CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USE OF A 3:1 MIXTURE OF POLYGONUM HYDROPIPER L. AND EQUISETUM ARVENSE L.

The design of multi-component herbal preparations is based on combining plants whose constituents and traditional uses complement each other. A mixture of water pepper (Polygonum hydropiper L., syn. Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Delarbre, Polygonaceae) and field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L., Equisetaceae) in a 3:1 ratio forms the basis of the food supplement «AS MINOR». Water pepper grows in wet habitats across Eurasia, including Central Asia [1], and both plants are officially recognized medicinal raw materials [2–4]. The aim of this work is to summarize the chemical composition of the two components, to estimate the composition of the 3:1 mixture and to relate it to the traditional uses of the plants.