In the countries of Eastern Europe, there are more than two tens of thousands of species of higher plants. But only a small fraction of these plants, about 2, 5 thousand, have any healing properties. In practice, however, about 10% of the number of plants that have therapeutical properties are used.
The most important condition for obtaining high-quality medicinal raw materials is the correct billet. Medicinal plants are harvested only in good, dry weather, in the daytime, when the plant is already dried from the morning dew or night rain.
If the active substances of the medicinal plant are in the aerial organs, the bulk of such plants is, of course, collected in the daytime. If the active substance is in the underground organs, then neither the time of day nor the weather conditions for the collection of such plants is affected. After all, before drying them in most cases washed. It should be noted that during the procurement of medicinal raw materials, it is necessary to orient not only the dates given in the plant harvest calendar, but also during the vegetative phase. By the way, the word "vegetation" from the Latin word vegetatio means growth, a state of active vital activity of plant organisms. And only those parts and organs of medicinal plants are collected, in which as much of the biologically active substances accumulate during the vegetative period. If these important rules are not followed, then the collected medicinal plants before or after the vegetative period may not have any medicinal value for our body.
Let's remind once again - to harvest plants it is necessary in that period when they have accumulated the maximum quantity of active substances and have not yet had time to expend them. For example, in the kidneys, the greatest number of active substances occur during the period of their swelling; in tubers, roots and rhizomes - during the ripening period; and the bark has the greatest value in the spring.
Collected according to the rules of medicinal plants need to carefully sort, remove accidentally caught non-medicinal plants and foreign impurities. Roots and stems with dead or decayed parts are thoroughly cleaned.
Also one of the conditions for obtaining quality raw materials is the presence of a dry, odorless, absolutely clean container. Collection of different types of medicinal plants in one container is undesirable.
As mentioned above, the kidneys should be collected early in the spring, when only they begin to grow and swell, but have not yet blossomed. In this form, the kidneys have the greatest amount of balsamic and tarry substances. If the kidney is large, for example pine, it must be cut with a knife. If the kidney is small, birch, then they are threshed after the branches are dried. The kidneys swell only a few days, so it is advisable to finish their collection before the green tip of the kidney turns green, which indicates the beginning of their blooming.
The bark of trees and shrubs is best prepared at the beginning of the spring movement of juices: most often from April to May. The bark at this time is well separated from the wood. To collect it, with a sharp knife it is necessary to make several annular notches on young branches one from another at a distance of 25-30 cm. Then, with longitudinal incisions, connect the rings and remove the bark in the form of grooves. Collect only better than the bark, in which the cork layer (dead part of the cortex) is absent.
Leaves are best collected during the beginning of flowering plants, harvested only developed basal, middle and lower cauline leaves. It is necessary to clean the collected raw materials from impurities and dry them.
The grass should be collected at the beginning of its flowering, cutting off with a pruner, a sickle or a knife. With a strong growth of plants, they are mowed with a regular scythe, and then they are selected from mowing.
Inflorescences and flowers of medicinal plants are collected at the beginning of the flowering phase, tearing them off with their hands. Only flowers that have already bloomed, but do not yet fade, are prepared.
The richest biologically active substances are fruits and seeds . In this regard, they are harvested after full maturation. Correctly mature fruits stack in wooden boxes or baskets, shifting ordinary grass every layer or, in extreme cases, dry paper. In such conditions, the fruits do not stick together and do not squeeze.
Roots and rhizomes can be collected not only after the death of the aerial parts (in autumn), but before the overgrowth begins (early spring). After digging, the roots are shaken off the ground, the aerial part is cut off, thin roots and damaged areas are removed. The resulting raw material is washed with cold water, dried on a tarpaulin or clean litter.
With the proper harvesting of medicinal plants, they retain the maximum amount of substances necessary for the treatment of certain diseases.