Watermelon edible - citrullus edulus pans.

Citrullus edulus Pans.

Botanical characteristics. Family pumpkin. Annual herbaceous plant. Stem creeping, roundly crooked. Leaves are large, trilobate, dissected. Blooms from May to August. Flowers yellow, dioecious. The fruit is a very large round false berry. Fruits ripen in August-October.

Spread. The native land of watermelon - South Africa, is cultivated in Russia as a valuable melon planting in the Volga region, Ukraine, Crimea, Moldova, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Lovers successfully grow watermelons in greenhouses in the central strip of the country.

Used parts of the plant. Pulp of fruit and seeds.
In watermelon contains a large amount of fiber. From the pulp of watermelon, folic acid, ascorbic acid, B vitamins, as well as fructose and trace elements are isolated.

Application. Improves peristalsis of the intestine, has a laxative effect. It is used as a weak cholagogue for hepatitis. Watermelon - a strong diuretic, in connection with this successfully used for chronic diseases of the urinary tract, with kidney stones. In addition, it is recommended for patients with diabetes mellitus, with anemia, with metabolic arthritis, gout and obesity.
It is advisable to regularly eat watermelons in atherosclerosis, as their fiber contributes to the removal of cholesterol from the body. The green crust of watermelon is used as a strong diuretic; The seeds of watermelon are used for fever as a febrifuge.
Watermelon treatment has long been successfully conducted as phytotherapeutists, and representatives of scientific medicine.
However, in recent years, watermelons have been prescribed to sick people, especially children, less often. Poisoning cases of saltpetre have become more frequent, to which bacchus are sprinkled to produce large ones, with red pulp, but water-melons dangerous to health. And, as a rule, for his family, melon grower leaves a separate, clean area and does not use nitrate or pesticide on it. Watermelons offered by state-owned retail outlets also do not guarantee security to buyers. Therefore, until a clear system for monitoring the quality of watermelons is established, it is better for patients to refrain from them.

Preparation. Cut the green surface layer (zest) with a sharp knife, dry it, grind it. Use 1 tablespoon of powder a day, before meals, washing down with water.
An ancient recipe for preparing watermelon milk: 1 tablespoon of crushed watermelon seeds are ground with 24 tablespoons of cold water. Watermelon milk is given to drink to a febrile patient after 2 hours on a teaspoonful.