Ratanhia
| Ratanhia | ||||||||||||
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Krameria lappacea , illustration |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Krameria lappacea | ||||||||||||
| ( Dombey ) Burdet & BBSimpson |
Ratanhia ( Krameria lappacea ), also Red Ratanhia , Peru or Payta-Ratanhia , is a plant species of the only genus Krameria of the Krameriaceae family that originates from the Andes of Bolivia and Peru .
description
It is a shrub that reaches heights of 20 to 100 cm. The root system is strong with a long main root that is about 5 to 10 cm thick and very long, branchy secondary roots that are about 3 cm thick. The branches are prostrate and up to 1 m long. The alternate, egg-shaped leaves are small, 1 cm long, 3 to 4 mm wide, with entire margins, prickly and gray, silky hairs.
The stalked flowers are axillary over two bracts . The hermaphrodite flowers are fourfold. The four sepals fall off early. The four purple petals also fall off early. There are only three stamens. Two carpels are fused to form a single ovary above. The prickly, hairy, woody to leathery fruit contains only one egg-shaped seed that is slightly compressed.
use
The red-brown roots of the shrub are used in herbal medicine ( drug : Ratanhiae radix) as an astringent in the form of tinctures . This is used for inflammation of the gums, inflammation of the mouth and throat, such as stomatitis or pharyngitis , usually as a gargle or a brush. Ratanhi tincture is often mixed with myrrh tincture for use .
In the bark of the slightly bitter-tasting root, there are up to 15 percent catechin tannins as well as proanthocyanidins and substances from the group of lignans . If the drug is stored for a longer period of time, oxidation and condensation of the ingredients produce a red color, the so-called “ratanhi red” from the phlobaphene group .
Synonyms
Synonyms are:
- Krameria canescens Willd. ex Schultes
- Krameria linearis Poiret
- Krameria pentapetala Ruiz Lopez & Pavon
- Krameria triandra Ruiz Lopez & Pavon
- Krameria triandra var. Humboldtiana Chodat
- Landia lappacea Dombey
literature
- Max Wichtl: Tea drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. 4th edition. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8047-1854-X
- Willem F. Daems: Radix Ratanhiae - the drug with a proven history. Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung, 121 (2): 46-52, 1981
