Botanical characteristic. Rosaceae family. Perennial herbaceous plant 60-120 cm high. Creeping rhizome, stems straight, ribbed, densely leafy. The leaves are pinnate, smooth above, white-tomentose below. The flowers are white, small, fragrant, collected in large paniculate inflorescences. The leaves, when rubbed in the hands, emit the smell of fresh cucumbers. Blooms in summer.
Spreading. It grows in wet meadows, swamps, among shrubs, along river banks, in clearings throughout Siberia, sometimes forming significant thickets.
Medicinal raw materials. Use the aerial part (grass) without lignified stems, roots. The grass of the meadowsweet is harvested during the flowering period and dried in the shade, the roots – in the fall, dried after cleansing in the shade in the air.
Chemical composition. Fresh leaves of the meadowsweet contain 374 mg% of vitamin C and a lot of carotene. In addition, tannins, flavone and anthocyanin substances, a small number of alkaloids and coumarins, and essential oils were found in them. The phenolic glycoside spirein was isolated from the flowers. The presence of tannins of the pyrocatechin group was noted in the rhizome.
Pharmacological properties and Application. It has been established that the herb of the plant has a hemostatic and astringent effect, and a 20% tincture in 20% alcohol has an antibacterial effect. It contributes to the speedy granulation and epithelialization of ulcers, wounds and burn planes and can be used in surgical practice as a wound healing agent. The plant has a beneficial effect in case of insufficient intestinal motility and tachycardia (Govorov, 1965). The use of a 20% tincture of meadowsweet leaves at 40% alcohol is effective for gastrointestinal diseases of young animals (Nazarov, 1961).