Aconite: photo, types, cultivation, care, application. Aconite Dzungarian medicinal plant, photo Aconite in homeopathy

The name Jungar aconite comes from the merger of two terms. According to legend, extremely poisonous grass grew in abundance in the vicinity of the Greek city of Akone. The semi-mythical plant akoniton gave its name to a real plant used in antiquity to bait predators, wolves. Dzungarian - a modern prefix, characterizes the geographical region of the Dzungarian Alatau, where industrial harvesting of culture was carried out several decades ago.

Aconite often appears in myths Ancient Greece. In one of them, the appearance of the plant is associated with the hellish dog Cerberus, who spat poisonous saliva while Hercules dragged him from underworld. And it was from this saliva that erect stems with rich purple flowers and a stupefying smell appeared. Medea was going to poison Theseus with their juice, as the legendary poet Ovid told about in one of his works.

Mythological roots also have the second generally accepted name of the culture - the grass wrestler, first mentioned in the Scandinavian myth. He tells that the plant arose at the site of the death of the god Thor, who fought with a poisonous snake. With the shape of the flowers, the plant reminded the ancient storytellers of Thor's helmet.

The first mentions of real use wrestler's aconite belong to the history of Nepal. There is evidence that local residents used it in case of a military threat: they poisoned water bodies from which enemies could drink. The smell of the plant defeated the army of the ancient Roman commander Mark Antony. And the famous Tatar prince Timur was poisoned with juice from the stems.

Features of aconite dzungarian

Due to the extreme toxicity, modern medicine is wary of the plant. But the folk classifies it as a drug with a proven effect. Wolf aconite is valuable vegetable raw materials due to the extreme limitation of its distribution.

Growing region

The geographical area of ​​culture includes the warm regions of Pakistan, India, China, and Kyrgyzstan. Grass grows in mountainous areas, exclusively on the northern slopes, preferring moist soils with a rich composition. It is not actively distributed, while its extraction in the 20th century was carried out on an industrial scale. This led to the almost complete disappearance of the population in the regions of growth in China (Dzhungar Alatau) and Pakistan (Kashmir).

On the territory of the USSR, population areas of aconite were found in Kyrgyzstan. Here grew the closest relative of the Dzungarian wrestler - Karakol. It has almost identical appearance and properties, differs by the percentage of active substances in the raw material. Their level was sufficient from the point of view of medicine, so the industrial harvesting of culture in the sixties of the last century was carried out at an active pace. At the same time, the plant was not used in the Soviet Union, so there is no information about it in the reference books of medicinal plants of this period. The USSR carried out harvesting for export: the sale of the plant fighter to China provided the state with a source of foreign exchange income and practically exhausted its Kyrgyz reserves.

To date, the only country where the culture population has been preserved is Kazakhstan. Its industrial extraction is controlled by the Land Code, which allows the wrestler to breed.

Description

The aconite plant is a perennial erect grass, the stems of which reach a height of one hundred and thirty centimeters. They are thickened in the lower part, tapering towards the top, may be completely naked or well pubescent. Scattered throughout the stem are leaves on long petioles of a rounded heart shape. Closer to the rhizome, they are pale, and in the upper part of the stem they are rich green. The root itself consists of many cone-shaped tubers forming a chain. Each "link" grows no more than two and a half centimeters long, does not exceed a centimeter in thickness.

During flowering, the plant releases several blue-violet racemes. They are large, up to four centimeters in length, on narrow legs. The walls are unequal, which gives a specific shape to the flowers, as if beveled in one direction or another. Flowering begins in the second half of summer, the plant exudes a smell saturated with essential substances. During this period, it causes poisoning as a result of inhaling the aroma.

By September, the fruits ripen - dry leaflets, collected in a ternary bundle. Due to the weak vegetation, out of three, only one leaflet is usually opened, which provides seeds for the subsequent development of the plant. The seeds are up to five millimeters long, brown-brown, angular.

Collection and preparation

Aconite root is stored in spring and autumn. Preparations begin immediately after the snow melts before the onset of heat. In the summer, harvesting is not carried out for the sole purpose of not being poisoned by evaporation. essential oils, which becomes many times more intense when the plant is heated in the sun. Work continues in the fall, from the second half of September. The roots are dug up, washed in cold water, dried in electric dryers at a temperature of fifty degrees. Slow drying is allowed in the attic, under metal roofing. The mass of the feedstock after shrinkage is reduced by four times.

The collection of leaves is carried out before flowering. Harvesting is also possible during the flowering period of the plant, but it is important to observe safety precautions and not inhale toxic fumes. The raw materials are laid out on newspapers in a thin layer, dried in the sun for two days, and then moved under a canopy. The finished raw material is dry, crumbles, but retains a rich green color.

The rhizome and leaves of the high wrestler should be stored in a breathable container, for example, in linen bags, for no more than two years.

Compound

After harvesting, the plant retains the main volume of active substances. The main ones are alkaloids, in particular, aconitine. Leaves collected in spring are richer than those in autumn. In the rhizome, the level of active substances is stable.

The volume of aconitine in tubers is up to four percent. The fabrics contain sugars, benzoic and fumaric acids, traces of ephedrine, a combination of linoleic, palmic and stearic acids. In the leaves with a high content of aconitine, tannins, flavonoids and more than twenty types of microelements were found. But so far, the composition of the northern wrestler has been little studied.

The use of wolf aconite

The roots of the plant are used as medicinal raw materials in official medicine, and green shoots are also used in folk medicine. The rhizome can be dried or freshly harvested, in the latter case the level of active substances in it is higher.

The culture has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, has antimicrobial and anesthetic effects, and reduces the severity of spasms. This property is used in only one drug - tincture of Dzhungarian aconite "Akofit", recommended for sciatica. It has an analgesic and distracting effect during exacerbations of the disease.

Traditional medicine uses aconite klobuchkovy much wider. It is recommended for neuralgia of various nature, rheumatism, migraine.

Cancer treatment with Jungar aconite is practiced by patients with the fourth stage of the disease. official medicine does not confirm the effectiveness of the method. It is based on taking a tincture with toxic properties. As the dosage increases, the tincture has a detrimental effect on diseased cancer cells. Healthy cells are more resistant to the toxin, so they don't die.

For cancer

Aconite tincture is used, reviews of which confirm the effectiveness of the remedy for oncological diseases of the esophagus, intestines, and stomach.

Cooking

1. Grind 10 grams of dried root.
2. Fill with alcohol with a strength of 40 percent, a volume of 0.5 liters.
3. Leave for 14 days at room temperature.

Recommendations on how to take aconite for cancer treatment include gradually increasing the dosage. Start with one drop of the composition per day, within forty days increase the dosage by one drop. At the end of the forty day period, the person should take forty drops of the remedy. After that, the dosage is reduced by one drop per day. The full cycle of treatment is 80 days. The cycles are repeated until recovery.

For pain

AT folk medicine the plant is used to treat pain syndromes caused by migraines, inflammatory processes in the cavity of the teeth and gums, rheumatism, and neuralgia.

Cooking

1. Grind 20 grams of dried root.
2. Fill with vodka with a volume of 500 ml.
3. Infuse for a week in a dark place.
4. Strain before use.

For rheumatic pains, the remedy should be rubbed into the affected area, then wrapped with a warm cloth and left in a compress until the symptoms subside.

With migraine, neuralgia, the infusion is taken orally one teaspoon per day for a month.

You can relieve a toothache by dropping a drop of tincture on a painful tooth or by treating the gum with it.

For wounds, boils

An aqueous decoction of the wrestler flower is used, which has an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect.

Cooking

1. Grind 20 grams of dried roots.
2. Pour in 250 ml boiling water.
3. Boil over low heat for 20 minutes under the lid.
4. Cool, strain.

Rinse old boils, purulent wounds three times a day with warm decoction.

Precautionary measures

The plant is classified as extremely poisonous and deadly. Official medicine does not recommend its independent use. The toxicity of drugs is manifested both when taken orally and externally, so it is important to exercise extreme caution when using it.

Contact with the skin of the composition always causes itching, after which an anesthetic effect is observed. This is not a sign of poisoning.

Intoxication is manifested by itching and tingling that occurs in different parts body, bouts of severe burning in the stomach or intestines, the development of increased salivation. The person who has been poisoned may experience dizziness, shortness of breath and disruption of the heart. Death causes respiratory paralysis.

If these symptoms occur, you should immediately consult a doctor and take urgent measures: rinse the stomach, give an enema, give the patient strong black tea, sorbent (black or white coal, Polysorb, Enterosgel) to drink.

In homeopathy, aconite is non-toxic, which is due to the extremely small amount of raw materials used. There can be only one molecule of a substance per bottle of infusion, so the rationality of acquiring and taking such funds is assessed individually. And it is decided by the answer to the question: do you believe in homeopathic remedies or not.

Wolf aconite is a specific and extremely dangerous plant. Official medicine does not use it in the manufacture medicines. And he recommends replacing it with safer drugs with no less high activity in case of manifestations of pain. In oncology, it can serve as the last hope for a person with stage 4 cancer. There are no official data and statistics on its effectiveness. However, persistent faith in healing, as you know, can give magical properties any drug.

The desire to place it on your . Let's figure out what aconite is, what are the features and rules for planting this plant, what are the methods of its reproduction.

plant description

Aconite wolf ("wrestler", "wolf root", "wolfboy") - Buttercup family. It has straight stems beautiful flowers and alternate palmate leaves.

This plant got its name because it was previously used to poison wolves. In ancient times, the Greeks and Chinese made poison to lubricate their arrows from aconite. The Nepalese used it to lure predators by poisoning drinking water with a wrestler.

Important! The alkaloids contained in the flower make it toxic. Influencing the central nervous system, they cause paralysis of the respiratory center and convulsions.

In modern medicine forbidden to use wrestler. However, in Tibet, the plant was called the "king of medicine" and was treated with pneumonia, as well as anthrax. In Slavic countries, this herb was used as an external pain reliever.

Where does wolf aconite grow?

Most common different kinds aconite in North America, Europe and Asian countries. Most often, the wolf root can be found on roadsides, in wet places near the banks of rivers, on mountain lawns, as well as on the rich. Aconite is a perennial grass, and if it grows on a fertile garden soil, then after several generations loses its poisonous properties, which will be in the hands of gardeners.

Did you know? Homeopaths use wrestler-based preparations as antipyretics. They are also used to overcome menopausal hot flashes in women.

Landing Features

If you are not afraid of poisoning and still decide to do it, then it is very important to know all the rules for growing this plant. Wolfboy can coexist with any other and grass, since he does not pose a danger to him. Do not plant it next to fruits that will be eaten.

Location selection

When choosing a place for a wolfboy, you need to consider that he loves moisture, but does not tolerate stagnant water. Wolf root can grow both in the shade and in a sunny area. However, climbing varieties of this grass are best planted under trees, as direct sunlight can cause burns to the climbing wrestler.

Landing Rules

It is best to plant and transplant a wolf slayer in autumn or spring, when its stems have already been cut or have not yet grown. You need to cut it so that each young shoot has 2-3 buds.

The planting hole should be of such a size that the rhizome of the plant fits freely in it. The plant will survive planting better if 15-20 g is poured into the pit. The root neck of the plant should be dug 1-2 centimeters. The distance between the bushes during planting should be no less than 25-30 centimeters.

Important!Don't plant wolf aconite on your site if you have pets and children, as their accidental contact with the plant can lead to poisoning and death.

How to care for a plant?

You need to care for the wolf slayer in the same way as for any other flower: loosen the soil and water it. Also, the care of aconite includes the removal of dried inflorescences. In autumn, the wolf slayer is cut short and its rhizome is covered by about 20 centimeters.

soil care

Places where wolf aconite grows, you need weed and weed all summer. , on which the wrestler grows, it is necessary to carry out 1-2 times over the summer and use mowed grass at the same time to retain moisture. Despite the fact that wolf aconite is very poisonous to people and animals, they do not bypass it.

Did you know?Plutarch claimed that the soldiers of Mark Antony, who were poisoned with the help of only the smell of this plant, lost their memory.

Grass can be hit:

• rapeseed beetles;

• ring mosaic;
• spotting;
• greening of flowers.

Watering and feeding

Very important in winter fertilize the plant with biopreparations under the root, since with stagnant moisture, the probability of death of aconite is high. As soon as the flowering period begins at the grass, it is worth feeding it with mineral and. In times of summer drought, you need a wolf slayer. To make the flowers brighter, gardeners advise making a small dose under each bush in the spring.

Removing flower stalks

In order for the wolf slayer to acquire a decorative look, it is necessary to remove inflorescences that have already faded. This stimulates new flowering. To collect seeds from a plant, you need to choose the most beautiful inflorescences.

And they should be used with great care. You can find aconite bushes in the damp nooks and crannies of our forests, near rivers and swamps, in damp meadows near bushes. The wrestler reaches a height of up to 1 m, almost completely covered with palmately dissected dark green leaves. The flowers are blue, seated on a long brush.

Some gardeners transplant aconite from the forest to their flower beds, there are also large-flowered garden molds aconite, however, they all cause poisoning in both humans and animals. The alkaloid, which is part of all parts of the plant, has a paralyzing effect on the respiratory center, and eating it by domestic animals often leads to their death.

The petals of the aconite flower form the shape of a slipper, into which bees and bumblebees crawl entirely. Insects seem to like aconite pollen, but the nectar still causes bee poisoning, so they collect it only when there are no other honey plants. Under the ground, on the roots of aconite, tubers are formed that are even more poisonous than the plant itself.

Biological description of aconite

Latin genus name Aconite(Aconite) comes from the Greek word Aconae- "rock, cliff" or Acontion- "arrows". Exactly under the same name, the plant was known even before our era.

One of the legends about the origin of aconite is associated with the hero of the myths of Ancient Greece - Hercules. When performing the twelfth feat, the hero captured and led the three-headed guardian of the underworld Cerberus out of the kingdom of Hades. The monster, once on the surface, was blinded by the bright light of the sun, began to break out furiously. At the same time, poisonous saliva flew out of his mouth, flooding the grass and earth around, and where it fell, slender and tall poisonous plants rose. And since all this allegedly took place near the city of Akoni, a strange perennial was named after him - “akonitum”.

In Russian folk traditions, there are many other names for aconite - “wrestler-root”, “wolf fighter”, “wolf root”, “Issyk-Kul root”, “king-grass”, “king-potion”, “black root”, “ goat death”, “black potion”, “ iron helmet”, “helmet”, “helmet”, “hood”, “horse”, “blue buttercup”, “shoe”, “blue-eyed”, “lumbago-grass”, “cover-grass”.

Aconite root system occurs in two types. A small tuberous swollen conical root, black on the outside, develops 1-2 young daughter roots in summer, which overwinter and give rise to a new plant in spring; old tuber root to the end growing season either dies off together with the aerial part or remains associated with a new young root, so that a whole chain of several, sometimes 12-15, roots is formed. In the second type of the root system of aconite, no tubers are formed, numerous thin cord-like roots are formed, growing together into a flat tap root, slightly twisted.

The leaves are alternate, more or less deeply lobed.

Inflorescences - apical brush of large flowers. The flowers are irregular: calyx five-leaved, colored (yellow, blue, lilac or white), corolla; the upper leaf of its helmet-shaped form; under this helmet there is a reduced corolla, turned into 2 nectaries; there are many stamens, the ovary is superior (there is no spur - an important difference from larkspur). Aconite blooms in the second half of summer.

flower formula:

Fruits - 3-7 dry, prefabricated, multi-seeded leaflets.

Where the wrestler grows (distribution and ecology)

All types of aconite are common in Europe, Asia, North America. Aconite prefers to grow in damp places along the banks of rivers and near roads, on soils rich in humus, in mountain meadows.

Some species of aconite, such as wrestler novoboracense ( Aconite noveboracense), are endangered and included in the IUCN Red List.

What is in aconite

All parts of all types of aconite contain alkaloids, primarily - aconitine, as well as aconine, napelin, mezakonin.

Pharmacological properties of the wrestler

Particular attention, in terms of medical action, attracts Chekanovsky's aconite. In experiments on animals, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, anticonvulsant, sedative, antitumor, antiulcer and other effects of drugs from various parts of this plant were confirmed.

When to collect and how to store aconite

Aconite grass is harvested before flowering (May), the roots are dug out late in the fall, after the leaves have withered. When collecting, one should be aware of the strong toxicity of the plant, take precautions: after working with plants, wash your hands thoroughly, store the harvested raw materials of these plants separately from non-toxic species.

What diseases are aconite used for?

All types of wrestlers contain potent poisonous alkaloids. In ancient times, due to its poisonous properties, aconite was more often used to prepare poisons. Later, aconite also found application in folk medicine as an external pain reliever for neuralgia, joint pain, rheumatism, colds .

Aconite Chekanovsky traditional medicine uses in the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, epilepsy, toothache , cancer .

In Russian folk medicine, aconite is known as an external pain reliever. Aconite antidote, as less poisonous, taken orally during treatment malaria, paralysis , migraine, lower back pain, from worms, as well as antipyretic and antidote for poisoning.

In China, aconite is popular as component anti-cancer and other drugs.

The use of aconite (wrestler) in medicine (recipes)

From tubers formed on aconite roots, you can prepare an alcohol tincture on vodka in a ratio of 1 to 5, but due to its toxicity, it should be used only for external use.

According to old sources, such neurological diseases as rheumatic pains in the joints and muscles, trigeminal neuralgia, sciatica, pain in the body with colds, etc., are quite successfully treated with this remedy.

Rubbing an alcoholic extract of tubers or water extracts from the leaves is also used for severe attacks of rheumatism and as an analgesic for malignant neoplasms.

After rubbing aconite tincture Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly and never touch your eyes! Protect children from access to raw materials and tincture! Keep her away from pets!

Aconite was introduced into medical practice in the 18th century by Störk, the life physician of the Austrian emperor, after whom one of the most common garden species- Wrestler Störk.

Aconite was highly respected by homeopaths, who prescribed it for pneumonia, fever, inflammation of the joints, etc. In addition, aconite was given internally for rheumatism, consumption, gout, chronic paralysis, asthma, nervous diseases, emaciation, etc. etc. and as an external one - with malignant abscesses, cancer, etc.

Palemouth Wrestler's Grass ( Aconite leucostomum) is used to produce the drug allapinin, which has an antiarrhythmic effect.

At poisoning aconite should be given to the victim, before the doctor arrives, in small doses of wine or vinegar and, if poisoning is noticed in a timely manner, immediately give emetic.

For a sick person who, for the first time in his life, faced the need to use aconite for treatment, one of the simplest and safest, and yet highly effective treatment regimens is recommended: 1 teaspoon (without a slide) of crushed aconite roots (dry or fresh) is poured into 0.5 liters vodka, let it brew for 2 weeks in a dark place, shaking daily. Then they sip. Reception begins with 1 drop per glass (50 ml) of water 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals. Every day, add 1 drop at each dose and adjust the dose to 10 drops 3 times a day. In this dosage, take the tincture for 10 days. Then they begin to reduce the dose daily, reducing 1 drop at each dose, and bring it to the initial dose - 1 drop 3 times a day. This is one treatment course. Then you should take a break for 1 month. And then continue the treatment again, and so it is necessary to be treated for 7 courses.

With toothache, migraine, rheumatism, neuralgia, tincture can also help. To prepare it, you should take 20 grams of roots and pour them with 500 ml of vodka, all this must be put to infuse for a week. The tincture should be the color of brewed tea. If a person suffers from rheumatism, then he needs to rub this tincture into the problem area at night, and then wrap it with a flannel cloth.

With migraine and neuralgia, the tincture should be drunk, starting with 1 teaspoon and increasing the dose to 1 tablespoon every day. Treatment should be continued for 1 month. If a person is tormented by severe toothache, then aconite tincture will also help him. In this case, you should drip 1 drop of the finished tincture into the hollow of the tooth, and rub 1 tablespoon of the tincture into the cheek, from the side of the diseased tooth.

Good to know...

• AT Ancient Rome aconite was quite popular as ornamental plant and widely cultivated in gardens. However, the Roman emperor Trajan banned the cultivation of aconite in 117, as there were frequent cases of suspicious deaths from poisoning. In Rome and Ancient Greece, death sentences were carried out with the help of aconite.
• The ancient Gauls and Germans impregnated the tips of spears and arrows with aconite extract, intended for hunting leopards, wolves, panthers and other predators. This is to some extent confirmed by the names of the wrestler preserved among the people - the wolf root, the wolf fighter, among the Slavs - the dog's potion, the dog's death, the black potion.
• It is believed that aconite is a symbol of crime, verbal poison and coldness. Often referred to as the witch flower.
• Plutarch spoke about the poisoning of the soldiers of Mark Antony with the poison of aconite. Warriors ingested by aconite lost their memory and were busy turning over every stone they met, as if looking for something very important, until they began to vomit bile.
• There is a legend that Tamerlane was killed precisely by the poison of aconite - his skullcap was soaked with the juice of this plant.

Paracelsus believed that the name "aconite" comes from the name of the city of Akoni, the surroundings of which were considered the birthplace of one of the species of this plant.

The ancient Gauls and Germans rubbed the arrowheads and spears with the extract of this plant, intended for hunting wolves, panthers, leopards and other predators. This is to some extent confirmed by the nicknames of aconite preserved among the people - wolf root, wolf slayer, among the Slavs - dog death, dog potion, black potion, etc.

In ancient Rome, because of the brightly colored flowers, aconite was a success as an ornamental plant and was widely cultivated in gardens. However, the Roman emperor Trajan banned the cultivation of ako pita in 117, as there were frequent cases of suspicious deaths from poisoning. Plutarch talks about the poisoning of the warriors of Mark Antony by this plant. Warriors ingested by aconite lost their memory and were busy turning over every stone in their path, as if looking for something very important, until they began to vomit bile. There is a legend that the famous Khan Timur was poisoned with the poison of aconite - his skullcap was soaked with the juice of this plant.

In ancient Greece and Rome, people sentenced to death were poisoned with aconite.

In ancient times, the properties of aconite were used for medicinal purposes, but the Roman writer and scientist Pliny the Elder warned in his Natural History that one must be very careful with it, and dubbed it "plant arsenic."

There are several legends about the origin of aconite. One of them is associated with the mythological hero of Ancient Hellas - Hercules.

Being in the service of King Eurystheus, Hercules, in order to earn immortality for himself, had to perform twelve labors; the twelfth - the pacification of the fierce guardian of the underworld Cerberus, a huge three-headed dog, around each of whose heads a mane of poisonous snakes twisted. This terrible dog let everyone into Hades, but did not let anyone back. To get out of the underworld, Hercules needed to pacify the beast. Seeing him, the hero was not afraid, grabbed the dog by the throat and choked him until he submitted to him. Hercules put him in diamond chains and pulled him to the surface. Cerberus blinded by the bright sunlight, began to break out wildly, wildly growl and bark. Poisonous saliva flowed from its three mouths, flooding around the grass and earth. And where saliva fell, tall slender plants rose with amazing, similar to the helmets of warriors blue flowers collected in apical brushes. And since all this allegedly happened near the city of Akoni, in honor of him they named the unusual perennial akonitum.

In Indian mythology, there is a legend about a beautiful girl who taught herself to consume only aconite roots and gradually became so saturated with poison that she could not be touched, and it was mortally dangerous to admire her appearance.

Aconite was mentioned in "Domostroy" - a set of rules for organizing a family in Russia. In scientific medicine, information about aconites appeared in the 17th century, when they began to be placed in the official catalogs of German pharmacies. In those days, aconite was used internally as a pain reliever and externally for gout, rheumatism, and sciatica. In Indian and Oriental medicine, aconite has been used as an anesthetic, for febrile illnesses, externally as an irritant and distraction. Aconite was included in a number of Russian pharmacopoeias.

All types of aconite (and there are 300 of them) are common in Europe, Asia, North America.

Over 50 species of aconite grow on the territory of Russia. More often than others, there are bearded, curly, Dzhungarian, Karakol, antidote, northern (high), white-mouthed, Baikal, white-violet, Amur, oak, arcuate, Korean, shady, Fisher, Kuznetsov, Shchukin, Chekanovsky aconites.

Aconite grows in damp places along the banks of rivers and along roadsides, on humus-rich soils, in mountain meadows. It is often cultivated in gardens, and it happens that the housewives in the villages do not even suspect that aconite grows in their front gardens - among the people this beautiful ornamental plant is usually known under other names.

Folk names: fighter root, wolf root, wolf slayer, Issyk-Kul root, king potion, king grass, black root, black potion, goat death, iron helmet, skullcap, helmet, hood, horse, shoe, blue buttercup, blue-eye, backache-grass, cover-grass.

Aconite - perennial herbaceous plant buttercup families. Stem erect, leafy, up to 1.8 m tall. The leaves are alternate, rounded in outline, dark green, petiolate, deeply and repeatedly lobular-five-dissected.

The inflorescence is an apical raceme of large irregular flowers, depending on the species, having different colors: blue, purple, lilac, yellow, cream and rarely white. They have large, bizarrely shaped sepals - five-leaved, corolla-shaped; the top one looks like a helmet or cap, under which all the other parts of the flower are hidden. Under this helmet are a reduced corolla, turned into two blue nectaries that attract pollinators - bumblebees. Without bumblebees, aconites cannot breed, so their areas geographical distribution on Earth coincide with the distribution areas of bumblebees.

The fruit is a dry three-cell leaflet. Tubers are elongated-conical in shape, longitudinally wrinkled from the surface, with traces of removed roots and with buds on the tops of the tubers. The length of the tubers is 3-8 cm, the thickness in the wide part is 1-2 cm. The color is black-brown outside, yellowish inside. Taste and smell are not checked, since aconite tubers are very poisonous, which is explained by the presence of alkaloids, the content of which is 0.8%. Aconite blooms in the second half of summer.

Karakol aconite differs from Dzungarian aconite in narrow-linear leaf segments. A characteristic feature of these types of aconite is that they form a long chain of tuber roots, consisting of 12-15 tubers. This is due to the fact that the old tubers of plants do not die off and do not separate, but remain linked to new young tubers, so that every year the tuber chain lengthens.

Aconites are excellent ornamental plants, frost-resistant, undemanding to soils, normally developing in partial shade. Preferred for group plantings on the lawn, along the edges of groups of shrubs in parks and gardens. In culture, the most commonly represented is a combined species - horned aconite.

Dried tubers of wild plants and their leaves are used as medicinal raw materials. Tuber roots are harvested in autumn from August 15 to October 1. Dig out with a shovel, clean from the earth and damaged parts, wash in cold water and dry quickly at a temperature of 50-70 ° C with good ventilation. From 4 kg of fresh tubers, 1 kg of dry tubers is obtained. The leaves are harvested before flowering plants or during their flowering, dried in the sun and dried under a canopy. Raw materials after drying should remain dark green. It is necessary to store raw aconite separately from non-poisonous herbs, with the obligatory label “Poison!”, Out of the reach of children. Shelf life in bags or closed containers - 2 years.

Because wild and decorative types aconite contain poisonous compounds in their stems and tubers, they must be collected by first putting on gloves or mittens. While working with aconite, you should not touch your eyes, and at the end of work, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

The chemical composition of aconite is still poorly understood.

Aconite has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, narcotic, antitumor, analgesic, antispasmodic effects.

Aconite and, accordingly, preparations from its tubers (tincture) are prescribed in extremely small doses as an analgesic for severe pain. This is a very effective medicine, but highly toxic, used only under the strict supervision of a doctor!

In folk medicine, it is used for fractures and dislocations of bones, bruises (externally), arthritis, articular rheumatism, gout, radiculitis, osteochondrosis, sciatica (externally), epilepsy, convulsions, mental illness, nervous disorders, depression, fright, hysteria, overexcitation nervous system, neuralgia, especially with trigeminal neuralgia (inside and locally), severe headache, migraine, dizziness, paralysis, Parkinson's disease, paralytic relaxation of the tongue and bladder, anemia, pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchial asthma, acute and chronic bronchitis, colds, sore throats, senile breakdown, to improve vision and hearing, persistent uterine bleeding, impotence, pain in the stomach, stomach ulcers, gastritis, intestinal and hepatic colic, flatulence, constipation, cystitis, dropsy, hypertension, angina pectoris, scabies, lice (externally ), as a diuretic, as an antihelminthic, as an antidote for poisoning, psoriasis, erysipelas, ulcers, as a wound healing (externally).

Aconite leaves are used for abscesses and chronic ulcers.

People say that aconite drives away evil spirits.

It is used for wedding slander (from spoilage): before the arrival of the newlyweds, the wrestler-root is placed under the threshold in the groom's house, and the bride must jump over it - then all slanders fall on those who wish her harm.

Aconite tincture: pour 20 g of tuber roots with 0.5 l of 40% alcohol or vodka, leave for 7 days until the tincture acquires the color of strong tea. It is used externally as an analgesic for neuralgia, migraine, rheumatism (rub at night, wrapping the sore spot with a flannel cloth; in the first days, use 1 teaspoon, gradually increasing to 1 tablespoon; course of treatment - 3-4 weeks), toothache as an anesthetic (1 drop in the hollow, rub the tincture on the cheek over the aching tooth).

BE CAREFUL!

Aconite - very poisonous plant. "Mother queen of poisons" - called aconite in antiquity. It must be handled with great care, since the poison, in contact with the plant, can even penetrate the skin.

The most poisonous part of the plant is the tuber roots, especially in autumn, after the tops have withered. A.P. Chekhov described cases of poisoning of people on Sakhalin who had eaten the liver of pigs, poisoned by aconite tubers. The aerial part is especially poisonous before flowering and during flowering. The degree of toxicity of various aconites is influenced by both the type of plant and the place of distribution, growing conditions, the vegetation phase and the harvested part of the plant. The most poisonous are Fisher's aconite and Dzungarian aconite (the content of alkaloids of the aconitine group in tubers reaches 3%).

European species of aconite are less poisonous. According to some researchers, when European species of aconite are cultivated as an ornamental plant, after 3-4 generations they generally lose their poisonous properties. But due to the inability to determine at home the quantitative content of alkaloids in given plant and, accordingly, to assess the degree of its toxicity, any used aconite must be treated as highly poisonous and strictly follow all the rules for harvesting, drying, storage, preparation of dosage forms and dosage when used.

They have a high (up to 20 cm) stem, finger-shaped leaves, helmet-shaped flowers. The flowers are sharply irregular, bisexual, collected in racemose inflorescences. Calyx corolla-shaped, with 5 sepals; the upper sepal has the appearance of a helmet, under the cover of which there are 2 nectary petals. Blooms in the middle of summer. The fruit is a multi-leaf. Fleshy aconite root consists of two tubers: the main one, which carries the trunk, and a smaller secondary tuber. During flowering, the main tuber degenerates, and the secondary one increases, accumulating nutrients for the next year.

Distribution of aconite

Aconite is a poisonous plant

Animal toxicity

Wrestlers (Aconite)

The content of alkaloids in plants can vary significantly in different years depending on weather conditions. In case of poisoning with aconite, salivation occurs in animals, peristalsis increases, pulse and respiration slow down, blood pressure and temperature decrease. There are diarrhea, yellowness of the mucous membranes. Aggressive behavior is often noted. Especially strongly aconitine upsets the central nervous system, in particular, disrupts the activity of the respiratory center. The death of the animal occurs as a result of respiratory paralysis.

Several types of aconites grow in our country, and all of them are very dangerous for farm animals that feed on cereal grasses.

Application in landscaping

Application in medicine

Aconite in homeopathy

Collection and processing of aconite

The chemical composition of aconite

Pharmacological properties of aconite

Symptoms of aconite poisoning

Urgent care

Emergency first aid for aconite poisoning