Lamiaceae – Lamiaceae (Labiatae).
Popular names: bee grass, odorous hyssop.
Parts Used: Above-ground part of the plant.
Pharmacy name: hyssop herb – Hyssopi herba (formerly: Herba Hyssopi).
Botanical description.Hyssop ought to be considered among foreign medicinal plants, but it is so often found in gardens as a spicy and melliferous plant, and not often in a wild state, that it seemed to me expedient to place it here. It is a semi-shrub with short lignified overwintering shoots. Stems can reach 1 m in height. The leaves are opposite, sessile (sometimes with petioles), ovate or oval in shape, pointed at the apex. They are up to 3 cm long, but traditionally shorter on the flowering part of the shoot. The leaf edge is smooth. The flowers are usually violet-blue, rarely pink or white, characteristic of the labiate structure. The whole plant is strongly scented. Blooms from July to August. This foreign plant has been cultivated in our gardens since the early Middle Ages. His homeland, in all likelihood, South-Eastern Europe.
Collection and preparation. Flowering grass is used, and only the upper, more tender parts of the shoots should be cut. They are tied in bundles and hung to dry in a ventilated place.
Active ingredients: essential oil, tannins, bitter flavonoid glycosides, sitosterin, ursbic acid and issopine pigment.
Healing action and application. Hyssop is used mainly for gastrointestinal diseases and to stimulate appetite. And its anticonvulsant and slight diuretic action is used in diuretic tea. In addition, hyssop is also used as an expectorant for dry coughs. The German National Health Service rejected the use of hyssop, as its healing effect has not been proven.
Application in folk medicine. Where hyssop is cultivated in gardens as honey for bees, it is often made into a tea for coughs, diarrhea, and flatulence.
- Hyssop tea: 2 teaspoons of chopped herbs are poured into 1/4 of cold water, brought to a boil and infused for 5 minutes. After straining, the tea is ready to drink. Dosage: 2 cups every day.
Use as a condiment. Hyssop is an excellent condiment, as it is aromatic and pleasant in taste, and has a beneficial effect on digestion. It is especially good to add it to tender roast veal, which often lacks spicy astringency. But hyssop gives a pleasant piquancy to bean dishes, stews and soups or fresh salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as cottage cheese and processed cheeses.
You can not be afraid of side effects , but do not overdose!