Spring gorse (Adonis vernalis); yellow spring flower, hare poppy, bathwort, field dill, old oak, black bitter gourd; spring flower
A perennial herbaceous plant of the family of sedum. Stems are numerous, bare or slightly pubescent, simple or branched, 5-20 cm high. Lower wings are brown, scaly; middle ones are sessile, three-lobed, with narrowly linear lobes. The flowers are large (4-5.5 cm in diameter), regular, single, on the tops of stems and branches; petals are bright yellow, elongated ovoid, in the number of 12-20. The fruit is an achene. Blooms in April – May.
Distribution . It occurs in Ukraine in forest-steppe and steppe areas, in the Crimea (in the mountains), occasionally in the south of Polissia in the steppes, on the slopes.
Procurement and storage . For medicinal purposes, the herb “Herba Adonidis vernalis” is used, which is harvested from the beginning of flowering of the plant until the shedding of fruits, that is, from May to the beginning of July. The best is the raw material collected during the flowering of the plant. The plant is cut at a height of 5-10 cm from the ground, the browned parts are removed and dried in dryers at a temperature of 40-50°С, in good weather – in the open air, under a tent or in the attic. 19-20% of dry raw material is obtained. The shelf life is up to 1 year. Pharmacies do not release raw materials.
Chemical composition . The herb contains cardiac glycosides, the main of which are adonitoxin, cymarin, K-strophanthin-B, acetyladonitoxin, adonitoxol and vernadigin. In addition, the herb contains genins (B-strophanthidin, strophadogenin, acetyl-strophadogenin, and others), flavonoids (adonivernite, vitexin, homoadonivernite, phytosterol, adonite alcohol, etc.).
Pharmacological properties and use. According to the nature of the action, the products of spring gorse belong to the group of cardiac glycosides and occupy an intermediate place between strophant and digitalis. St. John’s wort has a cardiotonic effect, slows down the heart rhythm, lengthens diastole, strengthens systole, increases stroke volume of blood, moderately inhibits intracardiac conduction. The effect of spring flower comes sooner, but it is shorter and weaker than the effect of digitalis. Preparations of spring flower are indicated for heart failure, which is accompanied by conduction disturbances, because digitalis in such cases can cause heart block phenomena. Compared to other glycosides, the preparations of St. John’s wort have a more pronounced sedative and diuretic effect. The latter is related to the content of cymarin in the plant, which has high biological activity. The nature of action of cymarin is close to strophanthin, but it has more pronounced cumulative properties. Compared to foxglove, the cumulative properties of the glycosides of the spring flower are much smaller. Spring St. John’s wort is used for functional neuroses of the heart, vegetative dystonia, infectious diseases that occur with weakening of the heart, neuropsychiatric diseases, kidney diseases with cardiovascular system insufficiency, and acute attacks of glaucoma. Spring hollyhock is an ancient folk remedy for heart and kidney diseases. It was used for swellings of cardiac origin, as a sedative for convulsions, cough, especially for whooping cough, as a pain reliever for rheumatic joint and muscle pain. St. John’s wort was also used for emphysema, inflammation and tuberculosis of the lungs, for fever, dropsy, jaundice, typhus,
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – herbal infusion (4-10 g of grass per 200 ml of boiling water) 3-5 times a day, 1 tablespoon for adults and half – one teaspoon or dessert spoon – for children;
St. John’s wort dry extract (Extractum Adonidis vernalis) for preparation of infusion (4.0:200.0—6.0:200.0) and tablets;
Adonisidum (Adonisidum) 2-3 times a day for 20-40 drops for adults, and for children as many drops as their age; dry adonisid (Adonisidum siccum) is prescribed for adults 1 tablet 2-4 times a day;
one tablespoon of a mixture of the herb of spring gorse (10 g), the rhizomes of valerian (20 g), the herb of five-lobed nettle (30 g) and the leaves of lemon balm (40 g) is infused for 10 minutes. on a glass of boiling water and drink a quarter of a glass in the morning and in the evening for neuroses of the heart;
pour one tablespoon of a mixture of the herb St. John’s wort (40 g), the leaves of the common milkweed (50 g), the buds of the downy birch (30 g) and the horsetail herb (20 g) with 1 cup of boiling water, steam in the oven for 2 hours, boil for over low heat for 5-10 minutes. and drink 1 tablespoon every day for edema of renal origin, following a salt-free diet, bed rest and taking warm baths every other day.
Spring gorse is part of Cardiovalen and Bekhterev’s mixture. The drugs are not recommended for patients with peptic ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum, gastritis and enterocolitis. When using them, dyspeptic phenomena may occur. Taking into account the fact that St. John’s wort is a powerful remedy, it should be used under the supervision of a doctor.