Parts used: leaves, bark, juice.
Pharmacy name: birch leaves - Betulae folium (formerly: Folia Betulae), birch tar - Betulae pix (formerly: Fix Betulina), birch juice - Betulae liquor (formerly: Liquor Betulae).
Botanical description. On the description of the birches (their homeland is Europe) I will save money by only distinguishing between them. The birch is drooping, or bearded, larger than the birch is fluffy and usually prefers dry places. Its branches hang down from the bottom and at a young age are dotted with bearded glands that form resin. Leaves are also larger. The birch, on the other hand, has young branches that are pubescent and grow in wet forests and marshes. Both species are used in medicine.
Harvesting and harvesting. Young leaves are harvested in May-June and dried outdoors. Birch juice is extracted when it rises upwards in early spring, cutting the bark and collecting the juice that flows into the tin collection. Another method is to drill holes in the trunk at a depth of 1 to 5 cm, in which immediately insert tubes or make grooves, and the juice flows down them into the hanging collectors. From each hole the juice flows about 10 days, and in one day flows from 1 to 5 liters depending on the weather and temperature. The tar is extracted by the so-called dry distillation of the bark of the tree. Birch bark is the most important raw material for obtaining tar; it is removed from trunks and old branches, and then dried.
The active ingredients. Flavonoids appear as active substances in the leaves, they are complemented by numerous other substances (essential oil, bitterness, tannins, saponins, vitamin C, etc.). Birch juice contains invert sugar, organic acids, proteins and growth substances. Birch bark is rich in betulin (birch camphor), contains phytosterol, tannins, bitterness, essential oil, resin and other organic substances. Phenols (guaiacol, cresol, etc.) are found in tar.
Healing effect and application. Tea from birch leaves is the best way to remove water from the body. It does not irritate the kidneys, but increases the formation of urine. Therefore, it is used for washing the urinary tract, in bacterial inflammatory diseases associated with spasms, and generally prescribed for kidney disease as specialists - urologists and general practitioners. The German Public Health Service recommends the use of birch leaves to increase urine excretion in urolithiasis and other diseases, which are characterized by water retention in the body (edema). This is usually the case with heart disease and renal failure. Whether a large amount of tea from birch leaves contributes to the release of salts (especially uric acid salt) - this is a matter for researchers to judge. However, there is a prevailing opinion that the treatment of birch leaf tea reduces uric acid levels in the body.
Birch leaf tea: 2 teaspoons with top of birch leaves fill in 1/4 litre of boiling water and insist on 10 minutes. Tea should be drunk warm. The correct dose is three cups a day. After the edema disappears, you can stop taking tea.
In addition, birch leaves are used for numerous metabolic disorders, in preventive spring and autumn courses against rheumatism and gout. Birch tar is used to prepare ointments and rubbings, which, however, are mainly used in veterinary medicine. They help with lichen and other skin diseases. Very rarely tar is used for rheumatism. Birch juice is known as a hair lotion. It is believed that it prevents hair loss and the formation of dandruff. (Birch buds have the greatest use in Russian scientific and folk medicine. They are used to prepare medicines for diaphoretic, diuretic and gastric action. - Ed.)
Application in folk medicine. The birch has a special role in Slavonic and German folk beliefs. Today, this is reminiscent of the birch branches by Trinity Day. It is quite clear that folk medicine not only widely used the birch, but also exaggerated its importance. Therefore, we should treat its recommendations with some caution: for example, birch juice is used in gastric colic, tar - from abscesses, from cracking and keratinization of the skin (ointment), and tea from the leaves and bark is recommended in sugar diseases. I advise you to take note of the spring salad of young birch leaves. Together with the dandelion, millstone and other plants, it brings healthy diversity to the menu.
Side effects. No side effects have been detected when overdose of tea from leaves. However, taking undiluted birch juice inside is not recommended, and using tar may cause skin irritation.