Herbaceous annual plant knotweed (highlander bird), belonging to the buckwheat family, can be found almost everywhere except Antarctica and the Arctic regions. It is called differently in different regions: grass-ant, trample, sparrow tongues, goose, mountaineer, gryzhnik. "Knotweed" is also one of the popular names for the mountaineer bird and reflects the ability to quickly regenerate after damage. Among the ancient Slavs, this grass was one of the symbols of fertility, as it was actively used in the economy.
Description of the plant
In favorable conditions, the stems of the bird's knotweed, which have a highly branched structure, grow up to 80 centimeters. They spread above the ground, gradually forming a living green carpet, only small young shoots reach for sunlight. After flowering, the stems become hard, like tree branches.
The root of the medicinal herb knotweed, the photo of which you have the opportunitysee in the article, has a slightly branched rod shape and thicker branches.
Knotweed leaves are grayish-green in color, small, have an elongated elliptical shape. The average size is 3 cm long and 1 cm wide.
Highlander flowers are small, pale green, have white-pink inclusions. The flowering period stretches from April to October with a peak in the summer months.
Knotweed seeds are a smaller copy of buckwheat. Because of this, the grass has another popular name - bird buckwheat.
The knotweed is propagated by seed.
Distribution locations
Unpretentious to climatic conditions, knotweed can be found wherever the positive air temperature lasts longer than two months. It quickly takes root and develops on any soil. It grows on wastelands, pastures, forest edges, on river banks, in the mountains, along roadsides, on lawns and vegetable gardens, in yards, on landfills, tends to clogged places. Even asph alt cannot withstand the onslaught of this ubiquitous plant - knotweed stalks slowly but surely spread over the surface of the coating, catching roots in small cracks. Summer residents wage a grueling annual struggle with him, as well as with other weeds on their plots. Many do not suspect the value of this nondescript plant.
Chemical constituents
Knotweed herb contains quite a lot of substances that are useful from a pharmacological point of view and in such a concentration that it can be used for the manufacture of medicines. It hastannins, a range of flavonoids, vitamin C, coumarins, saponins, volatile alkaloids, vitamin A, pectin, silicon compounds, polysaccharides, iron.
For example, vitamin A (carotene) contributes to the formation of a uniform color of the human skin and maintains visual acuity, and pectin binds and removes harmful heavy metals and other toxins from the body with urine. Iron increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood, thereby improving the functioning of all human systems. And the role of silicon and its compounds for the body is generally invaluable - it is a basic building block at the cellular level.
Application History
Evidence of knotweed medicinal uses goes back centuries.
Pliny used this herb to treat inflammation of the digestive system and lacerations.
Avicenna's notes also mention the highlander bird, capable of quickly healing severe wounds.
Tibetan healers considered it an excellent astringent and expectorant drug, useful in diseases of the respiratory system, used to eliminate bleeding and in violation of the heart.
Chinese doctors used the anthelmintic, tonic qualities of knotweed, treated neurasthenia and some skin diseases.
Collection and storage
The raw material for the preparation of medicines is only the ground part of the knotweed herb. The main part of the nutrients is concentrated in the flowers and young shoots of the plant, so the collection is carried out during the periodactive flowering mountaineer, which falls on the summer months.
Procurement of raw materials is done in dry weather. Cut off the upper part of the stems with a knife or sickle. It is necessary to collect grass only in suitable places, away from dusty roads and garbage dumps. For drying, the prepared material is laid out under a canopy so that it does not fade in the sun and does not get wet in the rain. You can do this in a ventilated room. It is also allowed to use a dryer with a maximum heating temperature of 50 degrees. The dried herb has a characteristic bitter smell and astringent taste.
Then, the knotweed is packed in rag or cotton bags and stored in a dry, dark place for up to 3 years.
You can collect knotweed from the same place at least every year - it recovers quickly.
Knotweed grass: useful properties
Knotweed has antibacterial, astringent, analgesic and diuretic properties due to the presence of powerful tannins. Its ability to speed up the blood clotting process helps to eliminate bleeding.
Enveloping abilities are useful in the treatment of the mucous membrane of the digestive system and for the normalization of the intestinal process. Useful properties of the knotweed herb are manifested in the treatment of stomach ulcers, gastritis, dysentery.
The use of knotweed extract activates the removal of fluid from the body along with toxins, which occurs due to the presence of silicic acid s alts in its composition. In renal disorders, it is taken for the prevention,preventing the recurrence of kidney stones after their surgical removal.
Knotweed grass is useful in chronic inflammatory diseases of the reproductive system. Stops postpartum bleeding or bleeding caused by uterine fibroids. It is used in the complex treatment of the reproductive organ of women and as a stimulant of uterine contractions.
Herbal infusion helps to restore strength in the postoperative period, useful for iron deficiency (anemia).
Treatment with knotweed grass is effective for tuberculosis, bronchitis, bronchial asthma and other diseases of the human respiratory system.
Internal use of drugs based on mountaineer improves metabolism and corrects the water-s alt balance in the body.
Highlander is also included in many medicinal collections designed and assembled for the treatment of specific diseases.
Traditional medicine
Grass knotweed reviews are mostly positive. Many people advise drinking a decoction of a plant for cardiac arrhythmia, polyarthritis. They say that after its application, the condition really improves. Also, people claim that knotweed is used externally for inflamed joints, for the treatment of hemorrhoids and wound healing, as well as for skin diseases.
Drinking a decoction of a highlander instead of tea is recommended for those who want to lose weight without special diets.
Knotweed tincture by rinsing treats stomatitis and other similar diseases of the oral cavity.
Recommended for hair lossrinse your hair daily with knotweed infusion for a month. According to many, this procedure significantly strengthens the hair roots, additionally supplying them with beneficial compounds.
Catalyst for conception
Traditional healers consider the mountaineer herb for conception, capable of defeating infertility. Skeptics chalk up pregnancies to self-hypnosis after years of waiting.
Supporters of the miraculous effect of grass cite as evidence the entries on the pages of the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Medicinal Substances, compiled in the 15th century by the Armenian healer Amirdovlat Amasiatsi. It says that a woman will definitely give birth to her first child if for 40 days every morning she and her man eat 10 g of raw knotweed seeds. Only here the description of the grass itself does not clearly indicate what kind of knotweed it is talking about.
Whatever it was, but the knotweed is used to restore the childbearing functions of a woman, as a means of influencing the walls of the uterus. Taking a decoction develops the motility of the uterine muscles, stabilizes the hormonal picture, accelerates the respiratory rhythm, thereby more oxygen enters the body. At the same time, it is advised to take the magic drink also to the husband. The plant really helps in healing a number of gynecological diseases, and this increases the chances of having a long-awaited offspring.
Recipe
Most often, for medicinal purposes, take a decoction (infusion) of knotweed grass. For its manufacture is taken20 g of crushed collection and poured with one glass of boiling water. Then the resulting mixture is heated in a water bath for a quarter of an hour, after which it is infused and simultaneously cools for 45 minutes. After straining, the infusion is ready for use. Store in a cool place for up to three days.
It is recommended to take it before meals, 2 tablespoons three times a day. In the case of external use, a cotton-gauze swab is moistened in the decoction.
For internal use in diseases of the kidneys and liver, an alcohol tincture is prepared according to the following recipe: one tbsp. a spoonful of dried grass is poured with 200 ml of medical alcohol. The resulting mixture is infused for 10 days in a dark place at room temperature. Strained tincture is added one tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Drink this solution three times a day before meals.
The most common composition of herbal decoction in the treatment and prevention of kidney diseases is as follows: knotweed grass, crushed dried pods of dwarf beans and bear's abalone leaves are taken in equal proportions. 15 grams of the prepared mixture is brewed in 200 grams of water. The resulting infusion is drunk in three divided doses per day. A real improvement after a course of taking this decoction has been noted by practitioners.
Remember! Self-medication can only harm your he alth. You should discuss this with your doctor before taking knotweed products.
Healing Juice
Juice is obtained from knotweed grass freshly harvested during flowering by pressing. It is recommended to drink 2 tablespoons before meals for hypertensive patients, as well as whenbowel and kidney diseases. Juice is recommended to drink to improve appetite.
When applied externally, wounds are washed with juice and dressings soaked in it are applied.
Knotweed Grass: use in the household
In farms, knotweed is used as feed for poultry and pigs, because it is not inferior to legumes in terms of calories and vitamin content.
The young leaves and stems of Knotweed are good for tasty and nutritious salads. In the famous Dagestan pies, knotweed acts as a filling.
Knotweed grass is also a raw material in the production of dyes of several colors. Blue is obtained from the roots of the plant, and green, beige and yellow are obtained from the stems and leaves. They are used to dye leather and fabric items.
Contraindications
Not only does knotweed herb have beneficial properties. Contraindications are also known. The high content of silicon in the herb can provoke a deterioration in the condition of a patient suffering from a disease of the genitourinary system in an acute form, as it can provoke a blockage of the urinary canals with large fragments of crushed kidney stones. It is strictly forbidden for such patients to take medicines based on knotweed.
Also, you can not take a decoction or tincture of knotweed for people diagnosed with thrombophlebitis, as blood clotting will increase, and the course of the disease will only worsen.
Knotweed herb has contraindications for pregnant women, as it actively affects the tone of the uterus and can provokemiscarriage.
Overdose with any medication does more harm than good to the body, and knotweed is no exception. An allergic reaction to individual components of the chemical composition of the herb is also possible, so you need to start using the drug with caution.
