Bogbean

Menyanthes trifoliata – Bogbean
Menyanthaceae family

The part used in medicine is the bogbean leaf, harvested in May and June and dried in thin layers in shade and open air or in drying rooms.

Bogbean – appearance and origin:

Bogbean is found across the whole of Europe and in temperate zones of Asia and North America. In Poland it is common in bogs and peatlands.
The rhizomes are thick and cylindrical. The stem is straight and erect, bare and leafless. The leaves are alternate, only basal, with long petioles, sheath-like, trifoliate. The corymb is placed on a leafless pedicel; the flowers are white-pink, forming dense clusters which narrow towards the tip. The calyx has 5 sepals and a funnel-bell shape. The fruit is a spherical-ovate capsule with small brown seeds.

Bogbean – effects and use:

The bogbean leaf contains bitter-tasting iridoids (sweroside, up to 10% loganin, menthafolin, secologanin, foliamenthin, small amounts of alkaloids – gentianin, up to 7% tannins, phenolic acids, saponins, flavonoids – quercetin and kaempferol derivatives).

The bogbean leaf is used in herbal combinations meant for digestive disorders, bile duct inflammation and cholelithiasis. Leaf extracts increase the secretion of gastric juice and stimulate the appetite. They are used for diseases of the digestive tract, for anemia, indigestion and intestinal parasites. Bogbean is recommended especially for the elderly. It relieves migraine pain, enhances and improves the nervous condition of patients.