Many medicinal plants have received very capacious and precise folk names that fully reveal their main beneficial properties. One of them is livestock. This wonderful natural healer heals injuries and diseases of the spine, bruises, arthritis, helps bones grow together even with the most complex fractures. In some regions, this plant is called comfrey.
A bit of history
The root of the larkspur, the photo of which you can see below, has been known to traditional healers from different countries since ancient times. Documentary evidence of this has been preserved. More than two millennia ago, the ancient Greeks used larkspur root. The medicinal properties of the plant have been shown to be effective in healing wounds and treating fractures.
The second name of the plant - comfrey - translates as "growing together" and indicates the main healing properties of this herb. It is mentioned in the treatise of Avicenna himself, which dates back to the 15th century. In the Middle Ages, alchemists added the root of this plantinto the "elixir of life".
In ancient Russia, this plant had many names - goat-beard, black grass, larkspur. The root has been widely used in folk medicine to treat joint and back pain, bruises, sprains, and fractures. In Soviet times, the industrial cultivation of larkspur was started. Scientists have found that the plant is very rich in protein. It was planned to be used as livestock feed and nitrogen fertilizer.
Distribution
Zhivokost (comfrey) is widespread in Europe, the Carpathians, Central Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Western Siberia. Prefers fertile moist soils, so it can often be found near rivers, streams, lakes. He likes to settle near natural or artificial soil depressions, ditches (trenchments), for which he received the second name - comfrey.
Description of livestock
A perennial plant from the Borage family sometimes reaches a height of one meter, and sometimes more. At the base of the stem is covered with stiff hairs. The leaves are alternate, with an unusual cucumber smell. They have a hard and rough surface. The root of an adult plant is powerful, painted black on the outside, and white on the inside. At the break, it releases a viscous mucous substance.
Flowering begins at the end of May. Beautiful purple, blue, violet, much less often white flowers appear on the plant. The fruit is a pod with four nuts that ripen until September. The plant reproduces well by self-sowing and, once on the backyardsite, quickly conquering new areas. It is incredibly difficult to remove it from the root. Even from a tiny piece of root left in the ground, a he althy and strong plant will appear next year.
Composition
Lark root is rich in nutrients. It contains alkaloids: lysiocarpine and cynoglossin. In addition, it contains tannins, glycosides, essential oils, resins, mucus, gums and other organic compounds.
Healing properties
Procurement of raw materials is carried out in late autumn. Larkspur root is used to prepare all dosage forms: decoctions, infusions, ointments. All of them have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, regenerating, hemostatic, enveloping and astringent effects.
In addition, larkspur (root), the use of which is common in many countries of the world, increases tone and improves appetite. Preparations based on this plant are effective for peptic ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract, digestive disorders. The use of infusions is recommended to reduce the symptoms of pain and inflammation in cancer.
Larkspur root is taken orally for tuberculosis, severe bronchitis. Zhivokost is indispensable in the treatment of fractures, bruises, thrombophlebitis. With these diseases, a gruel is prepared from fresh roots and a compress is applied to the affected area. In addition, comfrey preparations are successfully used to treat trophic ulcers, inflammatory diseases of the mucous cavity.mouth, festering wounds, arthritis.
Features of use
Larkspur is an excellent doctor who can cope with many very serious diseases. But everyone who plans to use larkspur root for treatment needs to know that this is a very poisonous plant. For this reason, in many countries its use is prohibited in traditional medicine. This decision was due to the conclusion of scientists who considered that long-term use of preparations based on the root of this plant is harmful, since it can cause a mutagenic and carcinogenic effect.
Many of their colleagues do not agree with this opinion. While scientists argue, traditional healers successfully use the plant to treat many diseases. Below we present you some recipes.
Compress
You will need 100 grams of larkspur root powder and vegetable oil, diluted with water in equal proportions. Pour the powder with a small amount of a water-oil mixture to make a slurry that resembles thick sour cream in consistency. This slurry is used to restore injured areas of bones, muscles, tendons.
In addition, this composition is effective for hemorrhage, sprain, dislocation, inflammation of the tendons and muscles. Apply the prepared gruel on the affected area of the body, cover it with a linen cloth, and put a thick terry towel on top. This compress is left for several hours, preferably all night. In the morning, the composition can be washed off with warm water. For amplificationeffect after the compress, you can apply a ready-made (pharmacy) ointment on herbs. Such daily compresses will help with diseases of the spine, problems with intervertebral discs.
Lotions for burns
To make the skin recover faster after a burn, take the roots of the live bone, chop with a blender and measure out a tablespoon (with a slide) of the finished product. Brew it with a glass of boiling water, cover the container with a lid and let it brew for an hour. After that, the composition can be filtered and applied to the affected areas.
Lark root: alcohol tincture
The healing properties of this drug have already been appreciated by many people suffering from joint diseases. In this case, the root of the larkspur fully justifies its name. The use of this tincture for the joints (with inflammation), to reduce pain in osteochondrosis, arthritis gives amazing results.
Chop the larkspur root. It can be ground in a mortar to a powder. You will need medical alcohol half diluted with water. Pour one part of the root with three parts of alcohol and place in a glass container. Leave the tincture in a dark place for a week. Shake the bottle periodically. The prepared tincture for alcohol is stored for no more than three years. To reduce pain, use a compress tincture or rub on sore spots.
This tincture is effective in the treatment of sinusitis. To do this, within three days ofin the evenings make compresses on the forehead. This procedure localizes the inflammatory process and enhances the secretion of mucus.
Honey mixture with live bone
This drug is known to be an effective anti-tuberculosis drug. In addition, this composition is useful in the deposition of s alts. Peeled and washed under running water, chop the root and mix in equal proportions with natural honey. The resulting mixture is taken in a spoonful (tea) daily half an hour before meals for two weeks. Then the treatment is interrupted for two weeks, after which the course can be repeated.
Contraindications
Since today we have introduced you to a healing, but poisonous plant, we want to warn you that self-medication with these drugs is out of the question. They should be taken with great caution and preferably under medical supervision. Comfrey preparations greatly reduce blood pressure, so the use of these drugs is contraindicated for hypotensive patients. They should not be taken by pregnant women and nursing mothers, as well as with individual intolerance.
