Plants with a healing effect >>>> Sorrel with medicinal properties

Sorrel with medicinal properties.

The sorrel plant, well known to all people without exception, in its species palette is represented not only by vegetable species, but also forage, ornamental, and, most interestingly, medicinal species. There is very little practical information about the medicinal properties of Sorrel in the classical pharmaceutical literature, since Sorrel began to be cultivated exclusively as a valuable food and fodder plant since the discovery of ancient monasteries in Switzerland and France. An obvious attractive feature for the cultivation of the Sorrel plant was its rapid growth after mowing or harvesting for food, as well as the ability to renew the crop without sowing for at least four years, since the plant was distinguished by high frost resistance and a rich harvest, independent of human participation in its cultivation. cultivation.

The nutritional value of Sorrel lies in a very wide range of important vitamins (Carotene, vitamin PP, Rutin, vitamins B) and rare mineral salts (Potassium), as well as natural organic acids (ascorbic, malic, citric, oxalic) and vegetable protein included in the composition of the above-ground green mass of the plant. Due to its unique nutritional properties, sorrel greens can be used as an independent ingredient in any dish. Sorrel leaves are thrown into soups at the end of cooking in the last minutes of boiling in order to preserve the entire set of useful substances. In order not to digest the leaves to preserve their benefits, you can simply add pre-scalded Sorrel leaves at the end of cooking and finish cooking the dish. As a filling for baking (pies, pies), for pancakes, omelettes, dumplings, Sorrel leaves are not pre-scalded.

Oxalic acid is considered a harmful food component for people suffering from salt metabolism disorders (with excess food, it tends to be deposited in tissues), kidney disease (contains purine acids that disrupt filtration in the kidneys) and gastrointestinal diseases associated with increased production of hydrochloric acid (excess acids in food injures the walls of the stomach and intestines). But an excess of Oxalic acid is formed in the leaves of Sorrel at the stage of peduncles or in hot weather, which can be avoided by harvesting Sorrel for food in the early stages of foliage growth (only young leaves) and before the start of the temperature rise season. Thus Sorrel greens are useful to everyone at the beginning of their growing season.

By itself, Sorrel greens are a good conserving agent (due to the abundance of acids in the composition of the green mass of the plant), this allows you to add Sorrel leaves to any canning, thereby reducing the amount of vinegar. This is very useful when canning plant foods for dietary nutrition. Due to its very versatile taste, sorrel can be added to preserves for fruits, berries and vegetables, regardless of whether this canning is sweet, salty or pickled.

Despite the fact that the green mass of almost all species of Sorrel has a similar nutritional set of substances, not all species of Sorrel are endowed with medicinal properties, but only the species that is well known under the name "Asiatic dock" or "Asiatic sorrel" (botanical name "Rumex confertus Willd"). This is a perennial tall plant (can grow up to 47-50 inches in height). This type of Sorrel has a very powerful root that is used to produce raw materials with medicinal properties. In autumn, after the natural death of the above-ground part of the plant, the roots and rhizomes of horse sorrel are dug up, washed and dried in the air (under a canopy) or in dryers at a temperature of 122-140 degrees Fahrenheit (50 - 60 degrees Celsius). You can dry the roots of Sorrel on a baking sheet in the oven. Dried roots and rhizomes of Sorrel are crushed to a powder and stored in a sealed container until use. Sorrel root powder is stored for up to three years.

Asiatic dock roots contain unique substances: chrysophanoic acid (4% of the dry weight of the raw material) and emodin, which create a healing effect, as well as tannins (8-12% of the dry weight of the raw material). The medicinal properties of taking infusions on the roots of horse sorrel depend on the concentration of the infusion itself. Chrysophanic acid gives the roots of horse sorrel a reddish hue, and the greater the concentration of this substance in the composition of the roots, the more saturated the red color of the roots of the plant.

A highly concentrated infusion on the roots of Asiatic dock (one volume of dry matter per four volumes of water) with frequent use has an astringent and tonic effect, which is useful for frequent diarrhea (intestinal disorders for various reasons) and hemorrhoidal bleeding (as a hemostatic agent). Concentrated infusions on the roots of horse sorrel can be used as rinses for the treatment of Gingivitis and injuries of the oral mucosa, as well as for the preparation of baths in cases where it is necessary to carry out medical procedures with a healing effect on the skin (for example: cracked heels, skin abrasions, microtrauma of the skin in various skin diseases).

Weak infusions on the roots of Asiatic dock (one volume of dry matter per ten volumes of water) have a laxative effect, which is useful for those prone to chronic constipation. Pharmaceutical production prepares herbal preparations based on horse sorrel roots with similar medicinal properties.

The medicinal and nutritious plant Sorrel is easy to grow in your own pharmacy garden, and as a result, have a herbal remedy for the prevention and treatment of many painful conditions.