Dill

Anethum graveolens L.

Botanical characteristics. Family umbrella. A biennial herb with an erect hollow stem. Has a fleshy spindle-shaped root. Leaves are regular, divided into narrow linear segments. Small light yellow flowers are collected in complex umbrellas. Blooms in July-August. Fruits ripen in September. The fruit is a two-seeded - spicy and fragrant.

Spread. In the wild it grows in the Crimea, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Cultivated as a food and medicinal plant in Belarus, in Moldova and in the south of Ukraine.

Used parts of the plant. Fruits and herbs.
In the grass found essential oil (a mixture of terpenes). In the grass and fruits of dill there are flavonoids, fatty oil, fenchone, anetil, carotene and ascorbic acid.

Application. Has hypotensive, diuretic, cardiotonic, antispasmodic, laxative, choleretic, expectorant and carminative action.
Dill is indicated in the initial stages of hypertension, angina pectoris, neuroses and insomnia. Infusions of herbs are prescribed for seizures, intestinal colic, flatulence and liver diseases. The herb acts firmer, improves appetite and improves the body's resistance to some acute respiratory and infectious diseases. Sometimes dill is used as an expectorant and an easy laxative.
In order to obtain a diuretic effect, dill is added to the mixture to treat kidney and bladder diseases. In folk medicine, dill is used for renal and urolithiasis. N.G. Kovaleva recommends dill (grass and fruits) for the treatment of hypertensive disease of the I-II stage and atherosclerosis, accompanied by headaches.
The plant stimulates the separation of milk from lactating women.
Contraindication. Pregnancy.
In the famous book of Odo from Mena "On the properties of herbs" after listing all the dignity of dill, it is said that dill with constant use harms the eyesight and "locks the seed."

Preparation. Infusion: 1 tablespoon of chopped herb or seeds, insist with 1.5 cups of boiling water (daily dose).
Powder of dill fruit: 1 g (at the tip of the knife) is taken 8 times a day (washed down with water) for 20-40 minutes before eating.