Meadowsweet
Useful properties and use of meadowsweet grass
Useful properties of meadowsweet
The leaves of meadowsweet contain ascorbic acid, the flowers contain essential oil. The oil is mainly composed of methyl salicylate and also a yellow dye. In addition, the plant contains vanillin, phytoncides, spirein glycoside. The tannins of the pyrocatechol group were found in the rhizome, and the substances of the pyrogall group were found in the stems. For medicinal purposes, the rhizomes and roots of the plant are used, harvested in autumn or early spring before regrowth.
They dig up the grass with a shovel, clean it from the ground, cut off the above-ground parts and wash in cold water. The roots are dried under an iron roof or in a well-ventilated area, spreading out in a thin layer on paper or cloth. The raw materials are stored in well-ventilated dry rooms, packed. The shelf life is 3 years.
Application of meadowsweet
Plant preparations are good antirheumatic and analgesic agents. At the same time, they have an effective bactericidal, diuretic, analgesic, soothing, wound healing, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic effect. They enhance the ability of the liver to disinfect and remove toxic metabolic products.
All kinds of decoctions, ointments, tinctures are prepared from the plant. Decoctions are prescribed for dysentery, epilepsy, inflammatory diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, with nervous disorders and hypertension. Decoctions from roots and flowers are used as an anthelmintic agent. For the treatment of eczema, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, infusions of flowers are recommended. Preparations from flowers and leaves are used for chronic cholecystitis and diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Meadowsweet tincture
The tincture is used to treat wounds, burns, trophic ulcers of the lower extremities. It is effective for hormonal disorders and many female diseases. The drug is good for psoriasis, edema of different etiology, cancer of different localization (bladder, kidney, uterus, ovaries). This drug helps to lower blood sugar levels, which is simply necessary for diabetics. To make the tincture, the dried plant is poured with vodka or alcohol in a ratio of 1: 3 and insisted for at least five days.
Meadowsweet root
In folk medicine, the root of the plant is used for heart disease, joint pain, hypertension, skin diseases. Preparations from it are used to heal wounds and stop bleeding. The roots are used in the complex treatment of cancer and joint diseases.
Broth: four tablespoons of crushed dry roots must be poured with 1 liter of water, boiled in a water bath for 1 hour, then cooled and filtered. It is recommended to take the product 50 ml 4 times a day. Store the medicine in the refrigerator.
Meadowsweet flowers
The flowers of the plant are small, collected in corymbose-paniculate inflorescences, usually yellow-white, pinkish, sometimes red. They attract bees as a source of pollen, not nectar. The meadowsweet blooms from June to August. A tea is prepared from the flowers, which is good for colds and arthritis. It's delicious even without sugar. It is useful to drink tea for metabolic disorders and during a diet. Also, this drink is useful for the prevention of epileptic seizures.
Infusion of flowers is also an effective healing agent recommended during a period of acute respiratory infections or flu. In addition, the flowers have antipyretic effects. You can be cured in one day if you start treatment at the first symptoms of the disease.
Meadowsweet varieties
The plant has about 20 varieties, and half of them grow on the territory of the former USSR. Basically, these are moisture-loving plants, quite winter-hardy and do not require special preparation and shelter for winter. The meadowsweet propagates vegetatively and by seeds. The plant prefers loamy, fertile soil. During planting, do not moisten the soil: abundant watering is mainly necessary in summer. All types of plants look especially good in large groups against a lawn background.
Elm-leaved meadowsweet. The plant is widespread in the European part of Russia, Siberia, the Caucasus, Central and Asia Minor, Western Europe. It grows in grassy swamps, along the banks of rivers and lakes, sometimes between bushes.
The substances contained in the plant normalize the processes of excitation and inhibition of the cerebral cortex. The inflorescences are used as a diaphoretic and antipyretic agent, since they contain a substance that resembles aspirin in its action. Flowers are a diuretic, and drugs from them are prescribed for urolithiasis and kidney disease.
Once, decoctions of meadowsweet flowers were taken orally with snake bites, today they are used for ethanol poisoning, they relieve hangover syndrome.
Red meadowsweet. In nature, the plant is found in the eastern regions of North America, it also comes from the United States. This powerful herbaceous perennial up to 2.5 m high forms large groups. The stems of the plant are large, strong, and have a reddish color. Dense paniculate inflorescences consist of small pink flowers that emit a pleasant smell. The plant is light-requiring and prefers moist soils. With heavy shading, it may stop blooming. This type is decorative due to bright raspberry fruits that do not fall until late autumn. The plant tolerates even 35-degree frost well.
Common meadowsweet. The plant has spectacular, pinnately dissected leaves, round beautiful white buds. Luxurious inflorescences are rich in honey and consist of many small flowers. The best soil for meadowsweet will be one that is rich in organic matter, but it can grow in any garden soil. It is important that the meadowsweet tolerates cold well and does not need to be covered for the winter. Due to its compactness and beauty, this species is usually grown in flower beds.
Six-petalled meadowsweet. It is a long-term herbaceous plant 80–170 cm high, with a simple bare stem, leafy downward. The thin rhizome has an oblong tuberous thickening. Cirrus-dissected ovate leaves are green above, white below. The flowers are small, with six petals, white or pink, and give off a honey smell. The plant blooms in May-June. It prefers moist soils, grows among bushes, in glades and flood meadows.
For medicinal purposes, the aerial part is used, as well as the roots and rhizome. In scientific medicine, the plant is known as a diaphoretic, astringent, and diuretic. In folk medicine it is used as a hemorrhoidal and astringent agent.
Contraindications to the use of meadowsweet
The plant has low toxicity, but it should not be used by people suffering from chronic constipation, poor blood clotting and prone to hypotension. Also, a contraindication to the use of drugs from a meadowsweet is pregnancy. Before using herbal medicines, you should consult your doctor.
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).
