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Useful properties and application of the herb bodyak
Botanical description of the bodyak
Bodyak is a perennial weed from the Asteraceae family. It reaches a height of more than 1 m. The stem is hollow, erect, with a sticky liquid inside. Closely crowded inflorescence baskets form at the top of the stem. They are surrounded by covering pale yellow leaves, prickly along the edges. Blossom blooms in August-September. It grows mainly on moist soils of ditches, along river banks, in wet meadows, as well as in wastelands and garbage places. It is found in Siberia, the European part of Russia, in the North Caucasus, on Sakhalin.
Useful properties of bodyak
Thistle has medicinal properties, although the chemical composition of this plant is not well understood. It is known that it contains tannins, alkaloids, glycosides, fats, resins, essential oils. The delicate delicate aroma of the bodyak attracts bees. To prepare medicines, you need to dig up the root of the plant in the fall, rinse thoroughly and dry it under an awning in the fresh air or in a special dryer. According to some sources, the aerial part of the bodyak can also be used.
The use of bodyak
In traditional medicine, the use of thistle for medicinal purposes has not yet been accepted. Due to the fact that it is very little studied, it is not recommended to use it at all. Nevertheless, in some areas the plant is used as a remedy for gout and rheumatism. A decoction of the herb is recommended for colic, skin diseases and hemorrhoids (in the form of poultices). Dry inflorescences in combination with other medicinal herbs are prescribed by traditional healers for patients with oncological diseases.
Fresh herbal gruel relieves inflammation, itching, treats eczema and lichen. Decoctions from inflorescences and roots help with headaches, epilepsy, neuropsychiatric diseases. But when using a bodyac, you should not forget that the plant is poisonous, so when taking it yourself, you should act with extreme caution.
Decoction from the roots: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of crushed raw materials is poured into 250 ml of boiled water, boiled in a steam bath for 8–10 minutes, insisted for about half an hour. The decoction is used in the form of lotions to cleanse the skin, they rinse the hair with oily seborrhea.
Moisturizing face mask: 4 tablespoons of crushed leaves of the plant are mixed with 1 tablespoon of kefir and literally 1 drop of rose essential oil is added. The mask is applied to the face for 15 minutes, after which it is washed off with warm water, and the skin is rubbed with an ice cube from parsley broth.
Bodjak variegated
Thistle is a multi-leaved perennial plant with medicinal properties. Its height is 50–100 cm, the stem is vertical, rigid. The leaves are pinnatipartite, prickly along the edges, narrowed upwards, below – white felt. Inflorescence – basket. The flowers are round, scarlet. The fruit is an elongated achene, inside of which there are long feathery hairs. This plant blooms in July-August, the seeds ripen in August-September.
This type of bodyak grows in Siberia and the Urals. It grows among shrubs, in mixed forests. The plant contains essential oil, alkaloids, flavonoids, rubber, anthocyanins. The grass is used for medicinal purposes, stocking it during the flowering of plants. Used as a wound healing, hemostatic and anti-inflammatory agent.
Basically, bodyak is used externally in the form of powders and lotions. Finely chopped fresh grass is applied to abrasions and boils. Wounds can also be healed with lotions made from the infusion of thistle. Purulent wounds are sprinkled with powder from dry leaves. Young leaves and shoots are eaten. The plant is also used in veterinary medicine.
Infusion from the roots: 4 tbsp. spoons of dry crushed roots are poured with a liter of boiling water and infused for 2–2,5 hours. After filtering, the infusion is added to the bath at a temperature not higher than +38 оC. Bath time – 15 minutes. The procedure gives the body freshness and reduces sweating.
Field dogfat
This herbaceous plant has a well-developed root system, which includes a long taproot and lateral roots. The tap root can go deeper into the soil by more than 4 meters. The stem is straight, branched, with grooves. The leaves are oblong, alternate, closely adjacent to the stem. Leaf blades are entire, pinnately lobed, prickly along the edges. Violet unisexual flowers, collected in paniculate inflorescences.
The fruit is an oblong, laterally compressed achene, narrowed towards the base, inside – a volute with feathery hairs. Seeds are small matte, grayish in color. On each plant, the number of seeds can reach 36 thousand. This type of thistle is propagated by seeds and vegetatively. The plant blooms from June to late autumn. It grows mainly in wastelands and pastures. Refers to difficult-to-eradicate weeds of vegetable gardens and orchards.
In the manufacture of infusions and decoctions, grass and inflorescences of thistle are used, which are harvested during flowering, the roots are harvested in the fall. The chemical composition of the plant is represented by glycosides, resins, essential oils, ascorbic acid. A volatile alkaloid was found in the green part of the plant. The fruits contain up to 27% fatty semi-drying oil.
In alternative medicine, decoctions from the root of the plant are used for intestinal, renal and hepatic colic. Also crushed thistle is applied to wounds, abscesses, boils. Inflorescences are used in a mixture with other herbs for cancer. When used internally, caution is needed, as this plant is poisonous.
A decoction of inflorescences: 200 g of dry inflorescences are used for 20 ml of water. The mixture is boiled for 10 minutes in a water bath and infused for an hour. After straining, the decoction is taken 3 times a day for 1/3 cup for malignant neoplasms.
Thistle is common
This biennial plant is a weed. Its stem is straight, branched, covered with sharp thorns. The bodyak reaches a height of 1,5 m. The root system is pivotal, the leaves are hard, pinnately lobed, prickly at the edges. The flowers are enclosed in prickly single baskets, have a crimson color. The plant can be found everywhere: along roads, in fields, under fences, in garbage places. Easily adapts to any climatic conditions.
In folk medicine, decoctions and tinctures of thistle root are used both for internal and external use. The collection and preparation of raw materials are carried out in late autumn, after the end of the vegetative period. The roots are washed, finely chopped, dried. Stored in paper bags for three years. The decoction helps with acute inflammatory processes, relieves headaches and migraines, relieves vascular spasms, strengthens the immune system and increases the body’s resistance to infections.
The decoction is also used as an antipyretic for infectious diseases accompanied by high fever. Alcohol tincture in the form of lotions and rubs is effective for skin diseases such as acne and boils. It is used to treat wounds and abrasions. Official medicine does not recognize this plant as medicinal.
Bristle thistle
This herbaceous perennial weed has a well-developed root system, consisting of a straight rhizome and many root shoots. The stem is erect, with many branches, ribbed, slightly pubescent or glabrous. The leaves are alternate, tightly or weakly adherent to the stem, smooth above, slightly pubescent below, green in color, oval in shape, bristly at the edges. The flowers of this type of bodyak are bisexual, lilac-red or purple.
The fruit is an elongated achene of yellow or brown color. The plant reproduces by seeds and vegetatively. Blooms from June until frost. Seeds ripen in September-October. The plant is common in the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in Siberia. Under natural conditions, it grows in meadows, along river banks, pastures and garbage places.
In folk medicine, baths and lotions from the bristly calendula are used for dermatitis of various etiologies, eczema, and dandruff. Dry and fresh leaves are steamed and applied to purulent wounds, abscesses, ulcers. As a wound healing agent, juice from the leaves of young plants is used.
A decoction of inflorescences and juice from the leaves are prescribed for uterine bleeding and menstrual irregularities. Infusion and decoction of all parts of the plant are drunk for nervous disorders. Harvesting of rhizomes is carried out in autumn and spring. It is washed from the ground, adventitious roots are removed and dried. The upper part of the plant is harvested during the flowering period. Dry it in the usual way.
Poultices: you should steam 2-3 tablespoons of chopped grass or roots of thistle with boiling water, after a couple of minutes wrap the grass in gauze in the form of pads and use it for hemorrhoids, boils, abscesses.
Bodiak garden
Perennial, thorny herbaceous plant over 1 meter high. Blooms in August-September. Grows in nitrogen-rich soils. He likes to settle around water bodies, along the banks of lakes and rivers. It grows in the eastern part of Russia and in Western Siberia. The people use the aerial part and the root of the vegetable garden.
A decoction of the root can treat rheumatism and gout. Healers prescribe this remedy for toothache and cramps. In the literature, you can find a mention that the plant is used as salads, using young leaves and shoots. It is believed that such a salad improves digestion.
Herbal decoction: a tablespoon of grass should be poured with a glass of boiling water, boiled in a water bath for 5–6 minutes, insisted for 1 hour, strained. Dosage: take 4 times a day 10-15 minutes before meals for a quarter cup. The decoction helps with epilepsy. It is used externally for conjunctivitis. Cotton swabs soaked in a decoction are placed on the eyes for 20-25 minutes.
Bogyak marsh
This herbaceous biennial or perennial plant can reach a height of two meters. Its stem is completely covered with thorns. The leaves are pinnately dissected, smooth, white below, pubescent. The teeth of the leaves are covered with sharp spines. Inflorescences at the tops of the stems are collected in groups of 2-8 pieces. Flowers light pink or white. The flowering period is July-September, the seeds ripen in August-October. This type of bodyak grows in swampy forests, along the banks of grassy swamps. Grows in Siberia.
Contraindications thistle
Thistle is considered a poisonous plant, and should be used with caution, strictly adhering to the dosage. It is not recommended for use in myopathy and encephalopathy. In addition, long-term use of drugs from the plant can cause hypertension and varicose veins. If the body is prone to the formation of blood clots, then bodyak treatment is carried out under the supervision of specialists.