Ephedra bicolor (Ephedra distachya L.)
Conifer, kuzmicheva grass, Ukr.: stachak zvichajnyy. The plant is poisonous.
Ephedra bicolumnar
Ephedra bicolor is a perennial leafless branching evergreen shrub in the conifer family" 20-40 cm tall. The flowers are small yellow. Ephedra bicolor blooms in May through June. The fruit is a juicy, sweet red small berry. The cone berries, called Bashkir or Kalmyk raspberries, are edible.
In Donbas, Ephedra bicolosca is rarely found on dry and calcareous slopes, in stony and sandy steppes, on seaside sands. Green twigs are used, which should be cut with a knife (do not pull out the root).
Ephedra herb contains traces of alkaloids (up to 0.28-1.7 %)fphedrine, methylephedrine and Dr.), tannins (pyrocatechins), phlobaphenes, resins.
The alkaloid ephedrine has adrenaline-like action - constricts blood vessels, increases blood pressure, dilates the bronchi, excites the central nervous system.
In medicine, preparations of ephedra horsetail growing in Central Asia are used. Conifer is used in folk medicine for bronchitis, bronchial asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis, pulmonary emphysema, whooping cough, hay fever, urticaria, rheumatism, arthrosis, gout, peptic ulcer, hypotonia, sciatica and other nervous diseases, muscle weakness (myasthenia gravis) and enuresis. The fruit is used in Bulgaria for fever and impotence (V. Petkov).
Methods of application:
1. 1-2 sts. spoonfuls of ephedra herb insist in 250 ml of boiling water - 15 ml 2-3 times a day for bronchitis, bronchial asthma.
2. Decoction of 15-22 g of ephedra herb in 2-3 glasses of water, boiled to half - 30 ml 2-3 times a day for 30 minutes before meals 2-3 months in a row, children - 5-10 ml per reception for rheumatism, whooping cough.
3. Grass ephedra, Ledum, Ivan-da-marya, thyme, nettle hives or dicot, pine buds and breast tea number 1 (pharmacy) - 200 g each, leaves of mother and stepmother - 100 g, elecampane root - 0.5 kg, mix; 1 cup of the mixture and 1 tsp. spoonful of cumin fruit insist 1 h in 1 liter of boiling water, take in warm form during the day for bronchial asthma (N. И. Solomchenko) .
The plant is to be protected and introduced into culture.
Woodland apple tree (Malus sylvestris Mill.)
Wild apple tree, Ukr.: apple wood, sagebrush.
The forest apple tree is a tree or a large shrub up to 10 m high. Occurs everywhere in forests, among shrubs, less often in parks and squares. Blooms in April - May, fruits ripen in August - September.
Use fruits that contain up to 12-16% of sugars, malic and citric acid (up to 2.4%), tannins and pectin, vitamins C, Bi, B2, PP, carotene, essential oil, flavonoids, organic compounds of iron and phosphorus.
In folk medicine, fresh apples and decoction from them are used as a mild laxative and diuretic for obesity, edema, atherosclerosis, rheumatism, kidney and gallstone disease, anemia, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, avitaminosis, cough, migraine, baked apples are eaten for chronic constipation, externally use fresh apples as an anti-inflammatory agent for burns, frostbite and for the treatment of long non-healing ulcers. Young leaves may serve as a surrogate for tea (V. И. Chopik).
You can also use cultivated varieties. Apples have long been an excellent dietary and health food. The ancient Greeks called them the elixir of youth. A popular saying says: "An apple a day - and you don't need a doctor".
Apple juice and pulp of the fruit help to cleanse the body of all kinds of unnecessary substances, including cholesterol, help flush out sand from the kidneys, strengthen the heart and improve the activity of the stomach and intestines. Apples are beneficial in colitis, dysentery, dropsy, jaundice, hypertension. Patients with dysentery are given for two days grated fresh Antonovka apples without peel up to 1-2 kg per day.
Nutritionists prescribe unloading apple days - eat 300-400 g of raw fruit 5-6 times a day (1,5- 2 kg per day) for heart disease, kidney disease, hypertension and obesity.
To improve salt metabolism prescribe apple juice or decoction of 2-3 raw cut apples in 1 liter of water, boil for 10-15 minutes. You can also use the powder of dried apple peel (tbsp. spoon for 250 ml of boiling water) (for gout, polyarthritis, eczema). Sour varieties of apples are recommended for diabetes and obesity, sweet - for cardiovascular disease, gout, kidney and gallbladder stones.
It is useful to drink juice on an empty stomach in anacid gastritis. Physician P. М. Rumyantsev (d. Kramatorsk) consumed one apple of the Renet Semirenko variety at night and advised patients to improve sleep and digestion. Apples are especially beneficial for the elderly and children.
Ointment of pureed apples with fat helps with cracks on the lips, nipples, wounds and ulcers.
Sour apples and juice are not indicated for patients with hyperacid gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and pancreatitis..
