Marrubium vulgare
Common Horehound ( Marrubium vulgare)
Called The Common Horehound ( Marrubium vulgare), also White Horehound, White Horehound, Helfkraut or White Dorant, a perennial plant of the genus Horehound ( Marrubium ) is in the mint family ( Lamiaceae). The species was formerly often cultivated as a medicinal plant.
Description
The Common Horehound is a perennial herbaceous plant to halbstrauchige reached the stature heights of 30 to 80 cm. The stems are erect and hairy white hairs, especially in the lower part. The petiole is shorter than the leaf blade and at the lower leaves. The leaves are broadly ovate to circular, the base rounded to almost cordate, toothed edge of the deep and irregular. The leaves are covered with stellate hairs; they are on the underside densely tomentose hairy than on the verkahlenden top. The nerve network is sunk deep into the upper leaf surface.
The Scheinquirle stand apart and many flowered and spherical. The bracts are hairy at least as long as the calyx tube, subulate and shaggy - feathery. The calyx tube 3-4 mm long, obscurely 10 - annoying and villous - pubescent; the kind characterizing calyx teeth are usually reduced to ten men, nearly equal, spreading, curved hooked to the fruit time. The crown surmounted with 6-7 mm of the cup; she is white and the outside densely stellate hairs. The Klausen are 1.5 to 2 mm long and has a smooth, gray to light brown surface.
The flowering period extends from May to August. The chromosome number is 2n = 34
Dissemination
The Common Horehound has been widely used in the Mediterranean area and taken in large parts of North and South America and Australia. In Central Europe the species is a archaeophyte, the feral from the formerly widespread medicinal plant cultivation and also naturalized in warmer areas. Such stable deposits reach up to southern Sweden and into southern Scotland. Oldest archaeological evidence in central Europe originate from the Neolithic period (4000 BC).
The Common Horehound is in Central Europe, mostly in the vicinity of villages before and settled there as well as in the Mediterranean path sides and pastures on dry clay and loamy soils.
Agents
Horehound contains the bittern marrubiin, a Furanolabdan diterpene and essential oils, mucilage, resins, waxes and tannins.
Pharmacology
As a drug, what is called Andornkraut; these are the dried leaves and upper stem parts ( Marrubii herba ). Andornkraut is used in folk medicine as a tea for treatment of anorexia, indigestion, biliousness, and bronchial catarrh. In conventional medicine, the drug is less recognized, although they are proven stimulating acts as bittering agents on the saliva, gastric juice and bile. Even from a mucolytic effect is reported.
Avril Rodway writes in a herb book from 1692 reads: syrup from the fresh green leaves of horehound and sugar is an unbeatable medicine for coughs and lung pipes. In addition, it has been estimated as a remedy for worms and poisoning. As a laxative, it is also effective.