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The beneficial properties of the barberry shrub have long been known to folk medicine. This plant can be found everywhere, as it is unpretentious and resistant to climate change. It tolerates the urban environment well, is used in the form of hedges, for decoration of borders. Despite the availability and low cost, it has a unique healing effect that can sometimes replace an entire pharmacy.
Medicinal use of barberry
Common barberry is one of the most affordable and effective means capable of restoring the working capacity of the pancreas, lost in the process of pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus and other diseases. First of all, the roots of the bush are useful, in which the following are found:
- alkaloids: berberine (7%), yartroricin, columbamine, palmatine;
- aroma oils;
- tannins;
- vitamins, including C, E;
- provitamin A;
- organic carboxylic acids.
In the barberry bush, the medicinal properties are primarily due to the element berberine. In precisely adjusted dosages, the element has not only a toxic, but also a beneficial effect. The substance exhibits antimicrobial activity, produces hypotensive, choleretic properties, eliminates the symptoms of tachycardia, and is effective in oncopathologies. When the biliary tract is blocked, berberine causes a gradual dilution of the secretion, cleansing the bile ducts.
But berberine is poorly soluble in water and even in alcohol-containing liquids. The most effective and useful pharmacological form of barberry preparations is an alcohol extract. It has not yet been possible to obtain berberine under artificial conditions, so the pharmaceutical industry uses exclusively natural sources. In fruits and leaves, a slightly different chemical composition, but it is also saturated with useful substances:
- acids (malic, tartaric, citric);
- vitamin C;
- sugar (glucose, fructose);
- vitamin K;
- mineral salts;
- pectin;
- tannins;
- carotenoids.
The biochemical composition of the shrub also determined its therapeutic properties. Barberry is useful for humans, as it has the following therapeutic effects:
- choleretic;
- stimulating appetite;
- hemostatic;
- tonic bowel;
- vasodilator;
- antispasmodic;
- anti-inflammatory;
- antipyretic;
- diuretic;
- slightly laxative;
- astringent;
- calming.
The shrub soothes the pain of cholelithiasis and biliary dyskinesia, being at the same time a choleretic agent. Barberry also helps in more difficult cases, for example, diabetes, cancer. Its preparations help to strengthen the heart muscle and immunity.
The use of barberry in medical practice in other countries
In Azerbaijan, arterial hypertension accompanying the development of atherosclerosis is treated with shrubs. Here, this remedy is considered the most effective and safe against age-related wear of the body.It is used to treat bone fractures, sprains of muscles, ligaments and tendons, joint dislocations, burns, lacerations, sprains, and joint pains.
In Italy, doctors use berberine for enlarged liver and spleen due to the introduction of parasites or infections. And Indian Aesculapians have adopted a drug for the treatment of skin diseases caused by mosquito vectors. In Bulgarian medicine, the shrub is used for pain caused by sciatica, to block uterine bleeding. And in the medical practice of Polish doctors - with ulcerative lesions of the digestive tract. In France, this well-known antihypertensive agent is used for colds, bronchitis.
In China, lotions from a decoction of the bark restore and maintain visual function, and the roots are used for oncological diseases, to facilitate breathing. A decoction of young twigs is used for pathologies of the musculoskeletal system - fractures and dislocations. In Germany, the tincture from the roots is recommended by doctors in case of violation of the condition of the digestive tube, mucous membrane of the mouth, throat, inflammatory processes in the respiratory organs, including asthma, tuberculosis.
Why barberry is useful for the human body
The use of medicinal shrub properties in medicine is unlimited. Barberry is good for both men and women.
Useful properties of barberry for men
Alcoholic tinctures of fresh or dry fruits of barberry are used for prostatitis, to enhance the sexual function of men. When preparing hot extracts in the form of infusions (tea, compote), in one composition, the raw material of the bush can be combined with rose hips, lemongrass. It is good to use barberry daily as a condiment. Dried fruits must be ground into powder and added little by little to food. Fresh berries will be available all year round if prepared for future use by freezing them.
Useful properties of barberry for women
In addition to the use of barberry in gynecology for the relief of uterine hemorrhages, the plant is widely used in cosmetology. For this, hot extracts of fruits or other parts of the bush are prepared. The resulting solutions wipe the surface of the face, the whole body, which gives the skin freshness, elasticity, removes minor defects and wrinkles. Masks based on bush fruits are also useful.
You should learn about the beneficial properties of barberry berries and contraindications in advance.
Using barberry
Barberry is used not only in medicine. The fruits have a pleasant sweet and sour taste. This combination is suitable for use in cooking - for drinks, desserts, as a seasoning. The richness of the vitamin composition allows the use of fruits in cosmetology for the care and nutrition of the skin. But most of all, the shrub has found its use in the medical field.
How to use barberry berries
The fruits of the shrub can only be used when ripe, in unripe - they are poisonous. Ripe barberry berries (see photo) remove toxins from the body, improve immunity remarkably, and can also be used for nausea. Jam for the winter is made from the fruits of the bush, and compotes, fruit drinks and other drinks are also prepared.
Several recipes are worth considering.
- Pour dry berries with boiling water (200 g per 1.5 l), keep on low heat until softened, filter. Add sweetener such as stevia or honey and vanilla (1 g).
- Pour a teaspoon of fruits, sugar into a cup, add boiling water. Insist for 10 minutes. The fruits can be added instead of lemon and in regular tea. The drink serves as a good remedy for cardiovascular pathologies.
- Boil fresh fruits, squeeze the juice, sterilize in bottles. The drink improves appetite, acts as a mild laxative, relieves constipation. Has antimicrobial and antipyretic effect, stops natural aging.
The beneficial properties of barberry honey are well known. The shrub is a good honey plant and bees harvest nectar from it in fairly large quantities. The honey turns out to be of amber beautiful color, with a great taste.Its daily use as a food supplement improves the state of metabolic processes, heart muscle. Nectar is useful for diseases of the digestive tract, inflammation and infections of the genitourinary system. The beneficial properties of barberry fruits turn into honey almost completely, so the product is considered healing and highly valued.
How to use barberry leaves
Shrub leaves are used fresh, frozen or dry. In addition to the traditional use as hot or alcoholic extracts, it is possible to add the herb to green cocktails. The medicinal properties of barberry leaves are similar to those found in berries and other parts of the shrub.
Decoction of leaves
Brew 1 tablespoon of barberry with a cup of boiled water, infuse in a water bath for 1/4 hour. Pass the solution through a purifying filter, add to the original volume. Take to stop uterine bleeding, improve heart function, and for jaundice. The dosage is one tablespoon 3-4 times a day.
Infusion of leaves
Steam a tablespoon of bush greens with a cup of water for about an hour. Drink up to 5 times a day as a hemostatic for uterine bleeding, a remedy for cholelithiasis and kidney stones, digestive disorders, as well as gout and rheumatism. One-time reception - one tablespoon.
Tincture of leaves
Insist 20 g of barberry in 100 ml of vodka for two weeks until the solution acquires a slightly sour taste and dark yellow color. Take several times a day (30 drops) for atonic bleeding and subinvolution of the uterus.
Tincture of barberry greens has a hemostatic effect, quickens the rhythm and increases the amplitude of heart contractions, slightly lowers blood pressure, causes contraction of smooth muscles of the uterus, narrowing of vascular lumens and bile secretion, and also exhibits some other useful properties.
Green cocktail
Put an apple or banana in a blender bowl, a little honey, add green leaves of barberry. Pour in a little water to give the mass a liquid consistency. Turn on the blender and beat until smooth. If you squeeze the resulting gruel from the leaves of a bush through several layers of fabric, you can get green juice.
How to use barberry bark
Shrub bark infusion has long been useful for disinfecting the oral cavity for gum disease and many other diseases. Barberry preparations are widely used in the presence of pancreatitis, cholecystitis, stomach cramps and diarrhea. The medicinal properties of barberry bark help to strengthen the heart muscle, restore liver health, and eliminate inflammation in the kidneys and urinary tract.
Decoction of bark
Mix raw barberry crushed to powder with half a liter of water, cook for ten minutes. After cooling, pass the solution through a gauze filter. Take 150 ml of barberry preparations before each main meal, three times throughout the day. Relieves stomach cramps, stool disorders, dysentery, as well as rheumatism and edema. Hot extracts of barberry stabilize cardiac activity, lower blood pressure, and, in the form of lotions, eliminate inflammation of the eyelids and gums.
Infusion (tincture) of bark
Pour one tablespoon of powdered barberry bark with a cup of only boiled water (a glass of vodka). Insist and drink hot 50 ml one hour before meals. Alcohol tincture of barberry is prepared in the same proportions, but you need to insist much longer, at least 2-4 weeks.
How to use barberry root
To prepare the medicine in the fall (spring), prepare the roots of the bush. Raw materials are well peeled, finely chopped, although it is rather difficult to do this. Add 90 g of bush roots to one liter of water and boil: 40 minutes in a water bath or 20 minutes over very low heat. Insist overnight, strain in the morning.Drink a tablespoon on an empty stomach three times a day. In parallel, lubricate sore spots on the skin with the same solution obtained from the bark of a bush, if there are pathologies.
Contraindications to barberry
Like any medicine, the shrub and its derivatives are not suitable for everyone. Known not only the beneficial properties of barberry, but also contraindications to it. Since there are many poisonous compounds in the roots of the bush, drugs must be used with caution. There are hazardous substances in unripe fruits, as well as in the leaves and bark of barberry. There are a number of contraindications for taking bush preparations:
- childhood;
- tendency to allergic manifestations;
- pregnancy, lactation;
- stones in the bile ducts;
- cirrhosis of the liver.
Individual intolerance to the components of the shrub is possible, in this case, the use of barberry berries and other parts of the plant is contraindicated for oral administration.
Rules for the procurement of raw materials
Common barberry has found wide application in the medical practice of both official and alternative medicine. In the pharmacy chain, you can buy alcohol tincture, as well as all parts of the shrub in the form of dry extracts. Barberry is also a part of dietary supplements, homeopathic compositions. There is a ready-made preparation from the roots of barberry - Berberine sulfate in tablets of 0.005 g. You can also do your own preparation, preparation of medicinal preparations for barberry. For medicinal use, all parts of the shrub are collected:
- bark - immediately after the end of winter, in early spring;
- roots - during spring or autumn (after flowering is complete);
- fruit - at final and sufficient ripening.
The medicinal properties of young bark and young spring leaves of barberry are especially appreciated. The roots of the bush are dug in April or October-November. Those who decide to do this on their own need to remember a few simple collection rules:
- so that the shrub does not die, the roots can be taken only from one side, about a quarter of their total volume, without cutting off 10-15 cm from the trunk;
- for every 10 square meters of barberry thickets, be sure to leave at least one intact bush.
Precautions
All parts of the barberry contain alkaloids to varying degrees, and therefore have poisonous properties. Therefore, you need to be very careful when treating bush preparations. It is necessary to observe the dosage of barberry preparations indicated by the doctor. Otherwise, side effects may occur:
- dizziness;
- nausea;
- convulsions;
- swelling of the skin, eyes;
- bleeding from the nose.
Conclusion
The benefits of barberry for the human body are undeniable. However, one should not independently carry out treatment with bush preparations because of its toxic properties. It is necessary to be guided by the instructions of a doctor or prescriptions and dosages obtained from reliable, beneficial sources.
