Other names: Tsmin sandy.
Diseases and effects: diseases of the liver and gallbladder.
Active substances: glycosides salipurposide, kaempferol isosalipurposide, naringenn, apigenin, phthalides, macromolecular alcohols, steroid compounds, tannins, sugars, fatty acids.
Sand immortelle is a perennial herbaceous felt-woolly-pubescent plant of the Compositae family. The underground part of the plant consists of a woody main root, connected with lignified areas of perennial shoots, bearing renewal buds at their top. Lateral roots extend from the main root at a depth of 3-10 cm, bearing adventitious buds.\r
Flowering shoots 5-10; they are erect or ascending, 15-30 cm high, rarely woody at the base. The leaves are alternate, simple, entire, with a small brownish tip at the top. Baskets are almost spherical, collected in a compact or loose corymb, surrounded by several apical leaves. The wrapper of each basket consists of about 50 obtuse lemon-yellow (rarely orange) leaves arranged in 4-6 rows. The fruits are oblong achenes 2-mm long and 1 mm wide and thick. Immortelle blooms in June-August; fruits ripen in August-September.\r
Inflorescences collected at the beginning of flowering are of medical importance. They are also used for the production of the choleretic product Flamin.\r
Habitats. Spreading
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Sandy immortelle is distributed throughout the steppe zone and in the southern regions of the forest zone of the European part of the country, in the steppe regions of Kazakhstan and the southern regions of Western Siberia.\r
Sandy immortelle is a steppe typical for dry pine forests. It grows mainly in lichen and heather pine forests, where the aquifer is below 2 m. in open areas, glades, edges, plantings of pine trees with open crowns, found mainly on the southern and eastern slopes of gullies and ravines. In shaded places, where the conditions for it are far from optimal, the immortelle develops elongated, few generative shoots with a small number of baskets. It cannot stand full shading, so immortelle is not found in those pine forests where the pine crowns are closed.\r
Helichrysum is traditionally found in large numbers only in young pine forests, cutting areas, along roadsides in pine forests, most often on sands. Under cultural conditions, sandy immortelle prefers soils of light and medium mechanical composition. It grows well on low-humus, slightly alkaline medium loamy and sandy loamy chernozem.\r
Immortelle seeds do not require special preparation, they are sown dry. For sowing, seeds from the previous year must be used.\r
Procurement and quality of raw materials
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The collected inflorescences of immortelle sandy will need to be dried in the shade under a canopy or in well-ventilated areas. The raw materials are laid out on paper or on a cloth in a layer 2-3 cm thick. Drying is stopped when the raw material becomes brittle. The raw material should contain no more than 12% moisture; total ash no more than 8%; inflorescences with remnants of stems longer than 1 cm, not more than 5%; remnants of baskets (receptacle with wrappers) and crushed parts passing through a sieve with a hole diameter of 2 mm, not more than 5%; organic and mineral impurities not more than 0.5%. Raw materials are packed in bales of 50 kg and stored in dark, cool rooms on pallets or racks; in pharmacies – in closed boxes or tins. Storage period up to 3 years.\r
Chemical composition
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Sandy immortelle inflorescences contain essential oils, flavonoid glycosides (salipurposide, kaempferol and isosalipurposide), naringennin, apigenin and other phenolic substances, vitamins (ascorbic acid, vitamin K), phthalides, macromolecular alcohols, steroid compounds, tannins, sugars, fatty acids , mineral salts, trace elements, etc.\r
Application in medicine
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Helichrysum preparations are used mainly for diseases of the liver and gallbladder. Under their influence, bile secretion increases, the composition of bile changes, the content of bilirubin and cholesterol in the blood decreases. Sandy immortelle extract – granular extraction powder from immortelle flowers – is prescribed 1 g 3 times every day for 2-3 weeks. The course of treatment, if necessary, is repeated after 5 days.\r
Collection (tea) choleretic
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For 400 ml of water, take 10 g of a mixture of sandy immortelle flowers (4 parts), shamrock leaves (3 parts), mint leaves (2 parts), coriander fruits (2 parts). Used for the same indications as other immortelle products. 1 teaspoon is poured with 2 cups of boiling water, insisted for 30 minutes, filtered, cooled and taken warm, half a cup 3 times every day 30 minutes before meals.\r
Decoction of immortelle
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10 g (3 tablespoons) of crushed immortelle sandy flowers are poured into 200 ml (1 cup) of water at room temperature, covered with a lid and heated in a boiling water bath with frequent stirring for 30 minutes, cooled, filtered and water is added to the original volume – 200 ml . Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times every day for 10-15 minutes before meals.