The bird plant (Ornithógalum) has recently become popular in folk medicine. The second name is medicinal Indian onion. Siberian healers paid attention to its amazing properties only at the end of the 20th century. But since then, the plant has become so widely used that it was on the verge of destruction - several types of Indian onions are now listed in the Red Book.
Why is it so valued? What are its amazing medicinal properties? Are there any contraindications for use? How do those who have already tried it respond about this natural medicine? We will answer these questions in detail. We will also introduce you to recipes for effective medicines based on medicinal Indian onions.
What is this?
Ornithogalum, Indian onion, birdman. This is a perennial plant from the asparagus family. His homeland is considered South America. It is known that ornithogalum was brought to the Soviet Union (Leningrad Botanical Institute) from Germany. Whysame then curative Indian bow? The name was given due to the association of the taste of the burning milky juice of the plant with Indian hot spices. Geographical origin turned out to be nothing to do with it.
This is an ornamental plant with a bulbous stem where it grows out of the soil. Its leaves are long and flat, dark green in color with a yellow stripe down the center. As they grow, they change their location - they go down and twist at the tips. Medicinal Indian onion gives an arrow with white or cream-colored inflorescences.
You can grow this plant both in greenhouses and in living quarters, at home. The poultry farmer is quite unpretentious - he feels great both on the windows and in the back of the room. Watering is needed moderate - as the top layer of the soil dries. In summer, it is better to take the plant out into fresh air, under direct sunlight or plant it in open ground.
What is the composition of the plant?
In the article, we, among other things, present the medicinal properties and photos of Indian onions. The milky juice of this plant has the greatest value for traditional medicine. But it is strictly forbidden to take it inside - the substance is poisonous! Like all other parts of the birdman. Despite the name "Indian onion", this plant should not be consumed internally.
What are the medicinal properties of Indian onions? The use of this plant for therapeutic purposes has become popular due to the biologically active substances it contains:
- Essential oils.
- Organic acids.
- Glycosides.
- Alkaloids - thiocolchicine, colchicoside, colchicine. It is the latter that is considered a natural poison. Why internal medication based on Indian onions can cause severe intoxication of the body.
However, there is no ornithogalum in reference books on traditional medicine. The pharmaceutical industry is not interested in it, in particular, because of the low content of alkaloids in the raw materials of this plant.
Useful properties
Healing properties and uses of Indian onions are primarily of interest to readers. We list the main ones:
- Natural antibiotic. This component, again, is contained in the milky juice of the plant. Therefore, it has an antiseptic, antibacterial effect.
- Painkiller. This effect has the juice of the birdman. Its active substances are able to penetrate the epidermis and stop pain, relieve inflammation.
- Decongestant effect. The alkaloids present in the Indian onion help to get rid of edema.
- Stimulation of blood circulation. Plant elements have a beneficial effect on the condition of the capillary walls, improve blood flow. This property makes Indian onions even a prophylactic against the formation of malignant tumors.
Ointments, decoctions, tinctures on a water and alcohol basis are made from poultry. Moreover, in this case, all parts of this plant have biological value. Therefore, for the manufacture of home medicine more oftenonly its leaves are used. If they are cut moderately and carefully, then the plant itself will not suffer and will continue to grow.
Home Remedy Applications
Medicinal plant "Indian onion" due to the mass of its useful properties has a whole list of applications:
- Hematomas, fractures, sprains of muscles and ligaments. The plant acts on peripheral vessels, improves metabolic processes in damaged tissues, and promotes blood flow to them. Indian onion is also able to get rid of edema and characteristic pigmentation of injuries.
- Rheumatic joint pains. In particular, arthritis and polyarthritis.
- Various tissue damage (plant elements help speed up tissue regeneration).
- Inflammatory processes in the body (Indian onion effectively relieves inflammation).
- Sciatica, osteochondrosis, s alt deposits. Auxiliary agent in complex therapy.
- Insect bites. Indian onion relieves swelling, itching, inflammation in the affected area.
- Furunculosis, herpes. Here the birdman is actively used in folk medicine because of its bactericidal properties. It helps to stop the inflammatory process, stop the reproduction of bacteria.
- Varicose veins.
- Foot fungus.
- Papillomas, warts and other pathological skin formations.
- Neurological diseases.
Contraindications
Before we tell you how to use Indian onions for medicinal purposes, we will warn you againyou that this folk remedy is toxic - it is not intended for ingestion. For external use only.
In particular, its use is contraindicated in the following cases:
- Bleeding gums.
- Hemophilia.
- Pregnancy and lactation.
- Individual intolerance to the substances contained in the plant.
Features of use
Before using Indian onion, be sure to test for an allergic reaction. To do this, a small amount of plant juice is applied to the inner surface of the elbow. After two hours, the reaction of the body is checked.
If nothing has changed, then the remedy can be used for treatment and prevention. But the use of the Indian bow should be completely abandoned in case of:
- Spread redness of skin areas.
- Appearance of swelling and itching.
- Blisters.
You know about the use and medicinal properties of Indian onions (photos of the plant are presented along the way of the article). We want to warn you that the therapeutic course with the use of drugs based on it should not exceed 30 days. The active substance of the Indian onion, colchicine, penetrating through the skin, with prolonged use can cause leukopenia (a decrease in the number of leukocytes in the blood).
After using this product in the form of an ointment or tincture, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Take care that this medicine does not come into contact with mucous membranes. In particular,on the eyes. In case of contact, rinse the damaged area thoroughly with water.
How to prepare folk remedies?
You know about the medicinal properties of Indian onion, contraindications to its use. Now let's move on to making homemade medicines based on this plant. Here it is important to remember the following:
- For the preparation of medicines, it is best to use an adult plant. By the age of 2, it accumulates the maximum amount of biologically active components.
- Use the leaves to make medicine - after that, the birdman will continue to grow. And if you take an onion, the plant, of course, will die.
- When preparing tinctures, keep in mind that colchicine does not dissolve well in an alcohol base. Therefore, water tinctures here will be many times more effective (and more toxic, respectively).
- Do not use metal objects when preparing medicine.
- Be sure to wear rubber gloves.
- If you used a blender, meat grinder, mixer, household appliances must be treated with a disinfectant and rinsed under running hot water.
In reviews of the medicinal properties of Indian onions, many useful recipes for remedies based on it are listed. Let's list the most effective of them.
For toothaches
The remedy is prepared on the basis of 1 teaspoon of Indian onion tincture and the same amount of baking soda. All this is diluted with a glass of hot water. Dipped in solutioncotton swab, after which it is applied to the aching tooth. Such compresses must be changed once an hour.
Insect bites
The healing properties of Indian onion and reviews of its use are given in the article. In the responses of those who have tried this remedy more than once, you can read about its effectiveness in abscesses, swelling, tumors, itching, which cause insect bites.
A lot has been said about the medicinal properties and uses of Indian onion tincture. To prepare it, you need to take a bird onion, rinse it thoroughly and place it in a glass container. Fill it with one glass of vodka. Then cork and place in a dark place. There, the remedy should be infused for about a month.
Then the liquid is filtered and poured into a bottle with a tight-fitting lid. The drug is treated with insect bites, applying it to a cotton or gauze swab. This setting is only suitable for outdoor use, not for indoor use!
For skin rashes
We have already considered the photo of the Indian onion and the medicinal properties of the plant. I would like to talk about its benefits in the fight against various skin rashes - acne, boils, pimples.
Here the leaves of the plant are finely crushed to a pulp. Then the composition is applied to the affected area of the skin, covered with a napkin on top. The procedure lasts no more than 5 minutes. As soon as an intense burning sensation appears, it must be stopped.
Whenosteochondrosis, arthritis, sciatica
Here you need to cut off the oldest leaves of the plant. Those parts of the body where pain is experienced are intensively rubbed with Indian onion greens until completely absorbed. Then this place is wrapped in a warm woolen cloth. For example, in a shawl.
For hemorrhoids
Here they make a poultice of three ingredients - mashed potatoes, butter and chopped Indian green onions. The compress is left on the sore spot all night.
With angina
The drug is prepared in such a way: for one middle leaf of the poultry plant - 10 parts of vodka. The greens of the plant are carefully crushed. Then the mass is placed in a glass container, rammed. From above it is poured with vodka.
Composition for 2 weeks insist in a dark place. As soon as it is ready, it is filtered. Compresses are made with tincture, which are applied to the throat. The maximum treatment time here is 10 minutes. It is strictly forbidden to carry out more than two procedures in a row!
For fungal diseases
To prepare the medicine, you need the juice from the leaves of Indian onions. It is thoroughly mixed with vaseline in a ratio of 1:3. For better mixing, you can preheat the Vaseline in a water bath.
The shelf life of the resulting ointment is no more than one week. The tool is used to treat fungus-affected nails and skin. A bandage is left on top.
For joint pain
Effective will be the tincture, which is prepared according to the following recipe: poultry leavesfinely chopped, after which they are poured with alcohol in a ratio of 10: 1. The resulting solution is infused in a dark place for 2 weeks.
The product is used as a rubbing of diseased areas. The procedure must be carried out with protective gloves. Its duration is no more than 10 minutes. May be accompanied by tingling and burning in the treated area.
For sinusitis
Indian onion juice is mixed with water in a ratio of 1:3. With this solution, the maxillary sinuses are washed once a day. The active substances of the poultryman are able to penetrate through the sinuses to the inflamed cavities.
This remedy is also effective for inflammation of the nasopharynx, tonsillitis. With a cotton swab dipped in a solution, wipe the mucous membranes.
To stimulate hair growth
In this case, the juice of Indian onion leaves is mixed with water in a ratio of 1:3. The resulting solution is rinsed with hair, and then wrapped with a protective film. From above it is necessary to wrap with a towel, a warm scarf or a shawl - to create a "greenhouse effect". It enhances the effect of the active components of the plant. After 40 minutes, the composition is thoroughly washed off the scalp and hair.
Reviews
We have introduced the medicinal properties and uses of the Indian onion. Reviews about the use of this natural medicine are numerous. Their authors warn us that it is necessary to strictly observe the dosage of the agent, to prevent it from getting on the mucous membranes - their strong irritation is possible. If youfeel a burning sensation on the skin, then the product needs to be washed off quickly.
Most of all reviews with a positive opinion about the use of poultry-based remedies against sciatica, arthritis and osteochondrosis. It is excellent for pain relief. With fungal diseases, such a home remedy is not used on its own - it is supplemented with the main treatment, so it is difficult to judge the effect of Indian onions.
There are no unequivocal opinions on the use of the drug for skin diseases, insect bites - some of the response authors note a positive effect. Part - complain of severe side effects from the application (skin lesions, severe burning).
Indian onion - a plant rich in a whole range of biologically active components. But at the same time, it is toxic. Use of this tool is permissible only with the permission of the attending doctor.
