Pastoral Pasties-Capsella Bursa Pastoris

Description of pastoral pasties:

Capsella bursa-pastoris Old or other known names: common shepherd’s purse, frogweed, frog’s-tail, gezemice, godsbane, paper-cloth, dust-cloth, blood-cloth, shepherd’s purse, shepherd’s purse, shepherd’s whip, wild mustard, worm-grass, stink-grass, spoon-grass, goose-grass, calanopsis, heart-knife-grass, baby’s-bag, angelfish, trap-grass, bottle-grass, bottle-grass, dust-grass, holy-wort, blood-grass Brassicaceae – Brassicacea Annual or biennial plant growing to a height of about a quarter of a metre. Basal leaves are rosulate, winged and cleft; stem leaves are stalkless, small, with fuzzy margins or intact. Tiny flowers of four petals, white in colour, initially in a tent, later in an elongated raceme. Named for its bag-shaped (heart-shaped, almost triangular) calyx, stems 20-50 cm tall, branched, ladder-like seed heads. Seeds are initially golden. It flowers most abundantly in April-May, but otherwise throughout the summer (up to November). Its leaves have a slightly pungent, peppery flavour, and its fruit has a slightly pungent taste reminiscent of walnuts. Genus includes 5 species

Occurrence:

Very widespread throughout Europe and in our country in fallows, fields and along roadsides. It can be found almost everywhere up to altitudes above 2000 m, from lowland to mountainous areas.

Part of it to be collected:

The above-ground part of the plant (flowering, leafy stems), which Herba bursae capsellae it is marketed as.

Active ingredient:

The stems and leaves of the plant contain a readily degradable alkaloid and glycosidic acid (bursic acid), the seeds contain an essential oil similar to the volatile mustard oil, peptide (haemostatic). 1% flavonglycosides, flavonoids (luteloin, diosmin, quercetin), biogenic amines (betaine, choline, tyramine, acetylcholine, histamine), potassium, tannins, resins, fatty oil (in seeds), minerals, calcium, tannins, saponins. It is often attacked by mould fungi and is therefore difficult to test because its drug substances can be completely altered. The problem is that the fungal infection can only be detected at an advanced stage, it may be present in the plant much earlier. It is also possible that the fungus itself may be responsible for the medicinal effect, or at least may add something to the effect of the plant. Another problem is that the amount of active substances is very variable, depending on the weather, soil conditions, etc.

Uses and effects:

It has been used to stop all kinds of bleeding, bleeding from the lungs, stomach and intestines. It has also been consumed to stop heavy menstrual bleeding. In the laboratory, it inhibited the development of tumours induced in animals. Studies in humans and animals have confirmed that the plant can stop bleeding. It has been recognised as a stimulant of uterine muscle contraction. Shepherd’s purse is thought by Russian doctors to be a possible cure for swamp fever, and has been shown to be effective in treating diseases spread by ticks and mosquitoes (e.g. encephalitis). Shepherd’s purse destroys the larvae responsible for the diseases spread.

• uterine bleeding (uterine astringent effect)
• haemostatic
• stomach bleeding, stomach ulcer
• pulmonary haemorrhage (formerly used to relieve lung ailments, spitting up blood)
• nosebleeds
• postpartum haemorrhage
• haemorrhoids (to treat bleeding and inflamed haemorrhoids)
• varicose veins
• menstrual pains
• cystitis (tincture)
• kidney stones (tincture)
• bleeding gums
• bath
• muscle atrophy (externally, using tincture as a rubbing agent)
• anti-inflammatory
• mild blood pressure regulator
• antiseptic, wound healer (tincture)
• urinary tract antiseptic (kidney abscesses)
• diuretic
• diarrhoeal (laxative and laxative in one)
• crushed and cut wounds
• mucous membrane (infected)
• cancer (proven in animal studies)
• malarial fever (used to put fresh, chopped plant on wrists and feet, which was said to relieve malarial fever – used as a substitute for quinine)
• fever (recorded as being soaked in it and placed on the trumpets of fever patients)
• platelet stimulant
• muscle tonic (against intestinal dysentery)
• nervous system rehabilitant (weakened nervous system)
• eczema (decoction, external and internal combined use of fresh leaves)

Menstrual pain, uterine bleeding, haemorrhoids:

• 5 grams of dried plant steeped in a cup of boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Daily dose: 2 up to (!) 3 cups

Stomach and intestinal bleeding:

• 2 teaspoons of the drug steeped in 2 dl of water for 15 minutes, strained. Daily dose: 2 cups

Nosebleeds (placing a pulped plant in the nose)

• inhalation, using the tea preparation form described above.
• tincture, 50 drops mixed in a glass of water. Daily dose: maximum (!) 3 times a day

Bleeding gums, oral wound, after tooth extraction:

• use diluted tincture, decoction or infusion
• make a cup of herbal tea from a teaspoonful of turpentine and hold for 3-5 minutes while rinsing mouth

Do not use on pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, or on children! Do not use for people taking blood thinners, people prone to blood clots, people with atherosclerosis! People with a history of myocardial infarction, heart attack, thromboembolism should not consume it! It can speed up blood clotting, internal blood clotting can lead to heart attack, heart attack. To our current knowledge, it has no known harmful or toxic effects and is an excellent first aid herb for the problems described above. As a first aid, it stops bleeding when applied to the wound and held on with strong pressure.

Use in the kitchen:

• may be used in salads, stews, roasts, as garnish for side dishes and soups
• in stews
• can be eaten like spinach

Harvesting and drying:

The above-ground part, which flowers from spring to autumn, should be collected and dried in a shady, airy place.

Cultivation:

As it is abundant in the wild, it is not worth cultivating. It is easily propagated from seed, sown in spring in a sunny spot. It prefers well-drained, sandy soil, but tolerates many soil types.

Storage:

Prolonged storage is not recommended as its active ingredients will diminish significantly over time.

Processing and marketing:

In the past, shepherd’s purse was used very extensively in medicine, in the form of extracts, decoctions and dyes. Its use declined in later years, but in more recent times, particularly during the World War, when it was used as a poultice for extractum hydrastis fluidum, its use has become more widespread. Its extract is used under the name of ext. Bursae past. fluidum and is official in some foreign pharmacopoeias.

History:

It was recommended by ancient Greek and Roman physicians as a laxative, and Hippocrates used it to treat the uterus. Péter Mélius Juhász: ‘It stops the blood of a woman’s man, cures all internal diseases’. During the First World War, when there were few haemostatic agents available, soldiers were given shepherd’s purse herbal tea to drink. After World War I, it was used instead of ergot for its astringent effect on the uterus. It was officially listed in the IX Soviet Pharmacopoeia as an ingredient in tea mixtures as an anti-haemorrhagic. Nicholas Culpeper (Over 300 years ago) In the 16th century, Italian physicians began using it to stop bleeding and especially blood in the urine. In the 16th and 17th centuries, herbal books were the first to mention the use of the drug to cure bleeding from the nose, mouth, respiratory tract and kidneys. The first settlers took the plant with them to North America, where it spread very quickly. King: “the plant, freshly picked, is undoubtedly more effective than dried.” Source: Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr Gyula Magyary-Kossa,Domestic herbs, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses Dr Michael A. Weiner, Herbal Bible, ISBN: 963 7495 29 Rápóti Jenő-Romváry Vilmos, Medicinal plants, ISBN:963 241 190 0 Reader’s Digest, Nature’s herb garden, ISBN:978 963 9562 01 1 Mariann Beh, The Garden Kitchen, ISBN:978 615 5417 41 2 Bertalan Galambosi, 88 colour pages on herbs and medicinal plants, ISBN:963 231 455 7 Herbarium – Dr.Sándor Kmeth, ISBN:-978-615-80075-2-87 Home Herb Book – Vicky Chown&Kim Walker, ISBN:978-963-433-225-12 Medicinal plants – Jethro Kloss, ISBN:978-963-689-351-26 Alexandra, Treasury of herbs, ISBN:978 963 357 507 9 János Boruzs, Useful advice on domestic herbs, ISBN:963 9246 18 192 Michael Castleman, Encyclopaedia of medicinal plants, ISBN: 963 583 051 75 Ágnes Molnárné Juhász, The Book of Herbal Teas, ISBN:978-963-278-477-26 Németh Imréné Éva,Herbal ABC, ISBN:978-615-5171-38-65 Reader’s Digest, Nature’s herb garden, ISBN:978 963 9562 01 1 Dr.Kolos Ede-Kolosné Pethes Edit, Our domestic medicinal plants Jenő Bernáth, Medicinal and aromatic plants, ISBN:963 286 258 9 Barbara and Peter Theiss, Forests, fields, apothecary, ISBN:963 85035 0 5 Babulka Péter, Discovering wild medicinal plants, ISBN:963 9237 66 3 Dr. János Zelenyák, The effects and uses of medicinal plants Lesley Bremnes, Spices and Herbs, ISBN:963 545 041 9 Ingrid and Peter Schönfelder, Herbal Herb Guide, ISBN:963 684 124 1 Németh Imréné Éva,ABC of medicinal plants, ISBN:978-615-5171-38-65 Varró Aladár Béla,Medicinal effects of medicinal plants, ISBN:963-9117-02-179