The herbaceous annual plant knotweed (avian highlander), belonging to the buckwheat family, can be found almost everywhere except Antarctica and the Arctic regions. It is called in different regions in its own way: grass-murava, stomp, passerine tongues, caterpillar, mountaineer, hernia. "Knotweed" is also one of the popular names for the mountaineer and reflects the ability to quickly regenerate after damage. The ancient Slavs, this grass was one of the symbols of fertility, as it was actively used in the economy.
Plant description
Under favorable conditions, the stems of the mountaineer bird, having a highly branched structure, grow up to 80 centimeters. They creep above the ground, gradually forming a living green carpet, only small young shoots are drawn to the sunlight. After flowering, the stems become hard, like branches of a tree.
The root of the medicinal herb knotweed, the photo of which you have the opportunity to see in the article, has a low-branched rod shape and is thicker than branches.
The leaves of knotweed are grayish-green in color, small, have an elongated elliptical shape. The average size is 3 cm long and 1 cm wide.
Highlander flowers are small, pale green, have white and pink inclusions. The flowering period lasts from April to October with a peak in the summer months.
Knotweed seeds are a small copy of buckwheat. Because of this, the grass has another popular name - bird buckwheat.
Highlander propagates by seed method.
Places of distribution
Unpretentious to climatic conditions knotweed can be found everywhere where the positive air temperature lasts longer than two months. It quickly takes root and develops on any soil. It grows in wastelands, pastures, forest edges, on river banks, in the mountains, along roadsides, on lawns and vegetable gardens, in yards, on landfills, tends to clogged places. Even asphalt does not withstand the onslaught of this ubiquitous plant - the stalks of knotweed slowly, but surely, spread over the surface of the coating, catching roots on small cracks. Summer residents fight with him a grueling annual struggle, as well as with other weeds in their plots. Many do not suspect how valuable this nondescript plant is.
Chemical components
In knotweed grass, there are quite a few pharmacologically useful substances and in such a concentration that it can be used for the manufacture of medicines. It contains tannins, a number of flavonoids, vitamin C, coumarins, saponins, volatile alkaloids, vitamin A, pectin, silicon compounds, polysaccharides, and iron.
For example, vitamin A (carotene) promotes the formation of a uniform color of the skin of a person and supports visual acuity, and pectin binds and removes heavy metals and other toxins that are harmful to the body from urine. Iron increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood, thereby improving the functioning of all human systems. And the role of silicon and its compounds for the body is generally invaluable - it is a basic building block at the cellular level.
Application history
Evidence of the use of knotweed for medical purposes goes back centuries.
Pliny treated this herb with inflammation of the digestive organs and lacerations.
Avicenna’s notes also mention a mountaineer that can quickly heal severe wounds.
Tibetan healers considered it an excellent astringent and expectorant drug, useful for diseases of the respiratory system, used to eliminate bleeding and in cases of heart failure.
Chinese doctors used anthelmintic, tonic qualities of knotweed, treated neurasthenia and some skin diseases.
Collection and storage
The raw material for the preparation of drugs is only the ground part of the knotweed grass. The bulk of the nutrients are concentrated in the flowers and young shoots of the plant, so the collection is carried out during the active flowering period of the highlander, which occurs in the summer months.
Raw materials are harvested in dry weather. With a knife or sickle, cut off the upper part of the stems. Grass must be collected only in suitable places, away from dusty roads and landfills. For drying, the prepared material is laid out under a canopy so that it does not fade in the sun and is not wet in the rain. You can do this in a ventilated room. It is also possible to use a dryer with a maximum heating temperature of 50 degrees. Dried grass has a characteristic bitter smell and astringent taste.
Then knotweed is packed in rag or cotton bags and stored in a dry, dark place for up to 3 years.
You can collect knotweed from the same place at least every year - it is quickly restored.
Herb knotweed: beneficial properties
Maggot has antibacterial, astringent, analgesic and diuretic properties due to the presence of powerful tannins. Its ability to accelerate the coagulation process helps eliminate bleeding.
Enveloping abilities are useful in treating the mucous membrane of the digestive system and to normalize the intestinal process. Useful properties of knotweed grass are manifested in the treatment of stomach ulcers, gastritis, dysentery.
The use of knotweed extract activates the removal of fluid from the body along with toxins, which occurs due to the presence of silicic acid salts in its composition. In renal disorders, it is taken for prevention, preventing the re-formation of kidney stones after operable removal.
Knotweed grass is useful in chronic inflammatory diseases of the reproductive system. Stops postpartum hemorrhage or uterine fibroids. It is used in the complex treatment of the reproductive organ of women and as a stimulator of uterine contractions.
Herbal infusion helps to restore strength in the postoperative period, useful for iron deficiency (anemia).
Treatment with knotweed grass is effective for tuberculosis, bronchitis, bronchial asthma and other diseases of the human respiratory system.
The internal use of drugs based on the highlander helps to improve metabolism and corrects the water-salt balance in the body.
The mountaineer is also a part of many medical collections developed and arranged for the treatment of specific diseases.
ethnoscience
Grass knotweed reviews are mostly positive. A decoction from the plant, many are advised to drink with cardiac arrhythmia, polyarthritis. They say that after its application, an improvement actually occurs. People also claim that knotweed is externally used for inflamed joints, for the treatment of hemorrhoids and wound healing, as well as for skin diseases.
Highlander instead of tea is recommended to drink broth of highlanders who want to lose weight without special diets.
Tincture of knotweed rinse treat stomatitis and other similar diseases of the oral cavity.
In case of baldness, it is recommended to rinse hair daily with infusion of knotweed for a month. According to many, this procedure significantly strengthens the roots of the hair, additionally providing them with useful compounds.
Conception catalyst
Traditional healers consider the mountaineer to be a grass for conception, capable of defeating infertility. Skeptics write off pregnancy after many years of expectation of the effect of auto-suggestion.
Supporters of the miraculous influence of grass cite as evidence the entries on the pages of the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Medicinal Substances, compiled in the 15th century by the Armenian healer Amirdovlat Amasiatsi. It says that a woman will give birth to her firstborn if 40 days each morning she and her man will eat 10 grams of raw knotweed seeds. Only here the description of the grass itself does not clearly indicate which kind of knotweed is talking about.
Anyway, but the mountaineer is used by birds to restore the reproductive functions of women, as a means of influencing the walls of the uterus. Reception of the decoction develops the motility of the uterine muscles, stabilizes the hormonal picture, accelerates the respiratory rhythm, thereby more oxygen enters the body. At the same time, they advise her husband to take a magic drink. The plant really helps with the healing of a number of gynecological diseases, and this increases the chances of having long-awaited offspring.
Recipe
Most often for medicinal purposes take a decoction (infusion) of knotweed herbs. For its manufacture, 20 g of the crushed collection is taken and poured with one glass of boiling water. Then the resulting mixture is heated in a water bath for a quarter of an hour, after which it is infused and at the same time cools for 45 minutes. After filtering, the infusion is ready for use. It can be stored in a cool place for up to three days.
It is recommended to take it before meals 2 tablespoons three times a day. In case of external use, a cotton-gauze swab is moistened in the broth.
For internal use in diseases of the kidneys and liver, alcohol tincture is prepared according to the following recipe: one tbsp. a spoonful of dried grass is poured with 200 ml of medical alcohol. The resulting mixture is infused for 10 days in a dark place at room temperature. Strained tincture is added one tablespoon per 100 ml of water. Drink such a solution three times a day before meals.
The most common composition of herbal decoction in the treatment and prevention of renal diseases is as follows: knotweed grass, crushed dried dwarf bean pods and bear’s leaves are taken in equal proportions. 15 grams of the prepared mixture are brewed in 200 grams of water. The resulting infusion is drunk in three divided doses per day. A real improvement after a course of taking this decoction was noted by practicing doctors.
Remember! Self-medication can only harm your health. Before taking funds based on knotweed, it is worth discussing this with your doctor.
Healing juice
From freshly picked during flowering herbs of knotweed by squeezing, juice is obtained. It is recommended to drink 2 tablespoons before meals for hypertensive patients, as well as for diseases of the intestines and kidneys. Juice is recommended to drink to improve appetite.
For external use, juice is used to wash wounds and apply bandages soaked in it.
Herb knotweed: farm use
In farms, knotweed is used as feed for poultry and pigs, because in terms of calorific value and vitamin content it is not inferior to legumes.
The young leaves and stems of the mountaineer are well suited for tasty and nutritious salads. In the famous Dagestan pies knotweed acts as a filling.
Knotweed grass is also a raw material in the production of dyes of several colors. From the roots of the plant get blue, and from the stems and leaves - green, beige and yellow. They color leather and fabric products.
Contraindications
Not only grass knotweed has beneficial properties. Contraindications are also known. A high silicon content in the grass can provoke a deterioration in the condition of a patient suffering from an acute urogenital system, as it can provoke a blockage of the urinary tract by large fragments of crushed kidney stones. Such patients are strictly forbidden to take medicine based on the highlander.
Also, you can not take a decoction or tincture of knotweed inside people with a diagnosis of thrombophlebitis, since blood coagulation will increase, and the course of the disease will only worsen.
Herb knotweed has contraindications for pregnant women, since it actively affects the tone of the uterus and can provoke a miscarriage.
An overdose when taking any medicine causes the body more harm than good, and knotweed is no exception in this case. The appearance of an allergic reaction to individual components from the chemical composition of the grass is also possible, therefore, the drug should be used with caution.