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Herbs |
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Herbs useful for treating blood circulation problems: Rosemary, hawthorn, common mistletoe, shepherd's purse. Herb name: Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis
Family: Lamiaceae Useful plant parts: Leaves Description: Rosemary is a shrub-like plant that grows up to two meters high. It has a pleasant and intense aroma. Rosemary branches are densely covered with leaves that have a leather-like smooth surface, without petioles. The small flowers are light blue, and form in the upper parts of the plant, usually gathered in blossoms. Collecting period and locations: The leaves are picked just before flowering (March, April, and often again in autumn). They are dried in warm places, but not at temperatures higher than 35°C. Rosemary is a Mediterranean plant, and in drier and warmer parts of the Mediterranean it can be found growing in the wild. It can also be cultivated in colder areas, but over the winter the plants should be taken indoors in order to provide a high enough temperature.
Medicinal properties and applications: Rosemary is known as a herb that promotes blood circulation and balances the nervous system. It is good for preventing cramps in the upper abdomen. It has been used to treat gout and rheumatism as well. It is also used in various forms of weaknesses, because of the evident property of rosemary to raise blood pressure when it is too low. Active compounds: Essential oils, resins, tannins, flavonoids, various organic acids and saponins. Recipe: To prepare tea of rosemary, add a teaspoon full of dry tea leaves to a 1/4 liters of cold water and slowly warm it up to the boiling point, then remove from fire and immediately strain. Tea is then ready to be taken.
Herb name: Hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata
Family: Rosaceae Useful plant parts: Fruits and flowers Description: Hawthorn is a plant that mostly comes in a form of moderately sized shrubs or small trees. It is known for the, usually, large number of flowers that are located on the tops of branches. For this plant it is also characteristic that it is whole covered with thorns. The leaves are relatively small, and from the upper side they are dark green colored, while on the lower side they have a light green color. The leaves have short petioles. Collecting period and locations: The flowers are picked during full flowering (through May and June). Then they are rapidly dried in a warm and airy place. The dried material is usually stored in bottles that can be closed tightly. Medicinal substances are lost with time, and because of that, dried flowers are usually not stored for longer than one year. As for the fruits, they are picked when they are mature (the fruits are mostly red colored). Fruits are dried the same way as the flowers, and they also lose medicinal substances slowly with time. Regarding locations where to search, hawthorn can be found in thickets and hedges, in deciduous, and even in pine forests.
Medicinal properties and applications: Hawthorn is known as an excellent cure for heart problems, where it is useful for a number of problems related to heart and circulatory system. In elderly people it strengthens the heart, stimulates and nurtures it. It is also excellent for the mitigation of degenerative effects on the heart muscles, poor circulation and heart palpilations. It can also treat a too low or a too high blood pressure (in both cases, it normalizes pressure to a certain extent). Also, it is often recommended after a heart attack because it helps by increasing blood flow through coronary arteries and it overall increases activity and better nutrition of the heart muscle cells. Active compounds: Flavonoids, loline, acetylcholine, ethylamine and triterpenes. Recipe: Tea of hawthorn can be prepared by taking two teaspoons full of dried hawthorn flowers and adding them to about 1/4 liters of boiling water and leaving the tea that way for 20-30 minutes. Usually one should drink 2-3 cups of this tea a day.
Herb name: Common mistletoe, Viscum album
Family: Loranthaceae Useful plant parts: Leaves together with the branches Description: Mistletoe is a bicameral and evergreen medicinal herb that grows on deciduous trees, and it can therefore be relatively easily recognized, and because of the fact that there aren't many other plants which this herb could be confused with. Bark and leaves of the common mistletoe are greenish-yellow colored. Mistletoe has relatively small yellow flowers, which grow on the tops of branches. Collecting period and locations: Mistletoe is usually collected in the spring, during March and April. The tops of branches are gathered together with the leaves, and are dried and then cut into small pieces. Concerning the locations where mistletoe can be found, it grows in most deciduous forests, where they can easily be spotted during autumn and winter because of the evergreen nature of this medicinal herb. Medicinal properties and applications: One of the best known properties of mistletoe is the reduction of blood pressure. It is also often taken in combination with hawthorn for the purpose of strengthening the heart, especially in the case of elderly people. There are also claims that the mistletoe has the potential to treat certain cancer types, but these claims still wait for more concrete scientific evidence. Active compounds: Viscotoxins, choline, acetylcholine, flavonoids, histamine and mucilage. Recipe: Tea from mistletoe can be prepared by adding two full teaspoons of dried mistletoe to a quarter liter of cold water. The tea is than left for about 12 hours. After that time, the tea can be strained and can be drinked. Usually two cups are taken per day.
Herb name: Shepherd's purse, capsella bursa pastoris
Family: Brassicaceae Medicinal parts of plants: Flowering plant Description: Shepherd's purse is a medicinal plant that can grow 10 to 50 centimeters in height. Most of the leaves are located closely to the ground, and from them, upright and branched stalks usually emerge. The leaves are irregularly shaped, and the stalks commonly have a small number of alternating leaves. The upper parts of stems often develop small white flowers. It is also important to mention that this plant has fruits and flowers during the whole summer, and that the fruits have the characteristic flipped over heart-shape. Collecting period and locations: Plants can be picked throughout the whole year, although several sources note that it is best to pick the plants in the spring. Plants are usually picked together with their roots and are linked into bundles that are than dried in a dry and airy place. As for the locations where this plant can be found, it is a relatively common plant and grows in fields and gardens, in parks, along hedges and in various other places. Medicinal properties and applications: Tea from shepherd's purse can help stop bleeding in various menstrual problems. It is also known that shepherd's purse generally has a positive effect on heart function, it strengthens it and normalizes its work, especially in older people. It has also been noticed that this plant is good for normalizing blood pressure, whether it is too high or too low. Because of all of the mentioned properties, shepherd's purse is often a part of various herbal tea mixtures that are used for various problems related to heart and blood circulation. Active compounds: Acetylcholine, choline, diosmin, tyramine, histamine, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, vitamin C and essential oils. Recipe: Two full teaspoons of dried and chopped shepherd's purse is added to a quarter liter of boiling water and left for about 15 minutes. After that, the tea can be strained and taken about 2-3 per day.
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