Immortelle
The use of immortelle and recipes for its preparation
Sandy immortelle (sandy cmin)
Sandy immortelle, or, as it is called, sandy cmin, is a perennial plant, the height of the stems of which is 15–30 cm, less often - 60 cm. The rhizome of old bushes is short, branches little and is located in the upper layers of the soil. On the rhizome, there are a lot of shoots (with inflorescences).
This plant has whole and alternate leaves. The inflorescences of the plant are baskets, which have dark yellow wrapper leaves and small light flowers. At the top of each stem, from ten to hundreds of baskets can be located, collected in corymbose inflorescences. When the flowering period just begins, this inflorescence looks like a ball and is dense, and in the future it becomes loose. Each basket has a wrap of leaves, smooth and dry. All these leaves are lemon yellow or orange in color. Flowers - with a corolla similar to a funnel tube. The fruit of the plant is a brown achene, which is 1.5 mm long and has a tuft with soft serrated hairs. The whole achene is covered with glands. Felt pubescence is located throughout the plant. The immortelle blooms from July to late summer.
This plant can be seen on dry and sandy soil, which is observed in Ukraine, the Caucasus and Belarus, as well as in the southern and middle zones of the European part of Russia. Due to the fact that there was a great demand for it, the immortelle was introduced into the culture.
When collecting, you can make a mistake and collect not an immortelle, but something else, so here are some signs of a sand immortelle: - flowers are dry and yellow; - the stem of the plant is felt and white.
If you do not pay attention to these features, then a person may mistakenly collect a cat's paw or another type of immortelle (which has large pink baskets) instead of a sand immortelle.
Application of sandy immortelle
The flowers of the plant contain flavonoids, essential oils, tannins and dyes and resins. And also in the flowers of the immortelle, the content of calcium and potassium salts, manganese, vitamin K was found. It is thanks to these substances that the flowers of the immortelle have a therapeutic effect on the human body.
For medicinal purposes, the inflorescences are collected in early to mid-summer. Then the collected raw materials are dried and all kinds of drugs are already prepared from it for the treatment of various diseases using folk methods.
Sandy immortelle has an expectorant, diuretic, choleretic and analgesic effect. In folk medicine, this plant is used in the treatment of gastritis, colitis, constipation, liver diseases.
This herb can increase blood pressure, increase the secretion of the pancreas and stomach.
Immortelle is an excellent remedy for the treatment of atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes mellitus.
Preparations prepared on the basis of immortelle help with various liver diseases: cirrhosis, jaundice, cholecystitis.
For medicinal purposes, the immortelle is cultivated on separate plantations. Many choleretic preparations are prepared from plant flowers.
The immortelle is used in folk medicine in various forms: it is a decoction, an infusion, and an extract.
Sandy immortelle recipes
Flower mixture for sinusitis. Take 15-20 grams of immortelle flowers, the same amount of tansy and centaury and brew in 200 ml of boiling water. Leave to infuse for 40 minutes. When this time has passed and the mixture is infused, you should apply it to the nose (and the flowers too).
Tincture of immortelle. It is used for skin diseases. To prepare it, you need to stock up on the following: immortelle flowers and 20% alcohol. Pour 10 grams of flowers with 100 ml of alcohol and leave for 1 week. You need to take this medicine in 15–20 drops, but they need to be diluted in 50 ml of boiling water. Take this tincture 3-5 times daily half an hour before a meal.
Collecting immortelle. For this collection, you need to take 40 grams of immortelle flowers, 30 grams of water trefoil leaves, 20 grams of peppermint leaves and 20 grams of coriander fruit. 20 grams of this collection must be brewed in 400 ml of boiling water, leave to infuse for 20 minutes, then strain it. Every day we take as a choleretic agent 3 times, 100 ml of infusion half an hour before meals.
A decoction of immortelle flowers. Take 10 grams of immortelle flowers and place them in an enamel bowl. Pour 1 glass of boiling water there, cover and put in a water bath for heating. Keep the composition in the bath for half an hour, stirring often. Next, remove it from the water bath and cool, then strain and squeeze out all the raw materials. What happened must be diluted to a volume of 200 ml (we do this with ordinary boiling water). Put the finished broth in a cold place for 2 days. Take this medicine for half a glass of warm daily 2-3 times. You need to drink the broth before meals - a quarter of an hour. This broth has a choleretic property, it is used for itchy dermatoses or as an anthelmintic drug.
Contraindications to the use of sandy immortelle
The immortelle can have a cumulative property, which means the following: if a lot of it accumulates in the body, this will lead to stagnation in the liver. Hence it follows that it is impossible to take the immortelle for a long time.
Given the fact that immortelle increases blood pressure, people with hypertension should consult a doctor before taking the drug. If the patient just needs to take the medicine from the immortelle, then he is prescribed a course of treatment of 10 days.
The immortelle is contraindicated in people with high stomach acidity.
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).
