Today, the beneficial properties of rhubarb are known in many countries of the world. The homeland of this plant is Northern Mongolia and Siberia, and the range of its wild species is limited mainly to the geographical regions of Asia. Knowing the beneficial properties of rhubarb, it began to be cultivated in China as early as 3 thousand years BC. This delicacy spread around the world thanks to Arab merchants.
Rhubarb is a herbaceous perennial plant of the Buckwheat family. It is of two types: medicinal and vegetable. Its leaves are large, oval or rounded, petiolate, converge in the rosette, their edges are corrugated or smooth. Useful properties of rhubarb are reflected in cooking and medicine. Petioles and fleshy rhizomes of the plant are used for these purposes.
Useful properties of rhubarb are due to the substances contained in it. In particular, its rhizome, petioles contain a wide range of vitamins: A, B, E, C, K. Its parts contain pectins, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, selenium, manganese, zinc, copper. Thanks to organic acids (oxalic, chrysophone, malic), rhubarb has medicinal properties. It contains starch, resins, tanninssubstances. Consuming products from it, you can not be afraid for your figure, this is a fairly low-calorie plant.
Of course, rhubarb has found particular recognition in cooking. The number of dishes that can be prepared from it is very large: compote, pies, jams, jams, jelly, jelly, kvass, juice. It can also serve as part of a side dish, where the main component is rice. Rhubarb is the raw material for the preparation of a variety of drugs for both folk and official medicine. The chrysarobin contained in its roots is used in the manufacture of medicines for psoriasis. Rhubarb powder is prescribed as an astringent and anti-inflammatory agent, used to improve appetite and normalize the digestive system. It also finds application in the treatment of catarrh of the stomach and intestines, dyspepsia, as well as to obtain a choleretic effect.
If you increase the dose of rhubarb powder, it becomes a mild laxative. In this case, it can be used for intestinal atony and constipation (chronic). Rhubarb helps soften stools, which helps with hemorrhoids and anal fissures. In folk medicine, this plant is used for anemia, tuberculosis, gallbladder ailments, digestive system disorders. The effectiveness of drugs from it is lost with prolonged use, so it is advisable to alternate them with drugs on a different basis.
Like any drug, it has a dual effect onorganism and rhubarb. Useful properties, contraindications - he has it all. In particular, when using products and preparations from it, one should not forget that it is better to avoid large doses during pregnancy, rheumatism, gout, diabetes mellitus, cholecystitis, predisposition to diarrhea, bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract (including those caused by hemorrhoids), inflammation of the bladder, stones in the kidneys.
