Motherwort Ordinary Novena.

Motherwort

A perennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae family, 0.5-2 m high. Taproot, woody rhizome, with lateral roots. The stems are tetrahedral, numerous, erect, covered with long hairs.

The leaves are deeply dissected into 3-5 pointed lobes. Petioles of various lengths. Blooms in June-July. The flowers are pink-violet, located in the axils of the upper leaves and form a spike-shaped inflorescence. The fruit consists of four nuts. Ripens in August-September.

Motherwort is common in the European part of the USSR, the Caucasus and Western Siberia. It grows in floodplains, along ravines, wastelands, in abandoned places, along roads and near homes as a weed. Introduced into culture.

Propagated by seeds. They are sown before winter or in spring. In the latter case, they are stratified at a temperature of 0-4°C. During winter sowing, the seeds are planted to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, and during spring sowing - 2-3 cm. The area for motherwort is dug deeply and harrowed with a rake. The seeds are sown with a row spacing of 60 cm. After germination, the plants are bouqueted according to a certain pattern: 30-40 cm are cut out, leaving a bouquet of 20-30 cm, etc.

Maintenance comes down to loosening the soil and weeding. In transitional areas, in the spring, dry stems from last year are removed and the soil is loosened between rows and between bouquets. During this period, plants are fed with nitrogen and phosphorus at the rate of 4.5 g per 1 m2.

The medicinal raw material is herbs. It is collected when at least 2/3 of the flower stalks bloom in the area, cutting off the tops 40 cm long. Dry under a canopy, in the attic or in a dryer at a temperature of 50-60°C. Raw materials are stored in wooden containers for 3 years.

The herb contains alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, sugars, essential oils, bitterness, carotene, ascorbic acid, dyes, as well as potassium and calcium salts, which are involved in the regulation of cardiac activity.

Motherwort preparations have a calming, anticonvulsant and anti-inflammatory effect, slow down the rate and increase the strength of heart contractions, lower blood pressure, regulate the functional activity of the gastrointestinal tract, and have a positive effect on the course of premenopausal and menopausal periods in men and women.

Motherwort is used in the initial stages of hypertension. It should be a mandatory component of the complex treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers, especially in cases where the disease occurs due to an increased functional state of the nervous system.

Motherwort is prescribed for increased nervous excitability, cardiovascular neuroses, hysteria, sclerosis of the heart muscle or its inflammation, as well as for heart defects. In terms of the nature of their effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems, motherwort preparations are close (even somewhat superior) to valerian preparations.

In folk medicine, motherwort infusion is used for painful menstruation, epilepsy, paralysis, cerebral contusion, uterine bleeding, neuralgia and cough.

The seeds are used as a diuretic and for glaucoma.

To prepare the infusion, pour 4 tablespoons of the herb into 1 glass of hot water, boil in a water bath for 15 minutes, cool for 45 minutes at room temperature, filter and squeeze. Take 1/2 cup 2 times a day 30 minutes before meals.