Levisticum officinale Koch. - Lovage

Levisticum officinale is a perennial, herbaceous aromatic plant in Apiaceae family. The root is thick, vertical with a pale-like rhizome, the lateral roots are 15-20 cm long. The root surface is yellow or light-brown, while the fracture surface is white. In the first year of vegetation only the basal leaf rosette appears. The leaves are pinnated, the leaflets are pointed, the marginal is serrulate. The 1.5-2.0 m tall, hollow flowers stems develop from the second year. The stems and leaves are shiny, dark-green to yellow-green. The stem-leaves are smaller and less divided with few leaflets. The flowers are yellow, produced in globular, compound umbels, bloom from the end of June to middle July. The fruits are yellow-brown, flat with three rips on them. Thousand seed weight: 3-4 g.

Lovage originates from South and West Asia, but it is also distributed through Europe and mostly occurs on wet habitats. In Hungary lovage is cultivated, in Békés county. It prefers warm climate and soils rich in nutrients.

The whole or cut root and rhizome of lovage is the official drug in Hungarian Pharmacopoeia VIII. (with 4 ml/kg essential oil in whole drug, 3 ml/kg in cut drug). The essential oil (Levistici aetherolum), the leaves (Levistici folium) and the ripe fruits (Levistici fructus) of the plant are also in commercial trade.

Every part of the plant accumulates essential oil in different amounts: the roots and rhizomes contain 0.5-1.0 %, a the flower stems 0.15-0.45 %, the leaves 0.1-0.25 %, the ripe fruits 0.5-1.8 %. The most valuable is the root oil. The main volatile compounds are alkyl ftalids (70 %). Coumarins and organic acids are also detectable in the roots.

Lovage is known and cultivated as a medicinal and aromatic plant since ancient time. Every part of the plant is odorous, celery-like. Levisticum drugs are important materials of food industry: liqueurs, spices are made from them. Lovage has diuretic and spasmolytic effect.