There are many plants that treat no worse than medications, and sometimes better, more efficiently. Just such herbs and meadow clover. The medicinal properties and contraindications (reviews of the plant indicate that the grass perfectly lowers cholesterol) should be studied in detail before use to avoid side effects.
Clover meadow: description
Clover is a perennial. It has a slightly pubescent stem and small spherical flowers of red, lilac or white. Belongs to the legume family. Under favorable conditions, grows up to 30-50 cm. The root system is branched and has small tubers at the ends.
Flowering plants occur in the middle and end of summer. Just at this time it should be collected for storage. The culture fully ripens in late September. It is at this time that the plant gives the beans in which the seeds are located.
There are about 120 species of this plant. The most useful is meadow clover. Clovers are often grown as livestock feed. Still grass is used in folk medicine and cooking. Inflorescences are considered especially valuable.
The culture grows in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and on the territory of the Russian Federation. Grass can be found in meadows of moderate moisture, along field roads or in forest glades.
The plant is rich in nutrients and, if used correctly, can bring invaluable benefits to human health. Grass can be grown on your own site or harvest yourself. If this is not possible, then the plant is purchased in a pharmacy. The price of 50 g of dry grass ranges from 50-70 rubles.
Chemical composition of grass
The grass of clover meadow grows everywhere. Known to almost everyone. Despite this, only a few use it in traditional medicine, and even fewer people use it in cooking. It is rich in beneficial substances such as glycosides, steroids, coumarins, saponins. The plant contains vitamins K, B and E. Saturated with ascorbic acid. It contains phenol carboxylic acids, as well as tannins. Contains quinones and fatty vegetable oils. Clover also contains carotene, flavonoids, salicylic acid, and a number of valuable macro- and world elements. It is the rich chemical composition of the plant that relates clover to medicinal herbs and gives it a lot of useful properties.
Properties of meadow clover
Clover meadow is a storehouse of useful elements. It has anti-inflammatory, tonic, wound healing, antitumor, antiseptic, diaphoretic, antisclerotic property. Able to have an expectorant and diuretic effect. Grass has an astringent and choleretic effect. It will help stop the bleeding.
The properties of meadow clover have found their application in medicine, as part of many medicines.
The use of culture in medicine
What treats clover meadow red? This question is asked by people who are at least a little familiar with the properties of this herb. To begin with, the plant can be used both topically and internally, in the form of various tinctures and decoctions.
Fresh leaves of the culture are used for complex wounds and ulcers that do not heal for a long time. They are finely chopped and applied to the sore spot. In the same way, grass is used for burns, abscesses and other diseases of the skin.
Clover meadow (properties and contraindications are described in detail in the instructions for use, but in the event that the grass was bought in a pharmacy) is contained in choleretic and chest collections. In the presence of rashes in infants, a decoction of this plant is added to the bath.
For the treatment of inflammation in gynecology, the root of clover is used. It is also used as an additional tool in the treatment of cancer and tuberculosis.
Herb stems are effective in treating scurvy, malaria, rickets. Lower cholesterol in atherosclerosis. A decoction of clover is able to relieve a headache, cope with dizziness and increase appetite. Herb tincture is used to treat asthma, anemia, shortness of breath, metrorrhagia. Clover juice will help to cope with a cough, a cold, bronchitis, gout, poisoning. Effective with exudative diathesis and frequent fainting.
Decoctions of clover have found their application in the treatment of anemia, gastritis, scrofula, asthma, chronic lingering cough, diathesis, urolithiasis and cholecystitis.
The plant is able to relieve women from menopause discomfort: eliminate inflammation;
- remove vaginal dryness;
- stop hair loss;
- relieve insomnia;
- increase libido;
- relieve fatigue;
- soften the tides.
The herb is used for epilepsy, tonsillitis, high blood pressure, boils. The plant is used for abscesses, insect or animal bites. Indications for use are painful menstruation, gynecological diseases and anorexia.
Contraindications
Clover meadow has special medicinal properties and contraindications (people say that the plant gives a good result in the treatment of ulcers and gastritis, but you need to drink it for a long time), which must be taken into account before using the herb. Improper use of the plant can cause side effects.
In addition, you should refrain from treating clover for pregnant and lactating women. Do not use a herbal remedy for thrombophlebitis and varicose veins. Contraindications to the use of culture are diseases of the gastrointestinal apparatus, which are in the acute stage. Do not use inside extracts and decoctions of clover, if there is a predisposition to diarrhea. People should be abstained, prone to allergic manifestations and people with individual intolerance to the grass, as well as patients after stroke and heart attack.
Side effects
Clover, if it is used for other purposes, can cause negative reactions of the body, such as:
- nausea
- vomiting reflex;
- pressure reduction;
- allergic reactions to the skin;
- muscle pain.
Before using the herb, you should consult your doctor, as a number of medicines cannot be combined with clover.
Clover growing at home
If possible, it is possible to grow clover at home, especially since the plant is very unpretentious in care.
To plant a crop, you need a sunny or slightly shaded area. Seeds are collected only from two-year-old plants, but to ensure better seedlings, they are best purchased at a store.
About 300 seeds are taken per square meter. Pre-planting material is soaked in water for several hours. Immediately before planting, the seeds are mixed with the earth in a large container. In this form, planting material is evenly distributed over the site and covered with a layer of earth, the thickness of which should not exceed one centimeter. During the first seven days after planting, the soil should be well moistened. Pour water from a hose equipped with a spray.
The first shoots appear two weeks after sowing the seeds. Since clover is a perennial plant, it does not need to be sown every year. Despite this, experts recommend updating the herbage every three years to improve the quality of the grass.
Clovers are sown until mid-summer, only in this case he will be able to ripen and gain a good foothold on the site.
Collection and harvesting of raw materials
Clover meadow (photo above) refers to medicinal plants. Grass should be stocked during the flowering period. For harvesting, you need to cut off the inflorescence and adjacent leaves. Dry the culture in the shade. The use of electric drying is allowed. In the latter case, the temperature should not exceed 60 ° C. At higher temperatures, the grass will lose the lion's share of its beneficial properties.
If rhizome is required for medicinal purposes, then it is harvested after a flowering period. Dig the root and thoroughly clean it from the ground, wash it. Rhizome is dried, as well as grass, in a ventilated and dry room or on the street, in a place protected from the sun.
Raw materials are collected in dry weather when the dew has left the plants. Harvested only in environmentally friendly places. You should not take grass near roads and landfills, in them the amount of harmful substances is greater than useful.
Grass storage
Storage is carried out in dry, tightly closed containers. It is allowed to keep grass in a linen bag, a paper box. A dry plant is stored for up to two years, and the root is stored for up to one year. We need to try to update the stock every year, since over a long period of storage, clover can lose its useful qualities and its further use will lose all meaning.
Folk recipes
May have a variety of uses clover meadow. Grass (the properties of this plant were described above) for lotions is used in the form of a decoction. To prepare it, dry flowers, in the amount of three tablespoons, pour a glass of boiling water and put in a water bath for a minute. Used for skin diseases, boils and inflammation of the eyes.
With rheumatism and wounds, an ointment will help, which includes 100 g of clover flowers and 50 g of any vegetable oil. The mixture is infused in a dark and warm place for about 14 days, filtered and used as intended.
With diseases of the internal organs, an herbal infusion helps. For its preparation, two tablespoons of raw materials are poured with a glass of boiling water. Insist about an hour. Filter and drink 100 g three times a day after meals.
Tincture can be done on vodka. For this, a glass of clover flowers should be filled with 500 g of vodka. The mixture is infused for ten days. From time to time, tincture should be shaken. Take a teaspoon, at night, having previously filtered. The course of treatment is one month.
In serious diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis, meadow clover is used only as part of complex therapy. Therapeutic properties and contraindications (reviews of women note that tea with clover not only makes you feel better with menopause, but also improves skin condition, rejuvenates) should be checked with your doctor before using this product.
Reviews on the use of plants
Has the most controversial reviews of meadow clover. The therapeutic properties and contraindications, unfortunately, are not always taken into account during treatment by patients, which, of course, affects the final result.
Positive opinions point out that clover helped get rid of acne on the back and face. People with him prepared a decoction and took a bath. According to them, the result was noticeable in 3-5 applications. Acne started to disappear, but new ones did not appear. There are those whom clover helped with stomach ulcers, relieved pain. These patients took a decoction of clover for a month and under the supervision of a doctor. The grass helps with coughing, bronchitis and asthma. A cold is faster with her. Women often drink a decoction of clover with inflammation of the appendages and with heavy menstruation. The plant also helped with frequent fainting, dizziness, increased cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Still, according to people, well strengthens the immunity clover meadow.
Negative reviews do not recommend drinking clover decoction uncontrollably. According to users, it can greatly reduce pressure, especially with prolonged use. Grass dilutes blood well, so people with cardiovascular disease should be careful. Some, because of this feature of the plant, take clover not constantly, but alternating with other herbs. Clover can also cause an allergy and an individual intolerance reaction. In this case, treatment with this herb should be completely abandoned.
In general, patients are satisfied with the results of therapy. They drink the broth of this culture 2-3 times a year, for the treatment and prevention of certain diseases. They note that more frequent use threatens with negative consequences for the body. There are those who find white clover more useful than red clover.