COLLECTION AND DRYING OF RAW MATERIALS
WHITE Clover (Melilotus albus Desr.) Medicinal raw material is white sweet clover grass, which is harvested during the flowering period of the plant. When harvesting, it will be necessary to leave part of the plants for seed propagation. Dry in the shade under awnings, in well-ventilated areas, spreading out in a thin layer and periodically turning over. Drying is considered complete when the stems become brittle. The shelf life of raw materials is 2 years.
PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
The plant has anticoagulant and fibrinolytic effects.
APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE
Currently, white sweet clover is used only in folk medicine. Roots. Used for thrombosis. Aerial part. Infusion, decoction – lactogenic, anti-febrile, with ascites. In Bulgaria – from a headache. Leaves, flowers. Ointment – wound healing.
DOSAGE FORMS, METHOD OF APPLICATION AND DOSES
♦ White sweet clover herb infusion: 1 tablespoon of raw materials is poured into 500 ml of water and left overnight, then filtered. Take 1/2 cup 4 times every day. CONTRAINDICATIONS AND POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: if the dose is exceeded or taken for a long time, complications can be caused – bleeding from the kidneys (blood in the urine) and other organs. * Causes poisoning in farm animals, similar to the sweet clover, although it contains a smaller amount of coumarin compared to it.
APPLICATIONS IN OTHER FIELDS
The aerial part is used to flavor beer and tobacco. The stems are suitable for making fiber for ropes and burlap. Its fiber is 5-18 mm long, it is characterized by weak lignification. The fiber yield is 6-7% by weight of dry stems. Insecticide, raticide. Feed for all types of farm animals and poultry. With early mowing, green mass can be used to prepare highly nutritious grass meal, briquettes. Can be used for green manure. A valuable crop for field and fodder crop rotations. Honey plant. For a long time, it releases a large amount of nectar. From one flower, bees receive up to 0.09 mg of nectar. The nectar is colorless, transparent, with a strong smell of coumarin and an average sugar content of up to 45%. Found in culture, promising for the development of alkaline soils in arid regions. Cultivated coumarin-free forms have been developed. The yield of hay of wild-growing white sweet clover is 10-30 centners / ha, cultivated – 40-60 centners / ha, and in favorable conditions – 100-140 centners / ha, seeds – 2-5 (and even up to 15-17) centners / ha .