Meadowsweet: medicinal and medicinal properties. Video
Meadowsweet is a widespread medicinal plant in Russia that has many useful properties. In addition, the infusions and teas of this fragrant herb are distinguished by a pleasant sweetish taste and unique aroma.
Benefits and medicinal properties
The meadowsweet, also known as meadowsweet and whitehead, is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants of the rose family, numbering about 13 species. Meadowsweet is widespread throughout the temperate climatic zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The Latin name for meadowsweet is Filipendula.
This plant can grow from 50 to 180 cm in height; its straight, ribbed stem is densely covered with feathery leaves and crowned with a paniculate inflorescence. The flowers have a yellowish-white hue and a viscous, sweet honey aroma. The flowering period is June-July.
Meadowsweet has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, sedative and anticonvulsant effects. It contains a mass of biologically active substances: essential oils, tannins, salicylic acid, glycosides. In young leaves, 374 milligram percent of vitamin C is found. The range of applications for this plant is extremely wide. It is used for colds and flu, sore throat, pneumonia, bronchitis, nephritis and cystitis, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, neurological diseases and diabetes mellitus. All parts of the plant are eaten. The meadowsweet decoction tastes sweet, as if a lot of sugar was added to it. In Siberia, infusions and decoctions of this amazing herb are drunk instead of tea. In Gorny Altai, tea from meadowsweet inflorescences is called “mowing” tea, since from ancient times shepherds and foresters took it with them and warmed themselves with it on long cold nights.
Beekeepers use meadowsweet to protect bees from diseases, namely, they rub the walls of the hives with flowers
If we talk about contraindications, the meadowsweet is not recommended for hypotensive patients (it can be used with caution in a mixture with other plants, for example, leuzea), as well as for people with poor blood clotting. In no case should you use meadowsweet for constipation, as it has astringent properties.
The plant can be purchased at the pharmacy or prepared by yourself. Young leaves and shoots are harvested before flowering, inflorescences – during the period of maximum flowering. Flowers and green mass are dried in a well-ventilated place and stored in tightly sealed jars. Rhizomes are dug up in the fall, after the aerial part of the plant wilts.
Among the people, the meadowsweet was credited with the ability to treat aquaphobia – the fear of water
There are many recipes for infusions and decoctions of meadowsweet. The simplest way to prepare the infusion is as follows: pour two tablespoons of meadowsweet with two glasses of boiling water. Take half a glass twice a day. For external use, the rhizomes of meadowsweet are used, from which a special ointment can be prepared. To do this, the dried roots must be crushed into powder and mixed with butter in a ratio of 1: 5.