Elderberry black - medicinal properties and contraindications

Elderberry black (S. nigra) has been used by man in the pharmaceutical and food industry since time immemorial. Sambucus nigra - shrub with whitish-yellow flowers, ash-gray bark, can reach two to five meters. Leaves are opposite, elongated. In the non-chernozem zone, flowering in June. Harvest fruits in the period of absolute ripeness (usually in late August - early September), when they acquire a black-purple color and become juicy, sour-sweet. Fruits are round in shape, 0.4 cm across, weight less than a gram, in the context of the berries are dark red. You can collect 1-3 kg of berries from one fruit-bearing bush of cultivated black elderberry.

Shade-tolerant culture, needs fertile soils. The roots are located close to the surface of the earth, they are delicate and fragile. Elderberry is a thermophilic culture.

The fruits of this plant go to the preparation of jams, jams, jellies, marshmallows, wines, as they, unlike other representatives of this family, are edible. However, their use is limited, and only ripe berries are added to the food. The ripened fruit is safe, but in everything you need to know the measure.

Leaflets and inflorescences can be used when brewing tea. Branches and leaves are poured with marinade and rolled into jars, then used as an independent dish.

Elderberry propagation methods

Propagated by seeds, stems, rhizomes, processes, cuttings, through grafting, brown, flattened seeds germinate one year after sowing. For spring sowing, they need stratification for 2-4 months on the lower shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of 2-30 C.

The most effective way to breed black elderberry is to graft its green parts. Prepared in June from the upper parts of the stems and leaves. Leaves at the top are preserved, the lower ones are cut, removing the petioles. Sprinkle the roots with sand and peat. The latter are taken in equal proportions. The formation of roots in green elderberry cuttings with a moisture content of 80% takes from 20-30 days. Caring for cuttings is usual: loosening, weeding, watering, top dressing. Elderberry is a very delicate plant, when the roots are extracted from the soil, the inflorescences quickly wither. It is better to choose a seedling with a lignified shoot (stem) and a fresh root, dipped in a clay mash or planted in a peat pot (in autumn), and with green buds (in spring).

Historical information

Since time immemorial, people began to use black elderberry shoots along with other herbs, such as nettles, as food. It is these parts of the plant that are endowed with a diuretic and antidyspeptic effect. Apparently, the latter allowed the use of these properties in the interests of medicine.

Elderberry infused for several months. The resulting juice served as a raw material for the manufacture of strong alcoholic beverages (wine, vodka). Then, other parts of the plant began to be used in the wine and vodka industry. Berry juice was a colorant and natural flavor.

The black elderberry coloring pigments have learned to apply in the textile industry. Mixing elderberry fruits with copper, dyed cotton and silk products. This combination gave the fabric a black color. Elderberry has become a good material for ink (alum was added to the latter). The depth of the eyes, the oval of the face, was emphasized by tinting eyebrows with elderberry.

Elderberries were also used to make soft drinks (tea, compote), which has not lost its significance in our time.So, in the Saransk region, village old-timers still make tea with elderberry when there are signs of a cold.

Elderberry was used in the fight against insects - pests of agriculture. They put it in the cellar as protection against "uninvited guests."

Properties of black elderberry

It has long been known about the volatile properties of black elderberry. Where it grows next to fruit and berry trees and shrubs, there are not many garden pests (thread, fireworms, weevils, caterpillars of moths, aphids, bud mites, etc.), because a specific elderberry smell repels insects.

Sambucus nigra - a unique plant, a pantry of nutrients, a powerful source of healing properties. Elderberry inflorescences and buds are rich in essential oils, acids (valerianic, vinegar, apple). The green parts of the plant and bark contain tar, the latter causing a laxative effect. Therefore, they are used for chronic constipation (constipation).

Berries - a component of anti-inflammatory bursts and infusions. This plant is suitable for the treatment of headaches, colds and infectious diseases, diseases of the joints, bronchial asthma, some diseases of the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract due to the diaphoretic, laxative, vomiting effect. Often used as a preventive measure.

In ancient times, in Russia, with the help of water tinctures, elderberries got rid of pigmentation, small scars, and surface defects of the skin. A decoction of flowers washed the eyes with inflammation of the conjunctiva.

Means containing black elderberry strengthen immunity, increase the body's defenses. They have a positive effect on the skin, improve turgor (elasticity), even out skin color, give a healthy tone, which is an indicator of harmony and balance of the body.

The main substances present in elderberry

All the features of black elderberry are associated with a rich content of nutrients in the fruits and are necessary for normal life. These include:

• Saponins;
• Vitamin C;
• Vitamin A;
• Lemon acid;
• Acetic acid;
• Glucose;
• Tannins;
• Routine;
• Essential oils;
• Choline.

The most useful of the above components are:

1. In the roots - saponins, which have an expectorant (dilute sputum and promote its excretion from the lungs), diuretic (increase diuresis), tonic (increase the level of active work of the body), sedative (on the work of the brain) properties.
2. In inflorescences - terpenes, giving a fragrant aroma. Also, carotene, which causes the yellow hue of flowers and is a cofactor A. Vitamin A (retinal) is involved in the work of the visual analyzer, neutralizes from active forms of oxygen - an antioxidant.
3. In fruits - anthocyanins provide resistance to inflammatory processes, normalize intestinal function. Tyrosine promotes the production of melanin, necessary for the functioning of the endocrine glands, which produce hormones and other secrets.
4. Roots, fruits, bark are rich in tanning agents, endowed with antidiarrheal, antihemorrhoidal effects.

The positive effect of the described substances is realized precisely in the complex, that is, for the manifestation of the potentiating effect of vitamin A, provitamin A is needed, tyrosine is needed for the participation of choline in reactions aimed at transmitting a nerve impulse.

The effect of black elderberry on the body is comparable to the effects of the parasympathetic system:

• Stimulation of the work of the glands of the stomach;
• Decreased excitability, myocardial conduction (cardiac muscle);
• Negative inotropic effect (decrease in heart rate).

Contraindications

The use of black elderberry should be approached consciously, since the use of low-quality raw materials can lead to serious consequences and even death.Since immature plant forms contain sambunigrin, a highly toxic compound, the decomposition of which cleaves cyanide, which inhibits the functioning of the central nervous system.

Elderberry preparations are not acceptable for benign tumor diseases (benign prostatic hyperplasia). Berries, inflorescences, rarely roots, leaves that work with other diseases, are powerless here. The plant should not be used if cancer is suspected, as the toxic effect on the central nervous system may increase.

The use of black elderberry is justified only as an additional therapy for the underlying disease (for example, inflammation of the hair follicle - boils, etc.) and the prevention of colds. Independent, uncontrolled use of the constituents of this plant is associated with negative effects, such as:

• nausea, vomiting;
• increased sugar levels;
• lowering blood pressure;
• perhaps the development of shortness of breath, a change in the blood picture in general and biochemical analyzes.

An absolute contraindication to the appointment and / or use of extracts containing black elderberry is diabetes mellitus, any form of chronic diseases. When using Sambucus nigra, specialist advice is important.

Recipes

1. Medicines based on Sambucus nigra are effective in acute respiratory viral infections, as they increase sweating and have an antipyretic effect. To fight a cold at home, use an extract from inflorescences (20 grams). The latter pour 200 ml of hot water, bring to a boil. Cook for 25 minutes over low heat. After removing the broth from the stove, it is cooled, filtered. Use twice a day ten minutes before a meal.
2. For treatment, an extract from elderberry is also suitable. 20 grams of flowers pour 200 ml of boiling water for 10 minutes. Before use, add honey. And so on 100 ml twice a day.
3. Grind the dried ingredients (shoots and fruits), steam in 200 ml of water for 20 minutes. Strain and take 40 ml (preheated), every four hours, shortly before eating. The infusion has a choleretic effect.
4. 5 g of dried elderberry are poured into 150 ml of water (previously boiling and cooling), insist all day or all night, filter. The resulting infusion is heated before use. Take once a day. Elderberry extract has a laxative effect.
5. In inflammatory diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (hemorrhoids, boils, diaper rash, burns - stage I), poultice from elderberry leaves is used. To do this, young leaves (40 grams) are boiled in milk. The resulting mass is put in a rag napkin and brought to the lesion site. With gouty arthritis and rheumatism, treatment can be supplemented by a blast of elderberry flowers.
6. 20 grams of dried flowers are poured with a glass of water, sent to a stove to a boil, boiled for about 25 minutes, cooled for 45 minutes. Then filter, squeeze and bring cold boiled water to the volume of a glass. Drink 60-120 ml of the contents 2-3 times a day before meals.
7. Rheumatism, urolithiasis can be treated with a bath of elderberry root infusion. Elderberry leaves and ground roots (10 grams each dried), steam 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 100-120 minutes, pour the liquid part into a separate container. Add the contents to a bath with a water temperature close to the normal temperature of the human body. Take such baths daily before bedtime. The duration of the procedure is 15 minutes. The course of treatment is 10-14 days.
8. Black elderberry boil improves the functioning of the urinary organs. Prepared from dried inflorescences of elderberry, Hypericum perforatum, also add a chamomile, a pharmacy, in general, each component accounts for 7 grams. Next, a mixture of dry plants combined with 200 ml of boiling water, cooked in a water bath for a quarter of an hour.The resulting broth must be cooled, filtered, add boiled water at room temperature, so that the volume of the solution is one fifth of a liter. Drink all the contents before bedtime.

Caution! Black elderberry poisoning is accompanied by the development of dyspeptic syndrome. Unripe, unprocessed shoots are generally poisonous and unsuitable for use. Women during lactation, children under sixteen years of age, people with pathology of the gastrointestinal tract (enterocolitis, malabsorption syndrome, all types of gastritis, etc.) - the use of funds based on flowers, shoot roots of this plant is strictly contraindicated.

Video: healing properties of black elderberry