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Evergreen spruce is a storehouse of nutrients. For medicinal purposes, young branches with buds, needles and cones are used, collected from spruce of any variety: ordinary, Siberian, eastern (growing in the Caucasus), blue. However, dried medicinal raw materials lose a significant part of ascorbic acid after 5–10 days. In spruce tincture, vitamins and trace elements are preserved much longer.
Healing properties of spruce. Spruce cones and needles contain:
- vitamins C, D, K, P, PP, B1, B2, B3, B6;
- minerals: chromium, iron, copper, manganese;
- succinic acid;
- essential oils.
People have long noticed that it is especially easy to breathe in a spruce forest: the essential oils of pine needles kill pathogens. Scientists have found that there are an order of magnitude fewer bacteria and spores of pathogenic fungi in the air of a spruce forest than in a deciduous forest.
In the needles and cones of spruce – a record amount of bioflavonoids (substances that cleanse blood vessels and strengthen their walls). Spruce tinctures gently reduce pressure, soothe even a strong cough, and promote expectoration of sputum.
Spruce tinctures are used for:
- weakened immunity, beriberi, low hemoglobin;
- chronic fatigue syndrome, memory problems;
- bleeding gums;
- colds;
- angina;
- diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract, including asthma and tuberculosis;
- diseases of the joints (as an internal and external anti-inflammatory agent);
- high blood pressure;
- rehabilitation after a heart attack and stroke;
- infectious diseases of the genitourinary system.
Preparation time of medicinal raw materials
Needles are best harvested in winter: at this time, it contains about 2 times more vitamins than in summer (except for vitamin PP). If a living spruce was decorated for the New Year, then you can even collect needles from it. Tincture of spruce needles is rich in vitamin C, so it is good for colds, beriberi.
In May, young twigs with buds are harvested. In no case should you break off the tops of the Christmas trees: the trees will not recover from such an injury. In young branches there is a lot of vitamin PP, which helps to restore the normal functioning of cerebral vessels after a heart attack or stroke.
For tincture, exclusively female cones are collected (from June to August). They should be green (may be tinged with red in June), with tightly glued scales. Brown (stiff) cones with open scales are not suitable for medicine. Do not collect rotten or insect-damaged cones.
Spruce tinctures are most effective in the first six months, then their effect gradually weakens. It does not make sense to prepare a lot of medicine for the future, but you can alternate preparations: insist on pine needles in winter, young twigs in May, green cones in summer.
Tinctures on spruce needles or young twigs
To prepare a tincture, 250 g of needles or young twigs with buds are poured into 0,5 liters of vodka. After 2 weeks, the medicine is filtered. It must be stored in a cool dark place. The shelf life of the drug is no more than 12 months.
In the old days, in 0,5 liters of spruce vodka, they added several peels of orange and lemon, a pinch of cloves and anise, about a quarter of a cinnamon stick, a tablespoon of honey. These ingredients not only improve the taste of the drink, but also help strengthen the gums.
Spruce cones tinctures
Young cones collected in June-July are washed, dried, cut into small pieces and poured with vodka: 100 liter of vodka per 1 g of raw material. The medicine is insisted for 2 weeks, then stored in a cool dark place. If it is supposed to be used to treat a cold, it is allowed to add 2 tablespoons of honey and 5–7 g of crushed propolis to vodka.
If the tincture of spruce cones is needed urgently, it can be prepared according to an “accelerated” recipe, but the shelf life of such a medicine is no more than 1 month:
- 10 ripe cones (collected in August) pour 1 liter of water;
- bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 10 minutes;
- strain the broth and mix with 300 ml of vodka;
- insist in a cool dark place for 1 day.
With a very strong cough, wormwood-pine tincture helps:
- 3 art. spoons of wormwood leaves pour 0,5 liters of vodka, insist in a dark cool place for 7-10 days, then strain;
- 1 st. Spoon needles pour 200 ml of boiling water. Infuse for an hour (preferably in a thermos);
- strain the infusion of needles;
- when the infusion of pine needles has cooled to room temperature, measure out 6 tablespoons and mix with tincture of wormwood. You can take it the next day.
With a dry cough, an expectorant is prepared:
- 1 st. a spoonful of melted pork internal fat;
- 1 st. a spoonful of black radish juice;
- 1 st. a spoonful of honey;
- 1 st. a spoonful of tincture of spruce needles or cones.
The portion is designed for 1 dose, the medicine should be drunk warm (until the fat has frozen). The mixture is taken 2-3 times for 4-5 days. The medicine is very effective, but has a powerful choleretic effect. The drug is contraindicated in diseases of the gallbladder and pancreas.
The use of spruce tinctures
In the treatment of various diseases, spruce tinctures are taken 3 times a day for a tablespoon:
- in the morning – half an hour before meals;
- in the afternoon – 2 hours after lunch;
- in the evening – just before bedtime, but not earlier than 2 hours after dinner.
Tinctures can be mixed with warm tea or milk.
If the tincture is taken to increase immunity or to prevent high blood pressure, it is enough to drink the medicine 1-2 times a day: always at night, but you can also after dinner. The course of taking the tincture is 3 months.
Attention! Self-medication can be dangerous. Consult your doctor.
Contraindications to taking spruce tinctures
Spruce tinctures should not be taken:
- pregnant and lactating;
- children up to 12 years;
- with hepatitis and chronic kidney disease;
- in the absence of the gallbladder (tinctures have a choleretic effect);
- with exacerbation of gastritis or stomach ulcers;
- immediately after a heart attack or stroke;
- with individual intolerance.