In recent years, plants that have an anti-stress effect and increase efficiency have been in high demand. And somehow overseas gotu-kola, goji (see Dereza vulgaris) and ashwagandha (see Vitania sleeping pills), we forget about our relatives and proven plants for centuries. It is to such plants that the safflower leuzea, or maral root, belongs.
It is found mainly within the subalpine belt of Altai, Kuznetsk Alatau, Western and Eastern Sayan. Prefers gentle slopes, protected from the prevailing winds; grows on scree, along river valleys. Marals eat it in early spring to recuperate. These properties were noticed by hunters and began to use the plant as a means of increasing endurance in hunting. And for Leuzea, respectively, the name was firmly entrenched - maral root.
Then it was introduced into culture and began to be cultivated in various zones of Russia, or rather the then USSR, as a perennial and unpretentious fodder plant. The addition of the aboveground mass of leuzea to livestock feed helps to increase weight gain and milk yield, and also increases the resistance of animals to a variety of diseases, which is very important with modern "compacted" keeping. And bees willingly collect honey from its flowers, which bloom at the end of May.
In addition, the roots of Leuzea are used in the food industry in the preparation of the Sayany tonic drink. And now it is actively included in the formulation of balsams and tinctures.
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Leuzea safflower, according to modern classification - safflower raponticum (Rhaponticumcarthamoides) - a perennial herb of the Aster family with a horizontal dark brown branched rhizome with numerous thin, hard roots up to 20 cm long. The rhizome forms from 5 to 20 vegetative shoots, with a rosette of 3-4 large petiolate pinnate leaves up to 60-100 cm long. Generative shoots, usually 1-2, they are hollow, ribbed, cobweb-pubescent or almost glabrous, 100-150 cm high, with smaller sessile leaves. The flowers are violet-pink, collected in single apical baskets 4-8 cm in diameter. Fruits are ellipsoidal, gray-brown, ribbed achenes 6-8 mm long and 3-4 mm wide, with a short fringed margin. Blooms in late May-June; seeds ripen in July-August.
Due to the fact that Leuzea has a vast and torn into separate parts of the area, the populations quite noticeably differ from each other - the higher in the mountains, the smaller the growth and size of the inflorescences, but often the higher the content of active substances.
Leuzea medicinal raw materials
In medicine, underground organs (rhizomes with roots) are used, which are harvested in September. They are washed, not allowing long soaking in water (the active ingredients are washed out), then dried in the sun for 4-6 days, spreading in a layer of no more than 10-25 cm on shelves, tarpaulins, polymer film, stirring occasionally. In unfavorable weather they dry in dryers or in heated rooms with good ventilation. The shelf life of raw materials is 3 years.
Chemical composition
The underground organs of Leuzea safflower contain the sum of phytoecdysones, sterols, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, essential oils, resins, fats, waxes, gums, carotene, ascorbic acid, inulin, calcium oxalate, phosphoric acid salts. Aerial organs (inflorescences, stems, leaves) also contain from 0.26 to 0.57% ecdysterone (based on the mass of absolutely dry raw materials).
The phytoecdysteroids contained in the roots of leuzea have an anabolic effect, that is, they contribute to an increase in muscle mass. It was found that leuzea ecdysones exhibit psychostimulating and adaptogenic effects, therefore they should be considered as the main active ingredients of this plant.The main ecdysteroid is 20-hydroxyecdysone (ecdysterone).
Liquid extract and tincture of rhizomes with roots are used in scientific medicine as a stimulant for functional disorders of the nervous system, mental and physical fatigue, reduced working capacity, and sexual impotence. Leuzea extract has shown high efficiency in vegetative-vascular disorders, depression. It increases the content of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood.
In terms of pharmacological activity, the aboveground part is not inferior to underground organs.
In folk medicine, tincture, infusion and decoction of rhizomes with roots are used as a tonic, stimulant for asthenia in convalescents and the elderly. Maral root preparations relieve the feeling of fatigue and fatigue during physical and mental work, restore vigor, increase appetite, significantly increase efficiency, and improve overall well-being. Most often, Leuzea preparations are used in autumn, winter and spring, when the incidence of colds sharply increases and seasonal depressions appear. In summer, maral root treatment is not advisable.
Application recipes
Easy to prepare at home infusion of rhizomes with roots... To do this, take 20 g of crushed raw materials, pour 1 glass of boiling water, insist for 3 hours, filter. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day before meals. Store the infusion in the refrigerator for no more than 2 days.
More convenient to store and use tincture of rhizomes with roots on vodka (1: 5). Insist 45 days, take from 20 drops to 1 teaspoon (depending on the individual characteristics of the person) 3 times a day for 15-20 minutes. before meals, in the evening - at least 5 hours before bedtime. The course of treatment is 2 months, a break of 10 days.
Growing Leuzea
This plant is quite unpretentious and convenient in culture. Leuzea safflower grows best on sandy loam and loamy soils in areas with a slight slope, providing a drain of excess water. Poorly tolerates heavy soils with a close standing groundwater and areas where stagnant water is observed. For successful growth, he prefers well-lit areas, especially if seed collection is planned. In the shade, Leuzea almost ceases to bloom.
Sowing is carried out in early spring with seeds stratified for 2-3 months. The optimum temperature for seed germination is within + 20 ... + 30 ° С. Seeds are sown to a depth of 1.5-2 cm, the distance between rows is 50-70 cm. Seedlings appear in 1.5-2 weeks. In the first year, only a rosette of basal leaves develops. Starting from the second year of life, plants begin to bloom and bear fruit. In nature, however, this process is somewhat delayed and sometimes wild plants, especially high in the mountains, bloom for the first time only in the 4th year of life.
Leuzea is responsive to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers. When preparing the site, manure, peat-manure compost are applied at a dose of 2-3 buckets per m2. During the growing season, from the second year, at the beginning of active plant growth, top dressing is performed - 10 g / m2 of nitrogen, 30 g / m2 of phosphorus and 10 g / m2 of potash fertilizers are applied. Care includes weeding, loosening and, if necessary, watering. The aboveground mass is mowed from the second year of life in June. Roots can be dug up from the 3rd year of life. Inflorescences with set seeds must be protected from the invasion of birds, which are very fond of feasting on seeds from the flower baskets of Leuzea. To do this, immediately after flowering, the baskets are tied with a cloth or a piece of gauze.
But if you do not plan to grow it on a large scale, then you can place the plants near the fence, in group plantings against the background of the lawn and in the background of the mixborder. The plant blooms early and for a short time. The rest of the period will have to be content with grayish-green feathery leaves.
