Inula helenium
Latin Name: Inula helenium L.,
Family: Asteraceae (Compositae)
Main action: Anti-inflammatory, expectorant, anthelmintic.
The herb has an expectorant, secretolytic, bactericidal and anthelmintic effect. It is used in various inflammatory processes of the respiratory tract, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, to stimulate appetite and improve digestion. It is successfully used in the treatment of inflammatory obstructive diseases of the lungs. It affects the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract and relieves spasms. It has a well-expressed antidiarrheal activity in enterocolitis. The essential oil in the herb tones digestion, improves appetite, reduces gastric secretion and simultaneously acts as a choleretic.
Widespread: It grows in moist grassy places, along rivers and streams. Widely distributed, mainly in the eastern parts of Bulgaria and the Danube plain up to 1000 m above sea level. It is found in South-Eastern Europe, cultivated in the past and naturalized almost all over Europe.
Content: Essential oil, sesquiterpene lactones (alantolactone, isoalantolactone), about 45% inulin, triterpenes (friedelin, damaradienol)
Drug used: Roots and rhizomes (Radix Inulae helenii)
