Plant raw materials are a real storehouse of resources that a person uses for various purposes. Consider what it happens to be and what it gives people useful.
Natural resources and vegetable raw materials
Natural resources are the basis for the development of national economic activity. They can be as sources of funds:
- production;
- existence.
By their origin, they can be divided into the following groups:
- biological;
- land;
- water;
- mineral.
Russia is very rich in forest resources. As much as 45% of the territory is occupied by forest. This is 771.1 million hectares, or 81.5 billion cubic meters. In addition, the country has a lot of renewable land resources, which number 1.7 billion hectares. At the same time, farmland covers an area of 222 million hectares. These include 132 million hectares of arable land and 90 million hectares of land belonging to pastures and hayfields. Most agricultural land is located in the forest-steppe, mixed forests and southern taiga. 90% of arable land is located here, and plowing reachesselected regions 80%.
But natural resources are one thing, and vegetable raw materials are something else. The latter include objects of labor that are mined and produced by human labor. For example, trees growing in a forest are natural resources. But the felled ones are wood related to industrial raw materials.
Vegetable raw materials are:
- cotton;
- grain;
- wood;
- linen;
- medicinal herbs.
Let's dwell on each of these species separately.
Cotton
This is a fiber that is obtained from cotton bolls, a perennial long (up to two meters) plant with large flowers. 90% of it consists of cellulose, 6% is water, and the remaining 4% is mineral, fat and waxy impurities. Cotton is a strong, heat-resistant, with medium hygroscopicity and low deformation vegetable raw material.
At the same time, it is soft, elastic, highly absorbent, easy to dye. Among its shortcomings, they note the property to turn yellow over time, and it is also easy to wrinkle and sit down.
In Russia, the most suitable region for growing cotton is the Astrakhan region. Here, as many as 11,000 hectares of arable land have been allocated for it.
Linen
The most common types of vegetable raw materials are ordinary flax and spinning flax. The plant is annual and perennial, with blue flowers and an almost bare stem.
Russia in the world ranks first in the cultivation ofof this plant. The main areas where it grows are Central and Northwestern. Flax is actively used in the pharmaceutical and textile industries.
The advantages of linen fabric include strength, breathability, wearability, lightness, absorbing and cooling ability, resistance to high temperatures when washing and ironing.
But it also has disadvantages. This is a quick wrinkle and bad ironing.
Many experts recommend sleeping on a linen bed. It is comfortable with him at any temperature, and he is able to smooth out the unfavorable environmental background in the house.
Outerwear protects the human body from solar radiation.
Grain
This is another vegetable raw material that is widely distributed in Russia. Among the cultures are:
- barley;
- wheat;
- rye;
- corn;
- oats;
- rice;
- buckwheat;
- millet;
- individual pulses.
The most common wheat in Russia is wheat, which accounts for half of the total Russian production. Winter wheat is grown only in the European part, and spring - in the southern regions.
Barley is considered the second largest in terms of production. This culture grows almost everywhere. It is the northernmost. In Russia, it is most valued as a fodder crop. In the world for growing barley, our country ranks fifth.
Rye is used both as a food and fodder crop. Herless heat is needed compared to wheat. But in terms of nutritional qualities, it is inferior to the latter. It is grown in the Volga, Central, Volgovyatsk and Ural districts.
Oats are used in the same way as rye. The cultivation and storage of vegetable raw materials is mainly carried out in the European part of the country.
The most productive crop is rice. He loves water and warmth very much, therefore it is grown in the lower reaches of the Volga, Kuban and Primorsky Krai.
Corn is just as warm and water-loving. In the southern regions, it is grown for grain, and in the northern regions - for making silage.
Buckwheat is a low-yielding crop. It is grown in the forest and forest-steppe zones.
Wood
Wood is a very valuable industrial raw material that is used in various fields of technology, in construction, energy, mining, railway transport and others. Due to the fact that the processing of vegetable raw materials is easy, in terms of its decorative properties it is especially widely used in the furniture industry and carpentry. In addition, wood is widely exported to overseas.
Medicinal herbs
Those plants that contain active pharmacological substances and also have a therapeutic effect are called medicinal. In total, there are up to five hundred thousand plant species in the world, only about five percent of all are medicinal. Russia can be proud of all the diversity of species on its territory. Every year forfor medical purposes, more than two hundred medicinal herbs are collected here.
Besides this, there is a large stock of unexplored plants. In this, the centuries-old experience of traditional medicine renders an invaluable service.
Medicinal plant - raw material for obtaining pure active substances on an industrial scale. They are obtained in the form in which they are used as raw materials for therapeutically beneficial substances.
Medicinal plant materials are used for the manufacture of herbal preparations and juices. They are produced from plants from which it is impossible to obtain substances in their pure form, when combined they give the most effective result.
Raw materials are used for collecting medicinal tea. Its main advantage is that it acts in a complex way. Such tea is drunk as an additional remedy to the main treatment. Often, taking it becomes even more effective than medications, even for chronic diseases.
The addition of medicinal plants to food improves its quality, enriches it with vitamins and other useful substances, thereby activating physiological processes. In addition, medicinal plants are well marketed for commercial purposes.
Chemical compounds that are derived from medicinal plants often become a model for the production of medicines. But their main purpose is to take medicinal herbs. You can often hear feedback from the public aboutthe effectiveness of folk recipes based on herbs that helped get rid of a variety of ailments. But the medical industry also prepares about a third of drugs from them. Almost 80% of medicines used for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases are produced on the basis of this plant material. And even with these numbers, the need for plants is still growing.
They are studied by many research institutes, medical and pharmaceutical educational and other institutions. There are studies carried out abroad as well. Russian scientists have studied a lot of medicinal plants. Atlases, distribution maps and reference books are based on their work. A detailed analysis of plant materials made it possible to organize their collection. It also contributed to the spread and use of it in all regions of the country.
Home Green Pharmacy
It is advisable to have a set of medicinal herbs at home for different occasions, so that they can not only protect the body, but also cure it if diseases arise. For example, oak bark is an excellent prevention of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. And chamomile, calendula or immortelle grass will improve digestion. For cystitis and inflammation, lingonberry leaf, violet grass, bearberry, knotweed and licorice roots are an excellent remedy. Rose hips, raspberry leaves, oregano grass, coltsfoot, linden and calendula flowers, and so on will cure a cold. Valerian roots, as well as motherwort herb and hop cones will help with stress and insomnia.
Storage
It is very important to store herbs properly. Otherwise, whateverrich green pharmacy, plants will simply lose their healing qualities and become useless. Each species must be kept separately. The place chosen for storage should be dark, dry and clean. Smelly plants are kept away from odorless ones, and poisonous plants are kept away from non-poisonous ones. A good storage container is a glass jar. But it is even better to keep them in special rag bags so that they breathe. Each bag should be signed, where, in addition to the name, you need to indicate the year of collection.
Duration is determined by expiration dates. If all storage conditions are met, then:
- fruits are stored for 3 years;
- roots and bark - 5 years;
- flowers, leaves, buds and herbs - 2 years.
Collection
The best weather for gathering is dry and clear. The roots of medicinal plants are dug up in autumn, when the upper part withers, it can also be done in early spring. But the time of collecting herbs and flowers is the flowering period. Seeds will be usable when ripe.
There are, however, exceptions to the rule. Then they are described in the characteristics of plants. Most herbs are dried in the shade with enough air. Dried herbs break easily but retain their color.
Conclusion
In the article, we examined what kind of vegetable raw materials are. Each of the species is very important for human life. But at the household level, the most important role is played by medicinal plant materials and the intake of medicinal herbs.
It is important for the population to understand not only how totake herbs, but how and when to collect as well as store. Medicinal plants stored at home will help households with various problems more than once.
