Useful and medicinal properties of large burdock( burdock, burdock)
Biennial herbaceous plant up to 180 cm tall. Root is fleshy, unbranched, up to 60 cm long. Ste
belly erect, ribbed, reddish, strongly branched at the top. The leaves are petiolate, the lower ones are large, gradually decreasing upwards along the stem, broadly cordate-ovate, jagged along the edge, green on top, and grayish below. Flowers are collected in globular baskets, located in the scutes or corymb-like panicles at the ends of the stem and its branches. The wrapper of the baskets is naked, green, of skeletal linear, rigid, hook-like folded leaves. The receptacle of the basket is slightly convex, densely septate with subulate bracts. All flowers are tubular, bisexual, with purple-purple corolla;calyx in the form of a tuft;stamens five, pestle with lower ovary, filiform column and two linear stigmas. Fruits are achenes with a tuft. Blossoms in July-August. Fruits ripen in August-September.
Large burdock is widespread in forest-steppe and steppe, less often in forest zones of the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in Central Asia;in Siberia and the Far East is less common. It lives in waste places, wastelands, the outskirts of roads and fields, near housing.
Medicinal raw materials in scientific medicine are roots, in folk medicine - root, leaves, inflorescences, achene fruits.
The burdock is cobwebby, or felt, more common than the burdock is large, but differs little from the latter by botanical and medicinal properties. Both types of burdock grow in wet places, near housing, in kitchen gardens, near roads, in fields, in gardens.
The root is harvested in autumn or early spring( before the appearance of the leaves).The dug roots are washed from the ground in cold water, dried in dryers. Even better( to keep the maximum of healing properties), do not wash the root, but dry it a little, brush it, and then, cutting along, dry it in a dryer, oven or in the oven, but not in the air to avoid rapid fermentation. Store in a dry place for up to 5 years. The roots of the second year of life are used. The smell is weak, peculiar, tastes sweet, with a sense of confusion.
In the roots of burdock polysaccharide inulin, proteins, fat, essential oil, palmitic, stearic acid, sitosterol, schygmasterol, tannic and bitter substances are found. The leaves contain tannins, essential oil and mucus, vitamin C. In seeds - glycoside arctinine.
Infusion and decoction of the roots have a diuretic and diaphoretic effect. Root extract improves the composition of blood and urine in patients with gout with a simultaneous improvement in clinical status. The second fraction of plant alkaloids, obtained by electrodialysis, showed distinct activity with respect to delayed tumor growth.
As a diuretic and cleanser, decoction from the root of burdock is successfully used for diseases of the genito-urinary organs, sometimes in combination with other diuretics. In particular, in the treatment of diabetes, the root is combined with bean pods and bilberry leaves in equal amounts.
In folk medicine, the root is widely and multifaceted: with kidney stone disease, diabetes and rheumatism, cancer, skin cancer, dropsy, hemorrhoids, rickets and scrofula, constipation, and poisoning with mercury preparations and bites of poisonous insects and animals( snakes), with venereal diseases, aches in joints, gallstone disease.
In folk medicine, the whole plant is consumed: a decoction of inflorescences of a cobweb of a cobweb is drunk as tea in cancer, the roots insist on vodka and drink 1 tbsp.spoon with cancer;roots of grated tuna, boiled with butter, raw egg yolk of chicken egg, used for cancer;The same mixture is smeared with areas affected by skin cancer. For the treatment of rheumatism, the root of the burdock should be better combined with the root of elecampane.
For rheumatism and metabolic disorders( rashes on the skin) it is recommended to use the broth of burdock root not only inside, but also externally in the form of a warming
compress on the entire body. This method of treatment is especially effective in chronic eczema and persistent chronic rheumatism.
A decoction on milk is given to children with diathesis, cutaneous tuberculosis, compresses from fresh leaves are made with rheumatism, joint tumors, any tumors.
Decoction of the leaves of small burdock collected during flowering is drunk as tea in malignant tumors, from thorns, warts, wounds, scrofula, liver diseases, fever.
Decoction of the root is drunk with venereal diseases and from the knuckle. Burdock root has both general and local effects on human tissues. It improves metabolic processes in them, and therefore finds wide application in diseases associated with salt metabolism and salt deposition, stone formation, gout, osteochondrosis, urolithiasis, cholelithiasis, pancreatic stones.
External burdock is used for hair growth and to combat their loss, with chronic wounds, headache( apply fresh leaves to the head), skin itching, neurodermatitis, eczema, urticaria, acne, furunculosis, lichen, sunburn, poisonous snakebites, bees, wasps.
Application of
In all cases, the use of burdock( eg, root, leaves) in fresh form is more effective.
Broth 1: 2 tbsp.spoons of dry ground root pour 3 cups of water at room temperature, insist 2-3 hours, put on a stove, bring to a boil, boil for 10-15 minutes, filter, take inside in a warm form for 1 / 3-1 / 2 cup 2-3times after a meal with renal stone and gallstone diseases, stones in the pancreas.
Decoction 2: 15 g of root per 200 ml of water, insist after boiling for 20 minutes, cool, strain and drink 1 tbsp.spoon 3-4 times a day before meals. This decoction is also used by
to regulate the activity of the gastrointestinal tract.
Decoction 1 is drunk in an increased dose of 1 glass for a one-time reception. In these cases, strictly adhere to the conditions of admission. The patient is laid in bed, warmly wrapped, then after about 30-40 minutes he sweats profusely - for colds( diaphoretic).
Decoction 3: 5 tbsp.spoonfuls of a dry crushed root per 1 liter of water at room temperature, bring to a boil and boil on low heat until half of the water taken for cooking the broth is left. To it add sugar to taste and honey - 3 tsp. Take 2-3 tbsp.spoons( diuretic).
Fruit broth: 20 g per 200 ml;cook and eat as a light decoction of the root( laxative).
Decoction of the root 4: 1:10, with itchy skin, neurodermatitis, eczema, urticaria, acne, furunculosis, lichen, sunburn, bites of poisonous snakes, bees, wasps.
With the same diseases apply infusions of dry leaves and inflorescences, cooked at the rate of 1 tbsp.spoon on a glass of boiling water, boil for 5 minutes, cool, filter and apply moistened infusion gauze on the affected surface. From this same infusion make local baths for hands and feet: a glass of infusion is poured into a bath with a capacity of 3-5 liters. The duration of the bath at a temperature of 20 degrees - 15-20 minutes.
For long-term healing ulcers, apply locally: 50 g of fresh ground roots are poured with 2 glasses of sunflower oil, it is insisted for 24 hours, then boiled for 15 minutes. Store in a dark cool place. Apply a layer on the cheesecloth and put on the affected surface.
Ointment from root 1: the decoction 2( root) described above is condensed to half, mixed in half with pork internal fat( by heating), drained into a pot, covered with a lid, covered with dough, and put in an oven or oven for several hours;with a cooled thickened mass to drain the water( if it does not evaporate
).Ointment is a good means for growing hair.
Note. Much more effective decoction of dry roots fresh juice of burdock.
Ointment from root 2: from root broth( 4 tablespoons to 4 cups of boiling water), also condensed, take 1 part into 4 parts of butter and mix. Ointment is effective for burns.
Ointment from burdock leaves( compound): dried leaves of burdock - 20 g, chamomile flowers - 20 g, hoof root - 20 g, herbage( willow-tea) - 20 g. The mixture is cooked in 4 glasses of water, then add 1 st.a spoonful of butter and 2 cups of strong broth of hay and re-brewed until the density of sticky adhesive mass( preferably on a so-called water bath);straining and wringing out, mixed equally with glycerin. This ointment gives brilliant results.
Method of treatment of chronic eczema: decoction of burdock root( 15 g per 200 ml) for 1 tbsp.spoon 4 times a day before meals.
For external treatment take 4-5 st.spoons of crushed root on a bucket of water, boil and cool to medium temperature. In the warm broth, fold the four-fold sheet so wide that it covers the body from the armpits to the ankles of the legs, squeeze( not dry), and tightly wrap it with the patient. Between the legs lay part of the sheet to the legs do not touch. Then the patient is also wrapped in a dry sheet with a thin wool blanket. Sheets and a blanket are fixed with pins and leave the patient for one and a half to two hours in bed. If the patient falls asleep, do not wake him. Sheets in this case can be removed after his awakening. Treatment in this way is recommended to apply 1 time per day( preferably at night), after 6 days - a break for a day. Compresses should be placed until a light rash appears on the body cleansed of eczema. After 1-2 days the rash disappears,
and treatment can be considered complete. Continue it for 2-3 weeks.
In the same way, continuously relapsing rheumatism is treated. In this case, remarkable results are observed: the disease does not recur.
Another original folk remedy for rheumatism. Ointment from the root of burdock( preferably fresh), the patient rubs the affected joints, lies on the bunks in the bath with gradually increasing steam, and there for half an hour he sips a warm decoction of the burdock root( just 1 glass).After 15-20 minutes on the body appears abundant sweat. The patient remains on the plank bed until the body is dry;Thirst quenches the serum of milk. Leaving the bunk, he again rubs the joints with the same ointment, overlays them with cotton wool or a patella and bandages. Do it at night. The treatment gives a very good result.
The roots of the first year, when the plant does not yet have seeds, are edible. Therefore, in China and Japan, burdock is cultivated as a vegetable. Roots can be eaten raw, boiled, baked and fried, put in soup instead of potatoes, cook cutlets and flat cakes.
If the ground root is boiled for 2 hours with sorrel, vinegar or sour milk, then pleasant jam is obtained( inulin turns into sugar-fruit).