Perennial herbaceous plant up to 50 cm tall. The roots are small, thin, numerous, densely covering a thick woody, almost horizontal rhizome, red on the outside and yellowish white inside. Stems thin, branched, erect with hairs. Leaves trifoliate, alternate, sessile, yellowish. Flowers solitary, axillary, four-membered, unlike other cinquefoils, on long stalks, yellow. The fruits are leaflets, smooth. Blooms from May to August.
The plant is ubiquitous. It grows in forests, damp meadows, shrubs, clearings, on sandy soil.
For therapeutic purposes, rhizomes 3-7 cm long without roots, leaves, root, and sometimes the whole plant are used. Grass is harvested during flowering, rhizomes – in autumn or spring before the leaves appear. The period of storage of raw materials is 6-8 years.
In medical practice, infusions from the rhizomes of Potentilla erectus are used as an astringent, bactericidal and hemostatic agent for dysentery and ulcerative colitis, for all kinds of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (enteritis, enterocolitis, dyspepsia), dysentery, gastric ulcers, as a hemostatic agent for internal bleeding: pulmonary, intestinal, uterine. Products from the rhizome are effective for inflammation and ulcers of the stomach and intestines, emphysema, pulmonary tuberculosis, and especially for diarrhea and cough, as well as for liver diseases, jaundice, gout and rheumatism.
Especially important is the astringent action of Potentilla, due to which a protective film appears against bacteria, chemical and mechanical influences, accompanied by tissue inflammation. Capillaries of vessels and arteries become impermeable to plasma and leukocytes. This action is especially good on the inflamed, loosened, reddened tissue of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines.
Doctors from Chisinau and Tyumen published reports on the use of cinquefoil products for the treatment of patients suffering from hepatitis, liver cirrhosis. A specialist from Siberia prepared a decoction of wild Potentilla erectus from 20 g of the aerial parts of the plant (leaves, stems, inflorescences) and 5 g of roots. All this was poured into 800 ml of water, boiled for 15 minutes, then infused for 20 hours. It remained within 600 ml of a reddish-brown decoction, specific, slightly astringent, with a slight bitterness, which amounted to 4 daily doses of 50 ml per oral intake, 3 times every day 30-40 minutes before meals with a teaspoon of jam, honey or sugar .
The results of treatment of patients with acute hepatitis can be considered encouraging. Already after 4-5 days the general condition of the sick improved noticeably, appetite was restored. The disease did not become chronic. Taking into account the severity and duration of the traditionally occurring acute inflammation of the liver, the results of treatment must be considered good.
A decoction of Potentilla erectus was used in 45 patients with cirrhosis of the liver in the edematous-ascitic stage. The decoction was prepared from 25 g of the aerial parts of the plant and 5 g of the roots, poured into 600 ml of water, boiled for 30 minutes in an enameled container in a closed form, insisted, filtered. It was used in a warm form from 50 to 100 ml 3 times every day two hours before meals. At the same time, fluid intake was limited to 500-600 ml per day, salt – up to 3-4 g per day. All patients before treatment had edema, severe exhaustion. The therapeutic effect of Potentilla decoction began on the 6-8th day. Appetite improved, dry skin and mucous membranes disappeared.
Outwardly, Potentilla erectus is used in the form of rinses and lotions for sore throat, bleeding gums, for the treatment of bleeding wounds, ulcers, burns, frostbite.
In folk medicine, Potentilla erectus is used as an infusion, decoction and tincture for inflammations and ulcers of the stomach, inflammation of the entire gastrointestinal tract, diarrhea, dysentery, as a hemostatic agent for internal bleeding: pulmonary, intestinal, uterine, in diseases caused by weight lifting, diseases hearts.
The ointment is used for cracked hands and feet, burns, weeping eczema and other skin diseases.
Application
Tincture: 15%; 45 drops 2-3 times every day.
Decoction: 20 g per 200 ml; 1 st. spoon 5-6 times every day 30 minutes before meals with pulmonary bleeding.
Root ointment: 5 g finely chopped roots per cup of butter; cook for 5 minutes.
Infusion of rhizomes in milk: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of rhizomes per glass of milk, insist 2 hours, take 1 tbsp. spoon 3-4 times every day 30 minutes before meals.
And also give respect to the statue Upright perstach (galangal)