NIS - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

WHO monographs on medicinal plants commonly used in the Newly Independent States (NIS)
anum, ourego, paprastasis raudonėlis, pamajorán obyčajný, pelevoué, penevoué,
pot oregano, raudenes, remago, rigan, riegnu, rigon i egër, rijan,
rigoni i zakonshëm, satar barri, sathra, sovârf, szurokfű, tavshava, thé
rouge, thym de berger, tograihon, tost, vadmajoránna, vild mejram, wild
marjoram, wild oregano, wilde marjolein, wilder majoran, winter marjoram,
wintersweet (3–5, 7–21).
Geographical distribution
The plant is commonly distributed throughout Asia, Europe and northern
Africa. It is native to Europe and the Middle East. In the Newly Independent
States, it grows in the European areas, also in Caucasus, Central
Asia and western Siberia (8, 19, 22–25).
Description
A perennial herbaceous plant, 30–90 cm high. Rhizome, horizontal,
creeping. Stems, erect, woody at the base, branched, quadrangular, hairy,
often violet or purplish-green. Leaves, opposite, petiolate, ovate, rounded
at the base, subserrate, sometimes toothed, entire-margined or slightly
crenate, glabrous or hirsute, translucent punctate, green on both
sides, paler underneath, 10–40 mm long, 4–25 mm wide; petiole hairy,
about one fourth as long as the leaves. Inflorescence, corymb-like inflorescences
at the branch apexes. Flowers, labiate type, generally bisexual,
sometimes just female flowers with immature stigmas, zygomorphic,
with short peduncle. Bracts elliptical, pointed, longer than calyx, dark
purple. Calyx, generally 5-lobed, radial to bilateral, sepals triangular
lanceolate, with 13 veins, about 3 mm long, with a hairy ring inside.
Corolla, upper lip flat, lower lip has 3 lobes, from pink or purple to
white, about 6 mm long. Stamens 4, exserted, didynamous, with double
anthers. Pistil, stigma bifid and reflexed. Fruit, nutlets, oval to ovate, in
persistent calyx, dry, smooth, dark brown, 0.5–1 mm long (4, 8, 14, 17,
25–29).
Plant material of interest: dried aerial parts
General appearance
The drug consists of flowering leafy stems up to 20 cm long, green or
violet in colour (1). The leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate or ovateelliptic;
the margins are entire or serrate; the apex is acute or obtuse;
upper surface green, lower surface paler; 20–40 mm long. Flowers are
rare, 3–5 mm long, found as unbroken or broken parts of the corymbs.
Bracts are dark purple and imbricate. Calyx is tubulous, 5-sepalled, co-
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