Hawthorn (Latin name krataios), boyarka, boyar is a thorny shrub of the Rosaceae family with very strong wood and red berries. Boyarka has long been famous for its medicinal qualities. In medicine, flowers and fruits of the bush are used.
Hawthorn: medicinal properties
This plant has been known since the days of Ancient Greece. In those days, newlyweds laid branches of it on the church altar in order to strengthen their future family union.
Hawthorn is unpretentious, firmly tolerates frost, takes root well in garden plots, where it blooms and bears fruit perfectly. The hawthorn bloom takes only a few days. The flowers are very beautiful, pale pink, with a pleasant light scent. Boyarka berries are orange-red in color, mealy-sweetish taste, with seeds.
The life span of a hawthorn is on average about 200 years, but there are some centenarians who live up to 400 years.
The fruits of this medicinal plant contain a lot of useful elements. These are mainly organic acids such as citric, succinic, malic, and fatty oils that are necessary for the human body. Hawthorn contains a large set of trace elements such as iron, zinc, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, cobalt. The plant is rich in sugars, based on fructose, and thanks to which it can be used for diabetes. Flowers and berries of boyarka are used in medicine.
The use of hawthorn in medicine
Phytotherapists and traditional healers use the beneficial properties of hawthorn flowers as a blood purifier for severe vascular and heart diseases. To prepare the medicine, hawthorn flowers or berries must be picked in dry weather, at the very beginning of flowering, when they are still half-open.
Avoid direct sunlight on prepared grass
To make a blood purifier, mash two tablespoons of dried hawthorn flowers and pour 1,5 cups of boiling water over it. Infuse for 30 minutes, then take half an hour before meals three times a day for 10 days.
Traditional medicine successfully uses hawthorn for dizziness, asthma, insomnia. A decoction of berries is successfully used as an astringent for diarrhea and enterocolitis. In traditional medicine, an alcoholic tincture of hawthorn is prescribed for tachycardia (heart palpitations) and hypertension.
In order to lose weight, prepare a tea for weight loss: take in half the fruits of the boyar and rose hips, pour boiling water over 1 tablespoon of this mixture and simmer for 10 minutes. Infuse the tea for three hours and take it two to three times on an empty stomach.