Highlander bird (knotweed): useful properties and possible contraindications. With kidney and gallstone diseases. Applying Grass Properties

Syn.: knotweed.

A low herbaceous plant with a creeping stem, small leaves and small flowers. For medical purposes, it is used as a diuretic.

Ask the experts

flower formula

The formula for the bird's mountaineer flower: * O (5) T8P (3).

In medicine

Knotweed preparations are used for urolithiasis(as a means of promoting the discharge of small stones), with chronic diseases of the urinary tract, weakening of the filtration function of the renal glomeruli and the appearance in the urine of a large amount of mineral salts, especially salts of oxalic acid.

The herb of the plant is effective for gastroenteritis, diarrhea various etiologies, with increased permeability of the walls of blood vessels and minor bleeding from damaged vessels of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, with uterine bleeding in postpartum period and after an abortion, with hemorrhoidal bleeding. In dermatology, the plant is used for allergic diseases skin (eczema, atopic dermatitis, acne, boils, etc.), psoriasis, dermatomyositis, vasculitis, congenital epidermolysis, etc.

children

An infusion of crushed grass knotweed (knotweed) can be used by children from 12 years of age.

Classification

Highlander bird (Knotweed) - lat. Polygonum aviculare L., belongs to the buckwheat family - lat. Polygonaceae. The genus mountaineer has about 300 species of plants, widely distributed throughout the globe.

Botanical description

Highlander bird (knotweed) is an annual herbaceous plant with a small vertical, slightly branched root. Stem 10-60 cm long, weak, ascending or decumbent, often branched at the base, with long, mostly simple branches, almost pressed to the soil. Leaves are short-petiolate, elliptical or linear-lanceolate, obtuse or pointed; bells are long-pointed, transparent, silvery.

The flowers are small, greenish-white with pink edges, located in the axils of the leaves. Perianth simple, five-membered, about half incised. Stamens 8; the fruit is a trihedral nutlet, often longer than the perianth (1-3 mm long). The formula for the bird's mountaineer flower is O (5) T8P (3). Propagated by seeds. The plant blooms all summer, the fruits ripen in July-September.

Spreading

Highlander bird (knotweed) is a widespread weed. It grows mainly in weedy places near residential buildings, along roads, in yards and on the streets; tolerates heavy trampling. Less common as a weed in fields, along rivers and streams. Often forms continuous thickets on compacted soils, crowding out other species. Can climb high mountains.

Found in all natural regions except the Far North and deserts Central Asia(Karakum and Kyzylkum). It grows especially abundantly in the middle zone of the European part of Russia and in the south. Western Siberia in the forest and steppe zones. It is found throughout the territory of Belarus, Ukraine.

Distribution regions on the map of Russia.

Procurement of raw materials

Knotweed grass (Polygoni avicularis herba) is used as a medicinal raw material. Raw materials are harvested during flowering, cutting off the upper parts of the shoots up to 40 cm long with knives or sickles. The grass is dried in attics or under canopies with good ventilation, or on outdoors in the shade, laying out thin layer(2 - 3 cm) on paper or cloth and stirring occasionally.

Chemical composition

The grass of the highlander bird contains tannins (1.8 - 4.8%); flavonoids (up to 9.4%): avicularin, hyperin, isorhamnetin, myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol; essential oil; vitamins C, E, carotene; coumarins (scopoletin, umbelliferon), phenolcarboxylic acids (gallic, caffeic, β-coumaric, chlorogenic), anthraquinones, silicic acid compounds (up to 4.5%), resins, mucus, fats, sugars, macronutrients: potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron; trace elements.

Pharmacological properties

Knotweed (knotweed) preparations have many medicinal properties: they increase diuresis, have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects, have antitoxic properties, and promote the removal of small stones from the kidneys.

Phytopreparations of the plant excrete excess sodium and chloride ions in the urine, as a result of which filtration in the renal glomeruli increases and reverse resorption in the renal tubules decreases.

Useful properties are also shown by soluble compounds of silicic acid of highlander bird. They are excreted in the urine in high concentrations. When passing urinary tract they play the role of a protective colloid that reduces the degree of crystallization of mineral salts, thereby preventing the formation urinary stones(urates).

Flavonoids, silicon compounds and tannins of the highlander reduce the permeability of the walls of blood vessels, accelerate blood clotting, increase contractility smooth muscle organs, mainly increasing uterine contractions.

Herbal preparations of the plant have a positive effect on the function of the gastrointestinal tract due to tannins that have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and astringent properties. In the experiment, after the internal administration of preparations of the herb mountaineer bird, not only the inflammation of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines decreases, but also the bacterial flora is suppressed, resorption from the intestine decreases, and bleeding stops.

The polysaccharide of the herb Knotweed stimulates the reparative processes of the gastric mucosa in experimentally induced destructive lesions.

Application in traditional medicine

The specific name of the plant - avicularis - bird came from the Latin avicula - bird. Perhaps this is due to the fact that birds feed on the seeds of the plant.

Many are used in folk medicine. beneficial features plants. Highlander bird is widely used as an astringent, anti-inflammatory, choleretic, diuretic, as an antiseptic, antispasmodic, analgesic, diaphoretic, antipyretic, emollient, expectorant, laxative, antihelminthic, hypotensive, wound healing agent.

The medicinal properties of the plant are used for kidney stones and bladder, colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, pleurisy, scratching cough, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis of the lungs, with insomnia, inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth and gums, gastritis, dysentery, diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, biliary tract, gallbladder, skin diseases, urinary tract, rheumatism, peptic ulcer.

The infusion renders healing action on the work of the ovaries and uterus, and is useful as a hemostatic agent for uterine bleeding. There is evidence that many women have recovered from infertility.

Fresh grass mountaineer bird in the form of gruel or juice is used for lotions for burns; in combination with other herbs - with severe diarrhea and hemorrhoids.

Literature

1. State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR. Eleventh edition. Issue 1 (1987), issue 2 (1990).

2. State Register of Medicines. Moscow 2004.

3. Medicinal plants of the State Pharmacopoeia. Pharmacognosy. (Edited by I.A. Samylina, V.A. Severtsev). - M., "AMNI", 1999.

4. Mashkovsky M.D. "Medications". In 2 volumes - M., New Wave Publishing House LLC, 2000.

5. "Phytotherapy with the basics clinical pharmacology» ed. V.G. Kukes. - M.: Medicine, 1999.

6. P.S. Chikov. "Medicinal plants" M.: Medicine, 2002.

7. Sokolov S.Ya., Zamotaev I.P. Handbook of medicinal plants (phytotherapy). - M.: VITA, 1993.

8. Mannfried Palov. "Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants". Ed. cand. biol. Sciences I.A. Gubanov. Moscow, Mir, 1998.

9. Turova A.D. "Medicinal plants of the USSR and their application". Moscow. "The medicine". 1974.

10. Lesiovskaya E.E., Pastushenkov L.V. "Pharmacotherapy with the basics of herbal medicine." Tutorial. - M.: GEOTAR-MED, 2003.

11. Medicinal plants: A reference guide. / N.I. Grinkevich, I.A. Balandina, V.A. Ermakova and others; Ed. N.I. Grinkevich - M.: Higher School, 1991. - 398 p.

12. Plants for us. Reference manual / Ed. G.P. Yakovleva, K.F. Pancake. - Publishing house "Educational book", 1996. - 654 p.

13. Nosov A. M. Medicinal plants. - M.: EKSMO-Press, 2000. - 350 p.

14. healthy skin and herbal remedies/ Author-comp.: I. Pustyrsky, V. Prokhorov. - M. Machaon; Minsk: Book House, 200. - 192 p.

The medicinal plant knotweed or bird knotweed is a cosmopolitan plant. Found throughout the globe. It has been used by the people for centuries as a medicinal plant. The official confirmation of its unique healing properties happened quite recently. Also, it is used to prepare various dishes. On its basis, they make cosmetics at home. Use as poultry feed or as an alternative to lawn in landscaping.

Chemical composition

The chemical composition of the bird's mountaineer plant has been officially investigated and confirmed. Due to the content of certain substances, it has been successfully used both in alternative and in traditional medicine as effective diuretic and antiseptic.

The chemical composition of the aerial part of the plant, bird's mountaineer, includes the following elements: flavonoids, tannins, oil esters, vitamins K1, E, A, C, sugars, silicic and galacturonic acid, arabinose, saponins, coumarins, anthraquinone glycosides, ubeliferon.

Contains many macro and micronutrients: boron, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, potassium, calcium, titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, silver, zinc, arsenic, selenium, molybdenum, barium, vanadium.

Medicinal properties

Official medicine has approved the healing properties of knotweed herb and recommends its use as an immunomodulator, diuretic, blood-clotting and astringent. It is prescribed for internal bleeding. Also recommended for hypertension.

In any of the pharmacies, you can buy dry raw materials for the preparation of infusions and decoctions. They are used to treat problems with the gastrointestinal tract, malaria, tuberculosis, tumors of various etiologies. Knotweed helps to remove stones from the kidneys and gallbladder. It can also be used externally for mechanical damage to the dermis in the form of an ointment.

In Chinese alternative medicine, infusions and decoctions are used as a tonic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, blood-clotting and diuretic. Its decoctions are given to weakened patients at the stage of recovery as a vitamin remedy. It is also used as an antidepressant for neuroses.

In European countries, physicians use raw mountaineer in the form of decoctions for the treatment of oncological formations. Used as an anticonvulsant, using a milk decoction of knotweed. Concentrated infusions treat scurvy, a number of diseases of the urinary system, dermatitis and eczema, dysfunction of the liver and bladder, and respiratory diseases.

The use of knotweed in folk medicine


Alternative medicine uses raw knotweed in a broader form. Not only infusions and decoctions are used, but also plant juice, compresses and lotions, as well as baths. Considering the healing properties of the bird mountaineer, its use like:

  • Anti-inflammatory;
  • Choleretic;
  • Diuretic;
  • Antimicrobial;
  • Spasmolytic,
  • analgesic;
  • Antipyretic;
  • sputum liquefying;
  • Anthelmintic;
  • Vasodilator;
  • Hemostatic.

The silicic acid contained in the grass of the bird mountaineer prevents crystallization in the urine of a number of mineral components and stops the formation of urinary stones.

The healing properties of the mountaineer help with many diseases and healers recommend taking it as a separate medicine, and as part of complex therapy.

The raw material of the bird mountaineer is prescribed for:

  • and bladder;
  • Clearing the respiratory tract of phlegm, getting rid of cough and other symptoms colds;
  • sedation nervous system with stress, depression, neurosis and insomnia;
  • Gargles for sore throats and elimination of dental problems;
  • Treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and gallbladder;
  • Treating kidney problems and urinary tract, and also for ;
  • Recovery reproductive functions ovaries and uterus, treatment of infertility and uterine bleeding;
  • Treatments mechanical damage skin, burns and frostbite.

For colds

Knotweed grass has a negative effect on staphylococcal and streptococcal infections, which are often the causative agents of colds. Knotweed rinsing is recommended for laryngitis, tonsillitis, and dental diseases. Effectively relieves cough, hoarseness, chest congestion and swelling of the larynx. It is drunk as an antipyretic, diaphoretic and immunostimulating agent.

For the preparation of expectorant, anti-inflammatory and tonic a decoction of the grass of the bird mountaineer necessary:

  • 1 tsp dry chopped grass pour a glass of boiling water;
  • Evaporate in a water bath for 20 minutes;
  • Cool and strain;
  • Add water to the original volume;
  • Drink 1 tbsp. 3 times a day.

From kidney stones


The chemical composition of the bird's mountaineer plant includes high concentration silicic acid. It is able to prevent the formation of urinary stones and destroy existing ones, removing their residual product with urine.

In order to cleanse the kidneys, you should cookknotweed decoction:

  • 1 tbsp pour 250 ml of boiling water;
  • Keep in a water bath for half an hour;
  • Cool and strain;
  • Drink in the morning in combination with cocklebur herb;
  • First, drink 250 ml of knotweed decoction and after 5-10 minutes 100 ml of cocklebur.

With hemorrhoids


With hemorrhoidal bleeding, it is recommended to drink juice from fresh knotweed grass. It has a blood-clotting effect, and also heals microcracks in hemorrhoids. Juice is taken in 1 tbsp. 2 times a day. With painful hemorrhoidal cones, baths with the addition of knotweed are used. From it are issued rectal suppositories, directly for the treatment of hemorrhoids.

For internal use with hemorrhoids prepare a decoction in the following way:

  • 3 tbsp dry raw materials of bird mountaineer;
  • Pour 0.5 liters of boiling water;
  • Insist 3-4 hours;
  • Strain the broth and drink half a cup half an hour before meals 3 times a day.

With infertility

Medicines from the raw materials of the bird mountaineer affect the contraction of the muscles of the uterus and normalize the hormonal background. Contractions of the muscles of the uterus and fallopian tubes help move the sperm towards the egg. The knotweed plant is recommended to drink in the form of a decoction for both partners. It is important to stop using it after conception, because due to further impact on the contractile function of the uterine muscles, premature birth or miscarriage.

For cookingdecoction that promotes conception, required:

  • 2 tbsp chopped grass;
  • Steam 2 tbsp. boiling water;
  • Insist in a thermos for 3-4 hours;
  • Drink before meals 3 times a day.

With cystitis


Infusion for the treatment of cystitis prepared like this:

  • 3 tbsp fresh herbs pour 250 ml of boiling water;
  • Keep in a water bath for 20-30 minutes;
  • Cool and strain;
  • Add liquid to the original volume;
  • Take 0.5 tbsp. before meals three times a day.

You can also prepare the following infusion: 4 tbsp. herbs pour a glass of boiling water. Leave in a thermos for 2 hours. Filter and consume 0.5 tbsp 3 times a day.

For diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

Infusions, decoctions and juice from the mountaineer are very effective for various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Medicines based on it are able to remove inflammatory processes, kill pathogenic microflora, stop putrefactive processes in the intestines, and improve digestion.

One of the popular recipes for the treatment of diseases associated with the digestive tract is knotweed juice with honey. It is prepared from fresh raw materials of the bird mountaineer. It is necessary to squeeze the juice from a fresh plant. Then, for 100 ml of the resulting juice, add 1 tbsp. honey. Take 100 ml 3 times a day. This product cannot be stored. You should prepare a new batch each time.

With anemia

For the treatment of anemia, bird mountaineer is usually used in combination with complex therapy or in combination with herbal teas and juices. It is important that it is used only for anemia caused by iron deficiency. Knotweed herb contains iron and ascorbic acid, which help to normalize hemoglobin levels.

To increase hemoglobin, you can prepare the following infusion: 1 tbsp. pour a glass of boiling water over the herbs, strain after an hour. Mix the resulting tincture in a ratio of 1: 1 with beet juice. Drink 1-2 tbsp. before meals 3 times a day.

With stones in the gallbladder

According to official studies and successful practical application in alternative medicine, the knotweed herb is recognized as an effective medicine for liquefying bile and removing gallstones. Knotweed is usually used in the form of decoctions and alcohol tinctures.

In order to prepare a medicine for cleansing the gallbladder, you need: 2 tsp. knotweed pour a glass of alcohol or vodka. Insist in a dark cool place for two weeks. Strain and take 20 drops diluted in 0.5 tbsp. water 3 times a day.

Cholagogue decoction getting ready in the following way:

  • 1 tbsp knotweed pour a glass of water;
  • Keep on low heat for 20-30 minutes;
  • Cool and filter;
  • Use 1 tbsp. 4 times a day before meals.

For skin diseases

For the treatment of skin diseases and mechanical damage to the dermis, the grass of the bird's knotweed is used in the form of compresses, ointments, and a decoction is also added to therapeutic baths. Bird mountaineer softens the skin, promotes wound healing, and also fortifies.

The ointment is prepared as follows: mix 1 tbsp. crushed to the state of slurry of fresh grass of the bird mountaineer with 2 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil. The ointment should be infused for 10 days. The medicine can be applied to damaged skin or make gauze compresses out of it.

Highlander bird for weight loss

Folk healers claim that the grass of the bird mountaineer can help in the process of losing weight. But traditional medicine denies this fact. The fact is that people believe that laxative and diuretic effects can speed up the process of losing weight. This is not true. Sometimes dehydration during weight loss causes irreparable harm to health.

Decoctions of knotweed can temporarily discourage the desire to eat, but nothing more. With diets, you can take bird mountaineer as part of other herbal teas as a vitamin supplement and to maintain normal process metabolism. It is not a fat burner.

You can prepare such a vitamin collection with knotweed: mix 1 tbsp. raw mountaineer, 1 tbsp. rose hips and 1 tbsp. corn stigmas. From the resulting mixture, take 2 tbsp. and pour 250 ml of boiling water. Leave to infuse overnight. It should be taken 0.5 tbsp 3 times a day for two weeks. Then take a break and repeat.

Contraindications and harm

Any medicinal plant, including avian knotweed, should be used with caution, as any medicine has contraindications. Do not exceed the norms specified in the prescriptions or instructions for the medicine from the bird's knotweed. Contraindications include:

  • Individual intolerance to one of the components included in the plant;
  • Thrombophlebitis and thrombophilia;
  • Hypotension and diseases of cardio-vascular system, especially those related to change heart rate, as the plant accelerates the pulse;
  • In the perinatal period, as it affects the tone of the uterus, which can lead to miscarriage;
  • Children up to 3 years old.

Highlander amphibian, pike grass (Persicaria amphibia, synonym - Polygonum amphibium), buckwheat family (Polygonaceae)

Description

This plant is one of the few that can live in water and on land. Its two forms are known: water and "land". Hence the well-aimed specific epithet - amphibian.

This herbaceous perennial has a powerful branched rhizome. "Land" form with an erect, densely leafy stem, 15-50 cm high, pubescent with adpressed bristly hairs. The leaves of this form are short-petiolate. In the floating form, the stems are long, branched, and the leaves are long-petioled, bare, alternate, from elongated-elliptical to linear-lanceolate. The flowers are pink, bisexual, regular or, as scientists call them, actinomorphic. Collected in leafless dense cylindrical spike-shaped inflorescences, reminiscent of the inflorescences of the highlander serpentine. Blooms in May-June. The fruit is a nut.

Spreading

An amphibian grows in lakes, ponds and creeks of rivers, usually in calm water, as well as in swamps, swampy meadows and along the muddy banks of watercourses throughout central Russia, there is in Siberia and the Far East. Outside of Russia, it lives in Belarus and Ukraine.

Biological description

For medicinal purposes, the aerial part and rhizomes are harvested. Grass is harvested during flowering. The surface part of the floating plant is first dried soft cloth to remove moisture, then dried in the sun) and then dried under a canopy in the open air. Sometimes the plant is dried in ventilated attics, having previously tied it in small bunches. Rhizomes are harvested in autumn, pulled out of muddy soil, freed from grassy parts, washed cold water, cut into pieces and dried in the sun, then dried in the wind. Plant preparations are used only in traditional medicine.

Tannins (about 20%), organic acids, mucus, pectin and other compounds were found in the rhizomes of the plant. The herb contains flavonoids, organic acids and tannins (5-10%), carotene (provitamin A) (16.5 mg%), vitamin C (30.8 mg%) and essential oil.

The use of highlander in medicine

Highlander preparations amphibian have strongly astringent, diuretic and hemostatic properties. A decoction of rhizomes is recommended for treatment nephrolithiasis and with hemorrhoids (with this ailment, the decoction simultaneously acts as a mild laxative). In smaller doses, the decoction is taken as a diaphoretic, fixing (astringent), tonic and stimulating sexual activity. This drug is prescribed for the treatment of gout, rheumatism, cholecystitis and nervous disorders.

Infusions and decoctions of herbs are used as a diuretic for urolithiasis, as well as gastrointestinal diseases. In the Far East, the plant has long been known to the local population, it was used as an antidote for poisoning with opium and its preparations. Pathfinder Dersu Uzala treated V. K. Arseniev with this very remedy after opium poisoning.

Freshly crushed grass was applied to the back of the head with a headache (probably with an increase in blood pressure). In Central Asia, an infusion of rhizomes is taken orally for gout, rheumatism, syphilis and urolithiasis.

As a honey plant, the highlander amphibian is no worse than its fellow highlander serpentine - at least 50 kg of honey from 1 hectare of thickets is collected by bees.

A decoction of rhizomes. 1 teaspoon of finely crushed rhizomes per 300 ml of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes, insist 2 hours. Drink 1/2 cup three times a day.

Infusion of leaves. 2 teaspoons of dried leaves per 200 ml of boiling water. Insist 1 hour. Drink 1/2 cup 3-4 times a day.

Highlander snake, crayfish necks, turtle dove, serpentine (Bistorta major, synonym - Polygonum bistorta), buckwheat family (Polygonaceae)

Description

Cancer cervix many people know, not only collectors medicinal herbs but also confectionery lovers. However we will talk not about candy.

Dense, pink, hairy inflorescences attract attention in flood and damp meadows. Highlander snake - herbaceous rhizomatous perennial up to 40-100 cm high. The flower-bearing stem is straight. The flowers, collected in dense spike-shaped inflorescences, are pink, reddish, less often white. The length of the inflorescences is 4-10 cm, the width is 8-12 mm. The fruit is a trihedral nut.

Spreading

The plant blooms in June-August, usually lives in damp and water meadows, in thickets of shrubs, near water bodies, in alpine and subalpine meadows, as well as in the tundra zone. In all the indicated places, the coil is common in Russia.

Biological description

medicinal properties Highlander serpentine have long been known. For medicinal purposes, its rhizomes are harvested at the end of flowering. This is a very crucial moment, because after flowering the plants are lost in the meadow thickets. The rhizomes of the mountaineer are thick, curved, hence one of the folk names- coil. After digging, they are washed with cold water, dried (sometimes cut into pieces), dried under a canopy in free air, then processed at an elevated temperature (50-60 ° C). Rhizomes do not lose their healing properties for 6 years.

Part rhizomes serpentine contains about 25% tannins, organic acids, starch (about 25%) and other compounds. Substances contained in rhizomes determine biologically active action plants. Highlander rhizomes have astringent, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hemostatic and sedative (calming) effect. The plant is believed to help malignant neoplasms. Highlander preparations are useful in diseases of the mucous membranes and bladder.

The use of highlander in medicine

In folk medicine, the plant is used for stomach ulcers and duodenum, diarrhea, dysentery, cholelithiasis and urolithiasis. Outwardly, decoctions and infusions are used for inflammatory processes in oral cavity and throat (gingivitis, stomatitis, periodontal disease). Cancer necks help with skin diseases- eczema of various origins, chronic wounds and furunculosis. Finely crushed rhizomes of the highlander are part of therapeutic stomach teas.

It should also be told about the nutritional virtues of the snake mountaineer. The rhizomes of the plant contain a large number of starch, but at the same time tannins, so their rhizomes are soaked and dried, and then added to rye and wheat flour(flour obtained from rhizomes contains 25% starch and about 10% protein). Bread baked from the mixture is quite good quality. Young shoots of the serpentine are used to make salads, season them vegetable soups, dried (for seasoning) and fermented.

Root powder. 0.5-1.0 g three times a day for diarrhea and dysentery.

A decoction of the rhizome. 20 g per 200 ml of boiling water. Heated in a water bath for 15 minutes, filter. Take 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day for acute and chronic bowel diseases.

Highlander pepper, water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper, synonym - Polygonum hydropiper), buckwheat family (Polygonaceae)

Description

Water pepper - not too prominent, but extremely useful plant. It was named pepper for its sharp, burning taste. This is a herbaceous annual with a branched stem 10-70 cm high. The leaves are lanceolate, the lower ones have short petioles, the upper ones are sessile, they are all sharp, smooth. The flowers are pink, sometimes greenish, collected in rare discontinuous ears. Bloom from July to September. The fruit is a trihedral nut.

Spreading

Water pepper lives along the banks of fresh water bodies, damp meadows, ditches, roads, overgrown swamps. In the European part of Russia, it is distributed everywhere, up to 65 ° north latitude. There are in the Caucasus, in the southern part of Siberia and in the Far East. Spicy, medicinal and dye plant.

Biological description

For medicinal purposes, the aerial part is harvested at the beginning of the flowering of the plant, cutting it off at a height of 10-15 cm from the ground. They are usually dried in the open air, under sheds or in attics, or in dryers at a temperature of 40-50 ° C. Shelf life - 2 years. Raw materials are sold in specialized pharmacies.

The aerial part contains flavonoids, tannins, anthraglycosides, vitamins (ascorbic acid - in fresh leaves - up to 200 mg%, K - 0.78 mg%), organic acids, phytosterol, amines, mucus, bitterness and essential oil. Anthraglycosides, tannins and flavonoids were found in the roots.

Application in medicine

AT scientific medicine preparations of water pepper are used in the form liquid extract, infusion, the amount of flavo-new substances. The extract is a part of anesthesol antihemorrhoidal suppositories. Basically, preparations of the mountaineer pepper are prescribed as a hemostatic agent for menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, and also for hemorrhoids. They act like ergot, but somewhat weaker, but the analgesic effect is well pronounced.

Water pepper and medicinal properties seen in antiquity: it was used as a fixative, for bleeding, malaria, bladder diseases, dropsy. Paracelsus pointed to the external irritant, like mustard plasters, and analgesic effect of the plant. Ancient healers also used water pepper as an antitumor agent.

AT folk medicine water pepper preparations are recommended for the treatment of dysentery, diarrhea, flatulence, gastrointestinal colic, gonorrhea, urolithiasis, diseases of the spleen, epilepsy, hysteria, eczema, articular rheumatism, tuberculosis and other lung diseases. Roots are useful for low acidity, bronchitis, laryngitis, and also as a means of strengthening male sexual functions. Freshly crushed leaves are applied to wounds to anesthetize them and accelerate overgrowth.

In veterinary medicine, wounds and purulent ulcers in animals are treated with this remedy.

Young stems and leaves are used to make spicy, savory salads, add them to soups and stews. Dry leaves for food purposes can also be harvested for the winter.

An aqueous extract of water pepper grass, when evaporated, gives a yellow dye for cotton fabrics, and with the use of mordants, fabrics are dyed in golden, steel and protective (khaki) colors.

Water pepper extract liquid ( finished product). 30-40 drops 3-4 times a day.

Herbal infusion. 2 tablespoons of raw materials per 200 ml of boiling water. Heated in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, cooled, filtered, brought to the original volume with warm boiled water. Drink 1/3 cup 3 times a day.

Herb tincture. Raw materials are insisted on vodka 1 for 3-4 days in a ratio of 1: 4. Drink 30-40 drops 3-4 times a day.

Fresh Juice plants (outdoor). Lubricate ulcers.

Herb decoction. 50 g of raw materials per 400 ml of boiling water. Boil 5-10 min. For washing the affected areas of the skin with eczema.

Herb infusion. A handful of dry or fresh herbs are boiled for 15 minutes. in 2 liters of boiling water, insist 20 minutes. For sitz baths lasting 15 minutes. with hemorrhoids.

All preparations of the mountaineer pepper are contraindicated in glomerulonephritis.

Highlander bird, bird buckwheat, knotweed (Polygonum aviculare), buckwheat family (Polygonaceae)

Description

The closest relative of the snake mountaineer is the bird mountaineer, or knotweed, an annual herbaceous plant 10-30 cm high. The knotweed stem is ascending, the leaves are linear-lanceolate. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, whitish-pink, in the axils of the leaves, bloom in June-September.

Spreading

Usually knotweed grows near country roads, pastures, wastelands, yards, sandbanks near water bodies. It is widely distributed not only in the European part of Russia, but also beyond the Urals.

Like its relative, bird buckwheat has many useful properties - medicinal, nutritional and vitamin.

Knotweed grass is used for medicinal purposes. It is cut with a knife or a sickle, laid out in a thin layer in the shade and dried. The raw materials are dried in special dryers or ovens at a temperature of 40-50 "C. The raw materials are usable for 3 years. In specialized pharmacies, knotweed grass briquettes are sold.

Application in medicine

Grass poultry buckwheat contains a small amount of tannins, flavonoids, coumarins, an alkaloid of unknown structure, vitamin C (up to 450 mg%), carotene (provitamin A), organic acids, polysaccharides and other components.

Knotweed preparations reduce blood pressure, prevent the formation of kidney stones, improve urination, increase uterine contraction and have an antitoxic effect. Knotweed tannins have a beneficial effect on digestion. Herbal infusions are used to treat chronic diseases urinary tract. In gynecology and obstetrics, an infusion of herbs is prescribed for accelerated reduction uterus in the postpartum period, heavy menstruation and uterine bleeding.

Reception of infusion facilitates the condition of patients with uterine fibromyoma. The infusion is especially effective for restoring the normal concentration of iron in the blood after heavy bleeding in the postpartum and menopausal periods. traditional healers knotweed is used to treat edema, in diseases of the respiratory tract, and also as a tonic and tonic. With the help of infusion in folk medicine, malaria is treated. For baths (externally), the herb is used for hemorrhoids.

All herbal preparations are contraindicated in acute diseases kidneys and bladder.

Few people know that the mountaineer bird is a very valuable food plant. The aerial part (stems and young leaves) is used for making salads, together with other herbs or separately, seasoning vegetable oil or vinegar, and sometimes sour cream. Knotweed greens are added to soups and stews, and dried leaves are harvested for future use. The plant is rich in proteins (up to 4.4%), and in terms of starch content it is not inferior to legumes. Knotweed leaves contain up to 120 mg% of vitamin C. Poultry buckwheat in salads and soups is healthy and tasty!

Herbal infusion. 15 g of raw materials per 200 ml of boiling water, insist 15-20 minutes. 1/2-1/3 cup 2-3 times a day before meals.

Do you remember how in folk epics the mighty heroes loved to sleep on the grass-ant, gaining strength before the battle? The cunning Baba Yaga in fairy tales rode on the grass in order to regain her health, and even in Korney Chukovsky’s familiar poems from childhood, a pot-bellied sandwich with sausage lured a red-cheeked bun to walk along the ant ... And what is most surprising is that this fabulous grass is actually quite real, and her name is knotweed - medicinal properties and its contraindications are known to the Russian people from time immemorial and to this day.

Cleansing herb for body and soul

Knotweed is a plant with many faces and many names. Take at least its official name - highlander bird. And also - bird buckwheat, because small grains of knotweed, similar to buckwheat, are so fond of pecking birds. The most tender - grass-ant, goose grass, as well as knotweed - it is very spore and grows quickly.

Knotweed grass has always been valued in Russia - they even tried to use its medicinal properties and contraindications to cure a person from envy, hatred and unreasonable malice ... Can knotweed heal the soul, it is rather problematic to check in our rational age, but one thing is known for sure - common ailments from the body are bird buckwheat draws no worse than fashionable preparations.

  • If you suffer from kidney problems, knotweed will definitely help - the healing properties of grass-ant lower the level of salts in the urine, remove swelling and inflammation, and normalize metabolic processes and remove sand from the kidneys and gallbladder.
  • Relieves gastrointestinal inflammation, kills harmful bacteria and acts as a mild fixative for diarrhea.
  • Heals festering wounds, heals boils, relieves acne and blackheads.
  • Improves the condition respiratory ailments- pneumonia, bronchitis, tuberculosis, relieves fever during colds.

Traditional healers recommend walking on a fluffy carpet of grass-ant as often as possible in the summer - such walks charge good mood, relieve fatigue in the legs and noticeably before a rainy autumn. And if problems with your legs overtook you in the cold season - it doesn’t matter, the bird’s pharmacy highlander will help (you can buy it for mere pennies!). Hot baths with knotweed for 30 minutes will remove evening fatigue and relieve swelling from the legs (a glass of grass for 3 liters of boiling water, boil on low heat for 15 minutes, leave for an hour).

Benefits for women's health and contraindications

Ant-grass ... How much warm, affectionate, feminine in this name! And in the pictures, knotweed grass looks very enticing - the photos show a thick carpet of powerful stems, on which flowers interspersed with leaves sit in small clusters. And what a beauty these ant fields are - dark blue in late spring, dark green in summer, and pale golden in early autumn ...

About the benefits of knotweed for women's health there are real legends. Epic grass saves from a variety of "ladies'" ailments - from the nasty cystitis familiar to everyone to uterine bleeding. With painful and heavy menstruation, special herbal preparations with bird buckwheat will save - 10 grams of ants and 30 grams and 50 grams of goose cinquefoil.

But knotweed is not so simple - its medicinal properties and contraindications have been known for a long time, and the latter are quite serious. It is important to remember the bans on the use of the highlander bird by heart, otherwise the fabulous ant will turn into a dangerous poison.

The most important contraindication for treatment with knotweed is pregnancy. At the slightest suspicion of future motherhood, stop drinking goose grass, otherwise there will be a threat of bleeding and miscarriage. If you have kidney or gallstones, knotweed should also be removed away from the first aid kit. Low blood pressure, varicose veins and a tendency to blood clots, recovery from a heart attack and stroke are the most inappropriate diagnoses for epic recipes.

Highlander bird as a means for conception

AT Ancient Russia knotweed was not always an ordinary meadow flower - originally it was a double seed, a symbol of fertility. And only then did our ancestors take a closer look at the mysterious grass in pastures and fields - what kind of plant is this, it is not afraid of cold or heat, its cattle eat it - it only grows more densely, village girls trample it in round dances - and it only benefits!

For the amazing fertility and the wonderful ability to quickly restore the shoots of the Russians, they called him a knotweed, and only then they realized that the weed actually brings profit to the house - a long-awaited pregnancy.

Modern studies have shown that knotweed can really help with infertility: ant enhances the contractile work of the uterine muscles, normalizes respiratory function and improves the supply of tissues with oxygen, and this greatly enhances the chances of conception. And folk legends echo: knotweed for desperate women is the most that neither is effective method give her husband an heir.

Knotweed for pregnancy: what the reviews say

On women's forums and special blogs for moms, herbs for infertility are discussed tirelessly, and opinions can be found radically different. Among those who used knotweed for conception, the reviews are also mixed.

Many opinions are:

“My friend drank knotweed for several months and just got pregnant. I doubted whether to take this weed, but now I will definitely start. ”

“I couldn’t get pregnant for six years, then I found out about knotweed. I drank it for a year instead of tea and coffee, and now I'm pregnant!

Other forum users warn: the herb-ant is full of contraindications, and before taking knotweed, you should definitely visit a doctor. If you are found to have kidney stones, or an ovarian cyst, it is strictly forbidden to drink medicine from folk tales! Most of the visitors write: this knotweed herb is not an easy medicine - not all girls help its healing properties, but if you have already tried all the methods, you can try the highlander bird's course. The main thing - be sure to consult with your gynecologist.

How to take highlander bird?

Traditional medicine has accumulated a lot of recipes with grass-ant: almost every ailment has its own method of treatment. And what are the most effective ways to use knotweed?

  • At pustules, ulcers and skin problems we prepare the simplest infusion: pour a tablespoon of chopped dried ants with a glass of boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. Then just moisten the gauze in healing decoction and make compresses.
  • If you have a cold, bronchitis, or your baby has whooping cough, and knotweed is useful here - the application is as follows: A large spoonful of dried poultry buckwheat + 200 ml of boiling water. We keep in a water bath for 10 minutes and immediately remove to infuse for 2 hours. Drink a tablespoon 3 times a day.
  • Mess around with your kidneys? 20 gr dried grass-ant pour 200 ml plain water, boil and hold on fire for about 5 minutes. Infuse for 15-20 minutes, take - as in the previous recipe.
  • And if knotweed is needed for conception - how to take it in this case? The method is very simple: pour a large spoonful of grass with a glass of boiling water and wait half an hour. We drink without special restrictions, like your favorite tea, the course is 1-3 months. One condition - it is better to be treated with grass-ant in the first half monthly cycle before ovulation.

Knotweed in cooking

Everywhere our knotweed managed to do it - medicinal properties and contraindications are not its only advantage, on kitchen table grass-ant also works quite real miracles. Thanks to other vitamins, fresh essential oils and fat, knotweed looks great in spring-summer salads, vegetable side dishes, green soups. And in the Caucasus and in the countries of Central Asia, a wonderful filling for pies is prepared from it - especially for those who are bored with sorrel.

  • Knotweed Puree with Cheese and Garlic

You will need: 200 g of young green grass-ant, 2-3 cloves, 50 g of cheese, salt and pepper to taste, vinegar (you can use balsamic). Grind knotweed in a meat grinder, add crushed garlic. There - grated cheese, spices, dressing. This puree is an ideal summer side dish for barbecue, grilled fish, and a great option for sandwiches.

  • Knotweed summer drink

You will need: 1.5 liters of water, 500 g of tender knotweed grass, 2 cups of infusion, a tablespoon lemon juice, sugar and any berry syrup - to taste.

Pour the ants with cold water, leave for 5-6 hours. Then strain, add the rest of the goodies - and on the table.

Knotweed is a universal herb: it will help in healing, and how food is used, and walking on it is a pleasure. In summer, be sure to look in your own dacha or in your grandmother's village for endless fields of grass-ant - this flower should not remain only on the pages of fairy tales.

Surely, from spring to autumn, you see knotweed grass every day. Find out how it is useful and what diseases it treats.

There are herbs that many consider to be weeds, unaware of how powerful their healing properties are. For example, knotweed is a cure for many diseases that people trample under their feet.

What is knotweed grass - highlander bird, what does it look like?

Everyone probably knows knotweed grass, because this unpretentious plant grows almost everywhere - in glades, along roads, in vegetable gardens. But, perhaps, someone did not know its name. So - this is knotweed, familiar, isn't it?

This is what a knotweed looks like. Is there anyone who has never seen it?

In the old days knotweed was called:

  • highlander bird
  • konotop
  • trample-grass
  • bird's buckwheat
  • chicken eater
  • gosling

Judging by the name of the grass, it is eaten by chickens that peck at its small seeds, other birds, and it is also often trampled down, because it is unpretentious, grows abundantly, and quickly recovers after trampling. By the way, from this ability to quickly restore their shoots, the name "knotweed" came from.

Knotweed is an annual plant that produces long shoots reaching a length of 60 cm.

IMPORTANT: I ​​wonder what if you measure overall length of all branches of the highlander bird, which creep from one well-developed bush, then it can be equal to 100m!

  1. The green or gray-green leaves of the mountaineer bird are alternate, broadly oval.
  2. Rod root.
  3. Buckwheat bird blooms from April to September with axillary flowers of white and pinkish color.
  4. Knotweed has a triangular fruit, similar to a nut, which resembles a grain of buckwheat, hence one of the popular names of the plant - bird's buckwheat.
  5. Highlander bird has a tart taste and a slight herbal smell.


VIDEO: Highlander bird (knotweed). Medicinal properties, traditional medicine recipes

Knotweed herb: medicinal properties and contraindications

Judging by how widely and successfully knotweed is used in both folk and traditional medicine, we can say that under our feet there is a whole universal medical factory. Knotweed can be used to treat:

  • gastritis
  • peptic ulcer
  • chronic pancreatitis
  • cholecystitis and cholangitis
  • cholelithiasis
  • chronic hepatitis
  • cirrhosis of the liver
  • colpitis, endometritis
  • enterocolitis
  • cystitis
  • chronic pyelonephritis
  • urethritis
  • prostatitis
  • enuresis
  • metrorrhagia
  • chronic urolithiasis
  • amenorrhea
  • osteochondrosis
  • haemorrhoids
  • hyperthyroidism
  • hypertension
  • heart failure
  • rheumatism
  • hypovitaminosis


Knotweed on its own and in combination with others medicinal plants.

Sporysh is known for its properties:

  • anti-inflammatory
  • hemostatic
  • astringent
  • restorative

It also drives urine, bile, has a general tonic, anti-atherosclerotic and antimicrobial effect.

Favorable for improving kidney function, endocrine glands, strengthening immunity.



Buckwheat is used to treat diseases due to its chemical composition, which includes:

  • vitamins (A, C, E, K)
  • essential oils
  • tannins
  • phenolcarboxylic acids
  • trace elements in abundance
  • flavonoids
  • mucous, resinous substances and other compounds

However, knotweed or highlander bird has a number of contraindications. These include:

  • pregnancy
  • tendency to form blood clots, thrombosis and thrombophlebitis
  • inflammatory processes in the kidneys and bladder, occurring acutely

Sporysh: use in traditional medicine

  1. Since ancient times, bird buckwheat has been used as a means of stopping blood. To do this, they cut the grass, made a pulp from the leaves and applied it to the wound.
  2. Knotweed treated diarrhea and gastritis, as well as kidney disease. To do this, they made decoctions based on knotweed, as well as with the addition of other medicinal plants.
  3. Highlander bird was used to remove gall and kidney stones. The herb was brewed with boiling water in the ratio of 1 teaspoon of herb to 1 glass of boiling water, insisted and taken 3 times a day. The same recipe was used to rinse inflamed gums, the entire mouth and inflamed lips.
  4. Knotweed infusion treated cough, including whooping cough. The grass, this time, at a concentration of 2 tablespoons per 1 glass of water was poured with boiling water, insisted, filtered, added to the infusion boiled water reaching the initial level. A patient with a cough was given such an infusion before meals 3-4 times a day.
  5. Ancient and modern herbalists recommend an infusion of knotweed as a general tonic and immunostimulant, as well as a remedy for those who are malnourished, have inflammatory or neoplastic diseases, for those who have a metabolic disorder. For such purposes, you need to take 1 teaspoon of knotweed, pour it with boiling water (2 cups), boil over low heat for 5 minutes, cool slightly and take half a cup 2-3 times a day.


Knotweed decoction: recipe

To prepare a decoction of the highlander bird take:

  • 1 tablespoon knotweed
  • 1 cup boiling water


  1. Grass is poured with boiling water, boiled in a water bath for 30 minutes.
  2. Then let it brew for 10 minutes.
  3. Take half a glass 3 times a day.

Knotweed in gynecology for infertility and endometriosis

  • The herb mountaineer bird is successfully used in gynecology.
  • She is effective tool for the treatment of infertility in both women and men. Couples with the goal of conceiving a child and striving for this should take knotweed.
  • Highlander bird affects the functioning of the ovaries, relieves inflammation in the pelvic organs, strengthens the body as a whole, relieves stress and tension, which contributes to conception.
  • However, as soon as pregnancy occurs, knotweed should be discontinued.
  • And in general, before taking decoctions from the mountaineer bird, you should take into account its contraindications and consult a doctor.


In gynecology, knotweed is also used to stop uterine bleeding, including with uterine fibroids and after childbirth.
The ability of the plant to increase blood clotting, to be anti-inflammatory and astringent is valued here.

  • 1 st. a spoonful of highlander
  • 1 st. nettle spoon
  • 1 st. a spoonful of boron uterus

A mixture of herbs is poured into 200 ml of boiling water and kept overnight in a thermos. During menstruation or bleeding, drink 1 tbsp. a spoonful of infusion before each meal, but not more than 4 times a day.

Knotweed for conception: how to take a decoction?

Highlander bird will help to achieve the desired pregnancy if it is taken following some rules:

  • you need to start taking a decoction of knotweed from the last days of menstruation and no later than 2 to 3 days after it ends
  • you need to drink knotweed before ovulation starts every day
  • after ovulation, you need to stop taking the decoction so as not to cause uterine tone and not provoke a miscarriage
  • take highlander bird is necessary only for those who have no contraindications to taking it

Make a decoction at the rate of 1 tablespoon of herbs per glass of boiling water per day.
Pour boiling water over the grass, put on water bath, hold for 30 minutes, cool, strain, replenish the volume of liquid to the original 200 ml.
Take half a glass.

Knotweed from kidney stones: instructions for use

Knotweed can be taken from kidney stones by preparing a decoction from it according to the indicated recipe, as well as by combining the reception of the highlander bird with cocklebur.
For example, in the morning you first need to drink 200 ml of knotweed decoction, and later, after 15 minutes, drink another half glass of cocklebur decoction.



Decoction is good for bladder stones herbal collection, which includes:

  • highlander bird (grass)
  • strawberries
  • cranberries (leaves)
  • parsley roots
  • corn silk
  • calamus (rhizomes)
  • kidney tea shoots

This collection is drunk for 2 months.

VIDEO: SPORYSH CRUSHES STONES

Sorysh from stones in the gallbladder: instructions for use

With stones in gallbladder knotweed should be taken in conjunction with other medicinal plants, making a decoction of them and taking it before meals, 100 ml each.
Herbal preparations based on the highlander bird, which contribute to the crushing of stones in the gallbladder, include:

  • knotweed, rhizomes of gravilata, calendula flowers, corn stigmas
  • knotweed, dandelion roots, celandine, corn silk, coriander, tricolor violet flowers
  • knotweed, peppermint, chamomile flowers, immortelle, plus a few rose hips


With stones in the gallbladder, knotweed is taken as part of a herbal collection.

How to prepare a decoction:

  • mix herbs
  • take 1 tbsp. collection spoon
  • pour boiling water
  • simmer in a water bath for 7 minutes
  • insist 10 - 15 minutes

When to harvest knotweed?

Harvesting of knotweed is carried out during the flowering period, when the stems are still young and not hard.

  1. The upper shoots with leaves are cut off and sent to dry.
  2. It is necessary to spread the knotweed collected for drying in the open air and in a thin layer. It is necessary to dry in a shady place.
  3. Dried raw materials can be stored with the preservation of all medicinal qualities up to three years.
  4. It is better to store dried knotweed grass in linen bags or in special tin containers.


For harvesting, knotweed is collected in environmentally friendly places.

IMPORTANT: Since Knot grass grows abundantly underfoot, it should be collected away from roads and other polluted places for drying.

Sporysh Reviews

  1. Anna Semyonovna: “I have been suffering from kidney stones for a long time. What only folk remedies and expensive drugs from pharmacies have not tried! I went from hopelessness to the herbalist, he advised knotweed, told how much and how to take. At the last ultrasound, they said that my stones, those that were, became smaller, new ones did not appear. I don’t know if I owe this to knotweed or to the whole treatment in the complex, but I’m satisfied with the result.”
  2. Larisa: “For 10 years, my husband and I tried to have a baby to no avail. Doctors shrugged their shoulders: they seem to be healthy, but God does not give children. Grandmother - a neighbor in the country advised me to drink knotweed. I listened to her with the thought that it would not get worse. Three months later - a delay and two stripes on the test. And now my daughter is six months old.
  3. Galina Stanislavovna: “My husband had an adenoma of the prostate, they advised an operation. Due to problems with blood and pressure, he was afraid to go under the knife. I read about the highlander bird, the table to drink the spouse with a decoction. The operation is no longer needed."
  4. Mila: “And I have such a story with knotweed! My son was 5 months old, when the milk disappeared, they switched to the mixture. And the baby started having diarrhea. A more experienced friend advised him to give him a decoction of knotweed, saying that this was the only way she helped her children. And what do you think: the constipation has passed, but the cheeks have turned red. The doctor said we are allergic to this herb.

VIDEO: Knotweed. Medicinal properties

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