BITTER MILK GRASS
POLYGALA AMARAL
(Polygaraceae-fam)
LOCATIONS: It grows in all or semi-shaded forest areas, only in calcareous soils.
STRUCTURE: It is a 5-20 cm high, creeping or leaning, branched perennial herbaceous plant. It has a root stem. The bottom leaves are in a rosette form, the stem leaves are alternate, the flowers are blue-violet, the flower bunch is in a cluster, in a cluster. The sepal has 5 leaves, two of them are colored in the form of a crown, large (wings) leaflets, 3 petals. The stamens are 8 and they are fused both among themselves and with the petals. The fruit is heart-shaped and there are two seeds in each section.
KULLANILAN KISIMLAR:Kökleriyle birlikte köksaplar kullanılır.Bunlar ilkbaharda bitki uyanmadan evvel (Mart ayında) veya güzün,meyvelerin olgunlaşmasından sonra (Eylül-Ekim aylarında) çıkarılır, yıkanır, gölgede veya 45 dereceye kadar ısılı ısılı fırınlarda kurutulur.Kuru kökler boz kahve renginde,kokusuz ve az acı tattadır.Rutubet miktarı %14’tür.Torba veya balya halinde paketlenir.Kuru ve havadar binalarda muhafaza edilir.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION: Contains polygamma, saponins, senegin and polygal acid, etheric oil, solid oil, gaulterin glycoside, tannins etc.
IN WHICH DISEASES IS IT USED: It is a cough reliever and appetite stimulant.
Bitter milkweed is recommended in folk medicine for cough, bronchitis, pneumonia, stomach and intestinal pain, diarrhea, tuberculosis, emphysema, shortness of breath, gastritis, increasing milk supply in nursing mothers, etc. It is applied externally to wounds and eczema.
USAGE: 1 coffee spoon of the plant is boiled with 400 gr. boiling water, left for 2 hours. Take a tea glass 4 times a day before meals.
In our folk medicine, bitter milkweed (Polygala major Jacq.) is used against the same diseases.
