Collecting and harvesting plants. Their storage
.Before you start collecting medicinal plants, you need to know the plants themselves (which, by the way, is not difficult, if you understand the trees at least by their external characteristics), to be able to distinguish from other similar species (say, poplar from aspen), to know the places where these or those trees grow. And do not harvest medicinal raw materials near roads, factories, landfills.
Several types of medicinal raw materials (e.g., useful tree leaves and roots) should not be collected in the same container. Collections should not be contaminated with mechanical impurities (earth, sand, etc.).as well as admixtures of other plants, such as flowers).
Only those parts of the trees listed as medicinal should be harvested.
The active medicinal substances are accumulated in the tissues of trees in their various organs: in leaves, fruits, buds, and seeds. The content of active principles in these organs (tissues) is not the same during the life of a tree: their amount is different not only in different organs, but also in the same organs at different times of the year (and even of the day) and in different phases of vegetation of the plant. It is also necessary to know which tissues (fruits, seeds, buds, leaves, bark) contain substances that are healing for you and when they are more abundant in these tissues (but we will talk about this when considering certain diseases and their treatment).
But, getting a little ahead of ourselves, let us say that the highest content of active principles in plants is observed at the end of flowering and ripening of fruits or before the beginning of leaf or flower budding (willow, alder, oak, etc.).). The best time to collect fruit and seeds is when the tree is ripe for fruiting and the plant can be propagated further by seed. Useful tree leaves, flowers and branches are richest in active initiates before full bloom.
Bark is removed from trees in early spring before sap movement begins or during it, before budding. The sap saturation of tree tissue in early spring makes it easy to strip the bark.
The buds are collected in spring when they are swollen but have not yet opened. Fruits and seeds are most rich in medicinal substances when mature, but not overripe; they are harvested as they ripen.
Knives with sharp ends are needed to remove the bark. On the branches or trunks of young trees with smooth bark are made with a knife tip at a distance of 25-30 cm transverse cuts to the wood, which are joined by longitudinal cuts, and then the bark is removed with a tube or by cutting the bark tubes lengthwise - with two half-tubes.
The buds are collected by hand or by paddling bundles of twigs on the ground or floor on a spread row, towel, etc. д.
The medicinal raw material is collected in some container. Leaves, flowers, fruits are put into baskets as loosely as possible. In general, tightly stuffed baskets and bags should not be, as the raw material is self-heating and part of the active principles in the plants decompose. For the same reason, do not leave the collected plants in piles overnight.
Prepare plant material, as a rule, in dry weather. The juicy fruits should be picked early in the morning or evening, taking care not to damage them, and stacked in layers in wicker baskets. Between the layers put sprigs with leaves. Worm-damaged, crumpled and contaminated fruits should not be harvested: they quickly rot.
Before drying, the collected medicinal raw materials are picked and sorted. Useful tree leaves and flowers are stripped of foreign impurities, and those that have turned white, moldy and insect-infested are removed. Seeds, fruits and buds are sifted and stripped of trash and dust. The juicy fruits are wilted in the sun or in the oven before drying, but care should be taken not to burn them.
Drying of harvested plants is carried out immediately after collection: they are spread out in a thin layer on some bedding. Most medicinal plants should not be dried in the sun, as this destroys chlorophyll, and the raw material loses its green color, destroyed and some of the active ingredients, such as glycosides, essential oils.
Air drying is carried out under sheds, in attics, in dryers, in tents and other well-ventilated rooms. Medicinal raw materials are spread out or scattered on clean shelves, gauze, cloth or rye and occasionally turned and tumbled. Do not dry in rooms with specific odors - kerosene, gasoline, near livestock yards. In fire drying, the temperature should be different for different types of medicinal raw materials. Plant parts containing glycosides and alkaloids should be dried at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, essential oil - at a temperature of 25-30 ° C, vitamin-containing - at a temperature of 70-90 ° C.
The finished medicinal raw material should be dried, broken with a crunch, but not crumbly.
Dried raw materials require certain storage conditions. Storage areas should be completely dry, dark, free of dust, dust and insects. Odoriferous raw materials should be stored separately from non odoriferous ones.
Finished raw materials should be packed in containers and provided with a tag indicating the name of raw materials, their weight and time of preparation.
Storage periods, as a rule: for flowers and grass (leaves) - 1-2 years, for bark - 3-5 years, buds - 2 years, fruits - 2 years.
Cooking our own medicinal powders, decoctions, infusions, tinctures, ointments juices
Many patients independently at home prepare for themselves and loved ones various medicinal forms, especially decoctions, infusions of plants, tinctures, medicinal powders, ointments and so on.д. But not everyone, unfortunately, competently do it, in connection with which we consider it necessary to remind the rules of preparation of these dosage forms.
Powders
.Medicinal powders are the simplest dosage form and it is quite easy to prepare them at home. To do this, dried parts of the medicinal raw material are taken and crushed in a mortar (or ground in a coffee grinder). In this way powders are obtained, which are used for ingestion, for sprinkling on wounds, ulcers, diaper sores, bedsores.
Potions and infusions of plants
Decoctions and infusions refer to liquid dosage forms and are aqueous extracts.
For the preparation of decoctions and infusions of medicinal raw materials are crushed: useful tree leaves, buds and flowers with a diameter of no more than 5 mm, stem, branches, bark - no more than 3 mm, fruits and seeds - no more than 0.5 mm, after which the resulting mass is placed in an enamel or porcelain bowl, pour water, cover with a lid and put on a boiling water bath. In most cases, the infusion is heated for 15 minutes, the decoction - 30 minutes with frequent stirring. After heating, the contents of the vessel are strained (for example, through gauze or other filter), and the remainder of the raw material is pressed.
The resulting decoction or infusion is brought with boiled water to the original (or desired) volume and use as directed.
In folk medicine, plant infusions have long been prepared by cold and hot methods. Cold method of preparing infusions is that the crushed particles of medicinal raw materials poured cold boiled water and insisted for 4-6 hours in a closed vessel, after which the liquid mass is strained. In the combustible method of preparing infusions, medicinal raw materials are poured with boiling water and put on the stove for 15-20 minutes or in a hot stove for the same time, without bringing to a boil, after which the infusion is strained.
For the preparation of infusions and decoctions, the generally accepted dose in folk medicine is 1 tablespoon of dry crushed raw material for 1 cup (about 250 ml) of cold water or boiling water. For information: 1 tablespoon of dry crushed roots corresponds to 10 g, leaves - 5 g.
Decoctions and infusions of plants are prepared for 1-2 days of use, as they spoil rather quickly, especially in summer (or when stored in a warm room). These liquid dosage forms should be stored in a dark, cool place out of direct sunlight. If the decoction or infusion the next day should be taken warm, it is not heated, but diluted with hot water.
Tinctures at home are prepared with 40% alcohol. Crushed medicinal raw materials poured vodka or alcohol in a ratio of 1:10, 2:10, 3:10 in a glass dark dish, which is closed with a cork and incubated from 3 to 21 days with occasional stirring. The tincture is then filtered through gauze or absorbent cotton and poured into a dark vial.
After draining the tincture, the residue should be squeezed and the liquid strained through several layers of gauze.
Take tinctures in small doses - a few drops a day in 2-3 doses, more often with water.
Shelf life of tinctures is 1-3 years.
Those or other changes in the process of preparation of infusions, decoctions and tinctures used in the treatment of certain diseases will be further described in the part of the book devoted to the treatment of diseases.
Usually tinctures (tonic agents) are taken during the cold season (fall, winter, spring) because these medicines cause a rush of blood to the head and heart. True, in the warm period of time, infusions can be taken as a prophylactic remedy, as well as after heavy operations, with long, debilitating illnesses, with work associated with great physical exertion.
Ointments
.This medicinal form is most often prepared from the powder of a particular tree, using for this purpose the necessary parts of the tree (useful tree leaves, flowers, roots). As a basis use either petroleum jelly or melted fat (say, pork), as well as vegetable (preferably olive) or butter oil, with which the resulting powder is mixed.
Sookie
.The sap of trees such as birch, linden, oak, maple, spruce, and pine have medicinal properties. To prepare sap from the roots (if required by disease) or rhizomes, these parts of the tree are processed immediately after digging them up. You can, of course, make juices from a variety of fruits. Only fully ripe fruits are suitable for this purpose..
