Common name: Corn silk 

Latin name: (Stigmata Mayjus) 

Other names: Corm Silk, Zea Majus, Maize 

Description: Corn silk (Stigmata Maydis) is the name given to the long filamentous stigmas of the female flowers of corn. This part of the corn is used for medicinal purposes. Maize is an annual monoecious plant of the Craminea family with an upright cylindrical stem up to 2-3 m. high and broad leaves. The flowers are collected in apical panicles. The female flowers, spirally arranged around a massive flower bed, form an inflorescence (cob, “mamule”), surrounded by leaves, outside of which long stigmas (silk) emerge. The fruit is a grain. Corn flowers from July to September. 

Part of the herb used: the stigmas (hair) of the female cornflowers 

Harvest time: Corn silk is harvested before the corn kernels ripen, when they are still milky in August-September. The lollipops are cut with a knife or scissors and cleaned of impurities. The collected material is dried quickly in ventilated or heated rooms or in a dryer at a temperature of 35-40°, spreading the licks in a thin layer. 

Chemical composition/Contents and properties: The plant contains vitamin K, vitamin B1 and vitamin C, saponins, tannins, fats, essential oil, sterols, flavonoids (maisin), pantothenic acid, etc. 

Medicinal action and application: corn silk has a diuretic, hemostatic, choleretic, soothing, diuretic effect. It cleanses the kidneys and reduces fluid retention, protects the mucous membrane of the urinary tract and relieves their irritation. At the same time, it helps to soothe the urinary tract and the inflamed bladder. It helps with stones and sand in the kidneys and bladder, with chronic kidney inflammation and swelling, with bile stasis, with liver and biliary diseases. Maize also helps with diabetes, suppresses appetite, has an antioxidant effect, soothes the symptoms of arthritis and atherosclerosis, is used as a remedy against tapeworms, gout and rheumatism. 

Possibilities to offer at the customer's request: 

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

• Flowers (corn silk) (Stigmata Maydis) - dried whole, crushed, cut to specific size according to customer's request, ground into herbal powder/flour