Frangula alnus - Frangula alnus. Family Rhamnaceae.
It is not uncommon to find brittlebush in treeless lowland or forest bogs. It also grows on
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marshy meadows, in the undergrowth of floodplain forests, along the banks of rivers and lakes, on forest edges and in damp forests. In floodplain willow forests, brittlebush is combined with black currant; in black alder forests - with calamus, black elderberry, black currant (in the undergrowth); in the herb layer - with nettle, nightshade, laburnum. The habitat of cherrywort covers almost the entire European part of the USSR, Siberia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
Usually brittlebush is shaped like a bush (up to 3 m tall), but can sometimes be a tree (up to 7 m tall). Its bark is smooth, almost black; leaves are simple, regular. Small greenish-white florets are formed in the axils of the leaves of brittlebush (Fig. 13). Brittlebush blooms in May, and the flowering continues until July. The fruits ripen in the fall - spherical bones of red or purple-black color.
The main medicinal raw material of brittlebush is the bark. But in fresh form, it causes nausea and vomiting; therefore, it is subjected to heat treatment, kept for an hour at a temperature of 100 ° C, or collected stored for 1-2 years. Use the bark of brittle cranberry as a laxative, which is determined by the presence of anthraglycosides and their derivatives in the bark. There are in the bark and tannins, sugars, malic acid, some essential oils. Medicinal effect on the body also have leaves, roots, fruits of brittle cranesbill. Use cranberry for various gastrointestinal diseases: spastic colitis, constipation, intestinal atony, to regulate bowel activity in hemorrhoids. Extracts and decoctions of brittle cranesbill have a mild laxative effect, manifested 8-10 h after intake. In order to avoid addiction to the body, preparations of brittlebush are alternated with other laxatives.
with other laxatives. Brittle cranberry is included in a number of approved preparations: in Vicalin, Vicair, Cholagol. The latter has choleretic action and antispasmodic effect; it is used in the treatment of liver diseases.
The bark of brittle cranesbill is included in several officially recognized therapeutic laxative teas: with yarrow, cottonwood and cumin; with yarrow and nettle. You can make a decoction from a single crushberry. To do this, a tablespoon of crushed bark poured a glass of water and boiled for 20 minutes. But if the crushberry is combined with peppermint, nettle, aire and valerian, the tea will regulate intestinal activity. Equally good is another stomach tea, where brittlebush is taken mixed with ayre, peppermint, nettle, dandelion and valerian. In folk medicine, the bark of the brittle cranesbill is used for the same diseases, and the branches and bark - also as a wound-healing agent.
The bark and leaves of brittlebush can be used to make a strong paint. Wood, which is soft and brittle, is also widely used. It is especially good for lathe work and for making charcoal, which is considered the best for making up hunting powder. The wood is used to make decorative plywood, furniture fittings, shoe lasts, and cobbler's nails. Brittlebush has some forage value: it is well eaten by sheep, goats, horses, spotted deer..
