The first pharmaceutical gardens in Russia will appear in the capital's Bitsevsky and Izmailovsky parks in 2005.

BOTANY OF THE XXI CENTURY

In the Middle Ages, apothecary gardens (the first was founded in 1543 in Pisa, Italy) were botanical gardens - unique research centers where the healing properties of plants were studied. Scientists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (VILAR) have developed original combinations of medicinal plants - phytocompositions designed to improve the health of urban air.

The addresses of the first pharmaceutical gardens were determined together with the Moscow government - these will be Bitsevsky and Izmailovsky parks. 70 species of plants will be planted in specially designated areas, most of which belong to the phytoncidal group - they secrete essential oils rich in biologically active substances. These same substances will purify the air from harmful chemical impurities.

“In addition, apothecary gardens will replenish the existing biodiversity in Moscow parks,” says Andrei Tsitsilin, head of the Botanical Garden laboratory, candidate of biological sciences. — Among the plants that we plan to plant are hawthorn, rose hips, Chinese lemongrass, chestnut, St. John's wort, thyme, marshmallow... All samples were selected in our botanical garden - the largest in the world in terms of area (45 hectares) and biodiversity (1200 species of herbs , trees and shrubs).

As Anton Chernyavsky, chief specialist of the Department of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection of the Moscow Government, told an Ogonyok correspondent, design and survey work will begin in the near future. The opening is scheduled for next year. It is planned to plant pharmaceutical gardens in all Moscow parks.

Medicinal plant complexes for indoors or, as they are called at VILAR, “aerophytotherapeutic modules” have recently appeared in several schools in the South-Western district of Moscow, where the institute is located. The air in classrooms is purified, which means the incidence of influenza, acute respiratory infections, and acute respiratory viral infections is reduced.

Therapeutic compositions have undergone clinical trials in several metropolitan hospitals. These tests also dispelled possible concerns about allergies. It is usually caused by flowering plants, but there are no such plants in the phytocompositions developed by scientists.

Dossier For school. Plant compositions that purify the air in classrooms include mint, aloe, lemon balm and myrtle. Rosemary has a beneficial effect on children with a weakened respiratory system. Thuja fights the pathogens of whooping cough and diphtheria. Dieffenbachia, dracaena, sansevieria, spathiphyllum, chlorophytum absorb harmful gases and chemicals that accumulate in the air of enclosed spaces. For apartments and offices. For the office, scientists recommend a complex of laurel, lemon balm, sage, dieffenbachia, mint, monstera and ficus. This combination helps reduce toxins. Geranium and pelargonium are good in the bedroom. In the kitchen it is worth placing pots with chlorophytum, which purifies the air and absorbs odors, and in the dining room - laurel, which has a positive effect on the functioning of the digestive system.

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), indoor air is even more polluted than outdoors,” says VILAR deputy director Alexander Zhuchenko. — These include pathogenic microbes, viruses, various fungi, and harmful chemicals released by modern construction and finishing materials. By the way, WHO experts have found that this is especially typical for northern megacities, including Moscow. Since we spend most of the day at work or at school/institute, the question arises: how to clean the air in these rooms? With the help of plants! And not just any, but phytoncides, since the biologically active substances they secrete suppress the growth and reproduction of pathogenic microflora and increase the adaptive capabilities of the body.

— In my opinion, the classic representatives of this group are onions and garlic.

- Right. However, these popular means of preventing colds and flu have one drawback - a strong, specific smell that not everyone can tolerate. And in our herbal compositions, aromatherapy is one of the leading influence factors. Therefore, all the plants included in the modules have a light and pleasant smell, and also a healing one.

“Our pharmaceutical gardens and herbal compositions for indoor spaces are designed to reduce the negative impact of modern civilization,” explains Alexander Zhuchenko. “In addition, with their help it is possible to solve another important problem - to replenish the meager biodiversity that exists in large cities. Imagine that out of more than 300 thousand species of higher and a huge number of lower plants, humans use less than a percent! People grow only two and a half thousand species of higher plants. Of these, about a thousand occupy 99 percent of the entire cultivated area. Moreover, half of it comes from 8 main food crops - wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, millet, sorghum and rice. How to save the rest? Purposefully introduce into culture especially those that improve the human environment in large cities.

Vladimir YASHIN

Photos used in the material: ALEXANDER JUSA