St. John's wort perforated, or St. John's wort - a perennial herbaceous plant. One of the most used medicinal plants; is also used in the food industry. The St. John's wort grows everywhere, sometimes forms whole thickets along the fringes of coniferous forests, over dry meadows, forest sunny meadows. It occurs as a weed along forest roads and on the outskirts of fields. It is widely distributed in Eurasia - from the Atlantic coast to Siberia, Mongolia and China. It occurs in North Africa, the Canary Islands and the Azores. As a naturalized plant is found in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South and North America. A plant with a thin, strong rhizome, from which annually grows several smooth dihedral ramified stems with a height of 40-80 cm. The stem is erect, green, then becomes reddish-brown; Two longitudinal lines are allocated on a smooth surface. Leaves opposite, sessile, oblong-ovate or elliptical, up to 3 cm long, up to 1.5 cm wide, whole-edge with numerous light and dark glands (hence the name - perforated). Flowers are regular, up to 2 cm in diameter, with a double five-membered perianth. The calyx is deeply divided, remains with the fruit, loose lanceolate parts with rare black glands. Petals are free, golden-yellow, oblong-elliptical, cut obliquely at the apex, with glands that are dark along the edge of the leaf, and light on the rest of the surface. Numerous stamens have grown together in three bundles. St. John's wort blossoms from June to August for 25-30 days. St. John's wort as a medicinal plant is known for a long time. As a medicinal raw material, the herb of St. John's wort is used - the shoots of a wild or cultivated St. John's wort perforated during the flowering phase. The herb of St. John's wort contains tannins, essential oil, triterpene saponins, vitamins C, E, flavonoids (hyperoside, rutin), anthraquinones, macro- and microelements and other biologically active substances, the coloring substance is hypericin. Decoction, infusion, tincture of St. John's wort is used as an astringent and antiseptic for gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, enterocolitis, diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids), liver and gallbladder (dyskinesia of the gallbladder, cholecystitis, gallstone disease , acute and chronic hepatitis), for rinsing with inflammatory diseases of the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat (acute tonsillitis (tonsillitis) and chronic tonsillitis, gingivitis, stomatitis). It is used for asthenic conditions, neuroses and neurasthenia, convulsions, headaches, insomnia, myocarditis and endocarditis, glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, cystitis and inflammation of the prostate, arthritis, radiculitis. They also treat many women's diseases (inflammation of the appendages, amenorrhea, profuse menstruation, leucorrhea), as well as allergic diathesis in children. Tincture and a decoction of St. John's wort have a positive effect on pulmonary tuberculosis. In folk medicine, St. John's wort is used in the treatment of gout, articular rheumatism, pulmonary tuberculosis, sciatica. Alcohol tincture is taken orally with rheumatic diseases, crushed leaves are applied to the wounds for early healing. In Bulgaria, the ground part of the plant is used as a decoction as an anti-inflammatory and astringent agent for diseases of the digestive system, liver, gall bladder, in Poland - in the treatment of neurasthenia, neuralgia, insomnia, headache, stomach diseases, as a hemostatic and wound healing agent. In France, St. John's wort oil is used in the treatment of wounds and burns, as a diuretic, and as a tool that stimulates the activity of the heart and the renewal of tissues. St. John's wort perforated in Russia is brewed as tea and is drunk as a pleasant refreshing drink. Blossoming shoots of St. John's wort are used to flavor vodkas and bitter tinctures. Olive shoots and flowers are used for dyeing wool and fabrics in red. The above-ground parts use leather for tanning.
