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Atriplex patula (common or spreading orache) is a plant with a taproot. The stem is 30 to 100 cm tall, smooth, erect, branched, with branches spreading horizontally or upwards. The leaves are green, uniformly colored on both sides, thin, drooping down, with a short petiole; the lower leaves are opposite with a spear-shaped base whose lobes point obliquely upwards, broadly wedge-shaped or almost lanceolate, with unevenly toothed or entire margins; the rest of the stem has alternate lanceolate leaves, with a very short point at the tip, sometimes with small lobes at the base, almost always with entire margins. The flowers are in dense spike-like inflorescences; the staminate flowers mostly have five parts; the bracts of the fruit are ovate or lanceolate-rhombic, fused up to the upper rim. The seed is vertical. It blooms in June-July and fruits from September until mid-October.
Harvesting of Raw Materials
The medicinal raw material consists of the herb (leaves, non-woody stems, flowers, seeds). It is used both fresh and dried. The herb is harvested during the flowering period. Dry in the shade or under a shelter in the air. Seeds are collected as they ripen. The shelf life of the herb is 1 year, and seeds – 3 years.As a food plant, orache is gathered before flowering when it is still young, juicy, and tender. It is also possible to collect parts for consumption later – the young upper shoots of the plant without flowers.
Chemical Composition
The above-ground parts of the plant are especially rich in valuable substances during the flowering period. They contain saponins, betaine, ascorbic acid, carotene, essential oils, rutin, up to 30% protein, a high amount of fiber, and mineral salts.Pharmacological Properties
Atriplex patula is not an official pharmacopeial plant and is not used in domestic official medicine; however, it is widely utilized in traditional folk medicine practices.
Use in Traditional Medicine
In traditional medicine, Atriplex patula is used as an infusion for treating gout, hemorrhoids, skin itching, jaundice, scanty menstruation, and leucorrhea. It serves as a pain reliever for stomach colic. For dry and chronic coughs, it is used as an expectorant. The plant is included in herbal mixtures for treating benign tumors. It is also applied during childbirth to facilitate the expulsion of the placenta.
Due to its antibacterial properties, fresh leaves are applied to wounds.
Freshly crushed herb is effective for treating infected nail beds, drawing out splinters, and its leaves are applied to ulcers.
Externally, an infusion of the herb is used for gargling in cases of tonsillitis and for washing and compresses to relieve skin itching.
Abroad, the plant is used in plasters, liniments, and decoctions for benign and malignant tumors of the larynx and other organs.
Atriplex patula is also used for amenorrhea, jaundice, lung diseases, and as a hemostatic and diuretic agent. The leaves help with scrofula, tumor treatment, and corns. Tea made from the leaves is consumed for coughs with thick difficult-to-expectorate sputum and hoarseness. It may also be used for hysteria. Fresh leaves and dried herb are used to treat hypovitaminosis and scurvy and serve as a general tonic.
It should be noted that the pollen of Atriplex flowers is one of the strongest allergens in our climate zone.