Practically throughout plantain grows in Russia. The properties of this plant are known to many. The very name of the grass suggests that it grows mainly along roads and paths. This article will discuss the beneficial properties of the terrestrial part of the plant. Plantain seeds are the fruits of a herbaceous plant. It belongs to the eponymous plantain family.
The appearance of the plant
Plantain has a rather stiff, sinewy stalk turning into a leaf. At the base of the plant there is a basal rosette of leaves. The leaves are wide, ovoid in shape with several semicircular veins, as a rule, whole-marginal, with a wide petiole. Some leaves are slightly jagged.
The inflorescence of the plant has the appearance of a dense, long and dense spikelet. The ear is cylindrical, tapers towards the end, has flowers at the base. Plantain seeds are located in a two-nest box. Each forms up to about fifteen pieces. Large plantain can reach up to thirty centimeters in height. The plant blooms in the summer months, usually in July-August. Prefers sandy and calcareous soil.
In botany, many species of this plant are distinguished: plantain medium, steppe, largest, salt marsh, Indian, lanceolate and others.
Raw material collection
All plant varieties are used in herbal medicine as a medicinal raw material. In medicine, the leaves and seeds of plantain are used. The collection of medicinal raw materials is carried out in the summer months, the seeds are collected as they ripen in August-September. Leaves are picked by hand, breaking them so that a small stalk remains. Dry the collected raw materials in shady rooms with good and constant air circulation. Harvested spikelets are first dried and then threshed. The leaves and seeds of plantain are spread in a thin layer on the leaves, periodically turning over. Properly dried raw materials should retain a green color. According to standards, the content in the finished collection of leaves that have yellowed or blackened color is allowed no more than 1%.
The chemical composition of the plant
The leaves of the plant have aucubin glycoside, tannins and bitter substances. There are also enzymes, citric and ascorbic acids, carotene, vitamin K, volatile and alkaloids. Plantain seeds contain a lot of mucus (up to 40-45%), fatty oils, planteosis, oleanolic acid and saponins.
The use of plantain in medicine
The leaves and seeds of the plant are successfully used for acute and chronic respiratory diseases. They have a good expectorant effect. One to twenty infusions are prepared from dry leaves. The infusion is taken several times a day. Its regular use dilutes sputum and contributes to its better discharge.
Juice squeezed from fresh leaves is prescribed for digestive disorders, gastritis with low acidity, gastric ulcer without exacerbation. It is also used for colitis and diseases of the urinary tract, in particular for cystitis. The juice heals infected wounds well, stimulates tissue regeneration and granulation, and accelerates epithelization. For the same purposes, it is used in ophthalmology.
Traditional medicine recommends plantain for skin diseases, pustular lesions, abscesses, and it is also a long-known remedy for stopping bleeding. It is even used as a herbal medicine to combat smoking.
But with some diseases, plantain is excluded. Contraindications for its use: gastritis with high acidity, peptic ulcer with hypersecretion of hydrochloric acid, blood diseases or conditions accompanied by increased thrombosis.