Cat's grass (matoshnik, fragrant shandra, field balm) is a perennial herb of the family Labiotus. Kotovnik feline is widely used in medicine.
Medicinal properties have contributed to the fact that field balm is specially grown in the United States and Canada. Under natural conditions, it grows in the middle latitudes of Eurasia.
- Catnip Plant: composition
- What is useful catnip: pharmacological properties of flowers, stems and leaves
- The use of catnip in traditional medicine: how to make a healing "potion"
- With headaches
- For insomnia
- For muscle relaxation and pain relief
- For skin diseases
- With a cold
- Kotovnik: contraindications plants
Catnip Plant: composition
Cat grass - perennial cold-resistant and moisture-loving plant. Unpretentious to environmental conditions. It grows in lighted areas in the woods, in the wasteland or near roads. The plant is not ordinary catnies, its description resembles mint. 
The stem of the Matoshnik is branched, 50-110 cm high. The leaves are sharp, oval-shaped. The flowers are white, purple or bluish color, gathered in inflorescence with a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 cm. The fruits are brown, nut-shaped. It blooms from June to September.The smell of shandry fragrant sharp, with a lemon shade.
Field balm has many useful components. Among them:
- essential oils that have a positive effect on the nervous system;
- vitamin C, strengthening the immune system;
- tanning components, the astringent properties of which are used in preparations based on catnip;
- flavonoids, beneficial to the body's blood vessels;
- ursolic acid, which improves the work of enzymes;
- glycosides, saponins, bitterness.
What is useful catnip: pharmacological properties of flowers, stems and leaves
Catnip grass is valued in pharmacology, and its healing properties help to overcome many diseases. Fragrant Shandra has antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, expectorant, anthelmintic and tonic effects.
Catnip cat is used in the treatment of pathologies of such systems:
- cardiovascular (anemia, angina, atherosclerosis);
- nervous (headaches, insomnia, nervous disorders, depression, hysteria);
- respiratory (bronchitis, colds, cough);
- urinogenital (kidney disease, menstrual disorders, erectile dysfunction);
- digestive (jaundice, intestinal atony, catarrh of the stomach, gastritis);
- dermal (dermatitis, eczema, inflammation of the skin).
The use of catnip in traditional medicine: how to make a healing "potion"
Matoshnik used to cure a variety of diseases. In herbal medicine are used stems, flowers and leaves that break during the flowering period. After collecting the grass, it is dried in a ventilated room or in the open air. Use raw materials can be 2 years after preparation. From the collected parts of fragrant shandra make healing teas and decoctions. 
With headaches
Lemon Kotovnik has widely known medicinal properties in the fight against migraine. A tablespoon of dried matoshnika pour 300 ml boiled water. Tea infused for 2 hours in a closed container.Strained broth consumed a tablespoon for 30 minutes before eating. The treatment is applied for 1-2 days until the headache disappears. With continued pain, infusion is taken in the future.
For insomnia
Catnip is no less effective in overcoming insomnia. A popular recipe is where the catnip, valerian root, chamomile color and hop cones are combined in the same ratio. To prepare the broth take three tablespoons of dried herbs and 400 ml of liquid. All boil for five minutes and filtered. Use half a glass after a meal for 2-3 weeks.
For muscle relaxation and pain relief
Lemon cattle has beneficial properties that help relieve muscle tension. You should take one teaspoonful of Matoshnik, Valerian and Skullcap, pour them with two glasses of water.Infuse the mixture for 20 minutes and consume throughout the day. 
For skin diseases
The catnip grass also relieves skin ailments, its healing properties help to overcome irritation and inflammation. To do this, prepare decoction from fragrant shandra, blueberry berries, St. John's wort, Irish moss, nine-to-half, comfrey, blue verbena, starodoubki root, myrrh resin. All ingredients are taken in the same proportions. Three tablespoons of herbs pour 400 ml of boiling water. The decoction is infused for half an hour, then filtered. Drink a drink once a day (the first three days), and then - three times a day, 1/3 cup.
To overcome eczema will help compresses from matoshnik. A couple of tablespoons of herbs are steamed in a water bath (300 ml of liquid) for 5 minutes. The cooled mixture is filtered. To get rid of the disease from the broth make gadgets that are applied to the affected areas of the body for 30 minutes. The procedure is done twice a day until the skin recovers.
With a cold
The use of fragrant shandra for the treatment of acute respiratory infections is common.
With pharyngitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the pharynx) do alcohol infusion. For treatment, take 40 grams of dried catnip and half a liter of vodka. Insist 14 days. Using the product, add 1 teaspoon of the mixture to a glass of water and gargle.
To remove the temperature when you have a cold infusion from this plant. You need to take two teaspoons of greens and pour 250 ml of boiling water over them. Mixture insist a couple of hours, then filtered. To apply four times a day on 50 ml of a product. 
Kotovnik: contraindications plants
Kotovnik has not only useful properties, but also contraindications.
Undesirable plant intake in such cases:
- pregnancy;
- lactation period;
- tachycardia and severe heart disease.
Fragrant Shandra is a very interesting plant that combines beauty, unique aroma and useful properties. It is used in landscape design, cooking, but most of all it was useful in medicine. The healing properties of herbs made it an excellent tool for the treatment of many diseases.
