Residents of the middle and northern strip of Russia are well acquainted with this plant. Let us also find out which berry is called bear.
It has many different names - a bear brush, bear ears, bearberry ordinary and bear grapes. Its botanical name comes from the word "oatmeal", since in ancient times during the hungry years peasants pounded flour from these dried berries, then baking bread from it. Also, this flour was added to rye or wheat dough, which gave the bread an unusual fruity smell and taste.
Description
Bear berry is an evergreen shrub belonging to the heather family. Its stems are creeping, strongly branching, reaching 1.5 m in length. Young branches are ascending, slightly lowered, greenish-brown in color, while the old branches are mostly lying, with a red-brown peeling bark. The plant has short-leaved leaves, shiny, oval in shape, with a lighter color in the lower part. Bearberry mainly blooms with whitish pink flowers in early summer, after which the fruit develops in the form of a red tart berry. In the pulp of ripened fruit is up to 5 small seeds. An amazing feature of this berry is that it does not burn.
Spread
The wild bear berry easily adapts to the conditions; it is not afraid of the subarctic or arctic climate. However, it rarely grows next to other plants. Bearberry can be found in North and Central America, as well as in Northern Europe. In Russia, it grows in the Far East, in Siberia, in the forests of the Alps. This plant loves marshy soils and wastelands saturated with humus, while it grows well on sandy soils and in sunlit places, sparse forests, and forest clearings.
Beneficial features
For several decades, in folk medicine, the aerial part of this medicinal plant has been used, namely the leaves. The collection of raw materials takes place in 2 stages: in the spring, overwintered leaves are collected, and young grown up at the very end of summer. The shoots are carefully cut with a knife (it should be noted that tearing is not allowed), then the old (brown) leaves are weeded out.
Their drying is carried out outdoors with a thin layer. Upon completion of drying, the branches are ground and sieved to sift the shoots.
In nature, there are not many berries, which in their composition have such a huge amount of useful substances, like bear berry. These are raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, blueberries, currants and strawberries.
So, bearberry leaves contain free hydroquinone, arbutin, tannins, quercetin, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), various essential oils, in addition, organic acids (ursulic, formic, quinic, ellagic, gallic).
Bear berry, the medicinal properties of which are described in detail in this article, is used to prepare infusions, tinctures and decoctions, which have a pronounced astringent, disinfectant, enveloping, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antimicrobial and analgesic effect.
Storage and storage
For treatment, young shoots and bearberry leaves are used, which must be harvested in the spring before the flowering period and in late summer after the fruit ripens. A branch with leaves about 3 cm long must be carefully cut with a pruner, knife or scissors. It must be emphasized that re-harvesting of raw materials in the same place will be possible only after 3 years. Pulling plants is also not recommended, since this shrub will simply kill, and it will not grow here anymore.
Once the shoots and leaves have been cut off, they must be spread out on a dry cloth or newspaper with a thin layer in a ventilated place under the roof. The drying temperature should not be more than 40 ° C. After drying, the leaves must be torn and chopped, and the stems thrown out. Such raw materials can be stored for up to 5 years, then it will be unusable.
Basically, dried leaves have no smell per se, while it tastes a bit bitter. The main thing here is to be very careful when picking the berry, because it looks very much like lingonberry. In addition, it is also necessary to avoid falling into your collection of other foliage, otherwise this foliage may appear in the raw material itself, which is fraught with poisoning. The harvesting of bearberry leaves should be stored in a dark, dry place in a cloth bag.
The use of bear berries
The bear berry is popularly used in the form of medicinal decoctions and infusions. They are used for chronic colitis, edema, urolithiasis, diathesis, nephrosis and chronic nephritis, purulent wounds, urethritis, cystitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, diabetes, uterine bleeding, chronic constipation, rheumatism, heartburn and gastritis.
The decoction of this medicinal plant can be used internally and externally (with purulent wounds, ulcers and diathesis), right at the site of localization of the inflammatory process. The powder obtained from the dry leaves of the plant is also used locally as a wound healing and antiseptic agent.
Treatment of urethritis and cystitis
To treat these ailments, you will need a bear berry harvested in advance (you can see a photo in this article). Take 3 g of its dried leaves, add a glass of boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. The resulting product must be taken every day in three glasses.
Nervous System Treatment
Take a tablespoon of dried leaves and young shoots of berries. Pour them into three glasses of hot water and cook over low heat until half the liquid has evaporated. It is necessary to take chilled three times a day. The effect of the broth can be enhanced by adding a spoonful of motherwort.
Bearberry Tincture
Bear berry is used for healing tinctures. To prepare the tincture, you need to take a tablespoon with a hill of dry leaves of the plant and pour a glass of boiling water. The product must be infused for two hours at room temperature, then strain and pour into a clean jar. You can take it with rheumatism half a cup three times a day.
Jade tincture
Take raw bearberry raw materials and pour them in 20 g. Pour them with a glass of vodka and set aside the mixture for 2 weeks. Periodically, you need to mix and shake everything. After the specified period has elapsed, the tincture must be thoroughly filtered, and then taken three times a day, 15 drops, mixed in a glass of water.
Decoction for kidney disease
A spoonful of dry raw bearberry must be poured with a glass of boiling water and left to infuse for 15 minutes in a water bath. Set aside the prepared broth for an hour, after which it should be carefully filtered. Also, if desired, it can be diluted with purified cool water. It is necessary to take half a glass before meals three times a day.
Decoction for gastrointestinal diseases
For decoction, a tablespoon of pre-prepared dry raw materials must be poured with a glass of boiling water and left to insist for half an hour in a water bath. After this, the broth must be cooled and filtered in a clean jar. For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it is recommended to take this drug before meals in a tablespoon.
Bearberry leaf tea
Take a couple of tablespoons of dried bearberry leaves and pour them with cool water. Leave the resulting mixture to infuse for a day. Before use, you need to heat such tea. This tea recipe is considered an indispensable remedy for inflammation of the bladder.
Contraindications
Bear berry is contraindicated in women who are breastfeeding, pregnant women, as well as children under 12 years of age. If a person has an acute kidney disease, he is also strictly forbidden to take a bear berry.
Bear berry contains a huge amount of arbutin. Despite the fact that this substance is effective in treating the kidneys and urinary tract, it will not be able to bring a good result if it does not affect the alkaline environment in the urine. When it is not possible to stop inflammation, the use of bearberry decoctions must be stopped.
It is also worth noting that an overdose of the drug can cause headache, severe nausea, dizziness, and also lead to pain in the stomach. When treating bearberry, you should add as much plant food as possible to the daily diet, in addition, completely eliminate foods that can lead to subsequent oxidation of urine from the diet. During the use of broths, dry mouth can also appear, and urine will turn greenish.