Use of Melilótus officinális L. Pall. in medicine

Currently, there is a demand among the population for herbal remedies based on plant materials, since most medicinal plants contain various biologically active substances in addition to vitamins. Most herbal remedies have proven themselves to be safe and low toxic compared to chemical ones.

Melilotus oficinalis (L.) Pall. is of great interest to the pharmacological industry in many countries. Dried upper parts of sweet clover plants are used as medicinal raw materials. The leaves and stems contain the most coumarin, coumaric acid, dicoumarol, melilotin, essential oil and mucus. In addition, vitamins C and B₄, saponins, carotene, tocopherol, protein, fiber, tannins, cymarin, resins, flavonoids, minerals, sugars, fat-like substances were found in the plant. According to literature data, remedies obtained based on coumarin calm the central nervous system, stop convulsions, reduce blood pressure, improve blood supply to the myocardium, brain, abdominal organs, reduce swelling and stop the inflammatory process.

Due to the complex composition of biologically active substances, the plant of sweet clover is used for a very wide range of diseases of the central nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine and immune systems, for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, in the genitourinary female and male spheres, for rheumatism, arthrosis, arthritis and in homeopathy.

The chemical composition of sweet clover has been studied depending on the phases of plant development, which is of great practical importance for the search for safe, effective, low-toxic drugs. Literary data on changes in the chemical composition in dynamics have not yet been sufficiently studied, and do not allow the correct procurement of plant raw materials. It should be noted that all studies on this issue relate mainly to sweet clover of the second year of life.

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