Elderberry black - sambucus nigra l.

Family Hyperaphist - Caprifoliaceae

Botanical characteristics. Shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall. It grows in floodplain forests, wet gorges, on soils with excessive moistening to the mid-mountain belt, either singly or in groups.

The bark is reddish-brown wrinkled. Young shoots are brown with a purple hue. Leaves opposite complex, unpaired-pinnate with 3-5 elongated elliptical leaves. The flowers are yellow. Fruits are black with 3-5 bones. Blossoms simultaneously with the opening of the leaves. Blossoms in May - June, fructifies in July - August.

Spread. It grows in the middle zone of the country, in Ukraine, in Byelorussia and in the Caucasus. It grows in broad-leaved forests, among thickets of bushes. It occurs as an ornamental plant in gardens and parks.

Used parts of the plant. Medicinal raw materials are all parts of the plant - flowers, leaves, bark, fruits. Collect the raw material during the whole vegetation period of the plant: flowers - during flowering, seeds - as it ripens; Leaves - from spring to autumn. Dry in dryers at a temperature of no higher than 45-50 ° C or outdoors in the shade.

Chemical composition. Bark, leaves and fruits contain carbohydrates, organic acids, steroids, triterpenoids, iridoids, essential oil, higher fatty acids. In addition, higher aliphatic hydrocarbons were found in the leaves; In flowers - anthocyanins; In the seeds - fatty oil and triglycerides.

Application. Preparations elder eggs in the form of broths and infusions have long been used in folk medicine. Decoction of leaves - an official sudorific means.

The fruits were part of the domestic pharmacopoeia of the third and third editions, they are official in the countries of Western Europe.

Buzina has antibacterial and antimycotic properties. Decoction of the root cortex is used as a laxative, diuretic, with diabetes, neoplasms, with kidney diseases. In clinical trials, decoction of the cortex of branches gave a positive result in the treatment of edema of cardiac and renal origin (diuresis is increased by 35-40%). Infusion of leaves is used as a general restorative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, haemostatic, laxative; Decoction of leaves - with diabetes, rheumatism, gout; Externally - with skin diseases, hemorrhoids, erysipelas, warts, tumors, with gastric colic.

Leaves and flowers in homeopathy (essence) - with arthritis, rheumatism, fevers, pharyngitis.

In practical medicine, decoction of flowers is used for chronic bronchitis, emphysema, whooping cough, bronchial asthma, angina, polyarthritis; As diuretic - for cardiovascular diseases, myocarditis, heart defects; In diseases that occur with a weakening of capillary vessels and an increase in their permeability; At complex treatment of a diabetes, a climacterium, for stimulation of a metabolism, at chronic locks, a psoriasis; In the form of lotions - with burns, wounds, conjunctivitis, blepharitis; In the form of drops and inhalation - with rhinitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, with respiratory infections; Aqueous extract - with cancer.

The broth in the experiment has hypocholesterolemic, antibacterial and hypoprotein properties; Corrects the activity of cytoplasmic enzymes, accelerates the restoration of the structure of the liver.

In Yugoslavia and Ukraine, elderberry is used as an antitumor agent, mainly for skin and stomach cancer.

The fruits in the experiment excite the hormonal glands. The fruit extract is a part of the Polish preparations "Normozan", "Betazol", "Betargan".

Seeds have phytoncidal properties.

Preparation

• For infusion, take 20 g of flowers, pour 200 ml of boiling water, insist on a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, cool for 45 minutes, filter. Take 1/3 cup 3 times daily before meals.
• For decoction, 15 g of seeds are ground, poured 200 ml of boiling water, insist on a boiling water bath for 30 minutes, cool 10 minutes without removing from the bath, filter. Take 2 tbsp. Spoon 3-4 times daily before meals.

Ready-made drugs are used according to the doctor's prescription.