In this part of the articles, we will give a general characterization of medicinal trees. Here is a list of diseases in which certain parts of various trees, their individual organs are used. And in the next, special part of the articles will give not only a characteristic of the disease, but also give recipes that are used in the treatment of this disease.
Common Apricot
.The common apricot belongs to the family Rosaceae. It is cultivated in the southern parts of our country. The tree reaches a height of 5-7 m, its bark is light brown on old trees, cracking along, young branches are reddish-brown, with lenticels. Leaves are simple, ovate, with a pointed apex. The flowers are solitary, white-pink. The fruit is a knuckle, yellow or orange in color; the flesh of the fruit is sweet, light brown; the seeds have a thick skin. Common apricot blooms in March-April, fruiting in June-August.
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The medicinal raw material of apricot is the seeds and the oil obtained from them. In addition, the fruit and apricot gum are widely used in medical practice. Apricot juice is very healthy for liver disease and hypertension.
The pulp of the fruit contains a lot of sugars, a small amount of inulin (useful in diabetes), starch, malic and citric acids, pectin substances. A lot of apricot fruit provitamin A, a lot of vitamin B12 and C. Common apricot is rich in potassium salts.
Apricot seeds contain up to 60% non-drying essential oil, which is chemically similar to peach oil.
Due to the rich content of potassium salts in the pulp of apricots, its fruit (can be dried) is recommended for use in diseases of the cardiovascular system.
We said above that inulin contained in apricots has a regulating effect on carbohydrate metabolism and therefore these fruits are useful in diabetes. But the use of apricots in this disease is recommended to limit (up to 5-6 pieces a day), as they are rich in sugars.
For coughs and hiccups, common apricot acts as a sedative. Its use is useful in tracheitis, bronchitis, whooping cough (these recipes, by the way, were proposed by folk doctors of China).
Dried apricots - apricots and apricots are good diuretics. They are rich in phosphorus and magnesium, which are required by the body for active brain function, and are great for toning it up. Recently, scientists have established the positive effects of apricots and dried apricots on the blood vessels of the brain. Common apricot improves memory and enhances performance.
According to the foreign press, 10 million Britons are advised by their doctors to consume significant amounts of vitamin C daily. It has long been proven that this vitamin strengthens the human immune system and contributes to the early prevention of many diseases. But scientists from the University of South Carolina in the course of intensive research found that the use of large doses of vitamin C in tablets (exactly in tablets) leads to a significant narrowing of blood vessels by thickening their walls. And as a result, the threat of heart attack or stroke increases (by the way, excessive use of certain vitamins is more harmful to the human body than their insufficient use).
At the same time, scientists have announced that vitamin C pills can be replaced with "live" analogs - apricots, oranges or lemons - with great success.
Common (or oblong) quince
.This tree (or shrub) is cultivated in our southern regions, including the North Caucasus. The tree reaches a height of 5 meters. Trunks and old branches with dark gray bark, smooth; young ones are woolly and woolly-punctuated. Leaves are short-petiolate, elliptic, shortly acuminate, green above, grayish from pubescence below.
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Flowers are solitary, large. The fruit is an "apple." Seeds are reddish-brown, with a strongly ossifying rind. Common quince blooms in May and June. The fruits ripen in September and November. The common quince grows in forest glades, clearings and along the banks of water bodies on the plains and in the lower mountain belt. It is also grown in gardens.
Medicinal raw material of quince - seeds and mucus on them, but in folk medicine, quince leaves, its fruits are used for medicinal purposes. Seed collection is done during fruit processing. The seeds are dried in dryers at a temperature not exceeding 40-50°C.
Quince fruits contain pectin, tannins, malic, citric and tartaric acids, various sugars, the predominant among which is fructose. Common quince is rich in iron, copper and vitamin C. Quince seeds contain about 20% mucus, easily swollen in water, starch, essential oil, protein, tannins and minerals.
Fresh fruit is also a medicinal raw material of quince (due to the significant content of iron in them) is recommended for anemia. Tinctures and extracts can be prepared from the fresh fruits and used for the same purpose.
The high content of pectin and tannins in the pulp of quince fruit causes their use in intestinal diseases accompanied by diarrhea. Poultices of quince juice have a favorable effect in prolapse of the rectum, fissures of the anus. Decoctions from the seeds of the fruit have long been used for hemoptysis, uterine bleeding.
Due to the high content of mucilaginous and tannins in the seeds from them are prepared medicinal raw materials of quince, namely mucilaginous decoctions, which are taken internally as a mild laxative and externally in the form of lotions as an enveloping, as well as in eye diseases..
