Meadowsweet (meadowsweet) is known to gardeners as an ornamental plant, numbering about 15 species.
According to legend, meadowsweet was called meadowsweet by hunters, since they used it to make a storage shed - a shelter for duck hunting.
The beautiful honey plant blooms almost all summer, spreading the enchanting smell of almonds, honey, and vanilla around. Throughout July and August, hardworking bees buzz above the light, fragrant panicles.
In the outback you can still see brooms made from dried meadowsweet grass in the bathhouse. It is used to flavor rooms and added to some dishes as a spice, but the main advantage of common meadowsweet is its healing capabilities.
Dried meadowsweet herb
Grandmother herbalists claim that meadowsweet is a proven remedy for 40 diseases. In folk medicine, they are mainly treated with meadowsweet. It must be distinguished from its analogues, because varieties affect the body differently, so it is worth getting to know it in more detail.
Classification
Meadowsweet is a typical representative of the genus Meadowsweet, the rosehip subfamily, and the Rosaceae family. The genus name in Latin is Filipendula, which means “hanging threads”, as its roots are suspended on thin threads.
The name of the species is elm, a derivative of the noun “elm”.
Popularly it is also called meadowsweet, lungwort, whitehead, and honeyberry.
Mask for smooth skin
Meadowsweet, the medicinal properties and contraindications of which allow the plant to be used not only for medical purposes, is widely used for cosmetic procedures. It can be found in many face masks. For example, for smooth skin.
Honey, meadowsweet decoction and carrot juice are mixed in the same ratio. Apply the solution to the face with a cosmetic brush. Leave for 20 minutes, then rinse your face with warm water.
Pour warm meadowsweet broth over 30 g of oatmeal flakes and add 7.5 ml of lemon juice.
The mask is applied in the evening, preferably before bedtime. The duration of the procedure is 15 minutes.
Description of the species
Meadowsweet is a perennial up to 2 m tall. You can recognize it by its ribbed, erect stem and regular pinnately compound large (up to 30 cm) leaves. The top of the leaf is dark green and the bottom is white tomentose. The leaf is ovate-lanceolate, with a sharp serrated edge, stipule and shortened petiole.
It differs from its analogues in its pinnate leaves, where small leaves are located between large corrugated sheets.
The fruit is a seed in the form of a twisted spiral with sickle-shaped nuts.
The meadowsweet flower is small (up to 8 mm in diameter), consists of five petals of white or cream color. Numerous flowers are collected in apical inflorescences of the paniculate-corymbose type.
It differs from six-petalled meadowsweet not only in the number of petals: it has ball-shaped thickenings on the roots, which is why six-petalled meadowsweet is also called groundnuts. The root of the five-leaved meadowsweet is powerful, thick, and creeping; in the elm-leaved variety it is without thickenings.
Meadowsweet loves water meadows, waterlogged river banks and various types of swamps with fertile soil. There is a lot of grass in the alder thickets. In the floodplain of a forest stream it can form a carpet that is difficult to overcome. Healing raw materials are collected in the central zone of the Russian Federation, in the Far East, Altai, and the Urals.
Loves places with high humidity, swampy and damp meadows, forests.
Infusion for diarrhea
Meadowsweet, medicinal properties and contraindications are described above, helps cure diarrhea. To make the product, you need to put 1 tbsp in a container. rhizomes and pour in boiling water (200 ml). Boil in a water bath for 8-9 minutes, then set aside for 2 hours. Consume 1 tbsp before meals four times a day.
This recipe is suitable for people suffering from diabetes. 1 tsp dry plant roots, pour 200 ml of cooled boiled water. Leave for 8-9 hours. The prepared decoction is drunk in small portions throughout the day. The course lasts a month, then you need to take a break of 30 days. The cycle is repeated as necessary.
Composition of whitehead
The herb is rich in essential oils, wintergreen, spirein, vanilla, glycosides, terpein, wax, tannins, vitamins, and fats. Flowers are valued for their essential oils, the glycoside spirein. Wintergreen was detected in the roots.
Herbalists prescribe the herb as an astringent for defecation irregularities. It also has diaphoretic, choleretic properties, as well as diuretic properties; strengthens the immune system, has sedative and anesthetic effects.
Used for colds as an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, immunostimulating, bactericidal agent.
Reviews
Lida: I have long decided to switch to herbal treatment (although I do not abolish the importance of antibiotics, but only for serious indications). As a family, we collect herbs, ferment, dry, etc. Meadowsweet is one of the discoveries; last winter the whole family had the flu. I wasn’t so sick, but my husband and 15-year-old son were simply exhausted. On the third day, the disease trusted a recipe found on the Internet and brewed meadowsweet as tea. You need to drink 2 cups, no more, but mine drank 3 for sure. I don’t know if we broke the rules too much, but the disease began to recede before our eyes. We didn’t take pills, only the first day my husband and son were “stuffed up” with powders that simply mask the symptoms. I'm sure the meadowsweet helped.
Zhanna: Since childhood, I liked tea with meadowsweet, fragrant, as if with honey. As soon as I visited my grandmother for the holidays, she would brew it so that I wouldn’t get sick. And I really rarely got sick. I don’t even remember how and when it was. Now I brew it for my children, although they say it’s not for children. But mine are already 11 and 14, I make weak tea and drink it at the beginning of the cold season.
Andrey: Meadowsweet really has a lot of useful properties. You just need to understand that there is no panacea anywhere, not in official medicine, not in Eastern medicine, not in homeopathy, not in herbal medicine. Everything is wise, everything is to the point, everything is dosed. Meadowsweet helped me, for example, to heal my stomach, which I had in the army. I drank the tincture in courses, and began to notice that it hurt less often, that there was almost no reaction to some special food.
Pharmacological features
The most valuable plant from a medicinal point of view is meadowsweet. Traditional medicine uses meadowsweet flowers to treat a wide range of ailments. Their medicinal properties and contraindications are due to their unique chemical composition:
- vitamin C – strengthens the immune system;
- wax – has an antimicrobial and astringent effect;
- essential oils – beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular and respiratory systems;
- starch – has enveloping properties that protect the mucous membrane from damage;
- fatty plant acids - take part in the creation and restoration of cellular tissue;
- glycosides – provide sedative, antibacterial and laxative effects;
- phenolcarboxylic acids – naturally cleanse the body and prevent cell aging;
- flavonoids – relieve swelling, spasms, allergy symptoms;
- salicylic acid – relieves inflammation;
- phenolic compounds – normalize the functioning of the biliary tract and genitourinary system;
- tannins – control blood viscosity.
Meadowsweet is used to treat wounds, burns, and gout.
Poultices and compresses from meadowsweet relieve symptoms of arthritis, migraines, and allergies. The plant has low toxicity, but in cases of hypotension and colitis characterized by severe constipation, treatment with its drugs is not recommended.
It is important to consider that whitecap contains salicylates that have a diaphoretic effect. Therefore, you can leave the room for fresh air only an hour after taking the medicine. It is also necessary to monitor the composition of the blood.
Best before date
24 months
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The description of vitamin Meadowsweet is intended for informational purposes only. Before starting to use any drug, it is recommended to consult a doctor and read the instructions for use. For more complete information, please refer to the manufacturer's instructions. Do not self-medicate; EUROLAB is not responsible for the consequences caused by the use of information posted on the portal. Any information on the project does not replace consultation with a specialist and cannot be a guarantee of the positive effect of the drug you use. The opinions of EUROLAB portal users may not coincide with the opinions of the site Administration.
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Meadowsweet in folk medicine
Herbalists and healers make medicines from all parts of the medicinal plant.
Flower tea is used as a diuretic for nephritis, gout, rheumatism, kidney failure, pain in the gastrointestinal tract, heart, arterial hypertension, hernia, leukemia. It is also effective as a hemostatic.
Powder from dried flowers eliminates diaper rash on the skin of infants. It also has repellent properties: if you moisten the skin with fresh plant juice, it can repel insects.
A decoction of lungwort is used to treat diseases of the respiratory system, treat wounds with suppuration, use it for irrigation in gynecology, and give enemas for diarrhea. Compresses can also be applied to damaged skin.
A decoction of the root is effective for diabetes (including gestational diabetes), diseases of the joints and thyroid gland, and cancer problems. Traditionally, in Slavic cuisine, herbs and flowers were added to first courses, drinks and desserts.
For diseases of the bladder and kidneys
Alcohol tincture of meadowsweet helps with thyroid goiter. With a course of use, this pathology can be completely cured.
Grind 35 g of fresh rhizomes of the plant and pour in 0.35 liters of alcohol (40°). Leave for 15 days. The room should be dark. The tincture must be stirred daily.
It is recommended to take 15 ml of tincture three times half an hour before meals. The full course of therapy is equal to taking 8 bottles of the drug with 14-day breaks.
You can cure problems of the urinary system and kidneys by taking a decoction of the plant 4 times, 65 g each. Use the product before meals.
To prepare it you will need a glass of boiling water and 2 tsp. plant flowers. Pour water over the flowers and leave for 4 hours.
For rheumatism and joint pain, use a decoction of the following composition:
- 60 g meadowsweet roots;
- 20 g green adonis;
- 20 g green clover;
- 40 g strawberry leaves;
- 10 g wormwood.
For 1 liter of water take 5 tbsp. mixtures of herbs. Take 2 tbsp orally up to 4 times. The decoction is also used externally, in the form of a compress. To do this, moisten the cloth in warm liquid and lay it on the sore spot.
Meadowsweet has a wide range of uses; it is used in medicines ranging from a banal cut to serious illnesses of the body. An infusion of flowers is used to relieve swelling and treat metabolic disorders, is used as a diuretic and diaphoretic and a mild pain reliever for pain in the stomach or intestines.
When adding calendula tincture, it is used for the treatment and prevention of viral diseases such as influenza, sore throat, ARVI, etc. An infusion of meadowsweet herb has an anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effect and is applied externally to skin lesions. An infusion of meadowsweet seeds is used in medicine to restore the body after a stroke.
Using lungwort in everyday life
Gardeners willingly cultivate the plant in landscape design. In addition to its decorative function, the plant fills the area with a pleasant aroma throughout the summer. They also use unique sachets to scent rooms, linen, and desserts.
Rhizomes in the southern regions of the country are popular as a spice. The sour-tasting leaves are added to salads and first courses. The aromatic herb is added to homemade wine and even to tobacco (snuff).
Whitehead contains many useful substances, so meadowsweet serves as a good vitamin supplement to the diet.
Add a couple of meadowsweet branches to a bath broom made of oak or birch. This advice is especially relevant for abrasions, wounds and inflammation.
Cosmetologists use a decoction of meadowsweet to restore oily, problematic skin prone to acne. If inflammation spreads to the scalp, rub the infusion into the scalp.
Powder from dried meadowsweet flowers is always in the herbalist's medicine cabinet: they sprinkle it on acne, boils and other skin lesions, including purulent ones.
For children, the powder helps get rid of diaper rash and bedsores. Lungwort also serves as an important component in the manufacture of creams.
Insects do not like the persistent floral smell. For protection, it is enough to rub the juice of the plant on exposed areas of the body.
Tips for using meadowsweet
- You should not drink tea that contains this plant in the first half of the day. Concentration decreases, the person becomes lethargic and drowsy. Tea should be consumed only in the evening;
- But you should not drink large amounts of tea at night, since meadowsweet has diuretic properties. Each person must find their own volume of drink;
- Creams, ointments and powder may cause an allergic reaction. Before you start using the cream with meadowsweet, you need to conduct an individual test. Apply a small amount to an area of the body and carefully observe the reaction;
- You should not treat your disease with just one plant. The effect will be noticeable only with complex therapy;
- To treat and prevent diseases with the help of meadowsweet, first of all, you need to consult a doctor.
*****
The medicinal properties of meadowsweet are very impressive, I believe that if there are no contraindications, then you should definitely try this folk remedy in treatment. In my practice, there have been cases of persistent improvement in the condition of grade 2 hypertension, good epithelization of varicose trophic ulcers that were not amenable to other treatment.
So I highly recommend it for use! I will be glad if you share with me and my readers your recipes for treating meadowsweet or meadowsweet!
Meadowsweet herb: medicinal properties, indications and contraindications
This universal medicine is effective in treating a wide variety of ailments:
- headache;
- rheumatism, gout and arthralgia;
- diabetes mellitus (including in pregnant women);
- epilepsy and smooth muscle spasms;
- dysentery and diarrhea;
- hemorrhoids and worms;
- inflammation of the urinary tract,
- hypertension;
- inflammatory processes in the sciatic and trigeminal nerves, insomnia, neuritis of the facial nerve;
- diseases of the respiratory system (sore throat, pneumonia, asthma);
- respiratory infections,
- bedsores, purulent wounds;
- psoriasis, ulcers, lichen;
- malignant tumors (in some cases);
- gastrointestinal polyps;
- cardiovascular failure (shortness of breath, edema, thrombophlebitis, anemia);
- gynecological pathologies, incl. infertility;
- intestinal atony and hepatitis.
A decoction of meadowsweet also helps with snake bites.
Despite its low toxicity class, meadowsweet is not prescribed to pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 12 years of age.
It is also contraindicated in the following conditions:
- chronic constipation;
- arterial hypotension;
- poor blood clotting;
- thrombocytopathy;
- hypersensitivity to the components of the product.
Poor blood clotting
When deciding to treat with lungwort, coordinate your intentions with a specialist. The doses and frequency of administration indicated in the recipes are approximate and are presented for general information.
Tincture for gastritis
For stomach diseases, in particular gastritis, an alcohol tincture of meadowsweet is recommended.
To prepare the medicine you need:
- 1000 ml vodka;
- 50 g fresh flowers;
- 20 g sugar.
Pour vodka over the flowers and add sugar. Leave the tincture for 2 weeks. After the expiration date, take 30 drops 3 times a day. The dose cannot be exceeded.
Meadowsweet tincture is always prepared using an alcohol-containing component. It could be alcohol, vodka, wine.
Alcohol tincture (diabetes, gastritis, stomach ulcers, cholecystitis, gout, joint inflammation):
- one liter of vodka (alcohol);
- 50 g flowers;
- 20 g granulated sugar.
Keep the composition in a cool and dark place for two weeks. Dosage: teaspoon three times a day before meals. Duration of treatment is from 21 days to 30 days.
Tincture for compresses: leave 1 part of crushed meadowsweet and 5 parts of vodka for five days.
The tincture is not recommended for use by people with alcohol dependence or with inflammatory processes in the liver.
Water tincture (high blood pressure):
- 1 tbsp. spoon of meadowsweet leaves;
- two glasses of boiling water.
Leave the mixture wrapped for 15 minutes, drink a teaspoon before meals.
Features of each part of the whitehead
All parts have healing capabilities: stem, flowers, roots. The root is suitable for eliminating symptoms of hypertension, nervous disorders, and diseases of the respiratory system.
A tincture of the root removes worms. In complex collections, the rhizome is used as a sedative, antispasmodic, and analgesic. They also help with bleeding. Pharmacists use the root to prepare herbal medicines (extract, extract).
Herbal tea will relieve fatigue and normalize sleep. It is also indicated for rhinitis. The powder is useful for treating burns and wounds.
Flower teas are used as a diuretic, astringent, diaphoretic, and anthelmintic. The drink relieves pain in the gastrointestinal tract, is effective in heart failure, relieves nerve spasms and migraines.
Decoction for leucorrhoea
To prepare a hemostatic decoction you will need 300 g of boiling water and 2 tsp. meadowsweet (dried roots). Prepare the decoction for 25 minutes in a water bath. Then strain and cool slightly. You need to take the medicine before meals, 1/4 glass of water (50 ml).
For leucorrhoea, it is recommended to use a decoction of meadowsweet leaves and flowers in a ratio of 20 g of raw material per 1 liter of boiling water. The herb is poured with boiling water and cooked in a water bath for about half an hour. The broth is filtered. With the product cooled to 25 °C, douche three times a day.
The beneficial properties of meadowsweet are also used in gynecology.
Decoction for douching (hemorrhoids, mastopathy, endometriosis, thrush, erosion): stir 6-7 teaspoons of meadowsweet (roots, flowers) in water (1 liter), keep in a water bath for 30 minutes, strain well through two layers of gauze. Douche with warm broth up to three times a day.
Infusion for the treatment of infertility: take equal parts of meadowsweet, linden, clover flowers, chop, 3 tbsp. Infuse spoonfuls of the mixture in a liter of boiling water for three hours. Take 1 glass before meals three times a day.
Dosage forms and doses
Various types of medicines are prepared from meadowsweet: tinctures, decoctions, powders, teas, creams, ointments.
Alcohol tincture
The infusion treats non-healing purulent wounds, boils, and trophic ulcers. The drug has a bactericidal effect and promotes rapid regeneration of damaged skin.
The sedative and antispasmodic effect allows the infusion to be used for central nervous system disorders and gastrointestinal ulcers. The tincture treats hormonal disorders, goiter, and gynecology.
To prepare a tincture for external use, add vodka to the dry herb (for 1 teaspoon of raw material - 5 teaspoons of vodka) and leave it in a dark place for at least 5 days. If you purchased the medicine at a pharmacy, take 25 drops dissolved in 50 ml of water. Dosage frequency: 3 times a day, before meals.
Decoction
The remedy treats certain types of oncology, hypertension, nervous disorders, rheumatism, intestinal infections, dysentery, inflammation of the genitourinary organs, epileptic symptoms, gout.
According to the recipe, you need to take 0.5 liters of water for 1 teaspoon of chopped dried raw materials. Steam the broth for half an hour, filter and dilute with boiled water. Drink at the table. l. 3 rubles/day after meal.
If the liquid is intended for irrigation (for gynecological problems), the proportions are different: for 25 g of raw material, take 1 liter of water.
Infusion
The medicine is prescribed for gout, rheumatism, swelling, hemorrhoids, hernias of various locations, diarrhea, insomnia, anemia, kidney pathologies, inflammation, female diseases, bleeding, psoriasis, leukemia, hepatitis, gastrointestinal pathologies, diabetes.
Meadowsweet infusion for rheumatism of the joints
According to the recipe for 1 tsp. crushed meadowsweet roots, you need a glass of boiled water (can be cold). Leave for 8 hours and drink everything within 24 hours.
Flower tea
1 tsp is enough for a cup of water. flower tea. You need to brew for 5 minutes. Tea works as a diuretic, is effective for diseases of the genitourinary system, relieves the symptoms of stomach pain, and strengthens the immune system.
Ointment
The product is used externally for rheumatism and skin diseases. Prepare 20 g of dry root, ground in a mortar or coffee grinder into powder. Add 90 g of cow butter (Vaseline is also suitable as a base). The product is rubbed into the problem area 3-4 times per day.
Meadowsweet ointment
Lungwort for weight correction
When used correctly, meadowsweet helps to lose excess weight. Like any natural diuretic, meadowsweet infusion helps remove excess fluid from the body and improve metabolic processes.
Flower tea tastes good, does not require sweeteners, and does not increase blood sugar. The drink is recommended to be included in the diet of diabetics.
Collection, drying, storage
To prepare the product, you need 3 components in equal proportions - meadowsweet flowers, linden flowers and red clover. For 3 tbsp. you will need a liter of boiling water. Pour liquid over the flowers and leave covered for 2-2.5 hours. Take a glass 2 times a day half an hour before meals.
It is not advisable to use plants growing near roads or industrial enterprises for drying. Flowers and stems are cut for drying during flowering (June - July) and crushed. Rhizomes and roots are dug up when the snow melts (March, April), or in September-October. Wash the roots well and cut into thin strips. Dry the prepared raw materials outdoors under a canopy or in a ventilated area.
The shelf life of raw materials is three years.
Harvesting meadowsweet
Whitecap flowers are usually collected as medicinal raw materials. The best time to collect is July-August, the period of mass flowering. The panicles are cut to the first leaf and dried in the shade in a draft at a moderate temperature.
Raw materials should be stored in a tightly closed box. Properly prepared raw materials will be brown in color, have a characteristic odor and a bitter-tart taste.
If you need to prepare meadowsweet roots, it is better to dig them up in the off-season. Freeing the rhizomes from the soil and stems, they are washed in cool water, cut into pieces of 10-15 cm and dried under the same conditions, laid out in a layer of up to 1 cm on cloth or paper.
Can be stored in bags or containers made of wood or glass. The shelf life of this product is 3 years if stored in a cool, dry place.
Growing conditions
Meadowsweet is a very unpretentious plant, resistant to frost and does not require any special preparation for the winter period. Prefers moist and fertile soils. But when planting, you should not moisten the soil too much - abundant watering is important in the summer.
Meadowsweet can be propagated either by cuttings of rhizomes or by seeds. It is best to plant in late autumn. A distance of 40 to 50 cm should be maintained between plants. Meadowsweet can grow in one place for a long time; it should be replanted no earlier than after five years.
