small baskets, at the top of the stems collected in complex shields. Involucre smooth or slightly pubescent, ovate, oblong with membranous drilled margin.\r

Flowers bisexual staminate. Quantity from 14 to 20; reed flowers – 5, they are white, not often pink.\r

Achenes 1.5-2 mm long, silver-gray, oblong, flat.\r

Common yarrow blooms from June to the end of summer. Achenes ripen in July-August. The method of reproduction is vegetative and seed.\r

In addition to common yarrow, harvesters collect similar species that differ little in morphological characteristics, but are confined to certain places of growth: bristly yarrow grows traditionally in the steppe zone; Yarrow noble and Cannonian are found everywhere on the slopes, in dry meadows, along rural roadsides and in the railway zone.\r

Distribution of common yarrow 

\rThe common yarrow is distributed almost throughout the CIS, with the exception of the northern regions of Siberia and the Far East, desert and semi-desert regions of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and the Lower Volga region. On the territory of Ukraine, yarrow can be found everywhere – in meadows, along river valleys, on forest edges and clearings, along roads, in gardens, on the slopes of beams, on gently sloping hills. The main preparations are carried out in the south of Ukraine, in the mouths of the rivers of the Odessa, Nikolaev and Kherson regions, also in the northern part of the Zaporozhye region and throughout the Donetsk region. In Crimea, yarrow mainly grows in foothill and mountainous areas. In the southern region of Ukraine, up to 30-40 tons of raw materials can be harvested annually, incl. in the Crimea – 5-6 t.\r

The chemical composition of the common yarrow 

\rThe leaves of the plant contain an essential oil (0.6-0.8%), which includes chamazulene, azulenes, camphor, alpha and beta pinenes, borneol, cineole thujone, caryophyllene; esters, cineole, glycosides – apigenin and luteolin, tannins, resins, formic, isovaleric, ascorbic and acetic acids, carotene, vitamin K, bitter substances. In addition, common yarrow contains sesquiterpenes: millefolide, matricin, etc.; flavonoids: rutin, luteolin-7-glucoside.\r

Alkaloids found in the leaves: stachydrine, achillein, betonicin, etc.\r

Pharmacological properties and medical significance of yarrow 

\rThe common yarrow herb has versatile pharmacological properties due to the presence of various biologically active compounds in the medicinal raw material. Galenic forms of yarrow herb have an antispasmodic effect on the smooth muscles of the intestines, urinary and biliary tract, and therefore dilate the bile ducts and increase bile secretion into the duodenum, also increase diuresis and can relieve pain caused by spasms in the intestines. These properties of plant products are associated with the content of flavonoids and essential oils in it. Due to the bitter taste of Achilles, yarrow irritates the endings of the taste nerves and increases the secretion of gastric juice. Yarrow herb also reduces flatulence.\r

The content of tannins, essential oil and chamazulene in the plant determines the anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, anti-allergic and wound-healing properties of yarrow.\r

In an experiment on dogs with the introduction of 10% infusion of yarrow after 30 minutes, a decrease in heart rate is observed. In addition, the flavonoids contained in the plant have an antihypertensive property.\r

Yarrow infusion increases blood clotting, which manifests itself in shortening the time of oxalate plasma recalcification, increasing plasma tolerance to heparin, and reducing heparin time. The fibrinolytic activity of the blood of the yarrow infusion does not have a definite effect, which may be due to sharp fluctuations in the fibrinolytic activity of the blood of experimental animals. The concentration of Ac-globulin (V factor) and fibrin almost does not change under the influence of yarrow infusion.\r

The mechanism of the hemostatic action of yarrow products is somewhat reminiscent of the participation of calcium ions in the process of blood coagulation. Yarrow preparations activate the action of fibrin, but never lead to the formation of blood clots. The effect of herbal forms of yarrow on the process of hemocoagulation is moderate and manifests itself only with prolonged use. The hemostatic effect of yarrow is based on an increase in the number of platelets and a shortening of the time to stop bleeding.\r

The combination of hemostatic properties and the likelihood of intensifying contractions of the uterine muscles determines the effectiveness of yarrow in uterine bleeding.\r

The use of yarrow 

\rHerbal products from yarrow are widely used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, both in native form and in combination with other plants in the form of collections, teas or complex tinctures. They are used for gastritis with reduced secretion of gastric juice, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, ulcerative spastic colitis, flatulence and hemorrhoids.\r

With the systematic use of galenic products of the plant, the secretion and motility of the digestive tract are normalized in the diseased, bile secretion and secretory activity of the pancreas improve, appetite increases, and pain disappears.\r

The hemostatic properties of the plant are used for gastrointestinal, hemorrhoidal bleeding. In a clinical study of yarrow herb infusion, its high therapeutic efficacy was noted in patients, especially in combination with other medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic properties (chamomile, calendula, psyllium, peppermint, etc.). Good results are given by enemas with infusion of yarrow for hemorrhoids. Yarrow is used as a hemostatic agent for nasal, uterine, pulmonary bleeding. The liquid extract and infusion of the plant’s herb are especially effective in uterine bleeding due to inflammatory processes, fibromyomas, and heavy menstruation.\r

External use of infusions or liquid extract of yarrow is based mainly on the anti-inflammatory properties of the plant. Dressings moistened with plant extract are applied to wounds, cuts, ulcers. Yarrow infusion is used to wash wounds.\r

Yarrow infusions and decoctions are also used for urolithiasis, inflammatory diseases of the bladder.\r

In folk medicine, fresh young yarrow leaves are ground and used as a hemostatic agent for external wounds and nosebleeds. The squeezed juice from the plant, mixed with honey, is drunk to stimulate appetite and improve metabolism, with liver diseases. A decoction of inflorescences is used to wash the face to remove blackheads, cleanse and refresh the skin.\r

For food purposes, yarrow powder can be used as a seasoning and flavoring agent when pickling vegetables. Yarrow is well eaten by livestock, while the appetite of animals increases, which helps to increase their productivity.\r

This plant is widely used in home gardens, garden plots as an insecticidal agent to control aphids, mites and other garden pests.\r

Rules for harvesting common yarrow 

\rHerbs and flowers of yarrow are medicinal. Collect them during the flowering period in June-July. External signs of raw materials are whole or partially crushed flowering shoots. The stems are rounded, with alternate leaves, up to 15 cm long. The color of the stems and leaves is grayish-green, the marginal flowers are white, less often pink, and the middle ones are yellowish. The smell is weak, fragrant. The taste is spicy, bitter.\r

The raw material must contain at least 0.1% essential oil with a moisture content of not more than 13%; total ash – no more than 15%; brown, yellowed and blackened parts of the grass – no more than 1%; organic impurities – no more than 0.5%, mineral impurities – no more than 1%.\r

Grass is harvested by cutting off the tops of stems up to 15 cm long with sickles, knives. If flowers are harvested, the shields are cut off or cut with scissors with stems no longer than 2 cm. Dry in the open air in the shade or under canopies with good ventilation, laying out a thin layer, also in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 50 ° C.\r

Shelf life 5 years.\r

Doses, dosage forms and method of application of yarrow 

\rInfusion of yarrow herb (Infusum herbae Millefolii): 15 g (2 tablespoons) of raw materials are placed in an enamel bowl, pour 200 ml (1 cup) of hot boiled water, cover with a lid and heat in boiling water (in a water bath) for 15 minutes. Cool at room temperature for 45 minutes, filter, squeeze out the remaining raw material. The volume of the resulting infusion is adjusted with boiled water to 200 ml. The prepared infusion is stored in a cool place for no more than 2 days.\r

Taken inside in a warm form, 1/2-1/3 cup 2-3 times every day 30 minutes before meals as a hemostatic agent for pulmonary, intestinal, hemorrhoidal, uterine, nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums and wounds, with gastritis, peptic ulcer.\r

Available in packs of 100 g. Grass is stored in a dry, cool place.\r

Liquid extract of yarrow (Extractum Millefolii fluidum) take 40-50 drops 3 times every day.\r

Yarrow herb is a part of gastric appetizing teas and mixtures.