Botanical characteristic. Kirkazon family. Perennial herbaceous plant with a creeping stem. Rhizome branched, creeping. The leaves are broad-kidney-shaped, long-petiolate, whole-cut, leathery, dark green and shiny above, paler below, shaped like a horse’s hooves. Flowers solitary, inconspicuous, small, dark purple. Blooms in May; fruits ripen in June.
Spreading. It occurs in the Ural part of Western Siberia, in the middle lane and in the south of the European part of the USSR, partly in Altai. Grows in deciduous and mixed forests.
Medicinal raw materials. Harvest rhizome with roots and leaves. The leaves are harvested during the flowering period, dried in the shade with good ventilation. The roots are dug up in autumn, immediately washed and dried. Store in well-ventilated areas in 50 kg bags.
Chemical composition. The plant contains the little-studied alkaloid azarine, organic acids and their salts, glycosides, resinous and tannins, mucus, starch, and a lot of essential oil. The main component of the essential oil is the poisonous substances azaron (volatilizes when the plant is dried), diazaron, pinene, eugenal, etc.
pharmacological properties. It has been experimentally established that an aqueous infusion of the leaves, due to the presence of cardiac glycosides, enhances cardiac activity, constricts blood vessels and increases blood pressure. When administered intravenously to rabbits, a 10% infusion of the leaves showed an anti-inflammatory effect, which is explained by the vasoconstrictive properties of the plant and the ability to stimulate leukocytosis’ (Mineeva, 1960). Azaron causes vomiting and stimulates cardiac activity. Clove preparations also have choleretic, diuretic, expectorant and laxative effects.
Application. It is recommended as an emetic and expectorant in the form of powder or water infusion, and in folk veterinary medicine as a laxative, cardiac and diuretic.
In Hungary, the plant is used to prepare the product azaropect, used to treat spastic bronchitis.
calf
Rp.: Infusi folii Asari 1.0-200.0
DS One tablespoon 3 times daily as a heart remedy.