Bear's berry: medicinal properties and application in folk medicine. What kind of berry is called a bear

Residents of the middle and northern strip of Russia are well acquainted with this plant. Let's find out what kind of berry is called a bear.

It has many different names - a bear brush, bear ears, bearberry bear and bear grapes. Its botanical name comes from the word "oatmeal," since in ancient times during the famine years the peasants poured flour from these dried berries, baking bread from it. Also this flour was added to the rye or wheat dough, which betrayed the bread unusual fruity odor and taste.

Description

Bearberry is an evergreen shrub that belongs to the heather family. Its stems are creeping, strongly branching, reaching 1.5 m long. The young branches are ascending, slightly lowered, greenish-brown in color; the old branches are mostly recumbent, with a red-brown exfoliating bark. The plant leaves are short-petioled, shiny, oval in shape, with a lighter color in the lower part. Basically, the bearberry blossoms with whitish pink flowers in early summer, after which the fetus develops in the form of red tart berries. In the pulp of ripened fruit there are up to 5 small bones. An amazing feature of this berry is that it does not burn.

Distribution of

Wild bearberry berry easily adapts to conditions, it is not frightened by subarctic or arctic climate. However, it rarely grows next to other plants. Bearberry can be found in North and Central America, as well as in Northern Europe. In Russia, it grows in the Far East, in Siberia, in the forests of the Alps. This plant loves bog soils and humus-saturated wasteland, while it grows well on sandy soils and in sunny places, sparse forests, forest felling.

Useful properties of

For several decades the folk medicine uses the above-ground part of this medicinal plant, namely, leaves. The collection of raw materials takes place in two stages: in the spring they gather the overwintered leaves, and young adults grow up at the very end of summer. The shoots are carefully cut with a knife( it should be noted that tearing is not allowed), then the old( brown) leaves are screened out.

Their drying is carried out in the open air with a thin layer. When the drying is complete, the branches are ground and sieved to screen out shoots.

There are not so many berries in the nature, which in their composition have such a huge amount of useful substances, like a bearberry. These are raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, blueberries, currants and strawberries.

So, leaves of bearberry contain free hydroquinone, arbutin, tannins, quercetin, vitamin C( ascorbic acid), various essential oils, in addition, organic acids( ursulic, formic, cinchona, ellagic, gallic).

Bearberry, the medicinal properties of which are described in detail in this article, is used to make infusions, infusions and broths that have a pronounced astringent, disinfectant, enveloping, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antimicrobial and analgesic effects.

Storage and billet

For treatment, use young shoots and bearberry leaflets, which must be harvested in the spring before the flowering period and at the end of the summer after the fetus ripens. A branch with leaves about 3 cm long should be carefully cut with a pruner, a knife or scissors. It should be emphasized that the re-harvesting of raw materials in the same place will be possible only after 3 years. To pull out plants is also not recommended, because this shrub just kills, and it will not grow there anymore.

Once the shoots and leaves have been cut, they must be spread on a dry cloth or newspaper in a thin layer in a ventilated place under the roof. The drying temperature should not be more than 40 ° C.Leaves after drying must be cut off and crushed, and the stems discarded. Such raw materials can be stored for up to 5 years, then it will no longer be suitable.

Basically, the dried leaves do not have a smell, but it tastes slightly bitter. The main thing here is to be very careful when collecting berries, because it looks very similar to cranberries. In addition, it is also necessary to avoid falling into your collection of other foliage, in the opposite case, this foliage can be in the raw material itself, which is fraught with poisoning. The preparation of the bearberry leaves should be stored in a dark dry place in a tissue bag.

Using Bearish Berry

Bearberry berry in the people is used in the form of medicinal broths and infusions. They are used for chronic colitis, edema, urolithiasis, diathesis, nephrosis and chronic nephritis, purulent wounds, urethritis, cystitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, diabetes, uterine bleeding, chronic constipation, rheumatism, heartburn and gastritis.

Decoction of this medicinal plant can be used internally and externally( with purulent wounds, ulcers and diathesis), directly at the site of the localization of the inflammatory process. The powder obtained from the dry leaves of the plant is also used topically as a wound healing and antiseptic agent.

Treatment of urethritis and cystitis

To treat these ailments, you will need to prepare a bearberry berry in advance( see the photo in this article).Take 3 g of its dried leaves, add a glass of boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. The received product should be taken every day for three glasses.

Treatment of the nervous system

Take a tablespoon of dried leaves and young shoots of berries. Fill them with three glasses of hot water and cook over a low heat until half of the liquid evaporates. Take it chilled three times a day. The effect of the decoction can be strengthened by adding a spoon of motherwort.

Tincture from the bearberry berry

Bearberry berry is used for healing infusions. To make a tincture, you need to take a tablespoon with a slide of dry leaves of the plant and pour a glass of boiling water. The agent should be insisted for two hours at room temperature, then strain and pour into a clean jar. You can take it with rheumatism for half a cup three times a day.

Tincture with jade

Take the raw material of bearberry harvested in advance and pour out 20 g. Pour them a glass of vodka and leave the mixture to infuse for 2 weeks. Periodically you need to mix everything and shake it. After the expiration of the specified period tincture must be carefully filtered, and then take three times a day for 15 drops, stirred in a glass of water.

Decoction in kidney diseases

A spoonful of dry raw material of bearberry should be poured into a glass of boiling water and leave to infuse for 15 minutes in a water bath. Ready to cook the broth for an hour, after which it should be carefully filtered. Also, if desired, it can be diluted with purified cool water. Take half a cup before meals three times a day.

Broth for diseases of the digestive tract

For decoction, a tablespoon of pre-dried dry raw material must be poured into a glass of boiling water and leave to stand for half an hour in a water bath. After that, the broth should be cooled and filtered into a clean jar. With gastrointestinal diseases it is recommended to take this remedy before meals on a tablespoon.

Tea from the leaves of the bearberry

Take a couple of tablespoons of the dried leaves of the bearberry and fill them with cool water. The resulting mixture leave to infuse for a day. Before using this tea should be heated. This tea recipe is considered an indispensable tool for inflammation of the bladder.

Contraindications

Bearish berry is contraindicated in women who breastfeed, pregnant women, as well as children under 12 years of age. In the event that a person has acute kidney disease, bearish berries are also strictly forbidden to him.

Bearberry berry in itself contains a huge amount of arbutin. Despite the fact that this substance is effective in the treatment of kidneys and urinary tract, it can not bring a good result in case it does not affect the alkaline environment in the urine. When it is not possible to stop the inflammation, the use of decoctions from the bearberry must be stopped.

It is also worth noting that an overdose of the drug can cause headaches, severe nausea, dizziness, and also lead to painful sensations in the stomach. In the treatment of bearberry, it is necessary to add as much plant food as possible to the daily ration, in addition, to completely eliminate from the diet products that can lead to the subsequent oxidation of urine. During the period of consuming decoctions, dry mouth may also appear, while urine will turn greenish.