Kalina is famous for a wide range of useful properties. Moreover, not only its red berries, but the entire bush have a healing effect. And this is the bark, and the fruits, and the seeds, and the flowers, and the leaves. The medicinal components that fill this plant are used both in the preparation of medicines and in folk medicine.
Description of the plant
Common viburnum (lat. Viburnum opulus) belongs to the adox family and is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 4 m in height. It is distributed in the temperate and subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere, in Asia, Europe, North America and North Africa. The genus includes about 150 species.
Viburnum leaves are opposite, simple, whole with a serrated edge, broadly ovate, with stipules, three-lobed or five-lobed. They are light green in spring, darken slightly in summer, and often reddish in autumn.
The flowers are large, white and collected in racemose inflorescences. The flowers have a specific, easily recognizable smell. The fruits are red, edible, very spectacular against the background of foliage painted in bright autumn colors, they can stay on a branch for a long time. Viburnum blooms in late May - early June, blooms for a long time. The root system is superficial and wide, and the bark is gray-brown, with cracks.
Useful properties of viburnum are widely known. Among other things, this shrub is an excellent honey plant. Viburnum tolerates flooding and soil compaction well, but it has poor resistance to drought and high temperatures. In nature, this beautiful shrub can often be found on the banks of forest streams and reservoirs, hidden in the wilderness, away from the sun.
Mentioned in folklore
Besides its useful properties, common red viburnum is famous for its frequent mention in folklore. Many peoples and nationalities sang viburnum in the texts of their songs. For the Slavic peoples, the viburnum berry is a symbol of girlish purity, love and beauty.
According to old legends and traditions, the branches of the plant decorated wedding ceremonies and were used as amulets. Leaves and fruits were woven into wreaths, berries were decorated with festive loaves. Motifs depicting viburnum were often used in embroidery, painting dishes and utensils. And the flowering time of this shrub was combined with the sowing of rye and other crops.
Chemical composition
Of all the species and subspecies, only red viburnum differs in useful properties. It is widely used in traditional medicine andis part of many dosage forms.
The composition of the common red viburnum includes the following useful substances:
- sugar;
- carotene;
- selenium;
- chrome;
- iodine;
- copper;
- iron;
- zinc;
- manganese;
- phosphorus;
- vitamin C.
In terms of the composition of useful properties, viburnum is on the same level as blueberries and rose hips. Along with the substances already listed, it contains organic acids in large quantities, in particular there is a lot of valeric acid.
In addition, the composition includes resins, essential oils, vitamins A, E, K, P, tannins, titanium and pectin. The main useful substance of viburnum is viburnin glycoside, which gives the fruit bitterness and has healing properties. Therefore, you should not remove the bitterness from the berries by any means.
The bark of the plant is also rich in nutrients. There are acids: acetic, butyric, capric, linoleic, as well as various resins, phytosterol, myricyl alcohol.
Application
Medicines are made from the bark of viburnum and have a hemostatic, astringent and weak diuretic effect. They increase the duration of action of sedative drugs and increase the tone of the uterine muscles.
Useful properties of viburnum for women are that medicines from the bark of viburnum are prescribed for severe uterine bleeding during menopause, as well as for postpartum bleeding and blood loss during inflammation of the female genital organs or with hemorrhoids. The bark of the plant is sometimes used to prevent accidental abortions.
Fresh red viburnum berries or juice from them with sugar are prescribed for oral administration with nervous excitement, as a remedy for vasospasm, atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Possesses useful properties and viburnum with honey. A mixture prepared from fruits and honey is used for shortness of breath, hoarse throat, cough, diarrhea and liver diseases.
An infusion of red viburnum fruits is used in the treatment of eczema, boils, carbuncles, skin rashes, and also as a tonic, laxative, vitaminizing and diaphoretic.
Fresh viburnum juice is often used in cosmetology to treat acne and age spots. The use of juice for wound healing is also known.
Tannin substances found in viburnum can have an analgesic effect, reducing the sensitivity of nerve endings. And the use of viburnum as a diuretic will eliminate swelling.
Procurement of raw materials
Kalina is often grown in gardens. You can take raw materials from wild shrubs. In this case, it is worth considering that viburnum grows in shady places of pine and deciduous forests, more often along reservoirs and rivers.
Shoots and bark are harvested in the spring. At the same time, early spring is suitable for shoots, and mid-April is suitable for bark, when sap flow begins.
Flowers are harvested when they are fully open, around May-June. In this case, the inflorescences are cut off entirely and immediately dried.
The period of picking berries falls on September-October. The entire umbrella is cut off in order to keep the fruits intact, which means that the red viburnum berries will retain their beneficial properties. After the onset of frost, the benefits are not lost, but the bitterness is much reduced.
Cooking viburnum bark
Red viburnum bark is stored during active sap flow, before bud break, that is, in spring, in April-May. It is removed from young branches, crushed and dried in attics or in the open air, spreading a thin layer.
In order to remove the bark, it is necessary to make semicircular cuts on the trunk or branches with a sharp knife at a distance of 20 cm from each other, then connect them with longitudinal cuts. Ring cuts should not be made, this will lead to the death of the plant.
The removed bark can be dried in the air, and then dried in a dryer at a temperature of 50-60 ° C. During drying, the raw materials must be periodically turned over and the pieces must not be allowed to nest one into the other. Ready, well-dried viburnum bark breaks easily and with a bang, but if the raw material is not dried out, then the bark will only bend.
Collecting and harvesting berries
The picking of red viburnum berries is carried out in dry weather in September-October. Ripe bunches are best cut with a sharp pruner, trying not to damage the fruit. It is better to carefully lay the cut brushes in one layer, as bunched bunches will cling to each other with twigs and it will be difficult to disassemble them without showering or damaging the berries.
Viburnum fruits can be harvested in different ways, depending on whether forwhat they will be used for. Berries can be frozen, preserved in various ways, dried, juiced.
If the berries will be used for further processing, it is more convenient to wash them directly on the brushes, and then lay them out on a clean cloth in a thin layer to get rid of excess moisture.
Drying of fruits occurs according to the same principle as harvesting the bark. At the same time, the useful properties of viburnum berries should be tried to be preserved as much as possible. The fruits are laid out in the air in one layer and dried with turning over up to 9 days. Or cut brushes are immediately bundled and hung in a well-ventilated area.
To speed up the process, you can use an electric dryer or oven. When drying in the oven, it is better not to close the door so that the berries do not burst and lose their usefulness with leaked juice.
Use in traditional medicine
Along with the useful properties of viburnum, there are also contraindications. This must be remembered when using raw materials for medicinal purposes and food.
For comparison: the content of ascorbic acid in viburnum is 1.5 times higher than in lemon, and 3 times higher than in raspberries. Like all red fruits, viburnum is rich in iron, and ascorbic acid improves iron absorption, so viburnum is indispensable in the treatment of anemia.
The combination of viburnum and honey increases the body's defenses, treats colds, bronchitis, has a diuretic effect. And the content of viburnin in the composition explains the hemostatic and vasoconstrictive propertiesplants.
In the old days, girls whitened their skin with fresh viburnum berry juice, getting rid of freckles, acne and age spots.
Next, about how to properly use medicinal raw materials, taking into account contraindications, and how to cook viburnum, keeping the beneficial properties of the plant intact. It should be taken into account that wild-growing species contain a lethal concentration of alkaloids and glycosides. The fruits of black viburnum are poisonous. Even if the variety is considered edible, in no case should you eat handfuls of berries.
Cooking viburnum, he althy recipes and properties
People know many ways to cook viburnum for medicinal purposes. One of the recipes for harvesting berries that preserve the completely beneficial properties of viburnum is the following method:
- Berries are poured into a clean jar by about a third, washed and dried from excess moisture. Then granulated sugar is added to the very top and the jar is closed with a clean lid. Such a preparation should be stored in a cool place (cellar, refrigerator), and berries can be consumed after six months, taking into account the beneficial properties of viburnum and contraindications for use.
- Berries with honey are great for colds. However, it is worth considering that along with the beneficial properties of viburnum, there are also contraindications for women in an interesting position. For the correct proportions, it is worth taking 1 tablespoon of honey per 100 g of berries. You will need a cast iron or clay high pot. Any other baking dish will do, always with high edges. To the bottom of the chosenvessel place a layer of viburnum berries and pour a spoonful of honey. So alternate layers until the pot is two-thirds full. Then you should simmer the berries in a Russian stove or oven at 160 ° C for 1.5 hours. Useful properties and contraindications of viburnum with honey must be taken into account with equal attention. It is believed that this honey jam helps with cardiac edema, shortness of breath and liver disease.
- Fresh whole or grated berries cope well with nervous excitations, hypertension and vasospasm. Wipe freed from the stalks, pure viburnum fruits through a metal sieve. The rubbed mass is squeezed through gauze. The resulting fresh juice is popularly treated for breast cancer and used to prevent gastritis. When using this recipe, it must be remembered that along with the beneficial properties of viburnum, contraindications should be taken into account. For example, people with low blood pressure, thrombophlebitis and high blood clotting should not drink viburnum juice.
- Infusion of viburnum berries is used in alternative medicine to treat eczema and boils. To prepare 1 tablespoon of fruits, pour a glass of boiling water, then cover and leave for 2 hours. After that, strain the infusion. Among other things, such a medicine is used by the people as a laxative, diaphoretic and tonic.
- Alcohol tincture on the bark of viburnum is used in the treatment of hemorrhoids, uterine bleeding, painful menstruation. For the recipe, a tablespoon of the bark is poured with 50% alcohol in an amount of 100 ml and stored incool place for a week. Then strain the tincture and apply 15-30 drops on an empty stomach two or three times a day.
Contraindications
Along with the useful properties of viburnum and contraindications can not be written off. Moreover, there are enough of them. As with all other parts of the plant used for medicinal purposes, the beneficial properties of viburnum berries and contraindications for their use must be carefully studied so as not to harm both one's own he alth and the he alth of loved ones.
You can not use viburnum in any form for people suffering from the following diseases:
- low blood pressure;
- urolithiasis;
- chronic kidney disease;
- leukemia;
- arthritis;
- high blood clotting;
- thrombophlebitis;
- gout;
- individual intolerance to the components that make up the plant, causing allergic reactions.
For people with high stomach acidity, aggravated by ulcers and gastritis, viburnum is strictly prohibited as a plant that increases the secretion of gastric juice.
Kalina is a storehouse of useful substances with medicinal properties. Along with this, the plant has a high level of decorativeness. Having viburnum on his plot, the owner kills two birds with one stone: a beautiful shrub pleases the soul and heals the body.
