Lamiaceae – Lamiaceae (Labiatae).
Parts Used: Flowering part of the plant (without roots).
Pharmacy name: herb zyuznik – Lycopi herba (earlier: Herba Lycopi).
Botanical description. Perennial plant with a tetrahedral, branched stem in the upper part. Leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate, serrate; upper – sessile, lower – with petioles. If it grows in water, then the leaves immersed in water are pinnatisected. Small, white, funnel-shaped flowers have a 4-part corolla with purple speckles (in the throat and on the lip). Blooms from July to September. It occurs in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe along ditches, banks of water bodies, spreading with the help of thin underground shoots.
Collection and preparation. The aerial parts of plants are collected during flowering, tied in bunches and dried in a ventilated room.
Active ingredients: tannins, glycosides, some resins and essential oils. One of the active substances (presumably a derivative of caffeic acid – lithospermic acid) makes this medicinal plant curative for relatively mild forms of hyperthyroidism. This substance probably reduces the excitability of the thyroid gland and at the same time counteracts the excess of its hormone.
Healing action and application. The use of zyuznik tea is unpopular. They mainly use an extract from this plant, which is sold in pharmacies under the name Thyreogutt (extract from a mixture of equal parts of motherwort and zyuznik). It especially helps with disorders of the heart (cardiac neuroses) caused by hyperfunction of the thyroid gland. This is recognized by the German National Health Service.
- Zyuznik tea: 2 teaspoons without the top of dry grass, pour 1/4 liter of boiling water, leave for 10 minutes, strain. Drink tea in small sips warm and unsweetened. It is recommended to drink twice every day for a cup for several weeks.
Use in homeopathy. In homeopathy, the corresponding remedy is called Lycopus virginieus, it is prepared from the North American virginiana, very close to the European, and is used almost exclusively for disorders of the heart (cardiac neurosis) caused by hyperthyroidism. In dilution D 1 , the agent is taken 5-10 drops 2-3 times every day.
Application in folk medicine. European zyuznik is of no particular importance in folk medicine. It is used, like motherwort, as a mild sedative for cardiac neuroses. Side effects at a normal dosage can not be feared.