Other names: Kılıçotu, Koyunkıran, St. John's Wort, Yaraotu) It is from the family Kılıçotu. One of the hardy perennial herbaceous or shrubby plant species of the Hypericum genus that grows widely in Europe and our country is Binbirdelikotu. It can grow up to 30-100 cm. It likes damp corners of forests, rocky places in mountainous and steppe areas and roadsides.
The plant is called binbirdelikotu because of the many transparent spots on its leaves, each of which is an oil gland. These leaves are arranged opposite each other, stemless, oval-shaped and dark green in color. The plant's 5-petaled, bright yellow flowers bloom between May and September and are found in tight clusters at the ends of its branches. The plant reproduces by seeds shed from its capsule-shaped fruits or by shoots from root hairs.
The flowering branches of the plant contain tannin, resin, pectin, essential oil containing glycosides, dyes and sticky plant fluid. One of the dyes is hyperin, the other is hypericin. Some animals do not eat this plant because hypericin causes mild poisoning.
The medicinal effects of the plant and the methods of using them can be summarized as follows:
1. The herb is antiseptic and wound healing. It is good for inflammations, bruising, varicocele pain, light burns and sunburns on the skin. In order to provide these effects, when the plant blooms, all aboveground parts are cut, cut into pieces and placed in olive oil. The solution obtained by keeping it in olive oil for 1-2 weeks is called St. John's Wort oil. St. John's Wort oil is applied externally to the wounds or other complaint areas listed above, once or twice a day.
2. In addition, the herb has astringent, appetite-stimulating, chest-soothing and expectorant effects.
3. More importantly, the sedative, antispasmodic and pain-relieving effects of the vine are present. Due to these properties, it is used in cases of tension, anxiety, nervous disorders, depression and especially menopause. In these cases, the treatment can be continued for up to 1 month.
In order to provide these effects, all aboveground parts of the plant are cut as described above and dried as quickly as possible. Pour 1 glass of boiling water over 1-2 teaspoons of the dried plant mixture and let it brew for 10-15 minutes. Drink one glass of the infusion three times a day.
