Popular names: thick sorrel, hernia grass, horse sorrel, unfortunate grass, cokovnik.
HORSE SORREL (Rumex confertus Willd)Perennial herbaceous plant of the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae), up to 150 cm high, with a thick, branched, many-headed rhizome and a large root deep into the soil. Stem erect, often solitary, glabrous, branched in upper part, furrowed. The leaves are large, alternate, the lower ones are long-petiolate, elongated-heart-shaped, the upper ones are short-petiolate, ovate-lanceolate. The flowers are small, bisexual, greenish, collected in narrow, long and dense panicle-shaped inflorescences. The fruit is a trihedral nut enclosed in a flower garden that has grown within. Blossoms in May – July, fruits ripen in June – July and do not fall off until winter. Sometimes there is a secondary flowering in August – September. Propagated by seeds and vegetatively (by division of rhizomes). Distributed almost throughout the CIS. Grows in clearings, green meadows, along the banks of rivers and lakes, along ditches, in vegetable gardens. Widespread meadow weed. It is more common in single specimens or in small groups, but sometimes forms dense thickets. Poorly tolerates systematic mowing and grazing. The plant prefers acidic soils.
COLLECTION AND DRYING OF RAW MATERIALS
For medicinal purposes, rhizomes with horse sorrel roots are used. Raw materials are harvested in August – September after the death of the above-ground mass or in early spring (April – May), when the plants begin to grow. Rhizomes with roots are dug up with a shovel, shaken off the ground, cut off the remaining stems, leaves and washed in running water. Thick rhizomes are cut lengthwise, and long roots across. It is advisable to harvest sorrel raw materials where hayfields are cleared of this weed. When collecting raw materials, small plants are left intact. At the same place, underground organs can be harvested no more than once every 3-5 years. Dry both in the shade and under the sun, laying out a thin layer (3-5 cm). In inclement weather, they are dried in dryers at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, periodically turning over. Drying is considered complete, if, when bent, the roots break with a bang. The color of dry rhizomes is white on the outside, at the break – yellowish-orange. The shelf life of raw materials is 3 years. The smell of raw materials is weak, peculiar, the taste is bitter-astringent.
PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
In small doses, the roots have an astringent effect, in large doses they have a laxative effect. In addition, they are hemostatic, vasoconstrictive, capillary-strengthening and hypotensive agents. They also inhibit tumor growth and exhibit antioxidant activity. When used externally, it has an antipruritic effect.
APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE
Rhizomes, roots. Broth, powder (inside) – with colitis, enterocolitis, hemorrhoids. Infusion, decoction, extract (in the form of rinses) – for stomatitis, gingivitis, tonsillitis. Included in the mixture prescribed by Zdrenko, used to treat papillomatosis of the bladder and anacid gastritis. Rhizomes, roots, fruits. In folk medicine as an astringent; with pulmonary, uterine and hemorrhoidal bleeding, bloody diarrhea and all kinds of skin diseases; decoction – for diarrhea, dysentery, gastric diseases, for diseases caused by weight lifting; ointment – for scabies. Leaves. In folk medicine (fresh) applied to abscesses, boils, wounds, ulcers. Fruits. In folk medicine, decoction (in the form of compresses) – for ulcers, burns and purulent wounds. Inflorescences. In folk medicine, decoction (inside) – with diarrhea, dysentery.
DOSAGE FORMS, METHOD OF APPLICATION AND DOSES
A decoction of horse sorrel root (Decoctum radicis Rumex confertus): 5 g (2 tablespoons) of raw materials are placed in an enamel bowl, pour 200 ml of hot boiled water, cover with a lid and heat in boiling water (in a water bath) for 30 minutes, cool at room temperature 10 minutes, filter, the remaining raw material is squeezed out. The volume of the resulting broth is adjusted with boiled water to 200 ml. The prepared broth is stored in a cool place for no more than 2 days. Take 1/3 cup 2-3 times every day 30 minutes before meals as an astringent, fixative, antihelminthic and hemostatic agent for colitis, enterocolitis, hemorrhoids, anal fissures; 1/2 cup at night – as a laxative. CONTRAINDICATIONS AND POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: It is not recommended to take horse sorrel products for kidney disease.
APPLICATIONS IN OTHER FIELDS
In Uzbekistan, young leaves and petioles are eaten. In the past, in lean years, ground stems and fruits were added to flour when baking bread. Leaves and fruits are good food for pigs, geese, chickens, rabbits. Extract from roots and rhizomes gives black and yellow paint, leaves and stalks – green. The rhizome can be used for tanning leather. In veterinary medicine, the roots are used for intestinal and skin diseases. Promising for introduction into culture.
TASTY TIPS
(from common sorrel)
Spinach and sorrel salad.
Sort spinach (100 g) and sorrel (100 g), wash and chop, add chopped hard-boiled egg (1/2 pc.), dill, garlic, salt and season with vegetable oil (40 g).
Sorrel salad.
Rinse sorrel (50-75 g) with cold water, chop, add chopped hard-boiled egg, sugar, salt, pepper. Season with sour cream or mayonnaise (25 g), sprinkle with dill and parsley.
Sorrel salad with other herbs.
Sorrel leaves (50 g), dandelion (50 g), nettle (30 g), plantain (40 g), coltsfoot (30 g) blanch for 5 minutes, put in a colander, chop, add chopped green onions (25 d) salt (to taste). Fill with vegetable oil or sour cream (50 g).
Combined salad with sorrel.
Fresh cucumbers (100 g), tomatoes (100 g), green onions (50 g), radish (50 g), sorrel (100 g) chopped, add green peas (50 g), pieces of boiled or fried meat (150 g) , chopped hard-boiled egg, salt (to taste), mix. Season with sour cream or mayonnaise (100 g), sprinkle with dill and parsley.
Sorrel sauce.
Finely chop the sorrel (100 g), stew in oil (20 g) with finely chopped onion (40 g). Pour a spoonful of flour, pour in the broth, salt, pepper and cook until thickened. You can add sour cream, nutmeg.
Borscht with sorrel and nettle.
Grind stewed nettle (50 g) into puree, put in boiling water (220 ml), then add chopped sorrel (50 g), diced potatoes (75 g), rice (10 g), browned carrot roots (15 g), parsley (8 g) and onions (15 g), tomato puree (15 g). A few minutes before the end of cooking, put a bay leaf. When serving, fill with chopped hard-boiled egg (1/2 pc.).
Shchi green with sorrel.
Boil potatoes (100 g), carrots (30 g), onions (50 g) in meat broth or water (500 ml). 5-7 minutes before readiness, add chopped sorrel (150 g), season with browned onions (50 g) with flour (15 g flour, 15 g vegetable oil), salt. Before serving, put hard-boiled egg slices, sour cream (25 g), dill and parsley in bowls.
Sorrel in Belarusian.
In meat broth (500 ml), boil potatoes (100 g) until half cooked, add bread kvass (100 ml), sorrel (150 g), salt (to taste), cook until tender. Season with sour cream (50 g), put circles of hard-boiled eggs, sprinkle with dill and parsley.
Okroshka from sorrel.
Boil chopped sorrel (150 g) in water (500 ml) for 10 minutes, drain in a colander. Strain the broth, cool, add chopped cucumbers (100 g), boiled meat (100 g), hard-boiled egg, boiled potatoes (70 g), green onions (25 g), sugar, salt, kvass (500 ml). Season with sour cream (25 g), sprinkle with dill and parsley.
Sorrel casserole.
Pass boiled sorrel (185 g) through a meat grinder, add browned onions (20 g) and flour (2 g), water (15 ml) and simmer until tender. Add grated cheese (8 g), butter (6 g), salt to the resulting puree. Put slices of fried bread (25 g), mashed potatoes, sprinkle with breadcrumbs (3 g) on the bottom of the dish and put in the oven.
Sorrel with mushrooms.
Sorrel (400 g) simmer until half cooked, add finely chopped fresh mushrooms (300 g), grated cheese (100 g), butter (100 g). Put the mass in a frying pan, greased with butter or vegetable oil, and bake in the oven.
Sorrel boiled with butter.
Boil sorrel (250 g) in salted water, drain in a colander. When the water drains, chop, add butter (50 g), salt (to taste), heat to a boil. Use as an independent dish and as a side dish for meat and fish dishes.
Sorrel fillings.
1. Sorrel leaves (300 g), oregano (3-5 g), onions (50 g), hard-boiled egg (2 pcs.) Chop, salt, mix. Use for fillings in pies, potato casserole.2. Pass sorrel leaves (300 g) and mint (5-10 g) through a meat grinder, add salt, pepper, mix. Use for fillings in flour products.3. Pass sorrel (200 g) through a meat grinder, add browned onion (50 g), hard-boiled egg, sour cream (50 g), salt (to taste).
Salty sorrel.
1. Rinse the leaves and young stems of sorrel (1 kg) with cold water, pass through a meat grinder, add dill seeds (5 g), caraway seeds (5 g), salt (30 g). Arrange the sorrel in glass jars, cover with plastic lids. Store in a cool place.2. Put the sorrel leaves in an enamel, glass or wooden bowl, sprinkle with salt in layers (1 kg of sorrel – 100 g of salt), cover with a wooden circle, put a load on top. When the sorrel settles, add fresh leaves until the dishes are filled. Store in a cool place, but do not freeze. Rinse with cold water before use. Use for cooking first courses, side dishes.