Medicinal kupena is a very common perennial plant found throughout Russia. It has many different names: wolfberry, wolf's eyes, deaf grass, crow's eyes, forest hellebore, lilies of the valley, Solomon's seal. This plant has been very popular with Tibetan and ancient Russian healers since ancient times. Medicinal cupene was used to combat a variety of ailments: bronchitis, pneumonia, mastopathy, hernia, rheumatism, etc.
A little chemistry
There are more than seventy types of kupena in the world. On the territory of Russia, the most common medicinal kupena, pink and many-flowered.
The plant has erect stems, about one and a half meters high. The leaves are linear, oval-oblong, about ten centimeters long. flowersgreenish-white, yellow, purple or pink: depending on the plant variety. Kupena officinalis blooms in June.
The roots and aerial part of the plant are famous for their medicinal properties. They contain many useful substances.
The roots contain fructose, glucose, starch, arabinose, useful mucous substances, ascorbic acid. The leaves are rich in ascorbic acid. In the fruits formed after flowering, there are a lot of cardiac glycosides: convallamarin, convallotoxin, convallarin.
The substances that make up the plant are poisonous in large doses.
Description of the plant
In the officinalis kupena, the roots are arranged horizontally, giving several shoots in the spring. Every year the stems die off, and the roots overwinter well even in Siberian conditions.
The leaves on the stem are turned in one direction - down. They are green above and blue-green below. The flowers are drooping, arranged one or two in the axil of the leaf. Perianth simple, consists of six fused leaves. There are six stamens, they are attached to the tubule. After flowering, the plant produces bluish-black poisonous fruits. They ripen in August.
Where it grows
Kupena medicinal plant is found in the forests of the Caucasus, Siberia, and the Far East. It can be found in different types of forests: coniferous, mixed, deciduous. In central Russia, the plant is grown as a garden crop.
Features of the workpiece
Roots, leaves, flowers are used for medicinal purposes. Preparations are carried out during the flowering period. The rhizomes are dug up in spring or late autumn, dried in a warm, well-ventilated room, having previously cleared the ground and small roots. The green mass is collected along with the flowers. It is dried under a canopy or in a well-ventilated area. Sometimes kupen berries are harvested. They are harvested at full maturity and dried.
Pharmacological properties
The use of medicinal cupene in medicine is due to its chemical composition. This plant has a pronounced expectorant, analgesic, hemostatic property. Also, the plant is able to purify the blood, envelop the gastrointestinal tract.
Different parts of the plant contain a lot of cardiac glycosides, which is why kupen is not used in scientific medicine. This is due to the herb's pronounced toxicity and minimal effectiveness in cardiovascular pathologies.
Using the plant
Kupena medicinal herb is used for back pain, hemorrhoids. To get rid of acne, use alcohol tincture.
Powdered root helps to cope with rheumatism, rabid animal bites, broken bones.
Roots, leaves, berries are used externally for wounds, cuts. If there is swelling, then you can rinse the sore spot with a decoction of the root of the kupena. Also, this remedy helps to fight toothache, treats bleeding. With a decoction, they make therapeutic compresses for osteochondrosis, rubbing for gout, rheumatism and more.
In ancient times, dry roots and berries were used as a blush.
For colds, pathologies of the respiratory system, dropsy, rheumatism, edema, rhizomes are used. A decoction of rhizomes has a good therapeutic effect in osteochondrosis.
In case of poisoning, berries are used as an emetic.
In ancient times, people applied the roots of the plant, baked in ashes, to burns and wounds.
In Tibetan medicine, the roots are used to treat the gastrointestinal tract, in gynecology - for diseases of the lymphatic system.
Recipes of traditional medicine
Since ancient times, the rhizome, flowers, berries, stems, leaves of the medicinal plant, the photo of which is presented in this article, have been harvested and used to treat a variety of ailments. Decoctions were prepared from the plant, alcohol infusions and other medicines were made.
Decoction of rhizomes
Decoction can be made with water or milk.
To prepare a water decoction, take a teaspoon of crushed roots and pour a glass of boiling water. The product is placed in a water bath and boiled for half an hour. Then the product is cooled at room temperature, filtered. The drug is taken in a tablespoon three times a day, before meals. This remedy helps well with bronchitis, pneumonia, and also helps to get rid of helminthic invasions.
To prepare a milk broth, you need to take fifty grams of crushed kupena roots and pour them with three liters of milk. Everything is placed in a container and boiled down to a third of the volume. The result should be only a liter of funds. It is filtered and takentablespoon twice a day. This remedy is used to treat hernia.
Hemorrhoid remedy
Hemostatic property helps to cope with hemorrhoids. To prepare the medicine, you need to take two tablespoons of the root and pour half a liter of boiling water over them. The remedy is infused for three hours, then filtered. In this infusion of a medicinal cup, a cotton swab is moistened and injected into the rectum at night. Treatment continues for five days.
Anesthetic action
In folk medicine, kupena is used as an anesthetic. To do this, take five grams of fresh root and pour it with a glass of boiling water. The remedy is boiled over low heat for twenty minutes. Then the composition is allowed to brew for an hour.
This remedy is used in the form of compresses for pain relief in rheumatism, bruises, gout, osteochondrosis.
Gout treatment
Kupena infusion helps to cope with gout. To do this, boil five grams of the root in a glass of water for twenty minutes. Then the tool cools down. The finished composition rubs the sore spots. Also, the composition can be taken orally ten drops twice a day. Treatment of a bath lasts no more than a week.
For stomach pain
Kupena has an enveloping effect. To prepare a decoction, pour twenty grams of the plant with a glass of water and boil. The remedy is infused for a couple of hours, and then filtered. It is taken as an enveloping remedy for pain instomach, one tablespoon each.
Contraindications, harm
Kupena is an extremely poisonous plant. Do not exceed the dosage when using kupena. Deciding to use this plant, you must strictly follow the recommendations and dosages of the attending physician, because in each case, infusions and decoctions have their own proportions.
Can not be used by pregnant women. It is also forbidden to use it for anyone who suffers from intolerance to the components that make up the cupene. With caution, the plant is prescribed to people suffering from disorders of the vestibular apparatus, since it can cause vomiting. When using the plant externally, it is important to remember that it can cause burns.
If you suspect an overdose during the use of Kupena, you should immediately contact your doctor. Although, with proper heat treatment, toxic substances lose their strength and kupena becomes an indispensable tool in the treatment of a variety of ailments. However, you should not use this herb without the knowledge of a doctor, because only a doctor can determine whether it is possible to drink decoctions and infusions of this plant and in what dosages.
