You can prepare water infusions, teas or charges, juices, powders, and ointments from the raw materials purchased in the pharmacy or prepared by yourself at home, which should be used only on the advice of a doctor, in the presence of a correctly diagnosed disease.
Infusion is a liquid form of medicine obtained by infusion of shredded medicinal raw materials. When insisting, various active ingredients are extracted that affect the human body. For the preparation of infusions use softer and more delicate parts of the plant: flowers, leaves, stems. The infusion is prepared in two ways: hot and cold.
In the first method, weighed on the volume of plant material is placed in enamel, porcelain or glassware and poured with boiling water, often in a ratio of 1:10, that is, one part of the raw material 10 parts of water. The resulting mixture is covered with a lid, put in a water bath or hot stove for 15-20 minutes and make sure that the medicinal mixture does not boil. After that, the infusion is cooled at room temperature, filtered through a few layers of gauze and the medicine is ready for use.
When you prepare cold way weighed and crushed vegetable raw materials are placed in enameled or glassware, pour the necessary amount of cooled boiled water, close the lid and insist from 4 to 12 hours. The mixture is then filtered through gauze and is ready for use.
Consignments are a liquid form of medicine that has much in common with infusion, prepared from denser and harder parts of plants - roots, rhizomes, bark. Weighted shredded raw materials are placed in a lid-covered vessel and filled with cold water in the required proportions (usually 1:10; 1:20 for internal use and 1:5 for external use). After that they are put on a light fire or in a boiling water bath and boil for 20-30 minutes. The cooled decoction is filtered through gauze and used as intended.
It is better to prepare infusion and decoctions every day, as they spoil quickly, especially in summer.
Tea and tea fees consist of a mixture of several types of medicinal plants, shredded in pharmaceutical factories or pharmacies and taken in given proportions.
Scales or the usual measure (spoon, glass) are used at home and thoroughly mixed after shredding and stored in dense packaging (metal cans, glass vessels, cardboard boxes).
Juices - a liquid form of medicine made of fresh raw materials (berries, fruits, green parts of plants, tubers) without its boiling. Selected plants or parts of them are washed in water, crushed and placed in a juicer or passed through a meat grinder. Squeezed juice is stored in glass or enameled dishes in a cold place and used as intended.
The powders are prepared from crushed, pre-dried raw materials, stored in a dry box (glass jars with tight lids) and used as intended.
Ointments for external use are prepared from finely chopped medicinal raw materials, crumbled on a fat base - unsalted butter, Vaseline, fat and vegetable oil. Stored in a dark cool place.
In chronic diseases, preparations from plant raw materials take a long time from 1.5 to 3 months, sometimes making a break after 1.5 months for 1-2 weeks, or replaced with preparations from other plants with similar effects.
Indications and contraindications for the use of herbs.
As the centuries-old practice of folk medicine shows, there are no diseases in nature, in the treatment of which it is impossible to use medicinal plants. However, no plant could not be used to fight against certain diseases.
Medicinal plants and preparations prepared on their basis are natural remedies that have a versatile impact on the human body. Unlike many chemical pharmacological preparations, when properly applied, they do not produce negative side effects.
In addition to effectiveness, herbal medicines are also quite simple to use and are widely available to almost everyone.
The majority of representatives of flora possess several medical properties, therefore they quite often influence an organism in a complex, rendering positive influence not only on sick bodies but also on a general condition. However, despite the huge experience saved up by hundreds of generations of witches, it is necessary to know that the properties of many plants up to the end are not studied.
So, for example, multilateral influence on various functions of an organism of some plants at the wrong selection and without taking into account a set of factors can render negative influence. In some cases, by healing one of the diseases, they can exacerbate another existing disease or cause a new one. Therefore, do not use medicinal plants, especially potent, on the advice of relatives and friends, which has helped, because they have a completely different body.
The same applies to the advice of non-professional people, who do not have special training to make the right diagnosis, to determine the individual characteristics of the patient, etc.
As a result of the use of drugs made based on plant raw materials, may not only not contribute to recovery, but also worsen health.
To use medicinal plants correctly, it is necessary to know their properties well.
It is important to remember that there are many potent and poisonous plants among medicinal plants. Treatment with such herbs should be carried out under the constant supervision of specialists. Even a small overdose or inappropriate use can lead to the most serious negative consequences.
Experts have long established that depending on the conditions of growth of plants of the same species may differ sharply in their chemical composition. As a result of unfavorable conditions, the plant can even completely lose its healing properties.
A huge impact on the quality of medicinal raw materials are drying and storage. Errors in these processes can lead not only to the loss of useful properties but also to the accumulation of harmful substances for the human body. Therefore, it is possible to apply for self-medication, without special training, only well-known harmless plants that are sold in pharmacies, as well as common berry, fruit and vegetable crops. Before you use the recipe of preparation of this or that preparation from plants, it is necessary to consult with the attending doctor, and also with the expert-physiotherapist. This is especially true for people with severe and chronic illnesses.
It is also not recommended to use herbal medicine books as a "self-teacher for a novice healer". Otherwise, it is possible to cause irreparable harm not only to your health but also to the health of your family and friends.
Chemical composition of herbs, their impact on the human body
Healing properties of plants are conditioned by the presence in them of various chemical substances and compounds, the quantity and quality of which depend on the type of plant, conditions of its growth, time of collection, drying methods and storage conditions.
Useful substances can be contained in all plant or its separate parts.
The most effective chemicals include alkaloids, glucosides, tannins, flavons and flavonoids, antibiotics, organic acids, lactoons, mineral salts, vitamins, trace elements, essential oils, slimes, resins, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, pigments, etc.
Here is a brief description of some of them.
Alkaloids are complex organic compounds containing nitrogen and giving an alkaline reaction. These include morphine, codeine, caffeine, nicotine, ephedrine, papaverine, quinine, strychnine, etc. They are often the cause of the poisoning of some plants. These very valuable drugs are used to treat diseases of the internal organs, nervous system, and many other diseases.
Glycosides are organic, non-volatile substances consisting of glucose compounds and other sugars with various organic compounds, which are widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases. Some plants containing them are very poisonous, and their use requires strict medical supervision.
Complex glycosides, called saponins, are very active and potent substances that are used as an expectorant as well as an anti-sclerotic.
Another type of glycosides is bitterness - bitter tasteless substances that stimulate the activity of the gastrointestinal tract and improve digestion processes.
Tannins are non-associated organic compounds with astringent and anti-inflammatory effects. They are used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, in the treatment of stomatitis, skin diseases, burns, etc.
Flavons and flavonoids - organic compounds used as a basis for the manufacture of choleretic drugs, as well as means to strengthen the walls of blood vessels.
Antibiotics - organic substances of various chemical compositions, having a selective ability to kill or suppress the growth and reproduction of certain types of pathogenic bacteria. The most famous among them are phytoncides - antibiotics of flowering plants. They are used for infectious and viral diseases, tuberculosis, skin, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, elbow disease and many others. Phytoncides are also used to enhance the regeneration of damaged tissues.
Organic acids (apple acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, ants, oxalic acid, amber acid, etc.) are used to treat various diseases. They are especially beneficial for metabolism in the human body.
Lactones - substances derived from oxyacids, used in hematology, oncology and some other areas of modern medicine.
Mineral salts (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, ferrous, etc.) contained in plants have a positive effect on metabolism, blood and nervous systems, the formation of enzymes and hormones, their presence determines the state of muscles, skeletal bones, etc.
Vitamins - substances that are essential for the normal life of the human body at any age. Therefore, their use in medicine is not limited. Currently, we know more than 20 natural vitamins contained in medicinal plants. The most common among them: AND, IN1, IN2, IN6, B15, P, C, D, K, P.
Microelements (iron, copper, aluminum, chromium, manganese, zinc, nickel, cobalt, iodine, bromine, etc.) - chemicals that are very important in biological processes, especially breathing, metabolism, hematopoiesis. They come into the body mainly with vegetables and fruits.
Essential oils are mixtures of various volatile substances, of various chemical compositions, possessing a rather strong aroma. They are widely used in medicine as coughing, antimicrobial, and analgesic agents.
Resins are chemical substances similar in composition to essential oils. Some plant resins are used as wound healing agents.
Slitheen are non-associated substances, which mainly include polysaccharides. They are used internally for coughing and externally as a softening agent for the skin.
General information on methods of use and dosages of medicinal plants
Medicinal plants are used both inside (infusions, infusions, decoctions, juices, powders) and outside (in the form of baths, ointments, wraps, lotions, compresses, powders, etc.).
The main rule of preparation of any preparation from fresh or dried raw materials is its preliminary crushing to the sizes from 3-5 mm (for grass, leaves, flowers, stems, bark, and roots) to 0,5 mm (for seeds). This is because useful active ingredients are extracted from small particles more quickly and efficiently.
Feature of action of preparations from medicinal plants is that the efficiency of their influence is shown not at once, and only after long term of the use. Therefore, they are usually taken at least 1-2 months. In the treatment of chronic diseases make a break for 1.5-2 months, after which the medication is resumed.
Since the human body can get used to the means used for a long time, usually the drugs of one or another action are periodically replaced by similar ones.
When buying plant raw materials in pharmacies, the packaging usually indicates the methods of use and dosage. These are general recommendations. Doses, number of doses and duration of use may vary considerably depending on the nature of the illness, age, general condition and individual characteristics of the patient. Therefore, it is best to consult your doctor before using any medicinal plants for the treatment of serious and chronic diseases.
Medicinal plants
Adonis Vernalis L.
Plant characteristics
Spring Adonis is a perennial herbaceous plant with a height of 15 to 60 cm with a thick short rhizome and card-shaped brown-black roots. The stem is ribbed, upright, small-branched, covered with a short cannon. It is located in a thick leafy growth and ends in a large yellow flower. Leaves are repeatedly cut into narrow linear lobes. Flowers are single, large, from light yellow to its golden-yellow hue. The plant blossoms in late April and early May. It blossoms for the first time at the age of 10-20 years. Fruits of the plant are nuts with a hooked curved nose. Grass is prepared during flowering. The dried above-ground part is stored only for 1 year.
Leaves, flowers, stems and immature fruits are used, as the aboveground parts contain glycosides of cardiac action. The time of collection of the plant is from May to July before the fruits begin to fall.
Usage
In folk medicine, it is used to treat various heart, kidney, and colds, malaria, seizures, hysteria, shortness of breath, colic. It is used as a soothing and diuretic. Preparations prepared on its basis, expand blood vessels of heart and kidneys, increase heart rate, urination, reduce swelling, give relief in case of strong coughing. The plant is poisonous, when preparing drugs at home it is necessary to strictly observe the specified dosage!
Contraindications
They're missing. It is necessary to observe the dosage accurately!
Adonis infusion
It's required:
1 tsp. grass adonis, 200 ml. boiling water.
Method of preparation.
Grass dry and shred, pour boiling water, insist 20 minutes and strain.
How to use it.
Use by adults on 1 tbsp. 3 times a day. Children 2-5 years old - 6 drops each, 6-10 years old - 12 drops each, 11-15 years old - 2 hours a day. Strengthens heartbeats, smoothes the rhythm of contractions, soothes, promotes vasodilation.
Decoction of spring adonis
It's required:
1 tbsp. of adonis grass, 2 glasses of water.
Method of preparation.
Pour the grass with hot water, boil for 5 minutes, insist 30 minutes and strain.
How to use it. Take 1 tbsp. 5-6 times a day every 2 hours.
Broth is useful for kidney inflammation, shortness of breath, swelling of the legs and infectious diseases (typhoid, flu, scarlet fever, etc.).
Swamp air (Acorus calamus L.)
Plant characteristics
Grassy plant with a thick creeping rhizome, height 60-120 cm. Rhizomes of drilling color, inside white or pinkish. The stem is flat, trihedral. Leaves are long, sword-shaped, pointed. Flowers are small, greenish-yellow, collected into cobs. They have a regular perianth of 6 narrow scaly leaflets.
The cob is deflected and appears to be lateral, with a long, sword-shaped cover at the base of the cob.
All parts of the plant have a strong peculiar smell. Dry rhizomes contain essential oil with a pleasant smell and spicy taste. Essential oils include borneol, eugenol, and Aaron, camphor and camphor, calamine, and azulene. Dry rhizomes also contain starch and tannins, bitter acarine glycoside, calamine alkaloid, vitamin C and gum.
The plant blossoms in June. Rhizomes are harvested either in spring in April-May or autumn in September-November. Leaves are harvested in summer in June-July.
Use
Rhizomes and leaves are used for treatment. Swamp rind is used as a bitterness to improve appetite and digestion, as a gastric, expectorant and disinfectant. It is used for diseases of the bile ducts and kidney stones. Infusion of rhizomes is used as a tonic, restorative.
Externally, infusion and alcoholic infusion rhizomes used for rinsing, washing purulent wounds and ulcers. For the powder of purulent wounds and ulcers used powder, which is taken orally in the treatment of scurvy. Rhizomes can be chewed as a bactericidal remedy for the prevention of influenza epidemics, cholera, typhoid.
Fragrant leaves of the plant can cover the floors or hang them in the form of beams on the wall.
A mixture of rhizomes of aira, burdock and hop cones is used for washing heads in case of hair loss.
Contraindications There are no contraindications.
Tincture of ordinary aira
It's required:
1 tbsp. of shredded rhizomes, 100 ml. of vodka.
Method of preparation.
Rhizomes to dry and shred. Insist in vodka for 3-5 days, often shaking. Screw it.
How to use.
Take inside 20 drops (can be diluted in a small amount of water) 3 times a day. With a dry cough.
You can drip on the cotton wool and apply to the patient's tooth.
Infusion of ordinary concentrated aira
It's required:
2 tsp. powder from the rhizomes of boggy aire, 250 ml of boiling water.
A way of cooking.
Pour the powder with boiling water, insist in a tightly closed vessel (can be thermos) 2-3 hours, then strain.
How to use.
Take 1/4 cup 3 times a day for half an hour before meals to treat scurvy or as an anti-inflammatory agent.
Decoction of ordinary aira
It's required:
1 tbsp. rhizome of swampy aira, 750 ml. of boiling water.
Method of preparation.
Crushed rhizomes pour boiling water, cook for 15 minutes in a tightly closed container. Decoction to defend about 2 hours, then strain.
How to use.
Take 1/2 cup 3 times a day for 20-30 minutes before meals as a tonic or tonic agent.
Poisonous aconite (Aconitum)
Plant characteristics
Perennial herbaceous plant 70- 130 cm high. The rhizome consists of cone-shaped rhizomes, which have merged in the form of rosaries 2 cm long and up to 1 cm thick.
The stem is straight, strong, naked or with pubescence on the upper part. Leaves are petiolate, naked, hard, dark green, paler from below than from above. Flowers are blue, yellow, purple, rarely white. The fruit is a three-leaf. Seeds are 4-5 mm long, brown-brown, oblong.
Blossoms aconite in July-August, seeds ripen in September.
The root tubers prepared in autumn contain alkaloids of aconitine and umbrella. They all dissolve easily in water, are difficult to ether and good in chloroform.
The roots contain starch and organic acids.
Use
Aconite is used to prepare infusions, potions, infusions, ointments. In medicine, tincture of aconite is used externally as a painkiller for neuralgia, migraine, toothache, rheumatism.
When applied to the skin infusion causes itching with subsequent anesthesia.
The plant is highly poisonous. It is necessary to strictly observe the dosage, use only for a specialist!
Poisoning is manifested by strong skin itching and burning, broken muscles, dizziness, difficulty breathing and abdominal pain. Death can result from respiratory failure.
Contraindications
They're missing. Caution is required when using.
Ointment for rheumatism, arthritis, and arthrosis
It's required:
1 tsp. freshly blossomed flowers of aconite, 5 tbsp. of unsalted pork fat.
Method of preparation.
Melt fat on low heat or a water bath and pour it into the crushed aconite (in clay or enameled dishes). Put the dishes on low heat for 15 minutes.
Remove from the fire, put for 10-12 hours in the oven, heated to a temperature of 50-60 ° C. Store the ready-made ointment in the refrigerator.
How to use it.
Ointment, rubbing slightly, apply to the affected joint 2-3 times a day in a thin layer. The course of treatment - 1 week, then a break of 7 days, and you can resume the procedure.
Althaea Officinalis L.
Characteristics of the plant
The perennial plant in height of 100-150 sm. The plant is rooted; leaves are regular, softly pubescent, grayish-green, three- or five-bladed. Pale pink or white flowers with purple stamens in the leaf sinuses.
The marshmallows blossom from June to September. Roots are dug out in autumn or early spring. Leaves and flowers are harvested from June to September.
Use
In medicine, roots, leaves, and flowers are used. The roots of the althea contain pectin, starch, asparagus acid, betaine, sucrose, and lipids.
Altay has a soft, enveloping, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.
Water infusion of the root of the althea is used for inflammation of the respiratory mucous membrane with a large separation of mucus, inflammation of the bladder and intestines, kidney disease, stomach ulcers, and duodenal ulcers.
The root of the altar is a part of many chest dues.
Infusion of flowers and leaves is used in inflammatory processes of the eye mucous membrane, for rinsing the throat in inflammatory processes.
Contraindications There are no contraindications.
Infusion of the root of the altarpiece
It's required:
2 tbsp. roots of the altar, 2 tbsp. honey, 500 ml of water.
Method of preparation.
Roots are shredded, pour boiled warm water.
Insist 6 hours, strain and add honey.
How to use.
Take 1/2 cups 3-4 times a day before meals with a dry cough (can be used for intestinal pain, stomach upset).
Infusion is useful to rinse the throat with flu, angina, inflammation of the mucous membranes, wipe the skin with wounds, burns, boils.
Decoction of the root of the altar
It's required:
2 tbsp. roots of the altar, 500 ml of water.
Method of preparation.
Shredded roots of the altar, pour water, boil for 15 minutes, after cooling, strain.
How to use it.
Gauze napkins soaked in decoction, apply to inflamed skin for 5-10 minutes in the morning and evening.
Infusion of the flowers of the altar
It's required:
1 tsp. flowers of the altar, 250 ml of boiling water.
Method of preparation.
Flowers of the altar, pour boiling water, insist for 1-2 hours, strain.
How to use it.
Take 1 tsp. 3 times a day in the warm form for a rinse of the throat.
Amaranthus retroflexus L.
Plant characteristics
Grassy annual plant up to 100 cm high, with pinkish root and upright stem with ascending branches. Leaves are alternate, oblong-ovate.
Flowers are small, yellowish-green, with a filmy perianth, collected into balls. Strawberries, in turn, are collected in thick spiked panicles. Seeds are small, black or brown, shiny.
Amaranth blossoms in July and August. For medicinal purposes, the grass is harvested during the flowering period. It dries in a dark place.
Use
Grass is used to prepare water infusion, which is used for disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, diarrhea (simple and dysentery), intestinal colic, as well as a laxative for constipation.
Infusion is used as a hemostatic agent in hemorrhaging, strong menstrual and persistent hemorrhoids.
Contraindications
Not used for thrombosis after a heart attack.
Infusion of amaranth of ears
It's required:
2 tbsp. amaranth herbs, 300 ml. boiling water.
Method of preparation.
Grass shred, pour boiling water, to insist 2 hours in a warm place, and then strain the infusion.
How to use it.
Take 1/4 cup 4 times a day with diarrhea, strong menstrual and persistent hemorrhoids.
Manchurian Aralia
Plant characteristics
The tree is 1.5-2 m tall and the trunk is covered with numerous thorns. Leaves up to 1 m long are located at the top of the tree, so it resembles a palm tree. Leaves are triple-period complex of 2-4 pairs of the first order, consisting of 3-9 cherry leaflets. Leaf petioles are also covered with thorns up to 1 cm. long. Leaves are ovate. The calyx of a flower consists of 5 denticles, petals yellowish-white, have 5 stamens. Flowers are collected in inflorescences - dense panicles up to 45 cm. long. The inflorescences are located at the top of the trunk with an umbrella. Manchurian Aralia blossoms in July and August. Fruit - blue and blackberry with 5 bones, the fruit ripen in mid-September.
Usage
Roots rich in B vitamins and ascorbic acid are used as raw materials. The roots contain triterpene saponins - aralozids A, B, C; there are traces of alkaloids, essential oils, glycosides, and fatty acids.
Aralia drugs have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system more than ginseng. Tincture from the root of Manchurian Aralia helps reduce blood pressure, improves appetite and sleep, as well as overall health. Aralia remedies relieve fatigue, strengthen the nervous system.
Contraindications
Not recommended for people with increased nervous system excitability, susceptible to insomnia.
Manchurian Aralia tincture
It's required:
1 tbsp. of shredded bark roots, 500 ml of vodka.
Method of preparation.
Root bark to dry, shred, pour vodka. Put in a dark cool place, insist 30 days, occasionally shake the composition. Screw through.
How to use.
Take 30-40 drops, diluted with water, 2-3 times a day with fatigue, mild depression.
Arnica montana L.
Plant characteristics
Grass perennial plant up to 40-60 cm high. The plant has a rhizome with scars from fallen stems and numerous fine adjunctive roots. The stem is straight, pubescent, with a rosette of root supple leaves. Root leaves are short petioles, ovate. Leaves on the stem are supple, sedentary, green and pubescent from above, light and naked from below. Flowers are orange-yellow, in large baskets, which are located at the top of the stem and branches. Fruits are cylindrical acuminate seeds with well-developed stalks.
Blossoms in June and August.
Baskets (inflorescences) are used for medicinal purposes, which are prepared in dry weather at the beginning of flowering (June-July). The inflorescences are collected by hand. Leaves and roots are used less often. Roots are harvested in autumn - in September when the plant has ripened seeds.
Medicinal raw materials contain essential oils, artisan, choline, trimethylamine, betaine, lutein, carotene, fatty oils, ascorbic acid, etc.
Use.
Arnica infusion and tincture helps regulate the tone of the central nervous system, reduce the reflex excitability of the medulla oblongata.
Arnica drugs have a soothing and anticonvulsant, choleretic effect and help reduce blood cholesterol levels. They are used in angina (dilates coronary vessels) and hypertension. When used externally, it is used as a styptic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and wound healing agent.
The plant is non-poisonous, however, it is not recommended to take arnica in large doses inside, as it is possible increased sweating, aching pain in the extremities, muscle cramps, dyspnoea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, digestive problems, decline in cardiac activity.
Contraindications
They're missing.
Flower infusion
It's required:
1 tsp. dry flower baskets arnica, 750 ml boiling water.
Method of preparation.
Flowers, pour boiling water, insist 2 hours in a dense closed container (can be thermos), strain.
How to use.
Take 1 tbsp. before eating 2 times a day with hypertension, angina.
Infusion of flowers of sore throat
It's required:
1h. l. arnica flowers, 400 ml of water.
Method of preparation.
Vegetable raw material to dry, grind, pour boiling water, to insist 2 hours, and then strain.
How to use.
Rinse infusion throat several times a day. Infusion can be used for lotions on inflamed and ulcerated skin.