Name: Small basil – small rutvitsa (harvesting and storage)
Small basil – Thalictrum minus L. The Ukrainian name is rutvitsya small, popular names are rutka, wild parsley, cornflowers, borkun zhovtiy, borkun yalovy, kamchug, kropets, nevstaha, rannik, suzik, slig, smovt, etc.
The buttercup family is Ranunculaceae.
The herb is used for medicinal purposes.
It occurs almost everywhere in Ukraine, with the exception of the highlands of the Carpathians, more often in the Forest-Steppe and in the north of the Steppe. It grows on forest edges and clearings, in sparse forests, among shrubs, sometimes on roadsides, near forest belts, in old gardens with soddy soil, in cemeteries, unplowed mounds. It usually forms sparse groups, rarely small thickets, and individual specimens are also found.
Stocks of raw materials are quite large.
Small basil is a perennial herbaceous plant with an erect or ascending stem 50-100 cm high and pinnately dissected leaves. The flowers are small, drooping, greenish, with 10-15 drooping stamens, collected in a panicle. The fruits are ribbed achenes, winged along the ribs, up to 7 mm long, glabrous. Other types of basil are not allowed for harvesting and use.
Grass is harvested during flowering (May-June), cutting off the tops of plants 60 cm long with knives, secateurs or sickles.
Dry it in attics under an iron roof or under sheds with good ventilation, spreading a thin layer (5-6 cm) on paper or cloth and stirring occasionally.
According to FS 42-51-72, the raw material consists of whole or broken tops of stems up to 60 cm long with green leaves and greenish-yellow flowers. The smell is weak. The taste is bitter. Humidity is not higher than 13%. Not more than (percent) is allowed in raw materials: darkened, browned and yellowed parts – 5, crushed parts passing through a sieve with a hole diameter of 1 mm – 5, organic and mineral impurities – 1 each, Alkaloids should contain at least 0.3% .
Dry grass is packed in bags of 25 or in bales of 50 kg. Store in packaged form in dry, well-ventilated areas on pallets or racks. Storage period 3 years.
The herb contains up to 1.1% alkaloids (talmine, talmidine, etc.), which enhance cardiac activity, and glycosides, which split hydrocyanic acid. Included in the collection for the preparation of the mixture of M. N. Zdrenko.