Yellow capsule – Nupliar luteum (L.) S ibth . et Sm. The Ukrainian name is glechiki zhovtі, popular names are zhovta water lily, zhovte latatta; yellow poppy.
The water lily family is Nymphaeaceae.
The rhizomes are used for medicinal purposes.
It occurs throughout Ukraine, in large numbers and often in forest and forest-steppe regions, less often in the steppe, mainly in floodplains. Grows in reservoirs, rivers, oxbow lakes, old ponds. Usually forms thickets, the area of which can reach many hectares.
Stocks of raw materials are large. Dozens of tons of rhizomes can be harvested annually. The main harvesting is possible in the basins of the rivers Dnieper, Seversky Donets, Southern Bug (Khmelnitsky, Vinnitsa, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Kharkov, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Volyn regions).
The yellow pod is a perennial plant. Rhizomes are yellowish-green, horizontal, branched, covered with scars from dead leaves, 2-3 m long and 3-10 cm thick, attached to the bottom with numerous cord-like roots. Leaves with long petioles (up to 3 m) and floating, almost leathery ovate-oval, with a deep heart-shaped base, entire blades up to 20-30 cm in diameter. Flowers solitary, up to 4-5 cm in diameter, with five sepals and numerous petals and stamens. Fruits are ovoid-oval, green, with elliptical seeds. Blooms in June – August. The fruits ripen in July-September.
Harvesting of rhizomes that grow infrequently together with the capsule of white water lily and pure white water lily, which have white flowers, is not allowed.
The rhizomes are harvested in summer and early autumn (June-September), pulling them out with hooks or hands, after cutting the roots with knives. Then the leaves, roots, rotten parts are cut off and washed in cold water. Before drying, the rhizome is cut with a knife into plates or longitudinal ribbon-like pieces.
Dry in attics under an iron roof or under sheds with good ventilation or in dryers and ovens at a temperature of 50-60 °, spreading a thin layer (1-2 cm) on paper, cloth or sieves and stirring occasionally. The yield of dry raw materials is 8-10%.
According to FS 42-608-72, the raw material consists of ribbon- or disc-shaped pieces of rhizomes up to 1 cm thick, with scars at the places where the leaves are attached. Outside, the rhizomes are brownish-gray, inside – grayish-cream or slightly yellowish. The smell is weak. The taste is bitter. Humidity is not higher than 14%. In raw materials, no more than 5% of pieces of rhizomes turned brown or blackened at a break, 2% of crushed parts (passing through a sieve with a hole diameter of 2 mm) and 1% of organic and mineral impurities are allowed. Ash content is allowed no more than 15%.
Raw materials are packed in bags weighing 25-30 kg. Store in packaged form in dry, well-ventilated areas on pallets or racks. Storage period 2 years.
Rhizomes contain alkaloids: nufaridin, nuflein, etc. (the total content of alkaloids in raw materials is not less than 0.36%). Used for the manufacture of the product lutenurin, used as a contraceptive (contraceptive) and for the treatment of trichomonas diseases. Included in the collection for the preparation of Zdrenko’s mixture.