Decoction as a dosage form
Jam is a decoction.
A decoction (Latin Decoctum) is a liquid dosage form that is an aqueous extract from plants. Decoctions, unlike infusions, are usually prepared from the rougher parts of plants: bark, roots and rhizomes, sometimes also from leaves (for example, bearberry leaves). The decoction is prepared in the pharmacy immediately before being given to the patient. It has a short shelf life - about 3 - 4 days, since it quickly decomposes. It is recommended to store decoctions in a cool place. Most often, decoctions are used for internal use, but can also be used externally, for example, for rinsing the mouth.
Decoction recipe in Latin
A decoction recipe in Latin begins, like any other recipe in Latin, with the word Rp. – Recipe – “Take.” Next, after the colon, you must indicate the dosage form in the singular and in the genitive case. In this article we prescribe the dosage form “decoction”, in Latin Decoctum, and in the genitive case Decocti - abbreviated Dec. – in Russian we already have the phrase “take: decoction”. Then it is necessary to indicate the part of the plant from which our decoction will be prepared.
Parts of plants from which infusions and decoctions are prepared (bark in r.p. – corticis)
After indicating the part of the plant, you need to let the pharmacist know from which plant to prepare the decoction, then indicate the amount of this plant (in grams) and, separated by a hyphen, the total amount of the decoction. From the next line we write DS – Da. Signa. - “Give it up.” Designate” and fill in the signature. The signature indicates how many times, how and in what quantity to apply the decoction to the patient. Below are examples of writing out a decoction in Latin. Look for even more examples in our large table - recipes in Latin.
Oak bark decoction in Latin
For example, let’s write out a recipe for oak bark decoction in Latin (cortex Quercus) with a volume of 350 ml. In a pharmacy, to prepare a 350 ml oak bark decoction, they will take 35 grams of bark, so it is not necessary to indicate the amount of the plant.
Rp.: Dec. cort. Quercus 350 ml DS Rinse mouth 5 times a day
You can, of course, indicate the amount of bark:
Rp.: Dec. cort. Quercus 35.0 – 350 ml DS Rinse the mouth 5 times a day
Decoction of bearberry leaves in Latin
Let's write out a recipe for a decoction of bearberry leaves (in Latin Uva Ursi
) total volume 180 ml from 10 grams of leaves. Prescribe 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.
Rp.: Dec. folii Uvae Ursi 10.0 – 180 ml DS Orally, 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.
Buckthorn bark decoction in Latin
Let's prescribe a decoction of buckthorn bark (in Latin cortex Frangulae) with a volume of 300 ml in a ratio of 1:10. Prescribe 1 tablespoon before bedtime.
Rp.: Dec. cort. Franguli 30.0 – 300 ml DS Orally, 1 tablespoon before bedtime.
Common oak (Quercus robus L.// Quercus pedunculata Ehrh.)
Quercus is the Latin name for oak (from the Greek kerkeen - rough, rough); Latin robur - oak wood; Latin pedunculatus - petiolate (from pedunculus - petiole).
Description
A large, beautiful, powerful deciduous tree of the beech family, reaching 40-50 m in height and 2 m in diameter, sometimes reaching an age of 1000 years or more. Oak evaporates more than 100 tons of water during the warm season, which is 225 times its own weight. There are about 20 species of oak in our country. The most common of them is pedunculate oak. The root is powerful, branched, the crown is spreading. The bark of young shoots is smooth, olive-brown, while of old shoots it is gray-brown, with cracks. The leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-obovate, pinnately lobed, glabrous, shiny with prominent veins. In spring, the oak blooms late, one of the last among our trees. The oak tree blooms in April-May, when it still has very small leaves. The flowers are unisexual, monoecious, very small and inconspicuous. Male or staminate flowers are collected in peculiar inflorescences - long and thin yellowish-greenish hanging earrings, reminiscent of hazel earrings. These earrings hang down in whole bunches from the branches and are almost identical in color to young small leaves. The female or pistillate flowers of oak are sessile, very tiny - no larger than the head of a pin. Each of them looks like a barely noticeable greenish grain with a crimson-red tip. These flowers are located singly or in groups of 2-3 at the ends of special thin stems. Acorns grow from the female flowers in the fall. After flowering, a small cup-shaped wrapper-plus grows first, and then the fruit itself - an acorn. Acorns do not tolerate drying out; as soon as they lose even a small part of the water, they die. They rot easily in warm conditions and are very sensitive to cold and frost. This circumstance presents a certain difficulty in preserving acorns for seeds. In nature, there is no such problem: acorns that fall in the forest in late autumn overwinter in a damp litter of leaves under a thick layer of snow, which protects them from both drying out and frost. The germination of an acorn resembles the germination of a pea: its cotyledons do not rise above the soil surface, like many plants, but remain in the ground. A thin green stalk rises up. At first it is leafless, and only after some time small leaves appear on its top.
Growing
Oak reproduces not only by seeds, but also, like many deciduous trees, it produces shoots from the stump. After an oak is cut down (only, of course, not a very old one), many young shoots appear on the bark of the stump. After cutting down an old oak forest, the oak tree usually does not regenerate on its own. The shoots from the stumps do not appear, and young oak trees that have grown under the canopy of mature trees are drowned out in the open by various grasses and bushes and die. In place of a cut down oak forest, young birch or aspen usually soon appear - this is how the tree species change. In order to prevent this and grow a young oak forest, it is necessary to periodically cut down less valuable, fast-growing tree species.
Oak grows only in well-drained soils, devoid of constant excess water, but it tolerates a lack of moisture in the soil well. An old oak tree that has grown in the open from a young age is never tall. The crown of such a tree is very wide and starts almost from the ground itself. An oak tree grown in a forest, on the contrary, is tall, slender, and its crown is narrow, laterally compressed and begins at a fairly high altitude. In ancient times, almost half of the forests in Europe were oak forests, but now oak forests account for about 3% of all forests in Europe. By cutting down oak trees, we are ruining our future and our health. One 50-year-old oak cleans the air to the same extent as a thousand young trees.
Blank
For medicinal purposes, the bark of young branches and trunks of trees under 20 years of age is used, and less commonly, acorns. The collection time should coincide with the period of sap flow, from April to June. On young bark, smooth, intact, without cracks or growths, make circular cuts at a distance of 30 cm from each other, then cut lengthwise and remove the bark in the form of grooves. The bark is laid out in a thin loose layer on a bedding, plywood and dried in a well-ventilated area, under a canopy, in attics, turning over daily. They are dried in dryers, ovens, ovens at a temperature not exceeding 40-50°C.
During drying, it is necessary to ensure that the bark does not become dusty, dirty, or wet (when wet, it loses tannins and becomes unsuitable for use). Dried raw materials are tubular pieces of bark 20-30 cm long, shiny on the outside, sometimes matte, light brown or gray, smooth or slightly wrinkled, without cracks, odorless, with a strongly astringent taste. On the inside they are yellowish or reddish-brown, with longitudinal ribs. The bark should not contain any impurities of wood or cork. It is advisable to harvest bark only from trees harvested in the order of planned felling.
Chemical composition
Acorns contain up to 40% starch; 5-8% tannins; sugar, fat, oil - up to 5%. The leaves contain tannins and coloring agents, quercitrin and quercetin, as well as pentosans. Oak bark contains 10-20% tannins; organic acids (gallic, ellagic, etc.), catechins, carbohydrates, mucus, starch, large amounts of pentosans (up to 13-14%); pectin substances (up to 6%); in addition, quercetin, sugars and phlobafen. Oak bark contains protein substances. Starch, tannins, protein, sugar, fatty oil were found in acorns; tannins and quercetin were found in leaves. The older the tree, the less tannins there are in its bark.
Pharmacological properties
Oak preparations have an astringent, anti-inflammatory and anti-putrefactive effect. Tannin (the main active part of the tannins of the bark) upon contact with the wound combines with proteins, forming a protective film that protects the tissue from local irritation, resulting in reduced inflammation and pain. Tannin interacts with the proteins of microorganisms, stopping their growth or leading to their death.
Application in medicine
Oak bark is used externally as an astringent and anti-inflammatory agent for diseases of the oral cavity (gingivitis, stomatitis, amphodentosis). It is used as a gargle for inflammation of the pharynx, tonsils, bleeding gums and bad breath. It is also recommended for glossitis and pharyngitis. An infusion of oak bark has a strengthening effect, like resin, on internal vessels. External use of oak bark is useful for skin diseases, for washing purulent and non-healing wounds and ulcers, for sweating feet, weeping eczema, bleeding hemorrhoids, vaginal inflammation (leucorrhoea). Good results have been reported in the treatment of burns. Oak bark is included in bath mixtures for scrofula and rickets. In large doses it is prescribed for catarrh of the stomach and intestines, diarrhea and dysentery. On oak leaves you can often see reddish-yellow or green balls that look like small apples - these are galls. They appear after an insect bite. Galls in powder are used for gastrointestinal disorders, purulent wounds, burns, skin diseases (skin tuberculosis, lichen and eczema). Powder from dried galls or fresh galls is used to lubricate eczema, lichen, and burns.
Medications
Decoction of oak bark: the bark is crushed to a particle size of no more than 3 mm, then take 20 g of crushed bark, pour 200 ml of water at room temperature, close, heat in a boiling water bath with frequent stirring for 30 minutes, cool for 10 minutes, filter, squeeze out, add water to the original volume. Take 100 ml 2-3 times a day for colitis with diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding, gastritis, rinse the mouth and throat for tonsillitis, stomatitis. Young, fresh and dry bark, infused for 30 minutes in boiling water, gives a fixing infusion. If you soak a handkerchief in this infusion and tie it around your throat, it will help against incipient goiter and obesity in the neck. This bandage is no less effective for diseases of the glands. If you have rectal prolapse, you should take sitz baths from this infusion.
Decoction of oak bark: boil 40 g of bark in 250 ml of water for 30 minutes, then leave for 2 hours. Make lotions for burns and eczema; enemas, baths - for bleeding hemorrhoids; wash wounds, ulcers, do foot baths for sweaty feet. A decoction of oak bark is used internally for poisoning with mushrooms, copper and lead salts, as well as for diseases of the liver, spleen, chronic inflammation of the urinary tract and bladder, bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, and heavy menstruation. Infusion of oak bark: infuse 10 g of oak bark in 400 ml of chilled boiled water for 6 hours, then strain. Drink 100 ml 3-4 times a day before meals for diseases of the stomach, intestines, kidneys, and lungs.
Oak bark ointment: Mix two parts of oak bark powder, one part of black poplar buds with seven parts of butter, keep in a warm oven for 12 hours, then cook over low heat or in a water bath for 30 minutes, strain. Use ointment to lubricate burns and frostbite. Acorns. Fry the dried, peeled seeds until pink. Use for diarrhea.
Coffee made from acorns. Grind the roasted acorns into powder and brew like coffee. Give to children with scrofula.
The air in oak groves is saturated with oak phytoncides. When inhaled, general well-being improves, heart pain and headaches decrease, and sleep improves.
In addition to the listed qualities, oak also has the quality of sharing its energy and strength with a person. But this is only possible if the person is in a good psycho-emotional state, since the tree stabilizes exactly the mood in which you are at the moment of contact. The most suitable time to work with oak is from 21 to 3 am. The tree sleeps - from 15 to 17 hours.
Use on the farm
Oak is a valuable tree species. Its heavy, strong wood has a variety of uses. Oak wood is widely used in ship and carriage building, mechanical engineering, and hydraulic structures. It is used to make parquet, furniture, and barrels. Oak firewood provides a lot of heat. Oak bark is used for tanning leather. It is used to make corks and black dyes. Thanks to tannins, oak absorbs iron well. Once at the bottom of the river, the oak trunk begins to absorb iron from the water. Over the centuries it becomes completely black and stained. This wood is used to make piles for bridges, foundations for houses, furniture, etc. However, you need to know that oak removed from water must be immediately finished, since during the drying process it becomes absolutely hard, like metal. In former times, oak galls were the main raw material for ink. To do this, the balls were boiled and iron salts were added to the resulting decoction. Tannins, combining with iron, made the transparent liquid thick black. Oak acorns are fed to domestic animals.
A little history
The ancient Roman scientist Pliny considered centuries-old oak trees to be one of the wonders of the world, equal in age to the Universe. In Ukraine, in the village of Verkhnyaya Khortitsa on the Dnieper, there grows an 800-year-old oak tree, under which, according to legend, the Zaporozhye Cossacks wrote their famous letter to the Turkish Sultan. And the oldest oak tree in the world is considered to be from the Lithuanian village of Stelmuzhi - “stelmuzhsky”, which is 2000 years old.
The Slavs, Romans and ancient Greeks considered the oak a sacred tree and, for fear of angering their gods, not only did not cut down the tree itself, but did not even break its branches without the permission of the priest. Violators of the ban were severely punished. Ancient peoples dedicated oaks to their most powerful gods: the Slavs - Perun - the god of thunder and lightning, the Greeks - Apollo - the god of the sun, sciences and arts; the Romans - to Jupiter - the god of the sky, rain, thunder and lightning.
The oldest center of the cult of Zeus, the supreme god of the ancient Greeks, was a centuries-old oak tree in Dodona with a spring gushing from under the roots. Here the Dodon sanctuary arose, which in classical times became the richest temple with its own oracle. The oracle interpreted the rustling of oak leaves, and later predicted events by the clinking of vessels that were struck with a flexible oak branch.
The ancient Slavs always carved statues of Perun from oak (that’s what they called it - Perun’s tree), and consecrated it. And in front of the carved holy statue they burned the inextinguishable “living”, obtained by rubbing oak sticks. This fire was renewed annually on Midsummer night (on the night of July 7-8, new style). Perhaps that is why the mighty oaks have survived to this day.
Places of growth
Oak grows in deciduous mixed forests. Distributed in the middle and southern zones of the European part of Russia to the Urals, in the Ciscaucasia. Oak can hardly tolerate cold and humid climates, while in the south it develops better.
