Official Name: Yarrow

Latin name: Achillea millefolium L.

Other names: milfoil

Description: Yarrow herb (Achillea millefolium) is a medicinal perennial plant of the Asteraceae family, with a height of 30 to 80 cm. It is distributed throughout Bulgaria on plains, on dry grassy places, along roads, around forests, meadows like weeds, meadows and mountains with altitudes up to 1500 m. The up to 60 cm high stem is branched in its upper part, and the leaves are consecutive, with linear pointed leaflets, double or triple-feathery cut. The flowers are white, small and form dense inflorescences. The fruits of white yarrow are whitish, flattened, about 2 mm long. The medicinal plant blooms from May to September and has a characteristic pleasant aroma.

Part of the herb used: stalks (Herba Millefolii) and flowers/inflorescences (Flores Millefolii).

Collection time: June to August/September. Shoots are harvested during flowering. The flowers are harvested when fully blooming in dry weather. The most optimal way to store the medicinal plant is by drying in the shade under ordinary conditions. In this method, the active substances in the herb (essential oil, proazulenes, etc.) are best preserved.

Content and properties: The herb has a rich composition of medicinal substances: resins, tannins, alcohols, camphor, alkaloids, many organic acids such as salicylic, acetic, formic, isovaleric. The blood clotting effect of white yarrow is due to the achilletin and Achillein contained in it. The different parts of the medicinal plant also contain flavonoids, vit. C and vit. K, carotene, coumarins, inulin, etc. Seeds and inflorescences are rich in airy oils (up to 21-25%), and leaves - in bitter substances. Essential oil can be brown, yellow-green or blue in color. The flavonoids contained in the herb have a hypotensive effect and contribute to the slowing of the heart rate.

Healing effect and application: Yarrow has a strong anti-inflammatory, analgesic and hemostatic effect. It is used for women's health problems such as uterine bleeding, insufficient menstruation, white discharge, uterine fibroids, problematic ovaries, as well as bleeding hemorrhoids, ulcers and gastritis. The herb accelerates wound healing, helps against seizures, acts diaphoretic and soothes. It is useful for clotting and purifying the blood, liver diseases, worms and constipation, inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system. It is used both in medicine, perfumery and cosmetics. The intake of the various healing forms of yarrow should be moderate and carefully dosed.

"Vesselino" Ltd. offers its customers the herb in the following varieties:

• stalks (Herba Millefolii) - dried, crushed, cut to size at the customer's request, ground into powder/flour
• flowers/inflorescences (Flores Millefolii) - dried, crumbbed, powdered/floured