Common name: Sunflower

Latin name: Helianthus annuus L.

Description: The sunflower is a herbaceous annual plant of the Compositae family with an upright, unbranched, rough stem with a soft core, which reaches a height of up to 2 m. It has a highly developed root system, with the axial root reaching a depth of up to 4 m. The leaves of the plant are consecutive, large, with a sharp tip, rough, heart-shaped with a width of up to 30 cm. The flowers, collected in an inflorescence – the sunflower head is with a diameter of up to 40 cm., are of two types - tongue-shaped (located on the periphery of the inflorescence and attracting insects) and tubular (inside the pita). The fruit is a seed consisting of a solid seed wrapped in a hard husk of different colors (white, black, striped, violet, gray). The flowering of the honey plant is from July to August.

Part of the herb used: the leaves (Folia Helianthi), the peripheral petals/flowers (Petalum Helianthi) and the fruit/seed (Semen Helianthi).

Harvest time: The leaves and flowers are harvested in June - August, and the seed when it reaches maturity. The leaves are collected in the initial flowering period of the plant. The flowers are picked when they have fully bloomed.

Chemical composition/Content and properties: The fruit/seed of the sunflower contains up to 45% fatty oil, hydrocarbons, protein substances, phytin, chlorogenic acid, tannins, carotenoids, phospholipids, citric and tartaric acid. The seed coat contains enzymes. Fatty sunflower seed oil consists of the glycerides of oleic, linoleic and saturated acids (palmitic, stearic, arichinic, lignoceric). Sunflower also contains calcium, phytosterols, minerals, vitamins, magnesium, iron, selenium. Its healing properties are due to the high content of vitamins of group B, A, E and D and essential fats (omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids).

Medicinal effect and application: The plant has an antispasmodic, antipyretic, appetite-stimulating, laxative effect and is used in medicine for obstruction of the esophagus, for severe dry cough, for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, for cardiovascular diseases, in order to speed up the metabolism. The high content of unsaturated fatty acids in sunflower oil makes it a good prophylactic agent for atherosclerosis. The flowers and leaves are used against malaria. Sunflower oil has a high nutritional value and good taste and is used for the production of oil, margarine, mayonnaise, preserves, confectionery, etc. It is also used in the production of soaps, varnishes, beziers and other industrial products.

Possibilities to offer at the customer's request:

Vesselino Ltd. offers their customers the plant in the following varieties:

• seed (Semen Helianthi) - for animal feed

• Flores Helianthi - dried whole, cut to size according to the customer's request, ground into powder/flour

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