2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Gapega is also known under the name of the goat's rue, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Galega officinalis L. Gapega is one of the plants of the family called legumes, in Latin the name of this family will be like this: Fabaceae Lindl.
Description of hapega
There are also the following popular names for this plant: goat gut, rutovka, rue and goat grass. Gapega is a perennial herb, the height of which can reach from forty to two hundred and fifty centimeters. The root of this plant will be taproot. The stems of the hapeg are very numerous, branched and erect. The leaves of this plant are endowed with styli, they will be pinnate and petiolate. Such leaves are endowed with about five to ten pairs of linear-lanceolate leaves, and at the top, these leaves are pointed. The flowers of this plant are most often painted in light blue tones, they are endowed with rather long pedicels, they are numerous and gather in dense axillary brushes. The calyx of this plant will be bell-shaped, and the corolla is painted in light blue tones or sometimes in pale purple, such a corolla will be moth-shaped. Ten accrete stamens, and the pistil is endowed with an upper ovary, as well as a capitate stigma and a rather long column. The fruits of this plant will be multi-seeded, and their length will be about two to four centimeters. The seeds of the hapeg will be slightly kidney-shaped, smooth and colored in greenish-yellow tones.
Under natural conditions, this plant is quite widespread on the territory of Moldova, in the Caucasus, as well as in the Crimea, the Carpathians and the Dnieper region of Ukraine. In addition, the gapega can also be found in the Lower Volga and Black Sea regions of the European part of Russia. For growth, this plant prefers streams, banks and river valleys, roads, ravines, shrubs, beech forests, mountain steppes, forest edges, as well as humid subtropical forests.
Description of the medicinal properties of the hapega
It should be noted that the hapega is endowed with rather valuable healing properties, while it is recommended to use the seeds and herbs of this plant for medicinal purposes. The concept of grass includes flowers, leaves and stems of this plant.
Such valuable medicinal properties are explained by the content in the plant of saponins, alkaloids, as well as the following nitrogen-containing compounds: galegin and 4-hydroxygalegin. The roots of this plant contain triterpenoids. The herb of this plant contains alkaloids, carbohydrates, peganin, vazicinone, and besides this, there are also other nitrogen-containing compounds: namely, tannins, pipcolic acids, rutin, flavonoids, kaempferol, carotene, vitamin C, and besides this, phenol carboxylic acids and even their derivatives in the hydrolyzate. Derivatives of such acids are coumaric, sinapic, ferulic and caffeic acids. The flowers of the hapega contain flavonoids. The seeds of this plant contain saponins, alkaloids, stachyose, steroids, fatty oil, as well as other nitrogen-containing compounds, as well as linolenic, linoleic, stearic and palmitic acids.
It should be noted that preparations based on this plant have a diaphoretic, diuretic effect, and also increase the secretion of milk in women in labor. In veterinary medicine, the herb of this plant has been widely used as a lactogenic agent. Actually, the experiment showed that the herb extract of this plant is able to increase the glycogen content in the liver, as well as glucose tolerance. In addition, galegin is also able to have a hypoglycemic effect, and peganin will tone up smooth muscles. It should be remembered that long-term use of drugs based on this plant can lead to an increase in blood pressure or impaired bowel function.
