Do you know what rayon is? We are sure that many of our readers will find it difficult to answer. Nevertheless, this herb is well known and loved by many as a fragrant spice. Rayhon is a basil (reagan, fragrant cornflowers). This is an annual plant from the genus Basil (Ocimum), belonging to the family of Lamiaceae and the subfamily of catnip (Lamiaceae).
Rayhon is a herb known to man from ancient times as an effective medicine that helps fight many ailments. Based on numerous studies, modern scientists have been able to confirm the healing properties of this plant. This made it possible to produce drugs based on it and continue to use it in traditional medicine.
Rayhon: plant description
In the photo posted in our article, you can see the annual shrub. Its height can range from 40 to 90 cm. This plant has a characteristic pleasant, fairly rich odor and a slightly cooling taste.
The root of the basil is fusiform, pivotal, moderately branched. The calyx, stem and leaves are covered with tiny hairs. Among them are glands that contain essential oils.
The stalk is branched, erect, with well-developed ascending, opposite, weakly tetrahedral branches. Leaves are rarely serrated or whole, with a length of no more than three centimeters - short-leaved, oblong-ovate, opposite.
Rayhon is a grass with pink, white or purple tubular flowers of medium size, which are collected on the tops of the stems in false whorls of 6-10 pieces or in a brush, the length of which can reach 35 cm.
Flowers are located on short pedicels, slightly bent downward, bisexual. Calyx is bell-shaped, non-falling, ovoid. Corolla falling, tubular-bell-shaped, two-lipped, about two times longer than calyx. His lip (lower lobe) is longer and bent down, the other four form the upper lip. Four stamens. They are inclined, the upper often have an appendage, which is a hair bundle. Pestle is the only one.
The fruit is dry, ripening, it breaks up into 4 oval nuts placed in a cup. Nuts in length do not exceed 1.5 mm. They are naked, smooth, brownish-black, trihedral.
Flowering begins in July and lasts until September. In the southern regions of our country, it can last until mid-November. From the second half of September until November, the fruits ripen.
Distribution and reproduction
Under natural conditions, Rayhon grows on the island of Madagascar, in northeast Africa, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. In Russia, basil is grown in the North Caucasus and in the Voronezh region.
It is bred by seeds that are sown in greenhouses in the second half of March. Seedlings usually grow in 40-45 days, and they are planted in the ground in May.
Composition
Rayhon grass, the benefits and harms of which are already well understood, has a complex chemical composition. First of all, these are essential oils, the content of which largely depends on the growing conditions of the plant, as well as the period of its development. Their maximum number was recorded in the budding phase of the plant. During this period, it ranges from 3.5 to 5%.
D-camphor is an essential component of this plant’s essential oil. It is highly soluble in hydrocarbons, acids, esters and alcohols. It dissolves much weaker in water. In addition, the composition of the district includes:
- dipentene;
- havicol;
- terpinolene;
- sabinen;
- eugenol;
- camphene;
- flavonoids;
- bisabolene;
- benzoic aldehyde;
- saponins;
- vitamin C;
- sesquiterpene alcohols;
- carotene (provitamin A);
- mineral salts (zinc, cobalt, copper);
- rutin (vitamin P).
Useful and healing properties
Rayhon is a herb whose beneficial properties are widely used not only in folk, but also in traditional medicine. Preparations based on it are recommended for:
- CNS depression (as an aphrodisiac);
- asthenia;
- circulatory disorders (including the brain);
- respiratory diseases;
- epilepsy, convulsions, neurasthenia.
- disruption of the digestive tract;
- chronic gastritis (with low acidity);
- catarrh of the stomach;
- prick and enteritis.
In the treatment of many skin diseases, Rayhon is also well established. The properties of this plant are successfully used by traditional healers to treat ulcers, difficult to heal wounds, with dermatitis and eczema, in the form of lotions and irrigation.
Folk healers of Bulgaria with a basil cure fever, runny nose, gonorrhea. Pouring basil infusion is used for burns. Indian scientists have found that this plant is able to prolong youth and regain strength.
Rayhon is a herb that is used to make camphor. Doctors prescribe it in the form of injections when weakening the activity of the heart muscle, poisoning with sleeping pills. In large doses, this drug is used in the treatment of schizophrenia, and is also part of convulsive therapy.
Cooking Application
Rayhon occupies a special place in Caucasian cuisine. This is one of the most common spices in the region. Basil goes well with tomatoes and various dishes from them. It is used for making soups, meat dishes. It gives a special flavor to lamb, which acquires an amazing smell and is much easier to digest.
When salting and pickling tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant, rayon is also used.
How to cook such fragrant pickles? Just along with the herbs that you usually use when canning, in a jar of vegetables you need to add a few leaves of fresh basil (without stems). The aroma of this plant is very strong, so five leaves are enough for a 3-liter jar.
Rayhon: use, description of prescriptions for medicines
If in cooking the use of this herb largely depends on your preferences and taste, then in the preparation of medicines based on basil it is necessary to strictly follow the recommendations for preparation and dosage.
1. Infusion with cystitis, pyelitis.
Five grams of herb pour boiling water (500 ml). Let it brew for at least two hours and take 100 ml five times a day.
2. Infusion for hypertension.
One spoon (tablespoon) of grass pour 500 ml of boiling water. The container is immediately tightly closed and insisted for at least 20 minutes. Take this composition should be 50 ml three times a day.
3. Tea balm with depression of the central nervous system.
Combine two tablespoons of green and black tea with the same amount of dry and chopped Rayhon herb and peppermint. Add a teaspoon of thyme to the mixture. Mix the herbs well and fill them with 500 ml of boiling water. After 15 minutes, you can strain the tea and drink in small sips throughout the day.
4. Toothache.
Rayhon is a herb that helps you quickly relieve toothache. This does not mean that she will replace the visit to the dentist, just for a while she will alleviate the suffering. Rinse the basil leaf well and mash it slightly in your hands so that the essential oils begin to stand out. After that, put it between your cheek and a bad tooth.
5. Juice with cystitis.
To treat this serious illness, juice is used, which is obtained from the stems and leaves of a plant before flowering begins. This remedy can also treat other inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system.
Juice is taken one spoonful (teaspoon) for ten days in the evening and in the morning. Then you should interrupt treatment for ten days, and after that you can repeat the course.
Juice must be mixed in equal proportions with honey and water, since in its pure form it irritates the esophagus and stomach.
6. Infusion from eye fatigue.
Dry basil leaves (2 tbsp. L) pour boiling water (1.5 l). Once cooled, strain through two layers of gauze. Rinse with this infusion and do lotions for ever and for two weeks at least twice a day (more often). Then interrupt treatment for a week. After a break, the course can be repeated. You will notice how inflammation and redness of the eyelids disappear, red vessels on the eyeball, you will leave an unpleasant feeling of pain in the eyes.
Tea for the common cold
Rayhon is a herb with a powerful bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effect. That is why tea from mint leaf basil has a beneficial effect on the body with a cold.
You will need a teaspoon of dry basil (in season it is better to use 30 grams of fresh leaves). Pour grass with a glass of boiling water and let it brew for 3-5 minutes. Now you can add lemon juice and honey to your aromatic drink.
Do not be surprised that in the process of brewing tea will change its color. At first it will be purple, then lemon juice will give it a pink color, and after you add honey, it will turn yellow.
Contraindications
Herbalists are well aware that there are no completely useful or poisonous herbs in the world. All medicinal plants combine both benefit and harm. We talked in sufficient detail about the healing properties of this plant, it is necessary to say about the existing contraindications to the use of drugs based on it:
- Violation of these doses can cause clinical convulsions.
- Basil essential oil is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance, a high level of blood coagulation and pregnancy.
- With caution, Rayhon-based preparations should be used in patients with cardiovascular diseases, thrombosis and thrombophlebitis, as well as after a heart attack.
Reviews
Rayhon (basil, sweet cornflower, reagan), judging by the reviews, is really a very popular plant. And this is due not only to its excellent taste and exquisite aroma. The herb is known as a powerful drug that can cure serious diseases. Patients emphasize that the infusion and juice of the plant are very effective in treating diseases of the genitourinary system, and perfectly remove the eye fatigue from the infusion of this herb. And tea is useful and, no less important, a pleasant remedy in the treatment of colds.