Pharmacognosy with the Basics of Plant Biochemistry - Kovalyov V. M. 2004

Special Part
Phenolic Compounds
Medicinal Plants and Raw Materials Containing Naphthoquinones

WALNUT LEAVES — FOLIA JVGLANDIS

Common walnut — Juglans regia L., fam. walnut family — Juglandaceae

English walnut; the name originates from juppiter — Jupiter; Lat. glans — acorn, regius, -a, -um — royal.

Plant. A tall tree, up to 35 m high, with a spreading canopy and a thick, branching trunk covered with grey bark. Leaves are alternate, large, odd-pinnate, with three to five pairs of leaflets. Leaflets are oblong-ovate, pointed, glabrous above, pubescent beneath. Flowers are unisexual, solitary or clustered in groups of 2-3. Fruit is a false drupe. Blooms in April-May, fruits ripen in September.

Distribution. Grows wild in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the mountains of Asia Minor. Cultivated across Ukraine as a fruit tree.

Harvesting. The leaflets are harvested in May-June by detaching them from the petiole in dry weather. They are dried in the shade, spread in a thin layer and turned over occasionally.

Chemical composition of the raw material. The leaves contain juglone and hydrojuglone, their Glycosides, Flavonoids, Tannins, carotene, and Trace Elements (Fe, Co, K, Mn).

Free naphthoquinones, their di-, tri-, and heteramers are constituents of the heartwood.

Class="center">

Juglone

The walnut kernel is rich in nutrients (50-80% fatty oil, 10-20% protein, 15-20% CARBOHYDRATES) and serves as a raw material for obtaining fatty oil.

Biological activity and application. Walnut leaf tincture acts as an astringent, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing agent. The infusion is used externally for gargling in cases of tonsillitis, stomatitis, gingivitis, periodontal disease, and candidiasis, and internally for atherosclerosis, gastritis, diarrhea, and as an adjuvant in Diabetes Mellitus. Walnut oil exhibits anti-sclerotic effects.

In homeopathy, the leaves and green unripe fruits are used for Skin rashes and eczemas on the scalp, hands, and lower legs.

SUNDEW HERB — HERBA DROSERAE

Round-leaved sundew — Drósera rotundifólia L., fam. sundew family — Droseraceae

Round-leaved sundew; the name derives from Greek droseros — dewy (referring to the glistening, dew-like secretion droplets on the leaves).

A perennial herbaceous insectivorous plant. Flowering stem is erect, 10-25 cm high, leafless, several times longer than the leaves. Leaves form a basal rosette with long petioles and a round blade, covered on the upper surface and margins with glandular red hairs. Flowers are small, bisexual, regular, five-petaled, white, gathered in unilateral racemose cymes. Fruit is a capsule.

Distribution. Grows in the northern part of Ukraine in peat bogs.

Harvesting. The herb is harvested during the flowering period, used fresh or dried in the shade or in dryers at temperatures up to 40 °C.

Chemical COMPOSITION OF THE raw material. The herb contains naphthoquinones — droserone, plumbagin; flavonoids — quercetin, hyperoside, myricetin, kaempferol; Enzymes, tannins, acids, and salts of Fe, Mg, P, Mn, Si, Ca.

Droserone

Leadwort

Biological activity and Applications. It acts as an antibacterial agent against streptococci, staphylococci, and tuberculosis pathogens, and serves as an effective antispasmodic and expectorant remedy for colds, whooping cough, pharyngitis, laryngitis, Bronchitis, and Bronchial Asthma. Sundew extract is a component of Eucabal cough drops. Fresh juice is used to treat warts, corns, skin calluses, and mycoses.

In homeopathy, the fresh plant harvested at the onset of flowering is used for Upper Respiratory Tract conditions, such as whooping cough, spasmodic cough, and tuberculosis.