Botanical characteristic. The marev family. Perennial herbaceous plant, up to 180 cm high. The root is deep, the stem is straight branched, often glabrous, sometimes with sparse hairs. The leaves are petiolate, large (up to 12-15 cm long), obovate, with large notched-toothed edges. The flowers are bisexual, small, form a terminal paniculate inflorescence. The fruits are round, one-seeded, easily crumble. Blooms from mid-August to the end of the growing season. Fruits in September-October.
Spreading. In the wild, it is found only on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and in Transcaucasia in weedy and rocky places. Introduced into culture in Transcaucasia. Other species are also known.
Gauze ragweed – Ch. ambrosioides. It grows in the southern regions of the European part of the USSR and in Transcaucasia, it is cultivated in Ukraine and in the Krasnodar Territory. It differs from antihelminthic mari in small teeth of leaves, leafy inflorescence and small seeds.
Mary semi-shrub – Ch. suffruticosum Wild. Cultivated in the Caucasus.
Medicinal raw materials. The fruits are used together with the uncoarse green tops of all three types of plants.
Chemical composition. In the anthelminthic marijuana fruit, there is an essential oil (1.5-4%), known as chenopodium oil. The main constituent of the latter is ascaridol peroxide. In addition, p-cymene, 1-limonene, a-terpinene, and sylvestrene were found in the oil.
pharmacological properties. Anthelmintic marijuana is used as a raw material for the production of chenopodium oil. The oil is highly effective against ascaris, hookworm and oxyuride. It has a detrimental effect not only on sexually mature, but also on immature forms of helminths. In addition, after treatment, most of the diseased animals do not find helminth eggs, which is the reason to use the oil not only for therapeutic, but also for prophylactic purposes. In addition, anthelminthic marijuana has a laxative, diaphoretic, diuretic, sedative, antiseptic and hemostatic effect.
Animal experiments have shown that non-toxic doses of the oil do not affect the excretory function of the kidneys, blood pressure and respiration. In toxic doses, the oil lowers blood pressure, slows down the heart rate, and causes destructive changes in the kidneys, liver, and small intestine. In case of an overdose of oil, poisoning is likely, manifested in depression of the central nervous system, weakening of breathing, depression of cardiac activity, etc. Death – from respiratory arrest.
Application. In practice, chenopodium oil is used for ascariasis and ankylostomatosis. Doses: horses 4-12 ml, dogs 0.05-0.5, puppies up to 1 month old 0.03 ml.