machok horned
One- or two-year herbaceous rough-haired plant of the poppy family. The stem is erect or ascending, simple or branched, 15-40 cm high. Basal leaves are oblong, with a short petiole, stem leaves are elongated-ovate, sessile. The flowers are regular, the petals are orange, yellow or bright red, with a dark spot at the base. The fruit is a box, 10-25 cm long. It blooms in May-June.
Distribution . It grows in fields, in crops, by roads, on chalky outcrops, on gravelly slopes mostly in the forest-steppe, steppe and in the Crimea; enters the southern regions of Polissia.
Procurement and storage . Collect the aerial part during the flowering of the plant (Herba Glaucii flavi), cutting with a sickle or a knife, avoiding uprooting the plant, especially in sandy places. They are dried, spread out in a thin layer, in a room with good ventilation or in the sun, when the raw material is still sufficiently wet. At night, the grass is hidden indoors. Artificial drying is carried out at a temperature of 55-70°. 20% of dry raw materials are obtained. Store in dry, ventilated rooms without access to direct sunlight. The plant is a raw material for the production of glaucine alkaloid. Pharmacies do not release raw materials.
Chemical composition. The herb (Herba Glaucii corniculatae) contains about 0.5% of alkaloids (coridine, coptisine, berberine, protopine, sanguinarine, chelidonine, and others). The roots contain the alkaloids protopine, chelerythrine and sanguinarine and the bitterness of glaucopicrine.
Pharmacological properties and use . The herb has a sedative and diuretic effect. There were attempts to use it for diabetes and neurasthenia. In traditional medicine, the leaves, flowers and juice mixed with flour and honey were used to treat purulent wounds, and the seeds were used as a laxative.
Medicinal forms and applications . Internally – 1 tablespoon of seeds on an empty stomach in a small amount of water.