The plant, which is known to many as Kuril tea, is called the cinquefoil shrub in botany. He is also a shrub cinquefoil, and among the people he is called "mighty". It is part of the pink family.
Description
Grows up to one and a half meters, its branches are brown, have a gray or reddish tint. Fresh shoots have silky hairs on the surface. The leaves are oblong, also usually with small hairs, pinnate. Flowers that appear at the very beginning of summer are placed on the tops of branches, have a yellow or white color, as well as a fluffy middle. Their size reaches thirty millimeters in diameter. The fruits of the cinquefoil shrub appear at the same time as the flowers, they resemble small brown buttons.
Where does it grow?
Kuril tea is characterized by unpretentiousness and long life, its bushes reach thirty years. It endures cold climates and grows even in permafrost regions. But more favorable conditionsfor him are soils with high humidity, that is, the edges of streams, river banks, flood meadows. Description of the cinquefoil shrub can be found in herbalists.
However, it is often found on infertile, arid lands. The cinquefoil loves those places that are well lit, as a result of which it often “climbs” along rocky embankments and mountain slopes. Thickets of Kuril tea are found in the mountains of the Caucasus, Central Asia, Sayan Mountains, Altai. It also grows in Chinese and Mongolian areas, in the Far East, in almost all of Eastern Siberia, on the Japanese islands and even in some countries of Europe and the North American continent.
In this article, we will consider the use of shrub cinquefoil.
How to harvest and store raw materials?
Kuril tea is prepared when the plant begins to bloom (depending on the region, this moment falls in June or July) and until mid-autumn. Almost all components of the plant are used as raw materials - flowers, shoots with leaves, and the root part. Its aerial part is also used - the tops of the shoots, cut off somewhere at a fifteen-centimeter length.
The resulting raw materials are dried in the sun, and after that - in special drying devices at a temperature not exceeding seventy degrees. It is best to store finished raw materials in glassware or in a tin with a tight-fitting lid. If you adhere to all storage conditions, the medicinal properties of Kuril tea can be preserved for a whole year.
Usage history
Shrub cinquefoil is one of those traditional remedies used by Tibetan monks for medical purposes. Their canons prescribe the use of Kuril tea for the treatment of the digestive system, respiratory organs, with the appearance of gynecological problems, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, with fluid retention in the body. The doctors of Tibet used Kuril tea in the form of ash, from which they made pills and other forms of medicines.
Kuril tea was also widely used by Mongolian healers. They considered it an excellent natural remedy for nervous disorders and mental illness.
The peoples living in the region of Eastern Siberia, where it was used as part of traditional recipes for cholera, typhoid and other infectious diseases, also knew about the healing properties of the cinquefoil shrub. Written sources mention Kuril tea from the 17th century, but here it was called "mighty". With its help, they stopped diarrhea and bleeding, treated inflammation, nervous overexcitation, insomnia, digestive tract disorders and various female diseases.
In Kamchatka, in the Far Eastern region, every day they drank Kuril tea as an ordinary drink, because it resembled black tea in both smell and taste, but besides that, it had a lot of other useful properties. A strong infusion of the plant was used as an effective mouth rinse for various inflammations, throat diseases, and was also used by women for douching during gynecological disorders. The use and contraindications of the cinquefoil shrub will be discussed below.
Modern usage
In many places, there is still a hunting tradition: in the process of brewing, add a little Kuril tea to boiling water, which is the prevention of various infections and helps in the fight against known viruses, which is also confirmed by medicine. An aqueous decoction of dried leaves of the cinquefoil shrub is used to disinfect and wash any wounds and skin lesions in the field, healers generally recommend using it to treat skin diseases.
Now both therapeutic and decorative properties of Kuril tea are valued. The cinquefoil shrub is often found (photo above) in flower beds and on alpine hills.
Chemical composition of raw materials and its pharmacological effects
Since most types of cinquefoil belong to pharmacopoeial plants, the chemical composition of the cinquefoil has been studied in great detail. Kuril tea leaves contain vitamins P and C, chemical compounds of triterpene and flavone structures, carotenoids, various organic acids (ellagic, caffeic, ursolic, etc.). Information about the chemical composition of the cinquefoil is contained in many monographs and scientific reports.
Medical use
The cinquefoil has a whole set of properties, such as:
- antimicrobial;
- binders;
- antiallergic;
- antidiabetic;
- bactericidal;
- choleretic;
- expectorants;
- immunostimulating;
- hemostatic.
Often, cinquefoil is used as an effective diaphoretic when a person has a fever. It is successfully used in the treatment of various diseases.
Kuril tea is especially famous as an excellent natural remedy that helps in the fight against problems of the digestive system. It is advised to use it for various intoxications, poisonings, in the treatment of dysbacteriosis. Healers recommend drinking Kuril tea during intestinal disorders and if there are difficulties in digesting food in diseases such as stomach ulcers and gastritis. Drinks based on cinquefoil have a bile and diuretic effect, pacify flatulence, eliminate constipation and diarrhea, regulate metabolism in general and the absorption of fats by the body in particular, help in the fight against heartburn and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach.
Also Kuril tea effectively fights bacteria and viruses, suppresses inflammatory processes. As an external agent, rinsing is useful for diseases of the mouth and nose, throat, gums, for colds, tonsillitis, SARS. There are also folk recipes in which cinquefoil is recommended for inflammation of the lungs, croup and other bronchial diseases, as well as for more successful sputum discharge.
Kuril tea, in principle, helps to strengthen the immune system, increases the tone of the body, gives vigor, helpsspeed up the healing process.
As an antiseptic, the plant is used as a remedy for diseases of the urogenital area, including inflammation of the urinary tract and cystitis. Kuril tea also has an analgesic effect. Shrub cinquefoil is used in gynecology.
Means based on it are useful for women, as it helps in the fight against various diseases of the gynecological sphere. They help to reduce the abundance and duration of menstruation, have an anti-inflammatory effect, including ovarian diseases, and help speed up the healing process of erosion. A decoction of Kuril tea is used for douching to cure colpitis, vaginitis and other diseases of this area. The healing properties of the cinquefoil shrub are known to many.
It also has high sedative properties. Many herbalists compare its calming effect on the nervous system with valerian. Being a natural remedy, Kuril tea helps with various neuroses, stress, depression, insomnia, and nervous exhaustion. If you use it regularly, then the work of the nervous system will be adjusted, calm sleep will return. Even children are advised to use it, especially when there are problems with urinary incontinence during sleep. In addition, Kuril tea is used to treat diabetes.
In the presence of inflammation in the organs of vision, including conjunctivitis, a decoction of cinquefoil is used to wash the eyes. Kuril baths are also useful.tea, which help eliminate skin problems, prevent acne. Foot baths are also recommended in the fight against fungal infections and to reduce sweating. If you use Kuril tea as a rinse for your hair after washing it, then it will strengthen their roots, make them stronger, and reduce the oiliness of the scalp.
How to brew cinquefoil shrub? More on that below.
External use of Kuril tea
In addition to internal body therapy, Kuril tea can also be used externally in the treatment of stomatitis, burns, periodontal disease, ulcers, tonsillitis. The cinquefoil is one of the substances that make up the ointment, which is widely used for healing wounds, cracks on the lips, panaritiums. If Kuril tea is ground to a powdery state, then you can use it as a powder for weeping wounds and bleeding. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties, the plant helps eliminate bad breath.
Useful properties of rhizomes
Because the rhizome has many beneficial properties, it is often taken as a decoction, which is used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis, stomatitis, diarrhea, cirrhosis, dysentery, gingivitis, tonsillitis and internal bleeding. Often they are washed with various kinds of wounds on the skin, used as an ointment in the presence of cracks on the lips.
Contraindications for cinquefoil shrub
Taking Kuril tea is not recommended for individual intolerance, pregnant women,as well as those who have problems in the area of the heart and blood vessels (ischemic disease, accelerated heart rate, rhythm disturbances). It is also not advised to use cinquefoil during low blood pressure.
Kuril tea is also not recommended for chronic kidney and liver diseases. There are no restrictions on the duration of its administration in the absence of contraindications. But it is worth remembering that when treating with any herbal medicines, you should always consult a doctor. Any recipes that contain Kuril tea do not belong to the field of scientific medicine.
Features of drinking Kuril tea
As a prophylactic or as a substitute for natural tea, cinquefoil is brewed in the following proportion: one tablespoon of raw materials per glass of boiling water. The drink must be infused for ten minutes in a porcelain teapot. To improve the taste, you can add various aromatic plants, such as lemon balm, mint, bergamot. Such tea will serve as a good remedy for the prevention of colds, for example, after hypothermia.
We reviewed the use of the cinquefoil shrub.
