Black nightshade is an annual plant that is quite widespread in Asia, Europe, Australia and America. Most often it is perceived as weedy and poisonous. Not many people know about the benefits of this plant. Can black nightshade be harmful? How is it used in folk medicine? We will talk about this in the article.
Distribution
Black nightshade, the photo of which you can see below, is common in our country. It grows everywhere, including the northern regions. The plant is found even in the southern regions of Siberia. It is a native of Europe and Asia, which was later introduced to North America. The plant adapts well to temperate climates.
Black nightshade is considered a weed because of its unpretentiousness: it is undemanding to the composition of soils and humidity. Equally actively develops among garden plants and in ravines, gullies, along roadsides.
Description
Black nightshade is an annual herb. Unlike other varieties of this plant, it does not differoutstanding beauty of flowers and is practically not grown in gardens and summer cottages, it is rarely cultivated for harvesting. The need for this plant, as a rule, satisfies the nightshade growing in natural conditions. Consider the structure of nightshade:
Stems. Nightshade has massive erect stems of a cylindrical shape that branch upwards. Stems can be either bare or slightly pubescent
Leaves. They are simple, not having stipules, placed alternately on the stem on the cuttings. The leaf plate is ovoid, slightly elongated. Its length can reach 13 cm, with a width of 8 cm. The surface of the plate is deep green, matte, with well-defined venation. The edge is most often smooth, but sometimes it is angular-notched
Flowers. In black nightshade, they are bisexual, painted white. The flowers have a double perianth and a five-pointed star corolla. Small flowers (up to 1 cm) are collected in umbrella inflorescences, they are often called curls. The flowering of black nightshade begins in mid-May. Under favorable weather conditions, it continues until September
Fruits. Spherical black berries of black nightshade do not exceed a centimeter in diameter. They are covered with a smooth, matte skin. The fruits ripen from early August to mid-October
There are different opinions about the benefits and dangers of black nightshade: some consider the plant poisonous, others useful and healing. You will be surprised, but both arguing parties are right. The fact is that only green nightshade berries containing solanine are poisonous,which has a toxic effect on the body. When the fruits ripen, solanine is destroyed, and ripe berries become an effective remedy.
Chemical composition
The composition of different parts of the black nightshade plant includes many useful substances. This explains its powerful effect on the body. The main useful substances include:
- glycosides and alkaloids;
- carotene;
- organic acids;
- tannins;
- ascorbic acid;
- sugar compounds;
- magnesium s alts;
- calcium;
- manganese
Healing properties
Useful properties of black nightshade are used by folk healers to get rid of many diseases. For healers and healers, the entire aerial part of the plant is of value. The selectivity of the action of nightshade in the manufacture of preparations by the same methods is interesting. For example, an infusion of the plant is equally effective for both internal and external use.
Black nightshade has the following properties:
- choleretic;
- antispasmodic;
- laxatives;
- diuretic;
- painkillers;
- antiallergic;
- anticonvulsant;
- sedative.
When is the herb indicated?
Black nightshade herb preparations are used in the following cases:
- for diseases of the stomach, intestines;
- with cholecystitis, pyelonephritis;
- for epilepsy,neuroses;
- for skin diseases.
Water extract from grass for lichen, furunculosis, allergies of an unknown nature cleanses the blood. In addition, herbal infusions are an effective addition to therapeutic baths. Nightshade herb is known for its expectorant and bronchodilatory properties, and therefore preparations based on it are used for colds, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and tuberculosis.
Using fruits
Numerous patient reviews confirm the benefits of black nightshade fruits when consumed in various forms:
Fresh berries. Fresh berries are useful for hypertensive patients, are used as a prophylactic and therapeutic agent for atherosclerosis, infectious diseases, kidney diseases, and improve vision
Alcohol extract. It has anticonvulsant, sedative, muscle relaxant properties. It is used in the treatment of neuroses, mild forms of neurasthenia
Juice from berries. This nightshade remedy is used to treat inflammation of the oral cavity: periodontal disease, stomatitis, tonsillitis. Juice lotions help fight conjunctivitis and chronic rhinitis when instilled into the nose. Berry juice has anti-inflammatory, astringent, healing, bactericidal properties. It is diluted and used as compresses to treat psoriasis, eczema, lichen
Traditional healers believe that nightshade can heal from malignant tumors, including blood cancer. With oncology, extracts from flowering grass or fruits are taken. The plant cures hepatitis of anyorigin, cirrhosis of the liver. The hypoglycemic properties of this plant have a beneficial effect on blood sugar levels.
Nightshade-based preparations
From black nightshade at home, you can prepare effective remedies for the treatment of many serious diseases. We offer you recipes for some of them.
Nightshade ointment
Nightshade grass is used to treat many skin lesions: infectious, mechanical, allergic, trophic, autoimmune nature. To enhance the effect, the ointment is covered with a bandage. The procedure takes two to four hours. To prepare the ointment, dry nightshade grass is used. It should be ground into powder in a mortar or coffee grinder.
Mix a teaspoon of the powder with four teaspoons of refined vegetable oil. The resulting drug lubricates the damaged skin three times a day.
Berry juice
Used for edema, ascites, hypertension, for external use in diseases of the mucous membranes and skin. Making juice is easy. To do this, grind a glass of berries through a sieve or chop in a blender. The resulting mass must be squeezed through gauze. A quarter cup of freshly squeezed juice is diluted with boiled water at room temperature to a full glass.
The resulting solution can be used to rinse the mouth, throat and wash wounds. For rhinitis, instill 2-3 drops of diluted juice in each nasal passage. With cystitis, hypertension, dropsy, take 30 drops of undiluted juice every day. Hisshould be taken with milk or clean water. A decoction of the herb is used as an antispasmodic, antitussive, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-allergic agent.
Pour a glass of boiling water over a spoon (tea) of crushed dry nightshade herb. Heat the resulting mixture in a water bath for 15 minutes. When the composition has cooled, strain it. Take the remedy on a spoon (tea) twice a day. A new portion is prepared every two days.
Alcohol extract
When taken orally, it has an anti-inflammatory, anti-cold, diuretic and choleretic agent. Pour dry fruits of nightshade with 60% alcohol in a ratio of 1:6. For a week, the mixture is infused in a dark place, shaking the container daily. Take the remedy 15 drops once a day.
Infusion
Used for the treatment of joint, stomach, headaches, disorders of the nervous system. Lotions are made from warm infusion for ulcers, boils, wounds.
Steam 5 grams of nightshade herb with a glass of boiling water. Let the composition brew for three hours. Then the composition can be filtered. Inside, the infusion is taken in a tablespoon up to four times a day.
Nightshade bath
In the season of colds, such a bath enhances the body's resistance, relieves joint and muscle pain. Eliminates allergic rashes, helps in the treatment of eczema, psoriasis. Two liters of boiling water, pour three tablespoons (table) herbs. She is insisted until she cools to room temperature,filter, and press the cake. Pour the resulting infusion into a bath filled with warm water.
Safety rules
Opening any herbal treatment guide, you can see a photo of black nightshade. The benefits and harms of this plant are closely intertwined. We have already said that the green fruits of the plant are toxic, therefore, when harvesting raw materials, you must be extremely careful. You can collect only fully ripe fruits, evenly colored black.
Preparations based on black nightshade are contraindicated in children under three years of age, pregnant women, and also during lactation, people with individual intolerance to the substances that make up the plant. Side effects to watch out for when taking drugs made from nightshade include:
- fatigue;
- dizziness;
- nervous excitability;
- diuresis;
- diarrhea.
According to the reviews of people who took these drugs, the negative effects of the plant appear very rarely and only if the dosage has been exceeded. Its violation leads to intoxication of the body, which, in the absence of medical care, can be fatal, since the harm of nightshade is due to the content of potent substances in its composition. Traditional healers claim that natural bee honey effectively eliminates the side effects of nightshade.
