According to legend, the wormwood is love potion protects against witchcraft, witches and mermaids. To wormwood had a special effect, it is collected in late summer, the feast of the Assumption. Use this wormwood and as a medicine has a special power in the treatment of a variety of external and internal diseases.

Appearance wormwood and the place of its growth

There are several species of wormwood, but the drug is mainly used in order to wormwood - a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae with strong pleasant aroma and bitter taste, up to 1 m tall, covered with pressed tomentose pubescence. Stems numerous, grooved, silky leaves, lower long-petiolate, pinnate, twice and thrice dissected, upper - a feather, the uppermost - three-lobed or undivided. The root comes from a short rhizome, branched. The flowers are small, yellow, baskets, collected in panicles. Flowers in July - August. Fruit - achene ripen in September - October.

Wormwood is widespread in central Russia, the North Caucasus, in Western Siberia, grows on dry slopes, edges, vacant lots, fields, in weedy places. Cultivated in Europe, the US, Russia and other countries as a medicinal plant.

Medicinal raw materials are branches with leaves and flowers (flowering tops). Harvest wormwood during flowering, cutting off the tops of about 20 cm without rough parts of the stem. Air dried under a canopy, laying a thin layer and periodically stirring. Store in glass jars.

Chemical composition

The tops of wormwood leaves and flowers contain a bitter glycosides absintin and anabsintin, essential oils, volatile, alkaloids, vitamins (ascorbic acid and carotene - provitamin A), organic acids (malic, acetic, succinic), macro- (potassium, calcium, and other ) and trace elements (magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, bromine, etc.), tannins.

The essential oil of wormwood has a blue-green color and consist of terpenoids (thujone, tuyola, azulene, tuyolovogo alcohol esters). It gives the essential oil thujone Essential oils and conception: can help the roses?   Artemisia toxic properties.

Medicinal Properties

Wormwood stimulates the appetite, stimulates digestion, central nervous system and blood, has anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, antipyretic, expectorant and antispasmodic (relieves muscle spasm of the internal organs and blood vessels) properties.

But wormwood is not a harmless drug, so it is not recommended for a long time or at high doses. For an overdose of wormwood is characterized by central nervous system excitation with hallucinations and convulsions, which in severe cases replaced inhibition and impaired consciousness. With prolonged use of drugs made from wormwood may decrease hemoglobin, cause nausea and vomiting.

The use of wormwood in medicine

Wormwood is used in the treatment of various diseases:

• as a means of stimulating the central nervous system with severe weakness after infectious diseases (asthenia);
• as bitterness with a decrease in appetite and a reduced secretory function of the stomach;
• as a choleretic and antispasmodic agent in diseases of the liver and biliary tract, stagnation of bile in the gall bladder;
• as an antispasmodic agent for an inflammation of the large intestine (colitis);
• for colds as an antipyretic and expectorant;
• as an anthelmintic to expel pinworms and ascarids (enema);
• as a gargle for bad breath Breath (halitosis) - is sometimes useful to close the mouth ;
• external preparation of wormwood is used to treat wounds, burns and frostbite.

Medications from wormwood contraindicated in pregnancy, breast-feeding Breast-feeding: feed - and no nails!   Child and low hemoglobin Hemoglobin: worse - low or high? .

How to prepare medicine from wormwood at home

The pharmacy you can buy wormwood extract thick (use 10-20 drops 3 times a day before meals) and tincture of wormwood (take 15-20 drops Zrazy daily before meals).

The home of tarragon prepare infusions and decoctions:

• infusion of wormwood for ingestion: teaspoon dried minced raw pour two cups of boiling water for 20 minutes, strain and drink ¼ cup 3 times a day for half an hour before meals;
• decoction of sage rinse the mouth with an unpleasant smell: tablespoon dried minced raw pour 1, 5 cups of cold water, boil for 5 minutes, cool, potsedit, overcome two hundred to the original level and use as a gargle.

Wormwood - it is certainly a useful drug, but prior to taking better to consult a doctor.

Galina Romanenko

Calendula - one of the most versatile and useful herbs. It is a mild painkiller, very effective in many common ailments. Calendula tincture is a liquid that has the healing properties of calendula. Used in alternative medicine and naturopathic medicine. Various lotions, ointments, tinctures and other extracts of plants used in stories for treating various diseases.

Useful plants

Calendula flowers contain high concentrations of colorful orange xanthophylls, carotenoids and other flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants Antioxidants: the truth about the notorious benefits And flavonoids extract, as shown by research to be effective against inflammation and fever, and also stimulates the secretion of bile, aiding digestion and purifying the liver. It is proved that the aqueous extract of calendula helps to reduce smooth muscle of the uterus. The flowers of calendula have hypoglycemic properties, but also protect the stomach.

The plant is edible, and if the other ingredients are also edible infusion, then a tincture can be used as a drug for oral administration.

Applying lotion

Bottles with calendula tincture should always keep on hand .  As a means of first aid, it has no equal .  Calendula is used as a tincture, lotion or ointment, helps effectively stop the bleeding, soothes the pain of injuries, insect bites and irritations and promotes healing of tissues .  As a disinfectant and plant antifungal agent, it promotes a healthy granulation and rapid healing .  Taken alone or in combination with other herbs, calendula is very good relieves pain and inflammation in the ear .  As antifungal, calendula useful for the treatment of ringworm and other problems caused by fungal infections .  Diluted tincture (lotion) is an effective treatment for problem skin, it soothes the pain and irritation, promoting healing .  Lotions may be lubricated postoperative seams to accelerate healing and prevent infection .  The lotion is also great for rinsing after tooth extraction .

Most often, calendula tincture is applied to the skin to treat a variety of lung superficial wounds or irritation. Not recommended for use calendula tincture for the treatment of deeper wounds as deep tissue burn alcohol.

Tincturation

In folk medicine, tincture of calendula have long been used to rinse the throat and mouth laryngitis Laryngitis - deadly , Tonsillitis, coughs. It is also used for indigestion, fever and other violations.

Calendula tincture, moreover, is an external treatment for wounds, burns and scratches. Scientific studies suggest that calendula contains substances that stimulate the healing of wounds, ulcers and other skin lesions. According to one recent study, calendula tincture can accelerate the healing process of the scars after cesarean section. In addition, calendula tincture is part of a drug that is used in naturopathy to alleviate the pain caused by acute otitis Acute otitis media: to heal, to not become a chronic disease .

Marigold flowers have a high concentration of xanthophylls and other carotenoids flavonoids, which are potent antioxidants; they have anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects and stimulates the production of bile and purified liver. It is assumed that in addition to the above properties, calendula tincture has the ability to normalize blood sugar Blood sugar - one of the main indicators of human health .

For the preparation of tinctures used calendula flowers. Fresh petals are placed in a container filled with ethyl alcohol or stainless vodka, shaken and left for two to four weeks in a cool dark place. The ratio of the number of petals and vodka recipes in different ranges, and desired strength infusions depends on the purpose of its application. After the alcohol absorbs the healing properties of the petals, the infusion is filtered and is ready for use. This tincture contains no preservatives, so it should be stored in a dark glass bottle.

Prevention and Treatment

There are many ways to use tincture of calendula, mainly for the treatment of skin problems. The finished tincture should not be applied directly to a wound or irritation, do not dilute with water. Ingest it should be mixed with tea or other drinks. You can also do rinse calendula tincture when diluted with water.

Inside calendula is often prescribed to relieve pain or dryness in the throat, cramps, constipation and other ailments. It is believed that the extracts of calendula flowers have anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties, so the combination of calendula with other herbs can be administered for the treatment of complex diseases. To treat external problems the drug can also be used inside.

Outwardly diluted Calendula tincture can be used to treat acne, rashes, infections and painful skin lesions. She also treated with minor burns and abrasions. Pharmacy tincture is also recommended as a good remedy for cuts and minor penetrating injuries. Fans of this herb is believed that marigold extract helps speed healing by cleansing and disinfecting wounds and speeds up the recovery process. It is not known exactly how the tool performs numerous tasks, but the history of folk medicine, and some research suggests that to some extent it is really effective.