Plants with a healing effect >>>> Elderberry - medicinal species

Elderberry - medicinal species.

Elderberry is a plant that is more familiar for its decorative properties - lush greenery, exuberant flowering and beautiful brushes with berries - black beads with a blue tint. But among the many species of Elderberry, there are several plants with medicinal properties that are worth paying attention to.

Elderberry is the closest relative of Honeysuckle and is almost as beautiful as Honeysuckle (the ancestor of this plant family). Most often, plants of this family (of the Honeysuckle family) are bred in personal plots or green park walking areas for the sake of decoration and for the special properties of the root system of almost all elderberry species. The roots of all elderberry species are able to keep the soil from sliding, which is especially important for the formation of the stability of the soil relief in problem areas - among ravines and hills. But it is also worth growing Elderberry for home use because of its pronounced medicinal properties, which will additionally solve some health problems. Elderberry is a pharmaceutically significant source of substances that have a diuretic, choleretic and anti-inflammatory effect on the skin and mucous membranes.

But unfortunately, the not appetizing-looking Elderberry berries (in almost all species they are poisonous) contain all its beneficial properties, but flowers. It is the elder flowers that are collected for the preparation of medicinal infusions - they are used fresh or dried.

Among all the ornamental species of Elderberry (wild or domesticated), there are only three varieties of this plant that have the indicated medicinal properties. These are Black Elder (Sambucus Nigra), Siberian Elder (Sambucus Nakai), Herb Elder (Sambucus Ebulus).

Black Elder - Sambucus Nigra.

Black Elderberry is the only species among other varieties of Elderberry, the berries of which can be eaten. This elderberry species can be grown as a short tree (about 6.6-14 feet in height) or a tall shrub. The plant is considered the most valuable for its chemical compounds and is cultivated as a fruit and as a raw material for pharmaceutical purposes.

In the bark of this species of Elderberry, the alkaloid Sambucin (a poisonous compound) is contained, but it is industrially isolated and used in the pharmaceutical industry for the preparation of certain types of drugs. At home, it is impossible to extract a safe concentration of this substance from the bark of a plant, which does not allow making drinking infusions from the bark of a plant for medicinal purposes in an artisanal way. Extracts from the bark of Elderberry “Sambucus Nigra” are suitable only as an external agent for skin baths with drying and tanning properties (for example, for skin wounds, scuffs, calluses, abscesses, diaper rash, excessive sweating of the legs and for relieving skin inflammation in various cases of its occurrence).

It is permissible to use the flowers of this plant for ingestion for brewing infusions in home herbal medicine: in high concentration - bitterness with a choleretic (irritating) and tanning effect, in low concentration - diuretic and anti-inflammatory infusions. The flowering of this species of Elderberry is associated with high concentrations of aromatic substances in the flowers, which can be used for perfumery purposes or as a source of nectar for beekeeping. Usually Elderberry flowers are used in infusions not as an independent ingredient, but as an integral part of preparations with the necessary medicinal properties: diuretic preparations, choleretic preparations, anti-inflammatory preparations.

Jams, fruit drinks, berry teas, marmalade and marshmallows of black-blue color, blue-black natural dyes for baking and confectionery purposes are prepared from the fruits of the elderberry species Sambucus Nigra. Black Elderberry berries and its flowers are candied and used as decorations for dishes and in the composition of fruit and vegetable salads as a flavoring ingredient. Berries and flowers of Black Elderberry contain high concentrations of Rutin, organic acids (Valerian, Acetic), natural sugars. You can harvest Black Elderberry berries by drying or freezing for later use - so they do not lose their nutrients.

Siberian Elder - Sambucus Nakai.

Siberian elder is a frost-resistant plant of this family, which allows regional expansion of the possibilities of its cultivation. Unlike Black Elderberry (cultivated in regions of the world with a mild seasonal climate), Siberian Elderberry withstands harsh climatic conditions. The medicinal properties of this type of Sambucus Nakai Elderberry are similar to those of the Black Elderberry, with the exception of the Sambucus Nakai berries, which are poisonous and unsuitable either for food purposes, or even more so for home treatment.

Infusions from bark and berries can be used only for external use (skin baths and applications), infusions from elderberry flowers of the Sambucus Nakai species are useful for making rinses (without swallowing) the mouth and throat in case of inflammatory and purulent diseases of the oral mucosa and throat. Such rinses relieve inflammation and irritation of the mucous membrane, have a tanning effect (akin to a mild antiseptic), soothe perspiration in case of diseases of the mouth and throat, and are suitable for inhalation of the upper respiratory tract.

Elderberry Herb - Sambucus Ebulus.

Unlike its species counterparts, Elderberry Herbaceous has the appearance of a creeping semi-shrub plant. This type of Elderberry has a more decorative appearance due to the carved edges of the leaf blades and white-pink flowers.

In herbal medicine, drinking infusions from Sambucus Ebulus flowers are used for a calming effect in a debilitating cough, as a diaphoretic, as a mild anti-inflammatory agent. A laxative and tanning agent can be prepared from the berries of the plant, but with limited use inside, since the berries of the plant do not belong to the edible species, but are used only for the preparation of infusions and extracts with a healing effect. Sambucus Ebulus berries are not categorically used as an ingredient for teas, fruit drinks, compotes, jelly and similar drinks. But the juice from the berries of Elderberry Herb is suitable for persistent coloration of preserves in marinades and pickles.

Usually infusions of Elderberry Herb flowers are used internally for constipation, colitis, and intestinal disorders not associated with diarrhea, since the infusions themselves have a laxative effect.

The flowers of the Sambucus Ebulus plant are suitable for preparing oil inhalations for diseases of the upper respiratory tract, as well as for preparing infusions with a diuretic effect for inflammatory kidney diseases, inflammation of the bladder. From the infusion of Elderberry herb flowers, you can prepare an elixir for rinsing the mouth, a dental elixir for gingivitis and other inflammations of the mucous membrane around the teeth, for baths for cystitis and inflammation of the vaginal mucosa, for baths for removing inflammation from the skin of the external genital organs.

All of the listed medicinal species of Elderberry, one way or another, are associated with phytotherapeutic treatment, have a highly decorative appearance and a wide range of useful properties associated with use in home perfumery and cosmetology. All the elderberry species mentioned are melliferous plants. Elderberry berries of all types in an unripe form are extremely dangerous to health, and are not used internally either in infusions, or in fresh or dried form due to the high concentration of toxic substances - alkaloids in the pulp of green berries.