Artichoke
The artichoke is a thermophilic perennial plant from the Asteraceae family. Cardon is considered to be its relative. The artichoke was bred by the ancient Arabs, Romans and Greeks. At the moment, it is cultivated in North and South America, Europe and especially in France and Italy. In the USSR, this culture was known mainly in the south of the country. Larger heads of artichoke inflorescences are sent for food.
Artichoke application
The artichoke is one of the oldest medicinal plants. It was previously known as a kind of drug that stimulates the flow of urine. In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, it was used as a diuretic, choleretic and antirheumatic agent. Many believed that preparations from this plant could be used as a heart, diaphoretic and appetite-stimulating medicine. Also in those days it was used for chronic aches and jaundice. And today the artichoke is used in medical institutions for the treatment (mainly in children) of jaundice, hepatitis, gallstone disease, endarteritis and atherosclerosis.
The artichoke is actively used to create drugs that well treat serum sickness, urticaria, a number of forms of eczema and psoriasis. The artichoke is recommended for use in the preoperative and postoperative period in patients who have undergone liver and kidney surgery.
Growing an artichoke
The artichoke is cultivated as a vegetable. To grow an artichoke, seedlings are planted first. In the first half of March, the seeds of the artichoke are soaked with water until they swell completely, after which they are germinated at the existing temperature within 30 ° C. As soon as the seeds start to hatch, they need to be transferred to snow or ice and kept in this state for about 15 days. A perfectly grown plant is obtained from such seeds; in the first year, both its inflorescences and heads can be used for food. The resulting seeds must be sown in a special box, and already 25 days after the sowing itself, the seedlings are disassembled into pots.
In mid-May, seedlings are planted in open ground at an approximate distance of 70x70. Caring for an artichoke is no different from caring for any other plants: you also need to destroy weeds, get rid of pests, loosen and water the soil. The inflorescences (heads) are cut off and then used for food, but only when they are half open. Shoots, or in other words "kids", which formed at the very base, are dug up and kept buried in holes about 50 centimeters deep, which must be insulated with straw from above.
Useful properties of artichoke
The artichoke is very useful, and the people of France realized this long ago. Fresh artichokes contain a huge amount of clean and healthy water, carbohydrates and vegetable proteins, many vitamins and little fat. Vitamins include A, E, C, K, group B. The mineral composition is represented by a number of macroelements - sodium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium - and microelements: manganese, zinc, iron, selenium, copper. Artichokes are very low in calories (less than 50 calories in 100 grams). That is why for those who want to lose weight, the artichoke is just a godsend. And more valuable substances are inulin, which increases the number of beneficial bacteria in the human intestine and reduces blood sugar, and cynarin, which improves cerebral circulation, prevents the development of atherosclerosis, has a diuretic and choleretic effect.
Artichoke tincture
This tincture contains an active ingredient - the bioflavonoid cynarin, it is an antioxidant that binds free radicals. As for the liver, when exposed to it, cynarin in some way stimulates the excretion of waste products of the body from the tissues, while it has a diuretic effect and significantly accelerates the removal of excess salts and fluids from the body.
Artichoke tincture is a hepatoprotector, in other words, all available active substances protect the cells of the liver itself from the action of toxins, this allows you to remove toxins and salt from the body. Along with cinarin, artichoke tincture has flavonoids, inulin, vitamins, tannins, enzymes, and minerals. These and many other biological components make it possible to produce the required amount of bile and digest fats and proteins, also prevent the development of cholecystitis, and reduce gas formation in the intestine.
Artichoke recipes for treating diseases
To prepare a decoction or tincture of an artichoke, you need the leaves and roots of the plant. Decoctions normalize blood cholesterol coefficient, remove uric acid, improve the functioning of the entire nervous system.
For the infusion of artichoke leaves, take 10 grams of fresh or dry leaves of the plant and brew with one glass of boiling water. For greater efficiency, add half a spoonful of honey to the broth and drink it in two doses warm.
With liver and kidney disease, artichoke infusion can also help. With one glass of boiled and hot water, you need to brew 2 teaspoons of dry leaves of the plant, wait 10 minutes, strain - and you can drink. You need to use the infusion three times a day, about 20 minutes before meals, half a glass.
Artichoke tincture: fresh leaves and inflorescences of the plant are taken in equal volume - half a glass each. Finely chop the raw material, put it in a liter glass bottle and fill it with a glass of alcohol. The ratio is 1 to 1. For the extraction of active substances and their rapid transition into alcohol, the tincture is corked and kept in a dark place for three weeks. After preparation, a microdose is most often used - 1-2 drops per tablespoon of clean water. The standard method of administration is 15 - 20 minutes before meals, no more than three times a day.
There is also a standard method of preparation, when dry herb is taken in a ratio of 1 (1 part of the herb) to 10, infused for 30 days. Apply 0.5-1 teaspoon diluted in water.
Contraindications to the use of artichoke
The artichoke should not be eaten by children under the age of twelve, pregnant women or nursing mothers. Also, the artichoke is contraindicated in people who suffer from blockage of the biliary tract and severe liver failure.
The author of the article: Sokolova Nina Vladimirovna | Phytotherapist
Education: Diploma in "General Medicine" and "Therapy" received at the Pirogov University (2005 and 2006). Advanced training at the Department of Phytotherapy at the Peoples' Friendship University of Moscow (2008).
