Medicinal Plants
Plants grow in almost every part of the world. We see such plants as
flowers, grass and trees nearly every day. Plants also grow on
mountaintops, in the oceans, and in many desert and polar regions.
Without plants, there could be no life on the earth. People could not
live without air or food, and thus could not live without plants. The
oxygen is the air we breathe comes from plants. The food that we eat
comes from plants or from animals that eat plant. Much of our clothing
is made from the fibers of the cotton plant. But not only this. Many
useful drugs come from plants. Some of there plants have been used as
medicines for hundreds of years. More than 400 years ago, for example,
some Indian tribes of South America used the bark of the cinchona tree
to reduce fever. The dark is still used to make guinine, a drug used to
treat malaria and other diseases. Another drug, called digitalis, is
used in treating heart disease. It is made from the dried leaves of the
purple foxglove plant. The roots of the Mexican yamare used in producing
cortisone, a drug useful in treating arthritis and a number of other
diseases.
The collection and use of medicinal plants began many thousand years
ago.
болиголова”, gentian [ ] – “тирлич” and many others.
Today many drug plants are cultivated and many drug plants are collected
from fields and woods.
Some drugs are made from fruits, leaves, flowers, roots, seeds of the
plants.
It is very important to collect plants in proper time. Leaves are
collected when they are fully developed. The time of the day is also
important in the collection of drug plants.
Flowers are collected before the time of pollination [ ].
Fruits are collected when they are fully grown but unripe.
To dry plants correctly is also very important. If it is made carelessly
the drug may be spoiled. Drug plants which have glicosides must be dried
at a low temperature.
And now I want to tell you some words about mint and camomile.
Mint
Mint is the name of a large family of plants. There are about 3500
species of mint. Most mint plants have small, white, bluish or pinkish
flowers. Their leaves are dotted with small glands that contain aromatic
oils. The oil are released when the leaves are crushed.
Popular cooking mints include marjoram, rosemary and sage. Such mints as
white horehound and peppermint add a cool, sharp flavor to candies.
Mints also are used in some medicines and perfumes.
Camomile
Camomile, is a group of small plants that are sometimes used in folk
medicine. The name is often spelled chamomile. The most commonly
cultivated camomile grows in the eastern and central regions of the
United States, where it was brought from Europe. It is called common or
corn, camomile, and sometimes the English, or Roman, camomile. The
flowers look much like daisies. The flowers and leaves smell sweet, but
taste bitter. They are sometimes applied as a poultice (warm, moist
mass) to treat toothache, or made into a tonic.
9
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? ????????$??$??????O?collection – [ ] – збір
Hippocrates – [ ] – Гіппократ
hemlock – [ ] – болиголов
gentian – [ ] – тирлич
cultivate – [ ] – вирощувати
time -вчасно
fully developed – повністю
spoile – [ ] – покрити
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