Popular names: thick-leaved saxifrage, Mongolian tea, salai.
BERGENIA CRASSIfolia (L.) Fritsch]An evergreen perennial herbaceous plant of the saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae), with a thick creeping rhizome, reaching several meters in length and up to 3.5 cm in thickness, from which a large vertical root departs. Stems are thick, leafless, glabrous, up to 50 cm in height. Leaves in dense basal rosette, glabrous, leathery, covered with submerged multicellular glands from below, hibernating, remain green for 2-3 years. The leaf blade is broadly elliptical or almost round, sometimes heart-shaped at the base, narrowed into a wide petiole not exceeding it in length, at the base of which there are membranous vaginal stipules. The flowers are bell-shaped, with lilac-pink petals, collected in apical dense paniculate corymbose inflorescences. The fruit is a dry capsule with 2 divergent lobes, opening along the ventral suture. Seeds numerous, smooth, up to 2 mm long. Blossoms in May – June (blooming is long – up to 50 days), fruits ripen in July – August. It reproduces mainly vegetatively (by segments of rhizomes), but reproduction by seeds is not excluded. Grows on rocky slopes of northern and northeastern exposures, placers, ancient moraines, in rare forests, along river valleys and valleys. Badan thick-leaved has a South Siberian range, covering the mountains of Altai, Kuznetsk Alatau, Western and Eastern Sayans, Baikal and Transbaikalia. It enters the mountain-forest regions of Mongolia. On the territory of Belarus it is found in the vicinity of Minsk and in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. It is a moisture demanding plant. It forms the most dense thickets in places protected from prevailing winds and having significant snow cover in winter. One of the oldest useful plants,
COLLECTION AND DRYING OF RAW MATERIALS
The rhizomes are the medicinal raw material of bergenia thick-leaved. They are harvested throughout the summer, until the end of the growing season. When harvesting, it is necessary to leave 10-15% of plants in the thickets for restoration. The roots are dug out of the soil, cleaned of earth and small roots, washed, cut into long pieces and dried (cannot be kept in heaps for more than 3 days to avoid decay). Freshly harvested raw materials are dried on hangers, then dried in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 60 ° C. Drying time within 3 weeks. The shelf life of raw materials is 4 years. The taste of raw materials is strongly astringent, there is no smell.
PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
Badan preparations have anti-inflammatory, astringent, hemostatic and bactericidal properties, due to the presence of tannins in them. Strengthen the walls of capillaries and have a local vasoconstrictor effect. Lower blood pressure and slightly increase heart rate.
APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE
Rhizomes. Aqueous extract – for colitis, enterocolitis of a non-infectious nature; in obstetric and gynecological practice – in the treatment of cervical erosion. In Tibetan medicine and Transbaikalia, a decoction is used for tuberculosis, acute and chronic forms of pneumonia, pulmonary hemorrhages, acute respiratory, influenza and some other infections (whooping cough), laryngitis, headaches, fevers, articular rheumatism, gastrointestinal diseases; powder – for the treatment of hypoacid gastritis. In Mongolian medicine, infusion – for gastrointestinal diseases, fever, headache, diseases of the larynx and oral cavity; decoction – with furunculosis, bleeding gums. Extract – with menorrhagia, hemorrhagic metropathies, uterine fibroids, with bleeding after termination of pregnancy; liquid extract – with metrorrhagia and whites, in the treatment of acute alkaloid poisoning; powder – as wound healing and anti-inflammatory. Leaves. In Tibetan medicine and Transbaikalia – similar to rhizomes, also for post-traumatic kidney diseases. Infusion and tea (from old leaves) in the Altai Mountains – from goiter. Broth – as bacteriostatic; decoction and infusion – symptomatic with enterocolitis.
DOSAGE FORMS, METHOD OF APPLICATION AND DOSES
The liquid extract of bergenia (Extractum Bergeniae fluidum) is prepared as follows: 3 tablespoons of crushed raw materials are poured into a glass of boiling water and boiled over low heat until half of the original volume is evaporated. Take 30 drops 2-3 times every day. For douching, 1 tablespoon of the extract is diluted in 0.5 – 1 l of water. A decoction of bergenia (Decoctum Bergeniae): 10 g (1 tablespoon) of the rhizomes of the plant is poured into 200 ml of boiling water, placed in an enamel bowl and heated in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes, then cooled at room temperature for 10 minutes, filtered. The remaining raw materials are squeezed into an infusion, which is brought to the initial volume with boiled water. Take 1-2 tablespoons before meals 3 times every day as an astringent, hemostatic and anti-inflammatory agent for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. ♦ Infusion of rhizomes (or leaves) of bergenia: 8 g of crushed raw materials are poured into 200 ml of boiling water, insisted, then filtered. Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times every day. The infusion is also suitable for external use.
APPLICATIONS IN OTHER FIELDS
In veterinary medicine, infusion, tincture, extract from rhizomes – as an astringent, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic. The plant is in the first row of world tanning agents. The extract is suitable for tanning leather soles and Russian leather, as well as for impregnating nets (increases their service life by 1.5-2 times) and tarpaulins. Gives black and brown paint. Rhizomes can be used as food after pre-soaking. The leaves can serve as a substitute for bearberry for the production of arbutin and a source for the production of tannin, gallic acid, hydroquinone, and also for the diagnosis of lead in ores. The extract is suitable for tanning and impregnation in the same way as rhizomes. The leaves that have lain under the snow in the winter are used in Altai as “Mongolian tea”. Neutral extract – for green dye. As an ornamental plant, it is used for landscaping settlements.
ELEMENTS OF AGROTECHNICAL CULTIVATION
The plant is undemanding to the soil, but develops better on light, fertile, well-drained lands. It is propagated by seeds or division of bushes. Seeds are sown in March in boxes of greenhouses and covered with fine-grained sand. Seedlings dive into boxes, planted in open ground in June. For the winter they cover with foliage, as the plants develop poorly and by autumn they have only two small leaves. Blooms in the 3-4th year. Bushes are divided every 5-6 years in the first half of September. The resulting parts are seated at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other. In the first two weeks after planting, abundant watering is necessary. Productivity, depending on the place of growth, is up to 7 t / ha.