Botanical characteristic. Flax family. Annual moisture-loving herbaceous plant. The stem is thin, erect, branched at the top, densely leafy. The leaves are alternate, narrowly lanceolate. The flowers are blue, on long stalks, collected in racemose semi-umbels. The fruit is a spherical capsule with ten seeds. Seeds flattened, oblong, smooth, shiny. Blossoms in June-August, seeds ripen in July-August. Not known in the wild.
Spreading. Cultivated in non-chernozem regions of the RSFSR, in Belarus, in Ukraine, in the Baltic republics, in Siberia. Cultivated mainly fiber flax.
Medicinal raw materials. They collect flax seeds, from which linseed oil is obtained by pressing at factories. Seed harvesting is mechanized. Linen threshers are used to separate seeds from fruit boxes, and sorting winnowers are used to clean seeds from impurities. Seeds are stored for 3 years packed in a dry place, protecting from pests.
Chemical composition. The seeds contain up to 48% fatty oil, which includes glycerides of linolenic, linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids. In addition, up to 18.33% of protein, vitamin A, carbohydrates, organic acids, mucus (up to 12%), linamarin glycoside, enzymes, etc. are found in the seeds.
pharmacological properties. Mucus of flax seeds has an enveloping, anti-inflammatory and mild laxative effect. The therapeutic effect of flaxseed is due not only to the content of mucus, but also to the presence of linomarin, which has a regulatory effect on the secretory and motor function of the intestine. Unsaturated fatty acids of linseed oil are part of the linetol product, which is recommended in the complex therapy of atherosclerosis.
Application. Flax seed mucus is prescribed orally for inflammatory processes of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract, for inflammatory diseases of the bladder and kidneys, for coprostasis and chymostasis. To obtain mucus, one part of the seeds is poured with 30 parts of hot water, shaken and infused for 30 minutes. Apply immediately after production. Seed doses: horses and cattle 50-100 g, small cattle 25-50, pigs 10-25, dogs 2-5, cats 1-3, chickens 1-2 g.
Outwardly, the seeds are recommended as a decoction for the preparation of poultices and compresses for all kinds of skin diseases, oil – for burns and for the preparation of ointments. Linetol is also used externally for thermal and radiation burns.
A pig
Rp.: Flax seed mucilage 20.0
DS Inside as a mild laxative.
Linetol is an oily, mobile liquid with a bitter taste. Consists of a mixture of ethyl esters of fatty acids of linseed oil. A good anti-sclerotic and wound healing agent.
Flaxseed oil is a clear, thick, yellow liquid with a peculiar taste and smell. It is used instead of sunflower oil as a formative substance in the preparation of liquid ointments, externally for burns, inside as a mild laxative, for atherosclerosis. Doses inside: horses 100-300 g, cattle 150-500, pigs 50-100, dogs 10-50, chickens 2-5 g.