Who among us did not feast on the leaves of this plant as a child? Apparently, acquaintance with forest herbs, especially in fir trees (where they are few and therefore noticeable), begins with soursop. To get a sufficient amount of useful mass, it is necessary to collect many tiny, almost weightless plants.
Sorrel is a perennial herbaceous plant, almost without a stem, with a thin creeping rhizome, at the end of which there are flower-bearing spurs 8-12 cm high. The leaves of sorrel are long-stalked, triangular, with a notch (inverted heart-shaped), resembling clover leaves. The flowers are regular, five-petalled, white, with pink veins, delicate. The plant blooms in May. Most often, soursop can be found in old fir groves and shady places with an acidic soil reaction. In Ukraine, it grows in forest areas and in the west of the forest-steppe zone in wet mixed and deciduous forests, among shrubs.
As a medicine, fresh, less often dried, leaves and grass of soursop are used only in folk medicine. The plant is collected during the flowering period.
The aerial part contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (up to 150 mg%), carotene (provitamin A), rutin, organic acids (oxalic, malic and others), as well as their salts.
The plant is used as an anti-scurvy and anti-inflammatory agent, it also has antiseptic, diuretic, choleretic and anthelmintic (anthelmintic) properties. Sourdough is useful for atherosclerosis and metabolic disorders, poor appetite, digestive disorders, excessive menstruation. Helps with heavy metal salt poisoning. The fresh juice of the plant has a therapeutic effect on cancer of the lip and stomach, while local applications are combined with the use of juice internally.
Chopped fresh leaves of the plant are added to salads, soups as a substitute for sorrel, used as a seasoning for various dishes. These supplements are especially useful in the spring, when the body feels the need for vitamins and mineral salts.
Excessive use of sour cream should be avoided, as it irritates the kidney tissue. Of course, it is contraindicated for people suffering from uric acid diathesis.
Infusion of leaves. 1 tablespoon of fresh crushed leaves is poured with 400 ml of boiling water. Insist for 2 hours, filter. Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day.
Infusion of leaves (external). Infusion of double concentration (2 tablespoons of fresh leaves per 400 ml of boiling water). For rinses and lotions.