Yellow garden thistle (Sonchus oleraceus); garden thistle and
An annual herbaceous plant of the asteraceae (complex-flowered) family. The plant releases a milky white juice when injured. The stem is erect, hollow, smooth, 40-120 cm tall. The leaves are alternate, matte, glabrous, planiform-pinnate-incised or unevenly spiny-toothed; the lower ones are pedunculated, the middle and upper ones are with a stem-wrapped heart-shaped base and sharp ears. Baskets – in a branched inflorescence, on thickened legs. The flowers are tabular, yellow, less often pale, with red stripes on the bend. The fruit is an achene. Blooms from June to October.
Spread. It grows like a weed in gardens, in littered places almost throughout the territory of Ukraine.
Raw. Herbs collected during thistle flowering are used to make medicines.
The plant is unofficial .
The chemical composition has not yet been sufficiently studied . It is known that the plant contains tannins, carotene and rubber.
Pharmacological properties and use . The plant exhibits diuretic, choleretic, mild laxative, lactogenic, hemostatic and anti-inflammatory properties. In traditional medicine, herbal infusion is used for colds, jaundice, hemoptysis, pain in the bladder (in particular, with stones), against worms and as a means that enhances the process of milk production in nursing mothers. The fresh milky juice of the plant was used to treat liver diseases, and the whole plant was used to treat gout. Fresh crushed leaves are applied to bleeding wounds. Salads made from young leaves of the plant are included in the therapeutic and preventive diet.
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – infusion of thistle herb (1 tablespoon of raw material per glass of boiling water, infuse for 1 hour, strain) 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day;
salad: washed young leaves of the plant are soaked for 40 minutes. in a 10% saline solution, dry, grind, put on a circle of pickled cucumbers, add grated horseradish and season with sour cream (for 100 g of leaves, take 50 g of pickled cucumbers, 25 g of grated horseradish, 20 g of sour cream, salt and pepper).
Externally – an infusion of thistle herb (one full handful of raw material per 1 liter of boiling water, boil for 5 minutes, strain) for a sitting cool bath for hemorrhoids (the duration of the procedure is 15-20 minutes, taken three times a week).