Schisandra Chinensis - Medicinal Properties And Recipes For Preparations

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Schisandra chinensis is a powerful adaptogen

Among the huge number of plants that have been used by humans for a long time, there are several species that have the ability to provide a powerful general strengthening effect.

This increases the body's resistance to all, without exception, harmful environmental factors. Plants of this group are united under the general name "adaptogens". The term "adaptogen" is derived from the word "adaptation", which means "adaptation."

Chinese magnolia vine is one of these plants. The use of adaptogens allows the body to adapt to such unfavorable environmental factors as cold, heat, ionizing radiation, lack of oxygen (hypoxia), heavy physical activity, etc.

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Adaptogens are not drugs by themselves and are not intended to treat specific conditions. They simply strengthen the body to such an extent that it itself is able to cope with many diseases.

Adaptogens help to better assimilate information, improve memory, overcome fatigue, eliminate minor ailments and prevent infections, activate energy in athletes, and restore strength and health after illness.

Adaptogens today are rightfully included in the golden fund of pharmacology. A new and interesting area of this science is now rapidly developing in many countries. Its goal is to create medicines for healthy people, medicines that do not cure anything, but create the prerequisites for maintaining health and increasing efficiency. After all, preventing the development of diseases is much cheaper than treating already developed diseases.

Since all adaptogens are of plant origin, they are completely harmless in medical dosages. The history of their use for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes has almost tens of thousands of years.

And, perhaps, the most famous of the adaptogens is Chinese magnolia vine. For a long time, the hunters of Primorye and Priamurye knew and used the tonic properties of lemongrass, widely used fresh berries and harvested dried fruits of the plant for future use. A handful of dried berries, for example, allows a hunter to go without food and rest for a long time.

The tonic effect of lemongrass on the body has long been known to the Nanais, according to whom a handful of dried lemongrass berries give strength to chase the sable trail without eating all day long.

And if you consider that this exotic plant is also unusually beautiful, then God himself ordered to have it in his garden. Lemongrass stems are vines with large oval, very beautiful emerald green leaves. In their homeland, they curl around tree trunks in an upward spiral, in a strictly counterclockwise direction. In our conditions, we have to put special supports for it - and very few years will pass before the vines, originally planted, for example, next to the veranda, will be thrown onto the roof of the house and cover it with their emerald foliage.

In the spring they are covered with beautiful white flowers, and in the fall, in September - October, with clusters of bright red berries. By the way, the length of the berry brushes can be from 2 to 16 cm. In general, lemongrass is beautiful almost at any time of the year, except for winter. It is also interesting that lemongrass is the only plant that has five flavors. As a matter of fact, in translation from Chinese the name “lemongrass” means “fruit of five tastes” or “wu-wei-tzu”. Biting through its berry, you will first feel the acidity, then the resinous aroma and bitterness, then the sweetness, then the salty and even insipid taste. Agree that it is impossible to find such a combination in some other berry.

By the way, the use of lemongrass fruits is not limited to one medicine. They are widely used in the food industry. Lemongrass raw materials are processed at the enterprises of the Far East.

Then several tens of tons of it is used for the preparation of soft drinks, confectionery, juice, jams, preserves. At home, you can cook tasty and healthy jelly from lemongrass berries, and put lemongrass bark in tea instead of lemon.

The indigenous peoples living in the Far East add lemongrass as a seasoning for a special aroma when preparing fish and meat dishes. Fruit juice in the confectionery industry can replace citric acid - caramel is tinted with it, a refreshing and tonic drink, syrup, jam, jelly, flavor extracts are prepared from it. Aromatic and vitamin tea is prepared from lemongrass leaves, twigs and even rhizomes.

The healing properties of liana

Schisandra chinensis is a unique stimulant. The tonic and refreshing effect of its berries and seeds was known as early as the 5th century. And not only berries, but also all other parts of the plant: leaves, shoots, bark - all of them can be successfully used as an adaptogenic agent.

In ancient Chinese medical books lemongrass is said to "prevent the disappearance of energy and make the eyes shine." Currently, in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Schisandra is classified as the first category of drugs recommended for recuperation and as a tonic. However, the use of this plant in Chinese medicine is not limited to this.

Doctors prescribe it for dysentery, gonorrhea, colds, seasickness, bronchitis, bronchial asthma and whooping cough. It is also used as an astringent, together with other medicinal plants, it is widely used for neurasthenia and impotence. Schizandra berries are rich in essential oils, organic acids (citric, malic, tartaric and succinic), vitamins C and P. They contain useful calcium, iron, phosphorus and many other substances.

But the most attractive thing about lemongrass is schizandrin. Schizandrin is part of the essential oil, it is found in all parts of the vine, including seeds, bark, rhizomes, leaves and pulp of fruits, has a stimulating effect on the cardiovascular and central nervous system. It is thanks to schizandrin that lemongrass is famous as a reliable aphrodisiac.

It has been proven that in healthy people lemongrass prevents the onset of a feeling of fatigue (therefore, it is recommended to use it at the first signs of fatigue), increases a person's resistance to extreme factors, improves overall well-being, causes an increase in working capacity, i.e. helps a person to successfully cope with the ever-increasing pressures of modern life. Schisandra relieves drowsiness, lethargy, the mood rises.

Lemongrass preparations increase excitement in the cerebral cortex and increase the reflex activity of the central nervous system - as a result, any information is absorbed by a person much faster, and this is important both in study and in work. Lemongrass also stimulates the cardiovascular system, stimulates respiratory function.

The tonic, refreshing, stimulating effect of Schisandra chinensis is especially pronounced during intense mental work that requires concentration, attention, and wholeness of perception. At the same time, it is very important that its tonic effect is not accompanied by depletion of nerve cells (as with the use of a number of other stimulants), which means that a person will be able to endure mental stress without significant risk to the body.

To achieve a tonic effect, lemongrass preparations can be used both by practically healthy people with overwork, fatigue, decreased performance, lethargy, spring avitaminosis, and people suffering from hypotension, psychasthenia, and vascular dystonia of the hypotonic type. And all these are not fairy tales. I can judge this from my own experience.

Having in existence this very dystonia, from which our doctors do not treat in principle, and which dooms a person to constant weakness, when there is no strength for anything, I manage, thanks, first of all, to lemongrass, to lead the habitual for others (from the point of view mental and physical stress) lifestyle. True, as far as I can remember - from about high school - my morning did not start without lemongrass. But let's return to the valuable merits of this extraordinary culture.

In addition to everything else, lemongrass preparations increase visual acuity and the ability of the eyes to adapt to darkness, which has long been known to the Amur hunters. Improvement of visual acuity occurs by increasing the sensitivity of the retina to light stimuli. In particular, it is from lemongrass that Citral eye drops are made, which are recommended for use in case of myopia.

In the Far East, lemongrass has been used for more than one century for fatigue, exhaustion, to improve visual acuity and for various heart diseases, as well as for diseases of the kidneys, skin and diphtheria. The use of lemongrass preparations for certain skin diseases such as psoriasis and allergic dermatoses, for chronic infectious diseases and intoxications, for sluggish granulating wounds and trophic ulcers turned out to be promising.

However, lemongrass is contraindicated in case of nervous excitement, insomnia and in violation of cardiac activity, as well as in hypertension. Schisandra seed powder for gastritis reduces pain and regulates the acidity of gastric juice: increases the low and reduces the increased. With increased acidity, fruit juice works better. In diabetics, lemongrass lowers blood sugar levels. With multiple doses of lemongrass preparations, muscle strength and hemoglobin in the blood increase.

In medicine today, lemongrass is used to treat depression and general apathy of the body. It will help as an adaptogenic remedy for physical and mental fatigue, good for the prevention of influenza and acute respiratory diseases in children and adults. For example, taking lemongrass during flu epidemics reduces the risk of getting sick by 4-5 times.

It is worth paying special attention to the antioxidant effect of lemongrass. It is known that a number of pathological conditions are in one way or another associated with the accumulation of free radicals. This can be caused by a wide variety of factors, such as fatigue and stress. And lemongrass in terms of the effectiveness of antioxidant action is many times superior to the effect of vitamin E. Therefore, regular use of lemongrass will help to prolong youth and beauty.

The drugs are taken on an empty stomach or 4 hours after a meal. The effect occurs in 30-40 minutes and lasts 4-6 hours. It is not recommended to take lemongrass after 18 hours, otherwise you will face a sleepless night.

There are many pharmaceuticals based on Schisandra chinensis:

1. Alcoholic tincture of lemongrass seeds - it is taken 20-30 drops with water on an empty stomach or 4 hours after a meal.

2. Schisandra seed powder - take 0.5 g before meals twice a day.

3. The preparation schizandra is a fast-acting phytoadaptogen, the main component of which is lemongrass extract. The drug has a pronounced adaptogenic, antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties. It is shown to practically healthy people working in conditions of increased complexity: pilots, drivers, athletes and computer scientists (people who work with computers for a long time). Adults are prescribed 1-2 tablets in the morning before meals. In clinical practice, the drug schizandra is successfully used to treat asthenia, neurodepressive conditions, neuroses. Shown the beneficial effect of schizandra in overwork and treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The drug stimulates sexual activity and increases potency.

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Recipes for preparations from Chinese lemongrass

Of course, you can use the drugs sold in the pharmacy, but if you need to use them quite often (as, for example, with cardiovascular dystonia), then it will be very expensive. Therefore, if you have your own garden plot, then everything that is needed can be prepared by yourself - and it is not at all difficult. And there are many variations on the theme of lemongrass blanks. Moreover, as mentioned above, all parts of the plant can be harvested - berries, shoots, bark, leaves.

Lemongrass in sugar

Dry clean berries, mix with sugar (1: 2), transfer to glass jars and close with lids. You can store them for more than a year. Used as a tonic tea seasoning.

Lemongrass syrup

Rinse the berries with boiling water and squeeze the juice through cheesecloth. It is better not to use metal juicers and juicers to avoid oxidation. Add sugar to the squeezed juice in a ratio of 1: 1.5 and heat until dissolved. Store the syrup in a cool place. Use for the preparation of tonic fruit drinks, or simply take a spoonful when you feel tired.

Lemon tea

Made from leaves and young shoots. For drying, leaves and young shoots are harvested in early August. Grind and spread in a thin layer under a canopy, stirring often. To prepare tea, use 10 g of dry leaves per 1 liter of water. This tea perfectly refreshes and tones up.

Dried berries

The traditional way of processing lemongrass is drying. Lightly dried berries (you can directly with the stalks) are dried in an oven (or on a stove bench, if there is one in your country house) at a temperature of no more than + 60 ° C for 3-4 days, at a temperature of + 70 ° C lemongrass berries turn black and lose their properties.

Lemongrass honey

Honey with lemongrass is a valuable product that contributes to the long-term preservation of strength and energy during mental and physical labor. It evens out mood, stimulates the cardiovascular system and respiration, and improves vision. For cooking, crushed berries are simply poured with fresh honey and infused for two weeks. The composition is stored in a dark jar on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Schisandra extract

The extract is prepared from both lemongrass seeds and shoots and leaves in 70% alcohol (1: 3) and taken orally by drops (20-30 drops 2-3 times a day). Close the bottle or jar (preferably dark glass) and insist the contents for 7-10 days in a dark place at room temperature, shaking occasionally. Then you need to filter the tincture, squeeze out the residue and add it to the resulting filtrate.

Read the next part. Growing Chinese Schizandra →