Licorice mint, or anise lofant - a plant that has a strong mint flavor with a touch of anise. It has unique healing properties. The plant comes from North America and is a relative of catnip and lemon balm, but has a more pronounced therapeutic effect.
Anise lofant is a wonderful honey plant, it has a unique pleasant aroma and many useful properties.
Plant description
Lofant is a grassy perennial culture from the Yasotkov family. Depending on the place of cultivation and characteristics, the plant has many different names: anise hyssop, mint, and fennel.
Anise lofant is a shrub about a meter and a half high. Leaves in shape resemble nettles. Anise variety blooms with lilac, blue, white flowers, gathered in spikelets. The stems and leaves of the grass contain many useful substances. Decoctions, tinctures are prepared from them, creams and other useful products are made.
Plant history
For the first time, the essential oil of aniseed lofant was mentioned by Hippocrates. The Romans and Greeks used the plant to improve appetite. It was also used in ancient China, in India, in Kievan Rus, where the plant was used as a seasoning for making soaked apples.
Since ancient times, Lofant has been credited with many medicinal properties. For millennia, the plant has been widely used in medicine and in food. When used correctly, the multi-spike does no harm, but, on the contrary, only benefits.
Since ancient times, the properties of lofant anise have been known to the Indians. They used the plant to treat purulent wounds and other skin diseases, as well as for pathologies of the respiratory system, with fever, diarrhea. In Europe, the plant was grown as a honey plant and as a decorative decoration of the garden.
Now lofant is used only in folk medicine, and is also grown as an ornamental plant. It is not used in official medicine. Despite this, peppermint was recognized as promising for the creation of a wide variety of preparations with antibacterial, antioxidant, fungicidal, immunostimulating properties. Piliotropic property made the plant indispensable in cosmetology.
Chemical composition
The beneficial properties of anisic lofant are determined by its chemical composition. This plant began to be studied only in the 21st century, because of which not all composition is yet known. Scientists have found tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, as well as ascorbic, caffeic, citric, malic acids in this plant. The composition includes B vitamins, useful trace elements such as iodine, iron, zinc, manganese.
The aboveground part contains up to fifteen percent of the essential oil, which contains methylhavikop.
What is the use of anise hyssop?
According to its medicinal properties, anise lofant is able to compete with strong-acting essential oil herbs. Hyssop oil has a wide anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial effect. Concentrated broth can be used as an external remedy for fungal ailments of the skin. They make baths with it that disinfect, soothe.
Tinctures have a stimulating effect on the digestive system, normalize metabolism. Hyssop is an active biostimulant and is used as a tonic. Regular use of herbs for food helps boost immunity.
Means prepared from raw materials help fight mental and physical fatigue: fight stress, increase working capacity, and endurance of the body. The plant also has valuable properties that help slow down the aging process.
The correct use of anise lofant, allows you to remove all toxins, waste and other harmful substances from the body.
Essential oil can reduce the effects of radiation.
Hyssop tincture helps with headaches, insomnia. Also, this plant has a positive effect on male potency and helps to cure prostatitis.
The most valuable thing in anise lofant is the essential oil. For its preparation, the aerial part of the plant collected during the flowering period is used. Raw materials are used in medicine, cooking, cosmetology.
How to use
On the basis of lofant, a variety of therapeutic agents are prepared: extracts, tinctures, decoctions are made. They have a therapeutic and preventive effect on the body, and also prevent the formation of cancer cells.
Quite often, grass is prescribed for people with developmental delays, to people in old age. Fresh leaves are used as seasoning for fish and meat dishes, added to jams. The crushed seeds are added to baking.
In medicine, hyssop is used to treat the following ailments:
- Pneumonia, bronchitis.
- Gastritis, peptic ulcer.
- With digestive disorders.
- With pathologies of the liver.
- With increased blood pressure.
- Hyssop helps with angina pectoris.
- Treats atherosclerosis.
- Helps with headache.
- ARVI.
- Relieves nervous tension, helps with insomnia, cures nervous tension.
- Prevents aging processes.
- Strengthens the immune system, tones.
- It treats dermatitis, acne, burns.
- It reduces the level of radiation, helps to combat the negative impact of ecology on the body.
- Recommended tea with lofant for children who are stunted.
Contraindications
Lofant has anise contraindication. This plant can not be used for thrombophlebitis, under reduced pressure. It is not recommended to take the funds received from the plant to those who suffer from intolerance to the constituents of the herb.
Lofant during pregnancy and lactation is contraindicated.
Knowing the beneficial properties and contraindications of anise lofant, you can decide whether the plant is suitable for use. But to be completely sure that this herb will have a positive effect on the body, it is recommended to consult a specialist.
Cooking broth
To prepare a decoction of hyssop, you need to take a tablespoon of raw material and pour a glass of water and boil for five minutes. Then the composition is allowed to cool. The composition is taken in half a glass three times a day.
Baby Tea Recipe
Tea is prepared for children according to the following recipe: a spoonful of raw materials is poured with half a liter of boiling water and insisted for half an hour. Take tea with honey as tea. Duration of admission is three months. Such tea helps to strengthen the immune system, restore strength after a stroke, heart attack, serious illness.
Therapeutic infusion
With pathologies of the pancreas, with urolithiasis and cholelithiasis, with VVD, diseases of the pancreas, liver, infusion is prepared from lofant. For him, you need a spoonful of raw materials, which is poured with a glass of boiling water, the agent is infused for two hours. Then the composition is filtered and taken one hundred grams three times a day. You can add a teaspoon of honey to the infusion. Treatment of the pathology lasts a month, then a two-week break is made.
Mixture of herbs
With strong nervous excitement, menopause, arrhythmias, the following collection helps: the leaves and flowers of the lofant are mixed in equal parts with lemon balm and lemon mint. Then a spoonful of the mixture is taken and steamed with a glass of boiling water. The remedy is infused for a couple of hours, taken fifty grams twice a day before meals. Duration of admission is a month. Then a week-long break is made and treatment is repeated.
With persistent hypertension, dizziness, tinnitus, atherosclerosis, the following collection is shown: one part of the mistletoe and two parts of the hawthorn, yarrow, lofant are mixed. Then take a tablespoon of the mixture and pour a glass of boiling water. The tool is infused for three hours, filtered and taken in a third of a glass three times a day before meals. Duration of admission is a month. After a week break is made, and the course is repeated twice more.
Outdoor application
For external use, ointments and decoctions are prepared from lofant. They help to cope with skin ailments. Anise hyssop enhances tissue regeneration, has a tonic effect. This plant has unique properties widely used in cosmetology. On the basis of the plant, shampoos are made that promote active hair growth.
Decoctions are added to the baths, which help normalize sleep, promote healing of purulent wounds, treat acne. They wipe the face with a decoction to eliminate wrinkles and give the skin a radiant appearance.
You can apply fresh leaves to the wounds. The zinc in the composition will disinfect the site of injury, and tannins will reduce pain.
Unique plant
Anise lofant, the photo of which is presented in this article, has unique healing properties. It can be used by both adults and children. The plant has special value among young parents: bathing children with the addition of a decoction helps to normalize sleep, calms, and relieves stress.
A rich vitamin and mineral composition brings a lot of benefits. It helps to get rid of almost all pathologies associated with low immune defense. Raw materials are collected in dry weather after the dew has melted. Dry the plant in a well-ventilated room or under a canopy. For storage use cloth bags or glass containers. Raw materials are stored for a year.