Even the ancient Greeks noticed that celandine blooms along with the arriving swallows, and withers with their departure to warm countries. That is why they called this plant "swallow grass".
The Russian name for celandine is due to its properties to heal various skin diseases. Due to the ability to remove warts and the unusual color of its juice, celandine in the common people is also called warthog or yellow milkweed.
At the end of spring, in weedy places, near fences and along roads, golden-yellow flowers appear, sitting on long branched stems with beautiful carved leaves. This is celandine.
The whole plant contains a large amount of milky sap, which instantly turns orange-red in the air. This juice is bitter, pungent, with a faint unpleasant odor. The whole plant is poisonous; after working with it, you must thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water.
Preparation of medicinal raw materials
For medicinal purposes, celandine is harvested during the flowering period in dry weather. The entire plant is cut at a height of 10 cm from the ground. Celandine is dried outdoors in the shade or drying chambers at a temperature not exceeding 55 ° C.
Chemical composition
Celandine juice is exceptionally rich in alkaloids (up to 2%), it contains more than 20 items. Some of them are similar in their effect to the alkaloids of the opium poppy. It also contains essential oils, flavonoids, saponins, organic acids, vitamin C, carotene, etc.
Application recipes
Celandine in folk medicine is widely used externally in the treatment of various skin diseases, rheumatism, gout. It is used for stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers, neuroses, tumors. Aqueous infusions of celandine are used for diseases of the liver and biliary tract.
Celandine preparations, widely recommended by traditional medicine, are easy to prepare at home, but they can only be used as directed and under the supervision of a doctor.
As a choleretic, analgesic and laxative, an infusion of celandine is used in folk medicine. To prepare it, you need to pour 1 teaspoon with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a warm place for 1 hour, strain. Take 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times a day 15 minutes before meals.
For cholelithiasis, a collection consisting of equal shares of celandine herb and knotweed, dandelion root, corn stigmas, St. John's wort herb, tricolor violet herb, anise fruits and coriander fruits is used. To prepare the infusion, you need 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of collection with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a warm place for 40 minutes. Take 1 glass 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
In the same case, another collection is used, consisting of 2 hours of celandine herb, 4 hours of dandelion root, 4 hours of St. John's wort, 3 hours of knotweed herb, 3 hours of corn stigmas, 2 hours of tricolor violet herb, 2 hours of fruits marshmallow ordinary. To prepare the broth, you need 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of the mixture with 1 glass of boiling water, boil in a water bath for 12-15 minutes. Take 0.25 glasses 4 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
For hepatitis with moderate liver dysfunction, some herbalists recommend a collection consisting of 2 hours of St. John's wort, 2 hours of mint leaves, 2 hours of licorice root, 1 hour of chamomile flowers. To prepare the infusion, you need 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of collection with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a warm place for 30 minutes. Take 0.5 cups 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
With inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) with normal or increased secretion, a collection consisting of 1 hour of celandine herb, 4 hours of motherwort herb, 3 hours of birch leaves and 1 hour of coriander fruit helps. For the preparation of infusion 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of collection with 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes. Take 0.3 cups 3 times daily before meals. The course of treatment is 2 weeks.
For gastritis with low acidity, a collection consisting of 1 tsp of celandine herb, 2 tsp of yarrow herb, 1 tsp of chamomile flowers, 2 tsp of St. John's wort is used. To prepare the infusion, you need 1 tbsp.pour a spoonful of collection with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a warm place for 30 minutes. Take 0.5 cups 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
With bronchitis, a collection consisting of 1 tsp of celandine herb and 2 tsp of yarrow herb helps. To prepare it, you need to pour 1 teaspoon of the mixture with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a thermos for 2 hours. Take 0.5 cups hot 2-3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
With a strong cough and sore throat, a collection consisting of 1 tsp of celandine herb, 4 tsp of mint leaves and 2 tsp of marshmallow root is recommended. To prepare the infusion, you need 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of collection with 1 glass of boiling water, heat in a water bath for 2 minutes, insist in a warm place for 40 minutes. Take 0.5 cups warm in small sips 2-3 times a day after meals.
With angina, a collection consisting of equal shares of celandine herb and chamomile flowers helps well. To prepare the infusion, you need 2 tbsp. pour spoons of the mixture with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a thermos for 6 hours. Gargle with warm infusion 5-6 times a day.
With a cold, a collection of 1 tsp of celandine herb, 4 tsp of lungwort herb and 3 tsp of mint leaves helps. To prepare the infusion, you need to pour 1 teaspoon of the collection with 1 glass of boiling water, insist in a thermos for 4–5 hours. Take 0.25 glasses 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
With sinusitis and chronic rhinitis, an aqueous infusion of celandine herb is widely used in folk medicine for rinsing the nose.
For external use, many herbalists use celandine decoction. To prepare it, you need 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of celandine with 1 glass of boiling water, boil in a water bath for 15 minutes, insist in a warm place for 1 hour. It is also used for fungal diseases of toenails and acne.
For the same purposes, celandine ointment is also used. For its preparation, dry powder from celandine herb and unsalted butter are mixed in equal proportions and applied to areas of the skin affected by eczema or psoriasis. At the end of the procedure, they are washed with celandine infusion. With psoriasis, in addition, they make hot baths with celandine herb. And warts are removed with celandine juice, while it is recommended to lubricate them with juice 3 times a day.
When treating wounds that did not heal for a long time, Russian healers used an ointment consisting of 2 hours of celandine herb, 2 hours of flowering tops of St. John's wort, 1 hour of calendula flowers and 1 hour of sundew herb. All components are thoroughly mixed, adding vegetable oil for binding. The affected areas are smeared with this ointment.
In folk medicine, celandine is widely used in the initial stage of oncological diseases, because it is believed to inhibit the growth of metastases. In these cases, they drink celandine juice according to the scheme - from 1 drop, adding one drop every day, up to 20 drops, and then subtract one drop at a time. Drink the juice only with milk.
Also, for these purposes, use an infusion of celandine mixed with nettle and calendula, taken in equal proportions. Then 1 tbsp. a spoonful of the crushed collection must be poured with 1 glass of boiling water and insisted in a thermos. Take 0.5 cups in the morning on an empty stomach and before dinner.
REMEMBER! When using decoctions or infusions of celandine, when the first signs of poisoning appear (nausea, vomiting, rapid breathing), you should drink 4–5 glasses of water or milk in a row, induce vomiting and seek help from a doctor.
And further! Celandine preparations are contraindicated for patients with epilepsy. They are also used with great care for angina pectoris, bronchial asthma and neurological diseases.
"Ural gardener", No. 31, 2016
