Name: Bristle tree – bristly yarrow
Achillea setacea; yarrow bristly
A perennial herbaceous plant of the asteraceae (complex-flowered) family. Stems are erect, simple, 30-60 cm tall. Leaves are linear or narrow-lanceolate; basal – short-petiolate, all others – sessile. The middle stem leaves are 4-6 cm long and 0.8-1.2 cm wide, twice pinnately dissected into narrow filiform lobes; segments of the first order are located along the central vein at a distance of 2.2-4 mm. The end lobes of the leaves are bristly-linear, about 0.2 mm wide. The flowers are collected in small baskets forming a shield; marginal pistillate flowers are ligulate, white or slightly yellowish, central ones are tubular, bisexual; ligules of marginal flowers 0.9–1.5 mm long and 1–2 mm wide, with three small blunt lobes at the apex. The fruit is an achene. Blooms in May – September.
Spread. It grows on steppes, dry meadows, near roads throughout Ukraine, but most of it is in the Steppe and Crimea.
Procurement and storage . Herbs (Herba Millefolii) and flowers (Flores Millefolii) are used to make medicines. Harvesting is carried out from the beginning to the middle of the flowering of the plant. The tops of the 15 cm long stems are cut off, and the leaves are cut off on the lower, rough part of the stem. When harvesting flowers, cut off only inflorescences with peduncles so that the length of the peduncles does not exceed 4 cm. They are dried under tents or in the attic, spread out in a thin (5-7 cm) layer and periodically turned over. 30-33% of dry raw material is obtained. The shelf life is 5 years. Raw materials are sold by pharmacies.
Chemical composition . The herb contains essential oil (up to 0.8%), flavonoids (luteolin-7-glycoside, rutin), sesquiterpenes (matricin, milefolide, balchanolide), tannins and bitter substances, achilein, vitamin K, organic acids (acetic, formic, isovaleric ) and other substances. The composition of the essential oil includes proazulene, α- and β-pinenes, camphor, borneol, thujone, cineole, caryophyllene, etc.
Pharmacological properties and use. The complex of chemicals contained in the plant provides it with many-sided therapeutic properties. First of all, galenic products of Dereviia bristly show an effective hemostatic effect and are used for pulmonary, intestinal, hemorrhoidal and nosebleeds, for bleeding from the gums and wounds, as well as for uterine bleeding (for inflammatory processes, fibroids, excessive menstruation). Using the bristly cedar as a hemostatic agent, preference should be given to products from the leaves, because the flowers of the plant do not show such an effect. Along with this, the products of Dervia bristly irritate the endings of the taste nerves and increase the secretory activity of the stomach, expand the bile ducts and increase the secretion of bile into the duodenum, increase diuresis, relieve spastic pain in the intestines, and this leads to their use in cases of reduced appetite. hypoacid gastritis, peptic ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum, ulcerative spastic colitis, flatulence, liver, kidney and bladder diseases. When used externally as a hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal and dermatonic agent, yarrow products are effective in cases of alopecia areata (Alopecia areata), excessive oiliness of the skin, acne, hemorrhoids and herpes, promote the healing of fresh and purulent wounds, ulcers, boils and lichen planus, stimulate hair growth In folk medicine, yarrow is used even more widely. In addition to all the above cases, it is used internally as a means of regulating metabolism, for dizziness, nausea, headache, insomnia, hysteria, chlorosis (pale malaise), malaria and tuberculosis of the lungs, for diarrhea, kidney stone disease, nocturnal urinary incontinence , nocturnal pollutions and whites, to regulate menstruation and stimulate the secretion of milk in nursing mothers and as an anthelmintic. The yarrow grass is rarely used independently. More often it is used in a mixture with other medicinal plants. Bristle cedar is part of laxative tea, anti-hemorrhoidal tea, appetizing teas and gastric teas. It is useful to include salads prepared with the addition of a small amount of young leaves of yarrow bristly as part of the therapeutic and preventive diet. It should be remembered that its excessive and long-term use causes dizziness and rashes on the skin. More often it is used in a mixture with other medicinal plants. Bristle cedar is part of laxative tea, anti-hemorrhoidal tea, appetizing teas and gastric teas. It is useful to include salads prepared with the addition of a small amount of young leaves of yarrow bristly as part of the therapeutic and preventive diet. It should be remembered that its excessive and long-term use causes dizziness and rashes on the skin. More often it is used in a mixture with other medicinal plants. Bristle cedar is part of laxative tea, anti-hemorrhoidal tea, appetizing teas and gastric teas. It is useful to include salads prepared with the addition of a small amount of young leaves of yarrow bristly as part of the therapeutic and preventive diet. It should be remembered that its excessive and long-term use causes dizziness and rashes on the skin.
Medicinal forms and applications
Internally – herbal infusion (15 g, or 2 tablespoons of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water) is drunk warm in half – a third of a glass 2-3 times a day for gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and as a hemostatic agent;
liquid yarrow extract (Extractum Millefolii fluidum) is taken 40-50 drops 3 times a day;
fresh plant juice, sweetened with honey, is taken 1 teaspoon three times a day to stimulate appetite, improve metabolism, with hepatocholecystitis and gynecological diseases (metrorrhagia);
herbal tincture (30 g of raw material per 100 g of vodka, infuse for 7 days) 20 drops 3 times a day before meals for dysmenorrhea, angina, intestinal spasms;
a mixture of 0.15 g of yarrow leaf powder and 0.15 g of nettle leaf powder is taken three times a day before meals as a hemostatic and anti-inflammatory agent;
two tablespoons of a mixture of the grass yarrow, St. John’s wort, St. John’s wort, rutabaga, grass and root of common chicory and leaves of plantain, taken in equal parts, boil for 10 minutes in 2 glasses of water, insist for half an hour and drink half a glass three times a day half an hour before meals for 1-2 months with hypoacid gastritis;
two tablespoons of a mixture of yarrow grass, yarrow rhizomes, buds of hanging birch and leaves of common milkweed in a ratio of 2:1:1:2 are boiled for 5-7 minutes in 500 ml of water, infused for half an hour and drunk during the day 4 times in case of inflammation of the urinary tract bladder;
salad: young yarrow leaves are kept in boiling water for 1 minute, chopped, mixed with cabbage and onion prepared for salad, salted and seasoned with vegetable oil (for 150 g of sauerkraut, take 25 g of green onions, 5 g of yarrow leaves, 10 g of oil and salt ).
Externally – herbal infusion (2 tablespoons of raw material per 500 ml of boiling water, infuse for one hour) for washing, lotions, compresses (for acne, for the treatment of wounds, ulcers and boils), local baths (for hemorrhoids, scaly lichen and scabies) and for rubbing (1 time a day to stimulate hair growth);
infusion of flower baskets (3 teaspoons of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water, infuse for 30 minutes, strain, cool) for compresses with excessive facial skin fat; three teaspoons of a mixture of yarrow flower baskets, three-color violet grass and ordinary hop cones, taken in equal parts, pour a glass of boiling water, infuse for 30 minutes, strain, cool and use this infusion as in the previous prescription;
a face mask for excessively oily skin: an infusion of the flower baskets of yarrow (3 teaspoons per 200 ml of boiling water) is mixed with dry milk powder, starch or flour and the resulting paste is applied to the face, and after 15-20 minutes it is washed off (you can also use and the above infusion of a mixture of flower baskets of bristly yarrow, three-color violet grass and cones of ordinary hops);
a mixture of freshly ground yarrow grass with Provencal oil (in a ratio of 1:10) for lubrication of the affected skin areas (for burns, boils and skin tuberculosis) and for rubbing (1 time a day for alopecia areata.