Common name: Marsh-Mallow

Latin name: Althaea officinalis L.

Other names: white marshmallow, wild marshmallow, bull's eye, white mallow, “prosvirnyak”, “prenterka”, God's hand, slime

Description: The Marsh-Mallow is a medicinal herbaceous perennial gray-fiber plant, with a straight hollow stem, reaching 2 m. The rhizome is thick, short, with whitish roots up to 50 sm long. Its leaves are slightly cut, entire or palmately divided. The flowers are large, white to pale pink, sometimes red. The fruit is complex, disk-shaped; the seeds are gray, kidney shaped. Blooms in Summer from July to August/September.

Used part of the plant: roots (Radix Althaeae), leaves (Folia Althaeae), flowers (Flores Althaeae) Roots are collected only from biennial plants. The roots of the one-year plant are still thin and poor in mucilage substances, and in the third year they become woody, and the amount of their mucilage content greatly decreases.

Collecting time: The leaves of Marsh-Mallow (Folia Althaeae) are harvested from July to September, and the flowers (Flores Althaeae) from June to October. The roots (Radix Althaeae) of the plant are dug up in Autumn (September-December) or in early Spring (February-April). Then the content of mucous substances is the highest.

Content and properties: Marsh-Mallow contains about 20% mucilage rich in galacuronic and glucuronic acid, glucose, pentose, asparagine, betaine, phytosterol, tannins, essential oil, sucrose, fats, high percentage of starch, pectin,  and others. The flowers of the plant contain the pigment malvidin.

Healing action and application: Marsh-Mallow has an expectorant, liquefying secretions, soothing and pain-relieving effect in chronic bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis, bronchopneumonia and bronchial asthma. The mucilaginous substances in the herb cover the mucous membranes with a long-lasting thin layer that protects them from irritation. For this reason, it is also used for inflammations of the gastrointestinal tract and urinary tract. It is applied externally in the form of compresses in the treatment of boils and wounds.

Opportunities for offering upon specific request of the client:

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

• Leaf (Folia Althaeae) – whole, crushed, cut to size (both for extract and as a tea ingredient), ground into herb powder/herb flour.

• Root (Radix Althaeae) (peeled or unpeeled) - whole, crushed, cut to size (both for extract and as a tea ingredient), in powdering form/herb flour.