Borage

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Borage
224 Borrago officinalis L.jpg

Borage ( Borago officinalis )

Systematics
Euasterids I
Family : Boraginaceae (Boraginaceae)
Subfamily : Boraginoideae
Tribe : Boragineae
Genre : Borage ( Borago )
Type : Borage
Scientific name
Borago officinalis
L.

Borage ( Borago officinalis ), also spelled boretsch , also known as cucumber herb or Kukumerkraut , is a plant belonging to the family of predatory leaves (Boraginaceae). It is used as spice and medicinal plant uses. It is originally native to the Mediterranean area, has been cultivated in Central Europe since the late Middle Ages and is therefore one of the archaeophytes .

Origin of name

There are a number of different explanations for the common name borretsch (from Middle High German boretsch ). Some authors derive borage from the Latin word borra , "fabric made of rough wool", and suspect a relationship to the hairy stems and leaves. Other authors are of the opinion that the name comes from the Arabic abu r-rach , "father of sweat", and refer to the sweat-inducing effect of borage used in folk medicine . Occasionally borage is also traced back to the Celtic word borrach (= courage).

The name cucumber herb , which is occasionally used in the vernacular , is derived from the characteristic cucumber taste of the leaves. Other popular names for the species are blue sky star, Herzfreude, Liebäuglein and Wohlgemutsblume. Other common names : Augenzier, Barasie ( Middle Low German ), Barasien (Middle Low German), Baratze (Middle Low German), Beragä ( Pinzgau ), Bernarga ( Middle High German ), Bernarghe (Middle High German), Borach (Middle High German), Borahe (Middle High German), Borets (Middle High German), Borets (Middle High German) (Middle High German), Borrasie (Middle High German), Borrassye (Middle High German), Burrase (Middle High German), Burrasie (Middle High German), Burres, Burretsch, Gegenstrass, Guckunnerkraut ( Augsburg ), Herzblümlein, Porrasie (Middle High German) Porich, Porrist, Porstasie), (Middle High German), Puretsch (Middle High German) and Wohlgemuth ( East Prussia ).

description

Hairy leaf

Vegetative characteristics

Borage is an annual herbaceous plant and can reach heights of up to 70 centimeters. Stems and leaves are hairy with bristles. The tough, dark green leaves are 10 to 15 centimeters long and lanceolate to ovate.

Generative characteristics

Detail of an inflorescence and blue flower

The flowering period extends from May to September. The flower stalk is about 3 inches long. The hermaphrodite flowers are five-fold with a double flower envelope . The five sepals are fused and the sepals are lanceolate and, during the anthesis, turned back in a star shape . The petals are initially pink and only turn bright blue later during anthesis due to the change in pH . The five blue petals form five pharyngeal scales in the center of the flower . The blue-purple stamens are so close together that they form a scattering cone. The ovary is on top and, like the stylus, is located inside this scattered cone. The Klausen fruit breaks down into Klausen, which are about 5 millimeters long and dark brown when fully ripe .

The basic chromosome number is x = 8; there is diploidy with a chromosome number of 2n = 16.

ecology

Life form

Borage is a mesomorphic therophyte and a half-rosette plant.

pollination

Honey bee on a borage plant with open and closed flowers

The flowers are protandric (= pre-male). This means that first attack the stamens and pollen release, and then after the withering of stamens scar matures and brought pollen pollinating insects can absorb. This mechanism reduces the likelihood of self-pollination .

The dye contained in the flowers acts as an indicator . Like litmus, it turns red when exposed to acidic solutions. A slight red color can be observed in older flowers.

The blue flowers have glowing sap marks that are visible to pollinating insects, but cannot be seen by humans without aids. In addition to bees , bumblebees in particular seek out the flowers. The pollinating insects fly to the nodding flowers from below and hold on to the gullet scales. If you touch the outside of the scattering cone of a pre-male flower, the scattering cone opens and pollen trickles down onto the insect. In flowers that are in the female stage, the stylus has grown out of the stamen cone. Insects that visit such a flower when pollinated with pollen press the pollen onto the stigma's stigma.

Fruiting and spreading

Klausen

When the flowers are pollinated, a hard, solitary nut forms in each of the four fruit compartments of the ovary. At the base of the Klausen there is a so-called elaiosome , a protein body. Because of this elaiosome, the ripe seeds are interesting for ants as food. Falling Klausen, it is the diaspores , are collected by ants and carried off to the often distant burrows. The ants detach the elaiosome there and the undamaged seed is transported out of the burrow again. This spreading strategy is known as myrmechory .

Occurrence

The borage is native to North Africa, South and East Europe and West Asia and is a neophyte in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and the Azores and Canaries. It is native to the Mediterranean area and occurs there mainly on fallow land. The plant is cultivated in almost all of Europe and North America. Because of this targeted introduction, they are counted among the ethelochore plants. As a garden refugee , it has run wild in some places.

After Central Europe borage arrived in the late Middle Ages. It was first cultivated in France and from there came to Germany. In the 16th century the plant was widely grown in cottage gardens . It is still planted in herb gardens today . There is a cultivated form with white flowers.

A cultivar with white flowers
Inflorescence and flower

ingredients

Borage contains small amounts (around 2–10 mg per kilogram of dried plant) of various pyrrolizidine alkaloids (amabiline, intermediate, lycopsamine, supinine, thesinine). Amabiline, intermediate, lycopsamine and supinine are considered toxic to the liver . Therefore, according to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment , regular consumption of borage is not recommended. Occasional consumption is considered harmless, as is consumption of the flowers and seeds as well as the borage oil pressed from the seeds, as these do not contain the alkaloids mentioned or only in traces.

Borage also contains mucilage , tannins , resin , saponin , potassium nitrate , silicic acid , various fatty acids and essential oils . The vitamin C content of the fresh plant is 149.3 mg per 100 g fresh weight.

Borage seeds contain between 26% and 38% oil. With 17% to 28%, this has the highest known proportion of gamma-linolenic acid and also contains 35–38% linoleic acid , 16–20% oleic acid , 10–11% palmitic acid , 3.5–5.5% gadoleic acid (11Z-eicosenoic acid ), 3.5-4.5% stearic acid , 1.5-3.5% erucic acid , about 1.5% nervonic acid , and less than one percent of arachidic acid , behenic acid , palmitoleic acid , vaccenic acid , myristic acid , eicosadienoic acid and alpha-linolenic acid .

use

Borage in herbal medicine

As medicinal plants are used:

  • Borage flowers (Boraginis flos, Flores boraginis)

They contain bornesite, allantoin, mucilage, potassium salts (up to 17%). In folk medicine, the medicinal drug is used for urinary retention , fever, mucus in the airways, diarrhea and also for inflammation, rheumatism, climacteric complaints and for blood purification .

  • Borage herb, also called cucumber herb (Boraginis herba)

The medicinal drug contains tannins (approx. 3%), silicic acid (1.5–2.2%), slimy substances (up to 11%) and pyrrolizidine alkaloids . Because of the high pyrrolizidine content, the drug should no longer be used pharmaceutically, as these compounds are genotoxic and carcinogenic. Caution should also be exercised when using it as a kitchen spice.

  • Borage seed oil (Boraginis officinalis oleum raffinatum, Boraginis oleum, DAC)

It contains fatty acid glycerides with a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids, especially gamma-linolenic acid. It is used for atopic eczema (neurodermatitis).

Laboratory research has shown that borage extract kills amoebozoa .

Borage in medicine

Borage symbolized happiness and purity in thinking. Pliny wrote: "I, borage, always bring joy". Borage had a reputation for awakening the spirits. This is what John Gerard said in The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes (1597):

“Today people put the flowers in the salad to cheer themselves up and improve their mood. Much can be made of the plant that relieves the heart, dispels worries and lifts the spirit. The leaves of borage, consumed in wine, make men and women happy and happy, drive away grief, boredom and melancholy, Dioscorides and Pliny have already confirmed this. Borage blossom syrup is good for the heart, makes melancholy go away and calms the mad. "

These positive properties are incomprehensible from a pharmacological point of view; the potential toxicity of the plant makes careless handling of it appear questionable.

Use in the kitchen

Borage cooked in the Aragonese style with garlic and potatoes .

The leaves of borage are eaten in salads or cooked in soups, and they can also be prepared as a vegetable similar to spinach. Borage seed oil is extracted from the approximately three millimeter large, dark seeds . Borage is a component of the green sauce , which is prepared in the Frankfurt am Main area (as Frankfurt Green Sauce ), in Central Hesse and in the Kassel area according to different recipes as a typical dish of the Hessian regional cuisine. Borage is sold there at regional weekly markets, but also at grocery stores.

Flowers and leaves have a cucumber-like, refreshing taste. They are very suitable for flavoring cold drinks. The young leaves are finely chopped and used as a seasoning for fruit salads and vegetables.

The blue flowers are edible (they contain significantly fewer alkaloids than the leaves), have a sweet taste and are often used as a salad decoration. Vinegar turns the color of the flowers into red. The flowers can be candied to decorate desserts. The flowers are coated with egg whites, sprinkled with powdered sugar and then dried.

In Liguria , borage is used to fill ravioli and pansoti . In Great Britain , borage is mainly enjoyed with the Pimm’s liqueur and is the flavor component of Gilpin's Westmorland Extra Dry Gin .

Borage is not to be confused with Persian borage , a related predatory leaf plant whose dried flowers are mainly used as tea in Iran (Gole Gāw Zabun).

beekeeping

Borage pollen (400 ×)

For beekeepers, borage is one of the bee pastures . Its nectar has a sucrose content of 42 to 53 percent, and every single flower produces an average of 1.1 to 1.3 mg of sugar in 24 hours. A hectare of arable land covered with borage yields honey between 59 and 211 kg per flowering season.

According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment , borage honey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (plant toxins) that bees enter into the honey via the pollen. The pollution should be reduced by adding other, less polluted raw honey.

history

Two borage flowers, the initially pink flower later turns blue

From the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 19th century, preparations made from borage (Borago spec.) And ox tongues (Anchusa spec.), Especially from their flowers, were considered effective means for “ cleaning the blood ” from “rotten red colera” and from "Excess melancolia". The associated clinical pictures were cardiac insufficiency, palpitations, fainting, sadness, mania, "three-day fever" and "four-day fever". The same effects were ascribed to both plants.

Under the name " Manus Christi ", sugar trituration with distillates made from borage blossoms or from ox-tongue blossoms was considered a remedy for extremely weak conditions in diseases of the heart and against “nonsense from the vapors of melancholy”. The nobility and the rising bourgeoisie of the early modern period refined these "Christ hands" by adding crushed pearls and finely ground gold. Together with fragrant violet flowers, ox-tongue and borage flowers were among the “three flores cardinales and cordiales.” Contemporary case reports by Pseudo-Arnaldus de Villanova and the Strasbourg surgeon Hieronymus Brunschwig suggest that preparations made from borage and ox-tongues are also used to treat sick people who "went mad that they had to be tied."

At the beginning of the 19th century, both plants were banned from the official therapeutic arsenal. In 1991, Commission E of the former Federal Health Office published a (negative) monograph on borage flowers and borage herbs, in which the therapeutic use of flowers and herbs was judged to be unacceptable, particularly because of the toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids contained in the borage in varying amounts .

swell

Year - century Author - title of the book Indication information particularities
11th century Constantinus africanus . De gradibus liber. Text: “Borrago is hot and humid in the first degree. He purges the red colera, helps those with heart disease and those afflicted by black colera. Pickled in wine and served as a drink, it brings happiness. His decoction drunk with honey or sugar helps against diseases of the chest, lungs and throat. " This text - expanded with minor additions - formed the basis for the "Borrago chapters" of the herbal books up to the early modern period.
12th Century Circa instans . Borago. Hot and humid in the first degree. Makes good blood. Is good against grief, fainting, heart disease, melancholy, palpitations, epilepsy, and jaundice.
13th Century German Macer . Borago is called schlei. The rest of the text was taken verbatim from Constantinus. The German Macer gave the “borrago” the German name “Sharlei”.
13./14. century Pseudo-Arnaldus de Villanova . Preservation and preparation of the wine. BorAGEN wine. Heart disease, raging, melancholy, heart tremors, blood purification, "bad fantasy", mange and leprosy. Brings joy and soothes the body. Strengthens eyesight.
15th century Little book about the burnt-out waters . Porrags water. Indications like rosemary. Paralysis and rivers from the head.
1484 Herbarius moguntinus . Borago boriss. Beginning with the text of the Circa instans. Additionally: obstruction of the spleen and melancholy or four-day fever.
1485 Garden of Health . Borago Porrich. Make good blood. Dizziness. Heart tremor. Great imagination and strong melancolia with a risk of epilepsy. Jaundice. Porrich and ox tongues for strength.
1491 Hortus sanitatis . Borago. A Causes happiness and is good for the heart - B Cleans the lungs and throat - C Good for recovery after gloom, weakness and heart disease - D Generates good blood - E Purges the colera rubea, gets the heart sick and uses the colera nigra Sufferers - F creates happiness - G good for the lungs and chest - H for C - for E.
1500 Hieronymus Brunschwig . Small distilling book . Burretsch. Herb : A inflammation after an insect bite - B stomach grief - C abdominal swelling - D bloody diarrhea - E shortness of breath - F dark eyes - G ringing ears - H strengthens the heart - I strengthens the brain - K mania - L heart fever - M pleases the heart and mind . Flowers : A blood purification - B melancholy - C stinging of the heart - D prevention of leprosy - E paralysis - F rivers from the head - G febrile illnesses - H jaundice - I heat of the liver - K blood purification instead of bloodletting - L opens veins and organs. Brunschwig differentiated between a "tame borrago", which he interpreted as borage ( Borago off. ), And a "wild borrago", which he interpreted as an ox tongue ( Anchusa spec. ).
1532 Otto Brunfels . Contrafeyt Kreueterbuch. Burretsch. Takeover of the indications from Brunschwig 1500. With reference to Italian humanists, Brunfels interpreted the "buglossum" of the "ancients" as the plant that was regarded as "borago" in its time (Borago off.)
1539 Hieronymus Bock . Kreueterbuch. Burres. Strengthening during convalescence after depression, three- and four-day fever, inflammation and brown discoloration in the mouth and throat.
1543 Leonhart Fuchs . New Kreüterbuch. Burretsch. Like Bock 1539.

Historical illustrations

See also

literature

  • Angelika Lüttig, Juliane Kasten: Rose hip & Co - blossoms, fruits and spread of European plants. Nottuln: Fauna Verlag 2003, ISBN 3-935980-90-6 .
  • K. Hiller, MF Melzig: Lexicon of medicinal plants and drugs. 2nd Edition. 2010, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8274-2053-4 .
  • Avril Rodway: Herbs and Spices. The most useful plants in nature - culture and use. Tessloff Verlag, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-7886-9910-8 .

Web links

Commons : Borage  album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Borage  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d borage . In: BiolFlor, the database of biological-ecological characteristics of the flora of Germany.
  2. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, page 61, archive.org .
  3. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  788 .
  4. ↑ Borago in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  5. ↑ Michael McGuffin: Botanical Safety Handbook . CRC Press, August 29, 1997, ISBN 978-0-8493-1675-3 , pp. 20-21.
  6. ↑ Volker Mrasek : The end of the green sauce? , Deutschlandfunk - Forschungs aktuell dated September 17, 2013.
  7. ^ National Non-Food Crops Center . NNFCC Crop Factsheet: Borage , accessed February 2011
  8. ^ Sabine Krist, Gerhard Buchbauer, Carina Klausberger: Lexicon of vegetable fats and oils. 2nd edition, Springer, 2013, ISBN 978-3-7091-1004-1 , pp. 89 f.
  9. ↑ Leos-Rivas C., Verde-Star MJ, Torres LO, Oranday-Cardenas A., Rivas-Morales C., Barron-Gonzalez MP, Morales-Vallarta MR, Cruz-Vega DE, Verde-Star, Torres, Oranday Cardenas, Rivas-Morales, Barron-Gonzalez, Morales-Vallarta, Cruz-Vega: In vitro amoebicidal activity of borage (Borago officinalis) extract on entamoeba histolytica . In: Journal of Medicinal Food . 14, No. 7-8, 2011, pp. 866-869. doi : 10.1089 / jmf.2010.0164 . PMID 21476887 .
  10. ↑ K. Hiller, MF Melzig MF: Lexicon of medicinal plants and drugs. 2nd Edition. 2010, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8274-2053-4 .
  11. ↑ Helmut Horn, Cord Lüllmann: The great honey book. 3rd edition, Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10838-4 , p. 30.
  12. ↑ Josef Lipp u. a .: Handbook of Apiculture - The Honey. 3. rework. Ed., Ulmer, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8001-7417-0 , p. 38.
  13. ↑ Questions and answers on pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food. (PDF) Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, August 4, 2014, accessed on November 12, 2015 .
  14. ↑ Hieronymus Brunschwig : Large distilling book. Strasbourg 1512, sheet 151r-v (digitized version )
  15. ^ Print Esslingen 1478: Ox tongue wine . (Digitized version)
  16. ↑ Small distilling book . Strasbourg 1500, sheet 85r-86r (digital copy )
  17. ^ Jean-Louis Alibert . Nouveuax élémens de therapeutique et de matière médicale. 2nd edition, Paris 1808, Volume I, p. 579, digitized Gallica
  18. ↑ Negative monograph from July 12, 1991: Boretsch flowers and boretsch herb (digitized version )
  19. ^ Constantinus africanus. De gradibus liber. Printed in Basel 1536, p. 348, (digitized version)
  20. ↑ Constantine the African . Liber pantegni. Book I, Chapter 25. De humoribus. … Cholera rubra… Cholera nigra… Printed in Lyon 1515 (digital copy) . German partial translation into: Lorenz Fries . Mirror of the remedy. Strasbourg 1518, sheet XXIv (digitized version )
  21. ^ Print Venice 1497, sheet 191r (digitized version )
  22. ↑ Heidelberg. Cpg 226. Alsace 1459–1469, sheet 202r (digitized)
  23. ^ Print Esslingen 1478 (digitized version)
  24. ↑ pressure Bämler, Augsburg 1478 (digitized)
  25. ↑ Chapter 23 (digitized version)
  26. ↑ Lorenz Fries . Mirror of the remedy. Sheet 172r: “Tertiana vera which is a feber from luterer colera rubra. ... ... Terciana nota daz with the fücht colera flegma is mixed ... " [1] Journal 172v" Quartana vera collar of fülung natural melancoly ... with Herte VND verstopffung of Miltz ... " [2]
  27. ↑ Chapter 56 (digitized version)
  28. ↑ Part I, Chapter 78 (digitized version)
  29. ↑ sheet 21v (digitized version )
  30. ↑ Contrafeyt Kreüterbuch, p. 43 (digitized version)
  31. ↑ Herbarum vivae eicones. 1530, p. 114 (digitized version)
  32. ↑ Part I, Chapter 78 (digitized version)
  33. ↑ Chapter 51 (digitized version)