Fenugreek.

Fenugreek

An annual herbaceous plant of the legume family, up to 60 cm high. The stem is erect, branched. The leaves are compound, with three leaflets of rounded, ovoid shape.

Blooms in June - July. The flowers are small, pale yellow, irregular, located one or two in the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a linear, slightly curved bean with a straight spout, containing 10-18 seeds.

The seeds are yellowish, large, rhombic, with a pleasant smell. Ripen in August - September.

Fenugreek is widespread in the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Far East and Primorye.

It grows along roads, in clearings, in bushes, in weedy places and wastelands.

Used as a fodder crop for cattle, and also as an insecticide against moths. It is a good honey plant.

Cultivated in Georgia, Ukraine and Latvia.

Seeds serve as medicinal raw materials. They are harvested in the fall, in September.

Dry in an oven at 4°C. 6О°С. Store in fabric bags for 2-3 years.

Fenugreek seeds contain mucus, proteins, fatty and essential oils, alkaloids, nicotinic acid, flavonoids, vitamins, phosphorus, iron, arsenic and coumarins.

Plant preparations have anabolic, sedative, enveloping and appetite-stimulating effects. They are prescribed for significant loss of body weight, after severe operations, especially on the gastrointestinal tract, for tuberculosis, cough, sepsis, to relieve asthenic conditions in acute radiation sickness and brain injuries.

A good effect is observed when using a decoction of the plant’s fruits for chronic inflammation, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach, duodenum and small intestines. The combination of an enveloping and moderate analgesic effect with a sedative and appetite stimulant helps reduce inflammation in the digestive organs and normalize the acidity of gastric juice. There is evidence that fenugreek decoctions have an antitussive effect.

To prepare the decoction, pour 1 tablespoon of crushed seeds with hot water, boil in a water bath for 10-15 minutes, cool, filter, bring the volume to the original volume with boiled water and filter through three to four layers of gauze. Take 1/3 cup before meals, chilled.

The seeds are also used for medicinal purposes. To do this, they are pounded in a porcelain mortar until a homogeneous powder is obtained. Take 1 teaspoon 3 times a day before meals mixed with fruit jam or washed down with 50 ml of red wine.