Shepherd's purse grass is an annual plant belonging to the cabbage family. It also has other names: field buckwheat, heart grass, girchak, grinder. The plant has an erect stem with small leaves and white-yellow flowers. Asia is considered the birthplace of the shepherd's purse, but this plant is found throughout Russia.
The plant got its name because of its special appearance: its fruits are very similar to the bags that shepherds used to use. Grass is found in pastures, along roadsides. It has been used in folk medicine since ancient times: even in ancient Greece, the shepherd's purse was used as a hemostatic agent.
The plant is harvested for the winter by drying, and in summer you can take freshly squeezed juices, which are much more effective than infusions from dry raw materials. The main thing when using the plant is to strictly follow the dosage recommended by the doctor.
Legend of the plant
This small plant has its own beautiful legend. According to her, God sent people in a shepherd's bag a remedy for a variety of bodily ailments. Therefore, the plant is ubiquitous as a reminder to mankind of the goodness and care of God. In Ukraine, where this herb also grows, another legend is associated with it. It is believed that a shepherd named Gritsko lived many years ago. In his youth, he injured his leg, and the wound constantly bled, the strength left the shepherd. When the young man was already completely exhausted, he applied a leaf of an unfamiliar plant to the wound, and, surprisingly, the blood stopped. Soon the wound healed. The young man told everyone he knew about the miraculous power of the plant. So the herb became famous as a hemostatic agent and was named after this shepherd.
What grass looks like
Shepherd's purse is a plant about thirty centimeters high with a straight or branching stem. At the top there is a straight brush with small flowers. The leaves are located at the root and have an oblong shape. The flowers are small, white, located on long peduncles, collected in umbrellas at the tops of stems and branches. After flowering, fruits are formed that resemble a shepherd's bag. The plant blooms from April until late autumn, and the fruits begin to form in June.
Chemical composition
Due to the special composition of the grass, shepherd's purse has unique properties. It contains hissopine rhamnoglucoside, bursic acid, tannins, tartaric, malic, citric acids, choline, acetylcholine, inositol,ascorbic acid, alkaloids, saponins. The seeds are rich in fatty oils.
Plant properties
Medicinal herb shepherd's purse is widely used in folk medicine as a means of stopping bleeding. After numerous studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that the properties of this plant are not inferior in medicinal qualities to other hemostatics, such as Canadian goldenseal.
Scientists have proven that long-term stored grass has a stabilizing effect on the blood, lowers blood pressure. It has also been found that freshly squeezed juice can have a slight stimulating effect on hemocoagulation.
After a series of experiments, scientists found that long-term stored grass is not able to have a hemostatic effect, but, on the contrary, sharply slows down this process. But freshly harvested, the first year of storage, and freshly squeezed juice have a hemostatic effect. Therefore, when using grass with a shepherd's purse, it is important to look at the packing date. The fresher the herb, the more pronounced the hemostatic effect will be.
Indications for use
The properties of shepherd's purse herb allow the plant to be used in the fight against a variety of ailments. The main properties are as follows:
- Blood purifying.
- Vasodilator.
- Anti-febrile.
- Treatment of cystitis, pyelonephritis, urolithiasis.
- Neutralization and removal of toxins after treatment of cancer patients.
And this is not all the useful medicinal properties of the shepherd's purse herb.
Contraindications for use
You can not use the plant in violation of blood clotting, during pregnancy, with hemorrhoids. This plant has properties that can be harmful in the wrong dosages. Therefore, you should consult your doctor before using this herb.
Recipes of traditional medicine
Infusion of herbs has a wound-healing, anti-inflammatory effect. It is recommended for use in pulmonary, gastric, renal bleeding. Also, this plant is recommended after abortion, with heavy menstruation.
To prepare an infusion, you need to take one teaspoon of raw materials and pour a glass of boiling water. The remedy is infused for ten minutes, then filtered. This infusion is taken daily in two glasses. It is better to divide this dose into several doses.
Good results are shown by the plant with problems with the gastrointestinal tract, in particular with gastritis, diarrhea, dysentery, peptic ulcer, liver pathology. The infusion is used as a choleretic agent for cholecystitis, gallstone disease, and vomiting. It has a diuretic effect.
Given the medicinal properties of the shepherd's purse herb and contraindications, the remedy is recommended for rheumatism, gout.
You can make another tincture from this plant by taking a tablespoon and steaming it with a glass of boiling water. The remedy is allowed to brew for an hour and a half, and then it is taken in a tablespoon three times a day.
A slurry is prepared from the plant for external use. For bruises and wounds, when you need to quickly stopbleeding, it is recommended to apply the gruel from the plant to the injured area.
Use in gynecology
The healing properties of shepherd's purse herb are widely used in gynecology. Extracts, tinctures and decoctions are used for atony of the uterus, with menopause, with postpartum hemorrhage. Also, this remedy is used as a hemostatic agent for meno- and metrorrhagia, after abortion. Good results are shown by the remedy for severe vomiting in pregnant women, therefore, based on the herb, a preparation intended for expectant mothers has been developed.
Use for other ailments
Shepherd's bag is used in the following cases:
- In folk medicine for colds.
- Good for urinary incontinence.
- Shepherd's purse-based drugs can dilate blood vessels, thereby lowering blood pressure.
- Infusions can be instilled into the nose to prevent bleeding.
- In India, the plant is used as a contraceptive.
- Herbal medicines help get rid of worms, scurvy.
- Recommended remedy for malignant cancer, ulcers, uterine fibroids.
- The herb has an antibacterial effect.
- The plant successfully treats erysipelas.
- Shepherd's purse infusions are a good antidote.
- The herb is prescribed for headaches resulting from a rush of blood to the brain.
- Infusion can wash your hair to get rid of dandruff.
- Shepherd's bagapproved for use in diabetes and helps fight this disease.
Doses and methods of administration
If there are no contraindications, shepherd's purse herb can be used as follows:
- Fresh juice is used fifty drops twice a day.
- Freshly dried grass, taken in the amount of two spoons, is poured with a glass of boiling water and infused for an hour. The remedy is taken in half a glass three times a day.
Other dosages and methods of administration may be prescribed - they depend on the type and stage of the disease to be treated with the herb.
Features of the workpiece
It is recommended to collect this grass in June-July. At this time, it blooms. For medicinal purposes, the entire aerial part is collected, and the roots are not used. Collections are held only in ecologically clean areas, away from roads.
The collected raw materials are dried in the shade, in a ventilated room or under a canopy. Then the dry raw materials are crushed and stored in fabric bags. The shelf life of the collection is three years.
Some interesting facts
The shepherd's bag is used for food, preparing a variety of dishes with it. This plant is recommended for those who have constant constipation, uterine bleeding, diseases of the bladder, liver. Fresh leaves of grass are used to prepare a variety of dishes in China, India, and Japan. Even in France, a variety of dishes are prepared from grass, which in this country are considered real.delicacy.
To prepare a light salad, you need to take one hundred grams of fresh leaves and the same number of tomatoes and cucumbers. Everything is cut, seasoned with sour cream, and topped with a boiled egg. You can cook okroshka using this herb. To do this, the leaves are finely chopped and poured with kvass or whey. Grated radish, potatoes, cucumber, egg, green onions are added there. Everything is topped with sour cream.
In countries where shepherd's purse is used as food, it is s alted along with other herbs, and its seeds are harvested for winter cultivation on the windowsill.
The taste of the plant is slightly bitter, and its leaves emit a pleasant aroma. When boiled or stewed, shepherd's purse looks like cabbage. Because of its taste and great benefits, the plant is specially grown on plantations in a country like China.
