St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum); God’s bloodsucker, hare bloodsucker, bloodsucker, crystals, hundred bloodsucker, clairvoyant, St. John’s wort; Zvirobyn family (Nuregisaseye); St. John’s wort pierced
Various peoples have many legends associated with this plant. She was even attributed magical properties. St. John’s wort has been used as a medicine since ancient times.
It is a perennial up to 70 cm tall, with opposite leaves and translucent speckled dark glands. They are also on flowers collected in shield-like inflorescences. Thanks to these glands, the leaves and petals of St. John’s wort look holey. This is where the Russian name of the species comes from. The plant blooms from July to August. The fruit is a box. St. John’s wort usually grows in dry meadows, clearings, light forest glades, among shrubs, almost throughout the territory of Russia, in Western Siberia, and outside of Russia – in the mountains of Central Asia and Transcaucasia. It grows everywhere in Ukraine, prefers dry places – meadows, slopes, grows among shrubs.
The question arises: why was the plant called “St. John’s wort”? It turns out that people have long noticed that white and white-spotted ruminants suffer from itching on sunny days, and later from skin ulcers and skin inflammation. Sometimes, when intensively eating St. John’s wort, they die. Hence the name. Eating the plant increases the sensitivity of non-pigmented animals to direct sunlight.
Many types of St. John’s wort have healing properties. For the preparation of medicines, the aerial part is harvested together with the inflorescences at the beginning of flowering. The upper part of the plant (20-40 cm) is cut off, in no case uprooted. The collected raw materials are tied into bundles and dried in the open air under shelter. Shelf life – 3 years. St. John’s wort is available in specialized pharmacies.
The aerial part of the plant contains tannins (about 12%), flavonoids, essential oil, resins and vitamin C, as well as carotene (provitamin A).
Most often, St. John’s wort is used as a medicine for diseases of the digestive tract. The use of the plant is effective in diseases of the biliary tract (bile stasis, cholecystitis, gallstone disease), diarrhea and hemorrhoids. Alcohol tincture of the herb increases
secretion of the stomach glands and improves appetite, in addition, it is an effective remedy against round parasitic worms – pinworms. St. John’s wort preparations are also used to treat kidney diseases, including urolithiasis in the initial stage.
All plant products have the ability to eliminate spasms of blood vessels, especially capillaries, improve venous blood circulation. Due to their antispasmodic activity, herbal infusions and decoctions are used for peptic ulcers, neuroses, sciatica, and headaches.
In folk medicine, plant products are used to treat trophic ulcers, pulmonary tuberculosis, allergies, malignant neoplasms, hypertension, gynecological diseases, and hemorrhoids. St. John’s wort is part of various medicinal teas and collections; infusions for rinsing, irrigation and baths are prepared from it. Ointment prepared on the basis of the herb and its powder are used to stimulate the healing of wounds and bedsores.
St. John’s wort tea increases the body’s protective functions.
With an overdose of plant products, a feeling of bitterness in the mouth and a decrease in appetite may occur.
In everyday life, St. John’s wort is used as a dyeing plant, the juice of which colors fabrics in yellowish and greenish-purple colors (khaki).
Decoction of grass. 1.5 tablespoons of raw materials per 200 ml of boiling water. Heat in a boiling water bath for 15-20 minutes, filter, bring to the original volume with warm boiled water. Take 1/3 cup three times a day for 30 minutes. before eating
Herbal tincture. St. John’s wort grass is poured with 40% alcohol (vodka) in a ratio of 1:5, infused for a week. Take 40-50 drops 3 times a day.