Many medicinal plants received very capacious and accurate folk names that fully reveal their main beneficial properties. One of them is the livestock. This wonderful natural doctor heals with injuries and diseases of the spine, bruises, arthritis, helps to heal bones even in the most difficult fractures. In some regions, this plant is called comfrey.
A bit of history
The root of the livestock bone, the photo of which you can see below, is known to traditional healers of different countries from ancient times. Documentary evidence of this has been preserved. More than two millennia ago, the ancient Greeks used the root of the livestock. The healing properties of the plant have been found to be effective for wound healing in the treatment of fractures.
The second name of the plant - comfrey - is translated as "fused" and indicates the main healing properties of this herb. It is mentioned in a treatise of Avicenna itself, which dates from the 15th century. In the Middle Ages, alchemists added the root of this plant to the “elixir of life”.
In ancient Russia, this plant had many names - goat-breeder, black grass, larkspur. The root in folk medicine has been widely used to treat joint and back pain, bruises, sprains, and fractures. In Soviet times, industrial cultivation of livestock was started. Scientists have found that the plant is very rich in protein. It was planned to use livestock and nitrogen fertilizer as feed.
Spread
Zhivokost (comfrey) is widespread in Europe, the Carpathians, Central Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Western Siberia. It prefers fertile moist soils, so it can often be found near rivers, streams, lakes. He likes to settle near natural or artificial depressions of the soil, ditches (trenches), for which he received the second name - comfrey.
Description of the livestock
A perennial plant from the Borage family sometimes reaches a height of one meter, and sometimes more. Hard hairs cover the base of the stem. The leaves are regular, with an unusual cucumber smell. They have a hard and rough surface. The root of an adult plant is powerful, painted black on the outside, and white inside. At a break, it releases a viscous mucous substance.
Flowering begins in late May. Beautiful purple, blue, violet, much less often white flowers appear on the plant. The fruit is a pod with four nuts that ripen until September. The plant perfectly reproduces by self-sowing and, being on a personal plot, quickly conquers new areas. Removing it from the root is incredibly difficult. Even from a tiny piece of root remaining in the ground, a healthy and strong plant will appear next year.
Composition
The stomach bone root is rich in nutrients. It contains alkaloids: lisiocarpine and cinoglossin. In addition, it contains tannins, glycosides, essential oils, resins, mucus, gums and other organic compounds.
Healing properties
Harvesting of raw materials is carried out in late autumn. The root of the stomach is used to prepare all dosage forms: decoctions, infusions, ointments. All of them have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, regenerative, hemostatic, enveloping and astringent effects.
In addition, the livestock (root) whose use is common in many countries of the world, increases tone and improves appetite. Preparations based on this plant are effective for gastrointestinal ulcers, digestive disorders. The use of infusions is recommended to reduce the symptoms of pain and inflammation in cancer.
The stomach root is taken orally for tuberculosis, severe bronchitis. Larkspur is indispensable in the treatment of fractures, bruises, thrombophlebitis. With these diseases, a slurry is prepared from fresh roots and a compress is applied to the affected area. In addition, comfrey preparations are successfully used to treat trophic ulcers, inflammatory diseases of the oral mucosa, purulent wounds, and arthritis.
Features of use
Zhivokost is an excellent doctor who can cope with many very serious diseases. But everyone who plans to use the stomach bone root for treatment needs to know that this is a very poisonous plant. For this reason, in many countries its use is prohibited in traditional medicine. This decision was due to the conclusion of scientists who believed that prolonged use of drugs based on the root of this plant is harmful, since it can cause a mutagenic and carcinogenic effect.
Many of their colleagues do not agree with this opinion. While scientists are arguing, traditional healers have successfully used the plant to treat many diseases. Below we will introduce you some recipes.
Compress
You will need 100 grams of powder from the root of the stomach bone and vegetable oil, diluted with water in equal proportions. Pour the powder with a small amount of a water-oil mixture to make a slurry that, in consistency, resembles thick sour cream. To restore damaged areas of bones, muscles, and tendons damaged by trauma, this gruel is used.
In addition, such a composition is effective for hemorrhage, sprain, dislocation, inflammatory processes of tendons and muscles. Put the prepared slurry on a sore area of the body, cover it with a linen cloth, and put a thick terry towel on top. Such a compress is left for several hours, preferably all night. In the morning, the composition can be washed off with warm water. To enhance the effect after the compress, you can apply a finished (pharmacy) ointment on herbs. Such daily compresses will help with diseases of the spine, problems with intervertebral discs.
Lotions for burns
To restore skin faster after a burn, take the roots of the stomach bone, grind it with a blender and measure out a tablespoon (with a hill) of the finished product. Brew it with a glass of boiling water, cover the container with a lid and let it brew for an hour. After this, the composition can be filtered and lotions applied to the affected areas.
Rhizocarpus root: alcohol tincture
The healing properties of this drug have already been appreciated by many people suffering from joint diseases. In this case, the root of the stomach bone justifies its name. The use of this tincture for the joints (with inflammation), to reduce pain during osteochondrosis, arthritis gives amazing results.
Grind the root of the stomach. It can be ground in a mortar to a powder state. You will need medical alcohol half diluted with water. Pour one part of the root with three parts of alcohol and place in a glass container. Leave the tincture in a dark place for a week. Shake the bottle periodically. The prepared tincture for alcohol is stored for no more than three years. To reduce pain, use tincture for compresses or rub into sore spots.
This tincture is effective in the treatment of sinusitis. To do this, for three days in the evenings do compresses on the forehead. This procedure localizes the inflammatory process and enhances the secretion of mucus.
Honey mixture with livestock
This drug is known as an effective anti-TB drug. In addition, this composition is useful in the deposition of salts. Grind and clean the root, washed under running water, and mix in equal proportions with natural honey. The resulting mixture is taken in a spoon (teaspoon) daily half an hour before meals for two weeks. Then the treatment is interrupted for two weeks, after which the course can be repeated.
Contraindications
Since today we have presented you with a healing, but poisonous plant, we want to warn you that there can be no talk of self-medication with these drugs. They should be taken with great care and preferably under the supervision of a doctor. Comfrey drugs greatly reduce blood pressure, so hypotensive use of these drugs is contraindicated. Do not take them for pregnant women and nursing mothers, as well as for individual intolerance.