Of all the large family of labiales, the most famous plant is the five-lobed motherwort. It has long been widely used to treat a number of diseases and is popularly called "heart grass", as well as "dog nettle".
Botanical description
This herbaceous perennial sometimes grows up to two meters in height, but more often it is no more than 50–70 cm. The lower ones consist of five lobes and have a heart-shaped base. In the middle and upper part of the stem, the leaves are three-lobed, oblong.
Flowers are located directly in the axils of the upper leaves. They are quite small and pink in color. On the yellowish corolla, purple specks can be seen. Flowering begins in early June and continues until September. Fruits are formed unevenly - first on the lower part of the stem, then on the upper ones. Each consists of four peas withhairy top.
For therapeutic purposes, only motherwort cordial and motherwort five-lobed are used, the botanical description of which is very similar.
Distribution locations
The plant prefers loamy and sandy soils. Motherwort, justifying its name, is often found in abandoned areas, wastelands and clearings. As a weed can populate gardens and orchards. On the territory of Russia, it is distributed almost everywhere. The only exception is the Far North and desert regions.
Growing and care
Five-lobed motherwort can be grown in the same place for several years. This plant is unpretentious and does not cause any problems in care. Planting is carried out using seeds sown in the ground in spring or late autumn, before frost. To improve the germination of spring seed, it is stratified for a month at a temperature of 0 to 4 degrees.
The soil for growing this plant does not need special treatment. It is enough just to dig it up and to increase the yield, apply fertilizers - organic, nitrogen and potash (3 kg, 20 g and 15 g, respectively, per 1 m² of land). Simultaneously with the sowing of seeds, granulated superphosphate (3 g per 1 m²) is embedded in the soil.
Seeding rate is 0.8–1.0 g per 1 m², planting depth is from 1.5 to 2 cm. A distance of 60 cm is maintained between rows. When the first shoots appear, the soil is lightly compacted and the first dressing is applied. Further care isperiodic loosening of row spacing, timely watering and destruction of weeds.
The grass of motherwort five-lobed is harvested during the flowering period. Only the leafy top with a thin stem up to 40 cm long is cut off. Too prickly inflorescences are not recommended to be collected. If the harvest is done correctly, then in one place you can harvest several years in a row.
Harvested raw materials are dried in a dark, ventilated room. To prevent blackening of plants, they need to be mixed periodically. You can store grass for three years.
Healing properties
In different countries of the world, motherwort five-lobed is known for its healing effect. This plant, due to its sedative properties, has the ability to normalize the state of the nervous system and the strength of heart contractions. It has a positive effect on metabolism, regulates the level of cholesterol, lactic and pyruvic acid, normalizes the content of total lipids in the blood.
Means based on motherwort have a pronounced antispasmodic, hypotensive and diuretic effect. In some countries, it almost completely replaces such a well-known medicinal plant as valerian, because its therapeutic effect is more pronounced, and motherwort harvesting is much easier.
Medical applications
Due to the powerful healing action of this plant, for hundreds of years there has been a high demand for motherwort five-lobed both in traditional medicine and in pharmaceuticals. Out of himmake infusions, extracts, alcohol tinctures. Indications for their use are increased nervous excitability, cardiosclerosis, hypertension, angina pectoris, vegetovascular dystonia, epilepsy, uterine bleeding in women, Graves' disease, diseases associated with the gastrointestinal tract.
For the treatment of non-healing wounds and burns, motherwort infusion is used externally as a bactericidal agent. For colds, plant juice mixed with powdered chicory root is used - a teaspoon of the prepared mixture is poured with boiling water (250 ml) and infused for one hour.
It is very useful to use five-lobed motherwort in the form of tea. A description of its preparation is not required - it is prepared in the most usual way. In this case, a glass of boiling water will require 2 teaspoons of dry grass. Can be drunk as a sedative 3 cups a day.
Recipes for the treatment of heart disease
For the treatment of cardiosclerosis and angina, traditional medicine offers the following:
- Mix 40 ml of motherwort juice with 50 ml of vodka and infuse for about 7 days. Take with water, adding 30 drops of tincture per glass, three times a day before meals.
- Another way to prepare a remedy that helps with angina pectoris involves the use of a whole range of medicinal plants. In addition to motherwort, lemon balm, lingonberries, astragalus grass, plantain leaves, blueberries, yarrow and mistletoe are added to it. The collection is mixed, poured with boiling water (for every 3 tablespoonscollecting 4 glasses of water) and insist for about an hour. Drink 60-70 ml three times a day.
To normalize high blood pressure:
- Shredded motherwort herb pour water and leave for 8 hours. After straining, drink 50 ml before meals.
- Motherwort five-lobed is mixed with hawthorn fruits and valerian root and poured with boiling water. After half an hour of infusion, the strained solution is taken 3 tablespoons up to three times a day.
- Motherwort is mixed with other herbs - marsh cudweed, yarrow, chokeberry and hawthorn fruits. The resulting mixture is poured with one liter of water and put in a water bath for half an hour. After that, the solution is infused for two hours, filtered and taken for two weeks, a third of a glass three times a day.
In myocardial infarction, mix one spoonful of motherwort herb, cumin, fennel, valerian root. The collection is poured with boiling water and insisted for no more than an hour.
To prepare the next remedy, you will need to mix motherwort with valerian, add yarrow herbs and anise fruits. The mixture is poured with boiling water and infused for about 40 minutes. Both drugs are taken 3 times a day, half a glass before meals.
Recipes for the treatment of the digestive system
In case of problems of the gastrointestinal tract, five-lobed motherwort is also effective. Its use in conjunction with other medicinal plants allows you to cope with a number of diseases.
- Gastritis with increasedacidity. For the treatment of this disease, a rich mixture is prepared from herbs of motherwort, dubrovnik, mountaineer bird, meadowsweet, centaury, rhizomes of plants such as marshmallow and angelica, orchid tubers with the addition of medicinal cuff leaves and lemon balm. Pour the crushed plants with boiling water in a thermos and leave for 8 hours. Drink half a glass 3 times a day.
- Insufficient secretory activity. Boil motherwort and chicory root with boiling water. Take 100 ml half an hour before meals.
Treatment of inflammatory diseases
For internal use in inflammatory processes, an infusion is prepared, the basis of which is five-lobed motherwort (the photo of which is given in this article), high elecampane, bearberry and horse chestnut fruits. All components are taken in 1 tbsp. spoon, mixed, after which they are poured with water (500 ml) and infused in a thermos for 10 hours. Then add 40 drops of ginseng root tincture and take a brandy glass 3 times a day half an hour before meals. The course is designed for 1 month.
It has been established that five-lobed motherwort, cordial and Siberian motherwort have almost the same therapeutic effect.
Contraindications
Motherwort has a high content of alkaloids. When accumulated, it can lead to a deterioration in attention, memory, and slow down the processes of growth and development. Therefore, motherwort is contraindicated for children. Due to the ability of this plant to have a stimulating effect on the uterus, products based on it are notrecommended for pregnant women. People who have a slow heart rate, as well as those suffering from hypotension, should not use preparations with motherwort.
The use of motherwort in other areas
The oil of this plant is an excellent raw material for the manufacture of varnishes, as well as for the impregnation of paper and in the production of waterproof fabrics. Motherwort makes a good dye, used to dye certain materials a deep green.
This plant plays an important role in the life of bees - being a good honey plant, it produces enough nectar even in the driest period.
