Name: Tangled larkspur – dolphin straying (harvesting and storage)
Larkspur confused – Delphinium confusum M. R o r . Ukrainian name – dolphin straying.
The buttercup family is Ranunculaceae.
Larkspur entangled in the wild is found within the Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan and the South-Eastern part of Kazakhstan). Grows in the mountains, at an altitude of 2500-3000 m (alpine plant).
In Ukraine, it is currently cultivated on the state farms of Soyuzlekrasprom.
This is a perennial herbaceous plant 50-65 cm high. The stem from the base to the very top, together with the axis of the inflorescence, is densely pubescent: at the bottom with protruding and long hairs, at the top it is traditionally with velvety felt of very short hairs. The leaves are long-petiolate, concentrated in the lower half of the stem. Petioles, like the stem, are long-haired, expanded at the base; the leaf blade is round-reniform, densely pubescent with short hairs above and below along the veins, with a wedge-shaped base, dissected deeper than the middle into 3 coarsely toothed lobes. Raceme dense, of many flowers, simple, not often weakly branched at the base. Bracts and pedicels densely and shortly protruding pilose. The flowers are irregular with a spur. The color of the leaves within the flower bed is dark purple, the nectaries and staminodes are black. The fruit is a trifoliate. Blooms in July – August. The plant is poisonous.
Raw materials are harvested during budding and the beginning of flowering (late July – early August), cutting off the upper parts of the plant with flowers at a height of 15-20 cm, dried under canopies with good ventilation, laying out a thin layer (5-7 cm) and stirring occasionally, or in dryers at a temperature of 50-60°. The end of drying is determined by the fragility of the stems.
Dried raw materials are cut before use. Normative pharmacopoeial articles for tangled larkspur have been developed.
According to FS 42-275-72, the raw material consists of grass (stems, leaves, flowers, buds) up to 70 cm long or plant parts. Leaves 50-30 cm long, 6-20 cm wide, greenish-brown. The flowers in the inflorescence are blue-violet. There is no smell. Taste is not determined (poisonous!). Humidity must be no higher than 14%, and the total ash content of 8%.
Not more than (percent) is allowed in raw materials: crushed parts (sieve with a hole diameter of 1 mm) – 6, stems – 55, organic (parts of other plants) and mineral impurities – 1. The herb must contain at least 0.4% condelfin alkaloid .
Packed in bags of 12-15 and bales of 50 kg.
Stored in a group of potent raw materials, in closed, well-ventilated areas, packed on pallets or racks. Storage period up to 2 years. The herb contains alkaloids, the main one is condelfin (0.9%).
Use the product kondelfin, which has a curare-like effect. The drug is poisonous.
Until recently, high larkspur – Delphinium elatum L., the main alkaloid of which is elatin, was widely used in medical practice. At present, only those described above are of practical importance. mesh and confused.