Flowers of chicory in folk medicine. What are the benefits of chicory flowers and how to use them?

The scientific name of chicory is mentioned for the first time in the writings of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, the Greek philosophers who named this plant Kichorion.

The Latin name intybus from the Greek language is translated as "incised" (because of the shape of the sheet), and from Latin - as "tube" (due to a hollow stem). The name wegewarte (German) - "plantain", "watchman of roads" - emphasizes that this plant can be found near roads, along the fields. At the same time, Ukrainians call it the wooden strength "petriv batig". In this article we will find out what kind of plant it is, and how to use chicory flowers.

Description

It is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family of Compositae gray-green color with a multi-headed thickened spindle-shaped root, reaching a length of 1.5 m. At the same time, all parts of this plant contain milky juice.

Stalk erect, single, up to 150 cm high, covered with sparse hairs, branchy.

Leaves are regular, assembled into a rosette, basal, pinnatized, pubescent from the lower side, narrowed to the base in the petiole, while the cauline leaves are sharp-toothed, regular, sessile; The upper ones are solid, lanceolate.

Tsikory flowers are blue, sometimes white or pink, reed, collected in a variety of solitary and sitting a few pieces on small peduncles of the basket.

Fruit - seed is irregularly wedge-shaped, prismatic, with a small tuft of films. One plant can produce about 25,000 seeds, which retain their germination capacity not more than 7 years. Chicory blooms all summer, fruits ripen in early autumn.

Reproduction

Propagates vegetatively from the root and seeds. It is distributed practically throughout the territory of Russia, excluding the northern regions.

Areas of growth

Chicory grows on loamy and sandy-loamy fresh and dry soils along steep coasts of rivers, as well as along roadsides and slopes of gullies. It transfers temporary lack of moisture and significant soil compaction.

The flowers of chicory have long been considered medicinal. Avicenna, a well-known doctor of the Middle Ages, widely used plant drugs for the treatment of a number of diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation of the eyes. He recommended externally applying chicory in the form of a bandage with gout on sick joints. The plant was familiar to ancient Romans and Greeks.

The first plantations of chicory in Russia were laid in 1880 in the vicinity of Yaroslavl.

Chemical composition

The roots of the plant contain lactucine, choline, pectin, lactukopicrin, intibine, which gives the leaves and roots a bitter taste, glycosides, cichorian, inulin, tannins, silicic acid, taraxosterol, sugars, ascorbic acid, thiamine.

Chicory flowers contain crystalline glycoside, young leaves - carotene, seeds - fatty oil. Also in the plant are found inulin, ascorbic acid, potassium salts.

Cultivation and cultivation

Propagate chicory seeds and from the root. After harvesting the plants that were on the selected site earlier, perform basic plowing and peeling to a depth of about 30 centimeters. The soil is harrowed in the spring and buried before sowing. In spring they sow, shoots appear after ten days. Care of them consists in weeding weeds and cultivating the rows.

Collection, drying and harvesting

As already mentioned above, chicory is actively used for medicinal purposes. Flowers and leaves of the plant are harvested in autumn, after the rosette of the root leaves begins to fade. The roots are excavated, neatly shaken off the clinging earth, knives are cut off aboveground parts, very quickly washed in flowing cool water, the rotted damaged parts are removed and laid out for withering in the shade. Thick roots need to be cut along, while long ones - a few pieces across. Several developed specimens are left on the thickets for the resumption of stocks of this raw material. Dry in dryers or ovens at a temperature of up to 60 ° C. The raw smell is absent, the taste is bitter.

Healing properties

So, why are the flowers of chicory useful? They have astringent, sedative, diuretic, choleretic, anthelmintic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory properties, improve digestion, regulate metabolism, improve cardiac activity, reduce blood sugar levels.

Use in medicine

The use of chicory flowers has long been known to healers. Decoction is used inside with liver, gall bladder, kidney diseases, to increase appetite, improve digestion, dyspepsia, gastritis, enlarged spleen, constipation, diabetes, helminthic invasion, anemia, asthenia, itchy dermatoses (neurodermatitis, eczema, pruritus, skin itching, Seboroid dermatitis, urticaria), hysteria, vitiligo, psoriasis, furunculosis, alopecia, vulgar acne, and also as a diuretic, sedative, choleretic agent and for the regulation of all metabolic disorders.

Tsikory flowers in folk medicine are used in the form of a decoction, applied externally in the form of lotions, baths, bandages, used for gout, itching dermatoses. In Bulgarian medicine - in the form of gruel for the treatment of furunculosis.

Also, the infusion is used as an improving digestion, exciting appetite, choleretic, diuretic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and astringent, with gastroenteritis, gastritis, cholelithiasis, hepatitis, nephritis, diabetes, hysteria, neurasthenia. In the form of washing with ulcers, wounds - broth, infusion; With eczema, boils - in the form of lotions; With inflammation of the glands, pain in the abdomen - in the form of compresses.

With anemia - juice as a tonic work of the heart and a soothing nervous system; For the treatment of skin rashes, furuncles, acne, eczema and pustular skin diseases, purulent wounds, as well as with diathesis is applied externally.

Flowers of chicory in the form of decoction and infusion can also be used for hysteria, neurasthenia. As a cholagogue means the juice of a plant is relevant.

Medicinal products

Chicory is not used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. A drink from this plant is popular - it is sold together with ordinary food products.

Decoction of grass

To do this, brew one spoon of ground fresh or dry grass with a glass of boiling water, lightly heat for 10 minutes, 15 minutes. Insist, then strain. The broth is used externally for washing, lotions, baths for the treatment of acne, for the elimination of skin rashes, purulent wounds, boils, eczema, pustular diseases, diathesis.

Tincture

In order to get tincture, you need 1 liter of boiling water to brew 40 grams of the plant, in a warm place to insist for three hours, drain. Eat half a cup three times a day to remove bile with liver cirrhosis, jaundice, to cleanse the spleen and liver, with clogging of the stomach, swelling of the spleen, pain in the digestive tract. So, how many drops do you drink the tinctures of chicory flowers? Daily for a few days in the evening and before breakfast one glass each.

Decoction of the root

Brew a spoonful of water with a glass of boiling water, heat for 20 minutes on a low heat, then strain. Eat a tablespoon several times a day or as a tea without dosing.

Poultices

With severe inflammation or pain in the stomach from the leaves of chicory do poultices. First they are poured hot water, then wrapped in a clean cloth and applied to the sore spots every day twice.

Use of plants in other areas

Roasted roots of the plant are a substitute for coffee. So, in Latvia they are added to the usual coffee for us, they also prepare from it a drink with apple juice, honey and lemon.

Tea made from chicory flowers is also very popular. They are often flavored with fruit and berry drinks. Roots can serve as a source of fructose, inulin, used to make alcohol (from chicory the yield of alcohol is more than from potatoes, while its quality is better).

The plant is especially valued in dietary nutrition. It is actively used in the production of cakes and sweets in the food industry. Fresh leaves can be eaten, deduced salad varieties contain a large amount of ascorbic acid. In this case, salads are prepared from young stems, leaves and shoots. Young shoots fry, boil, bake. In Belgium, the plant is baked in wine with apples and cheese.

In Europe, cultivate vitluf (leaf chicory). It is added to the garnishes for steamed, fried, baked and stewed fish, salads, in raw form - in soup.

During rains and in damp weather, flowers give off a huge amount of blue nectar. From 1 hectare plants receive up to 100 kilograms of honey.

Side effect of chicory and toxicology

The roots of chicory are not toxic and do not show any obvious side effect. But with prolonged use, they can enhance the secretion of bile and gastric juice. Consequently, to persons with high acidity of gastric juice, chicory-based agents should be used as carefully as possible.

The fried roots of the plant show a pronounced choleretic effect. They can significantly enhance diuresis. Consequently, prolonged use of coffee from chicory is undesirable for people with diseases of the gallbladder and liver.