Today, the beneficial properties of rhubarb are known in many countries around the world. The native land of this plant is Northern Mongolia and Siberia, and the range of its wild species is limited mainly to the geographical regions of Asia. Knowing the useful properties of rhubarb, it began to be cultivated in China even 3 thousand years BC. Through the world, this delicacy has spread thanks to Arab merchants.
Rhubarb is a herbaceous perennial plant of the buckwheat family. It is of two types: medicinal and vegetable. Its leaves are large, oval or round, petiolate, converge in a basal rosette, their edges are corrugated or smooth. The beneficial properties of rhubarb are reflected in cooking and medicine. For these purposes, petioles and fleshy rhizomes of the plant are used.
The beneficial properties of rhubarb are due to the substances contained in it. In particular, in its rhizome, petioles there is a wide range of vitamins: A, B, E, C, K. Its parts contain pectins, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, selenium, manganese, zinc, copper. Thanks to organic acids (oxalic, chrysophonic, malic), rhubarb has healing properties. It contains starch, resins, tannins. Consuming products from it, you can not be afraid for your figure, this is a fairly low-calorie plant.
Of course, rhubarb found special recognition in cooking. The number of dishes that can be prepared from it is very large: compote, pies, jam, jams, jelly, jelly, kvass, juice. It can also serve as part of a side dish, where the main component is rice. Rhubarb is the starting material for the preparation of a variety of medicines for both folk and official medicine. Chrysarobin contained in its roots is used in the manufacture of medicines for psoriasis. Rhubarb powder is prescribed as an astringent and anti-inflammatory agent, used to improve appetite and normalize the digestive system. It finds application in the treatment of catarrh of the stomach and intestines, dyspepsia, as well as to obtain a choleretic effect.
If you increase the dose of rhubarb powder, it becomes a delicate laxative. In this case, it can be used for intestinal atony and constipation (chronic). Rhubarb helps soften the stool, which helps with hemorrhoids and anal fissures. In folk medicine, this plant is used for anemia, tuberculosis, ailments of the gallbladder, digestive system disorders. The effectiveness of drugs from it is lost with prolonged use, so it is advisable to alternate them with medicines on a different basis.
Like any drug, it has a dual effect on the body and rhubarb. Useful properties, contraindications - all this he has. In particular, when consuming products and drugs from it, one should not forget that it is better to avoid large doses during pregnancy, rheumatism, gout, diabetes, cholecystitis, a predisposition to diarrhea, bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract (including caused by hemorrhoids), inflammation of the bladder, stones in the kidneys.