Popularly, the hemlock plant is sometimes called dog angelica, wild parsley. It is a herbaceous plant, biennial. Belongs to the umbrella family. It is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and North Africa. On the territory of Russia, it grows in abundance in the presence of a temperate climate and warm zones.
Where does hemlock grow and what does it look like?
Hemlock is classified as a medicinal herb. It can be found quite often in nature, in a variety of places. It grows in the forest, successfully lives next to human habitation. It grows profusely in landfills and wastelands. Clogs vegetable gardens and fields.
In the first year of its life, hemlock is a small rosette with carved leaves. After the vegetation cover dies off in autumn, a large and powerful root remains in the ground. In the second year of life, the hemlock produces a tall stem, crowned with inflorescences, from which fruits with seeds ripen.
Hemlock root looks like a spindle. Its color is whitish. The plant is tall, stem lengthreaches 60-180 cm.
Sometimes there is a slimy coating on the stem of the hemlock, and red-brown spots form at the foot. The hemlock stem itself is straight, branched, hollow inside. Its leaves have petioles, their leaf blades are dissected, they have some resemblance to parsley leaves.
The leaves are arranged alternately from the stem and reach a length of 30-60 cm. The flowers are usually white in color, their sizes are small. Umbrellas form inflorescences. In one inflorescence there are from 12 to 25 rays, they are rough to the touch.
At the bottom of the stem, the leaves are usually larger, with long cuttings. Heading up, the leaves become smaller, the petioles are shortened. Hemlock inflorescences are umbrellas that are collected from small flowers.
The spotted hemlock umbrellas themselves can be confused with dill umbrellas. Flowering of this plant usually occurs in June. At the end of summer - the beginning of autumn ripened seeds are formed.
Hemlock as a medicine, unlike cultivated plants
As a medicinal plant, spotted hemlock is popular in European countries and the CIS. It owes its name to the presence of red-brown dots and the beginning of the stem. As noted above, hemlock is similar to individual garden crops, namely dill, parsnip, parsley, anise. Distinguish it from these plants by smell. So, if the seeds, flowers and leaves of the hemlock are rubbed, they exude a sharp and unpleasant smell, reminiscent of the "aroma" of mouse nests.
In classical medicine, until recently, an alcohol tincture of hemlock spotted was used,which was used mainly for the relief of a variety of severe pain. Now pharmacology uses the plant less actively. This is due to the fact that hemlock is highly toxic in all its constituents.
However, he remained in the list of medicinal plants. Mainly used in traditional medicine.
The unusual properties of the plant have been known since ancient times. The ancient Greeks described hemlock as a purveyor of a strong, curare-like poison. These properties of it are explained by the fact that it contains a variety of alkaloids, among which there is also coniine, a poison with a nerve action. The strongest concentration of toxic components is found in the seeds, while the lowest concentration is in the leaves. When drying the hemlock, its poisonous components do not disappear.
Collection Features
Spotted hemlock is a ubiquitous plant. Often it grows in ecologically unfavorable conditions. In this case, you should not collect it in roadside ditches near roads and garbage dumps.
For the use of hemlock as a traditional medicine at home, leaves, flowers and fruits are collected. The best time for harvesting leaves and flowers is from May to July. Hemlock seeds are harvested in late summer - early autumn. It should be borne in mind that when working with this plant, it is advisable not to allow it to come into contact with open areas of the skin. Respiratory organs are recommended to be protected, for whichuse a respirator or gauze bandage.
Drying of the collected parts of the hemlock is carried out in shaded conditions in the fresh air. When harvesting seeds, cut umbrellas are also dried in the open air. Harvested dried raw materials are recommended to be stored for no more than two years in tightly sealed vessels (jars).
Negative and dangerous properties of hemlock
Medicinal hemlock is a very dangerous plant. Improper handling of it can lead to serious and disastrous results. As a result, it is strongly not recommended to use it in self-treatment. Before you start using preparations made on the basis of hemlock, you must definitely consult with a specialist, who will also determine the presence of any contraindications.
And indeed, given the strong toxicity of hemlock and the specifics of its effects on the human body, drugs prepared from it are marked by contraindications.
Signs of poisoning from this plant include the following symptoms:
- presence of dry mouth;
- itching and burning in the throat;
- shortness of breath, difficulty exhaling;
- vomiting;
- muscles respond with a specific twitch;
- indigestion present;
- nausea, bloating;
- increased sweating;
- presence of signs of hyperemia of the skin of the upper part of the head;
- dizziness.
Also followstake into account that when taking drugs based on hemlock, blood pressure usually rises, the rhythm of heart contractions and their saturation increase.
Medical applications
Since ancient times, medicine has tried to use hemlock to treat various ailments. At present, based on large temporal statistics, there is a list of problems in the human body that, when using preparations of this plant, showed a positive trend towards recovery, namely:
- presence of tumor processes and seals of certain glands (lymph nodes, thyroid, prostate and mammary glands);
- oncological diseases, mainly of a gynecological nature;
- in the treatment of running processes, the treatment of tumorous consistency in the stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas;
- certain diseases of the nervous system;
- ongoing infectious processes;
- diseases of the genitourinary system and hemorrhoids;
- use of hemlock remedies for external ailments as compresses, poultices, baths.
Hemlock medicines
Currently, there are several varieties of medicines that are made from hemlock. It should be noted that traditional medicine mainly uses freshly cut leaves of this plant, as well as tinctures for alcohol and water.
Very popular and ointments based on hemlock spotted.
Ointments, oils, tinctures, decoctions made on the basis of this plant can retain their qualities for a long time.
Hemlock spotted ointment
It is recommended for use in the presence of internal and external neoplasms (malignant and benign). Including brain tumors. It is effective in the complex treatment of diseases of other organs and vital systems of the body. The healing properties of hemlock have been proven at:
- thyroid diseases (cancer, cyst, nodules, goiter);
- in the presence of inflammatory diseases of the lymph nodes;
- anus fissures;
- hemorrhoids;
- mastopathy;
- breast cancer;
- prostate diseases;
- testicular tumors;
- various skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis, cancer, skin sarcoma, dermatitis, etc.);
- various gynecological diseases as the main component of tampons (endometriosis, fibroids, venereal infections, ovarian cysts, etc.).
Hemlock ointment is effective in the presence of wounds, cuts, burns, problems with moles and warts. It is recommended to eliminate joint pain, osteochondrosis, vertebral hernias.
This ointment is considered an effective tool in the complex treatment of fibrous growths of breast tissue, having a pronounced antitumor effect.
Features of making ointment
Hemlock ointment is made using a variety of technologies. Yes, one by oneof these, it is planned to create it on the basis of palm oil. The composition includes, in addition to hemlock extract, fir oil, birch bark extracts, silver ions.
Also on the pharmaceutical market are hemlock ointments made from natural ingredients according to old Russian recipes. At the same time, only the extract of the plant, diluted in cottonseed oil, and beeswax are included in their composition. It is believed that in this combination, the healing properties of hemlock are effective.
It must also be remembered that treatment with drugs made on the basis of this plant must be agreed with the attending physician.
It is also necessary to strictly control the conditions and shelf life of hemlock ointment.
Reviews
From the content of reviews of drugs based on hemlock, it follows that opinions about them are divided almost equally. Mostly positive ones come from people who preach traditional medicine. However, medical professionals are rational and restrained. They do not recognize the effectiveness of hemlock drugs, including in the treatment of cancer.
Modern medicine states that the proven antitumor effects of the alkaloids of this plant on the body have not been identified. Recently, according to the results of research, more than 50 effective drugs have been introduced into practice, but none of them contains hemlock alkaloids.
Positive results in the treatment of various diseases and the use of preparations from spotted hemlock are explained by doctors exclusively as emotionalpatients' attitudes.
