Marshmallow officinalis – marshmallow likarska (veterinary practice)

Name: Marshmallow officinalis – marshmallow likarska (veterinary practice)

Marshmallow officinalis – althaea officinalis l.

 

Popular names: marshmallow, mallow, wild poppy, wild rose, gulkhetma.

Botanical characteristic. Malvaceae family. Perennial herbaceous plant, many-headed, short, woody. The rhizome is thick, brownish-yellow with branched fleshy whitish roots. The stems are slightly branched, erect, up to 1.5 m high. The leaves are grayish-green, softly pubescent, alternate, lower three-, five-lobed, upper ovate. The flowers are pale pink, large, in the upper part of the stem collected in spike-shaped inflorescences. The whole plant has soft velvety pubescence. Blooms in June – August.

Spreading. It grows in damp places, in floodplains, among shrubs in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the European part of the USSR, in the south of Western Siberia, in Kazakhstan, in the Southern Urals, in some regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Cultivated in the Krasnodar Territory and Ukraine.

Medicinal raw materials. Use roots with rhizomes collected in early spring or late autumn from plants no less than 2 years old, less often leaves and flowers. The dug roots are cleaned from the ground, cut off small roots, quickly washed in cold water, avoiding slickness, cut into pieces 10-20 cm long, and thick parts are additionally lengthwise and dried in the open air, in ovens or dryers at a temperature not exceeding 40 ° C (at higher temperatures they turn yellow). Raw materials are laid out in a thin layer and protected from moisture, as it darkens and becomes moldy. Raw materials are stored for 3 years in a dry place.

Along with the marshmallow officinalis, the Armenian marshmallow is also used, which grows in the European part of the USSR, in Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the Caucasus. This is a perennial plant with a straight stem, 50-200 cm high. The leaves are petiolate, the flowers are pink. Dried raw materials are stored in a dry place for no more than 2-3 years.

Chemical composition. The root contains up to 35% mucus, within 37% starch, up to 10.2% sucrose, fatty oils, betaine, etc.

pharmacological properties.Marshmallow has been used since ancient times as an anti-inflammatory, enveloping and expectorant for catarrh of the throat and respiratory organs, inflammation of the urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, etc. The mechanism of these phenomena is that the mucous substances of the root envelop and protect the nervous endings of the mucous membranes of the pharynx and gastrointestinal tract from exposure to irritating substances. This leads to a decrease in painful reflexes and swelling in the affected tissues, as a result of which there is a mitigation of catarrhal inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, and intestines. In addition, decoctions of the root moderate the irritating properties of all kinds of medicinal substances, help slow down the absorption of poisons, so you can prescribe it as an antidote for poisoning.

In pharmaceutical practice, marshmallow root is used as a shaping mass in the manufacture of boluses, cereals, and mucus.

Application. As an enveloping and anti-inflammatory, as well as an expectorant, marshmallow products are recommended for inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, coprostasis, diarrhea, catarrh of the respiratory tract, cough, bronchitis. Marshmallow root is administered orally 2-3 times every day in the form of a decoction (1:10 – 1:30), syrup or extract in doses: horses 20-100 g, cattle 25-200, sheep 5-50, pigs 5- 25, dogs 5-10, cats 1-5, chickens 0.5-2 g.

dog

Rp.: Radicis Althaeae 40.0

DS Brew in 2 cups of boiling water, insist, after cooling, strain and administer 1/2 cup several times every day (expectorant and antitussive).

Pig

Rp.: Decocti radicis Althaeae 20.0-200.0

DS 1/2 cup per reception (expectorant).

A decoction of marshmallow root is stored in a cool place for no more than 2 days. Dry marshmallow root extract (Extractum Althaeae siccum) is a grayish-yellow powder, almost odorless, with a sweetish taste. Marshmallow Syrup (Syrupus Althaeae) consists of 2 parts dry marshmallow root extract and 98 parts sugar syrup. Transparent liquid of yellowish color, peculiar sweetish taste. It is used as an enveloping agent and to improve the taste of medicines. Mucaltin (Mucaltinum) is produced in the form of tablets of 0.05 g containing a mixture of polysaccharides (dry mucus) from the herb of the plant. It is prescribed as an expectorant for acute and chronic respiratory diseases (bronchitis, pneumonia, etc.).

Althea root is part of the collection of breast No. 1 and 3.

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