The Medicinal Properties Of The Horsetail

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

Horsetail

When I come across these unusual plants while walking, pictures from textbooks or those that my imagination drew when I read fantastic descriptions of time travel in the past - in the Paleozoic era - the era of giant horsetails, lymphoids and ferns involuntarily arise in my memory.

And the horsetail growing now on the side of the field, on the edge of the forest, on the shore of the pond is a distant, distant descendant of the very horsetails, fragments of which were found in the coal deposits.

And this descendant withstood millions of years of earthly history, lost its former greatness, but survived and did not even become a rarity on our planet - thickets of this plant can be found in any corner of our country except, perhaps, the deserts and the Far North.

And therefore, horsetail is familiar to any person who, at least from time to time, does not walk on asphalt, but steps on living, overgrown with vegetation. For example, I first drew attention to horsetail (although, of course, I saw it earlier in the garden, on the shore of a drying lake, along the roads), when I watched the actions of my mother, who, picking a bunch of this grass, concentratedly rubbed an aluminum pan with it to a shine. Then I saw such a picture many times.

Rural women routinely used horsetail to tidy up dirty dishes. The current sponges sold in supermarkets and hardware stores were nowhere to be found. And there was a lot of horsetail in the summer, it was even dried for future use for the cold season. The people intuitively understood the benefits of this plant. And already modern scientists have proved that this is not at all accidental: the secret of such cleaning properties of horsetail lies in the presence of silicic acid in its stems.

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Field horsetail, or Common horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is a spore-bearing herbaceous perennial plant of the Horsetail family. He also has several popular names, for example, broom, ponytail, mop-grass. Apparently, they are due to the similarity of the plant to these objects or the way people used it.

Horsetail is common throughout Eurasia, except, perhaps, the desert zone and northern regions. It grows in fields, forests, along the shores of lakes, rivers, streams, on the outskirts of swamps. Prefers moderately moist, sandy, fertile soils. In some places, horsetail forms real thickets up to half a meter high.

Horsetail

The structure of this relict plant is rather unusual. It has a long, creeping rhizome, which lies quite deep, which makes it difficult to control it like a weed in garden plots. On these rhizomes, the horsetail forms tuberous thickenings, with the help of which vegetative propagation occurs. It also reproduces by spores, like another relict plant, the fern.

In horsetail, aerial shoots are of two types: first, in the spring, brownish or pinkish shoots with a spikelet appear at the end. These are generative shoots that serve for reproduction. It is in this spikelet that spores are formed that serve for the reproduction of horsetail. There is information that these young shoots were consumed and now in some localities they are eaten fresh and boiled, and sometimes they are even used as a filling for pies.

After the death of the generative shoot, direct vegetative shoots emerge from the soil, resembling a small "herringbone". Green shoots are hollow, pointed at the top. On the stem, branches are collected in several rows-whorls, diverging from the stem at an angle.

These vegetative shoots are medicinal raw materials, which are harvested in spring and early summer, when they are juicy and green. They are cut off and laid to dry under awnings in a thin layer so that they do not deteriorate or turn black, losing their medicinal properties.

In pharmacies, dry horsetail can be purchased in packs of 50-70 g. Also in pharmacies you can find a liquid horsetail extract. It is taken half a teaspoon 3-4 times a day.

You can also use the horsetail briquettes sold in pharmacies (75 g each). Take 1-2 briquettes of herbs, pour a glass of cold water, bring to a boil in a water bath, boil for 30 minutes, insist until cooled, then filter. Take a tablespoon 3-4 times a day.

Horsetail herb extract is a part of the drug "Marelin", which is used in urolithiasis.

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Horsetail oil extract

The medicinal properties of the horsetail

Horsetail herb is rich in many beneficial elements. It contains a large number of silicic acid compounds, which determine the main pharmacological action of horsetail-based drugs.

In addition, horsetail contains a lot of manganese, sodium nitrogen. It contains alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, carotene, organic acids - aconitic, malic, oxalic, resins, tannins, bitterness.

Based on such a rich composition of substances, the horsetail has many medicinal properties. The silicon contained in it helps to strengthen the venous wall and normalize metabolic processes in the connective tissue, as well as increase the mineral density of bone tissue.

Horsetail preparations have hemostatic, astringent, antispasmodic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, general strengthening properties. They have a strong diuretic effect, remove salts and toxins.

Herbal preparations (medicines obtained from plant materials by extraction (extraction) are tinctures (alcoholic or aqueous-alcoholic extracts) or extracts) of horsetail in terms of diuretic action is more effective than renal tea. They are prescribed as a diuretic for congestion of cardiac origin (heart defects, heart failure), as well as for edema associated with pulmonary heart disease. After taking them in patients, urination increases significantly.

The presence of silicon compounds in the horsetail herb determined its use in atherosclerosis of the vessels of the heart and brain, in inflammatory diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, in urolithiasis, lesions of capillary vessels, in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Horsetail preparations, given their hemostatic properties, are prescribed for hemorrhoidal and uterine bleeding.

Horsetail herb in pharmacy

Horsetail herb decoction

To obtain it, four tablespoons of dry raw materials (20 g) are placed in an enamel bowl, poured with one glass of boiling water (200 ml), the dish is covered with a lid and placed in a water bath for half an hour. Then the liquid is cooled for 10 minutes at room temperature, filtered, and the raw material is squeezed out. The volume of the resulting broth is brought with boiled water to the original (200 ml). It is recommended to store the broth for no more than two days in a cool place.

Take a decoction of a third of a glass three times a day one hour after meals.

Infusion of horsetail herb

To obtain it, pour two tablespoons of dry grass with half a liter of boiling water. Dishes with liquid must be wrapped warmly, insisted for one hour, then strain the infusion. Use for edema, cystitis, atherosclerosis, with various bleeding, gout, rheumatism, nephrolithiasis, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, and respiratory diseases. Take half a glass of infusion half an hour before meals four times a day, and the last time - at night.

In folk medicine, the infusion of horsetail herb is prepared a little differently: one teaspoon of dry herb is poured with a glass of boiling water. Then, having wrapped the dishes, they insist for 20 minutes, then filter them and, in case of kidney stones, drink in small sips every morning on an empty stomach. The recommended course of treatment is 2-3 months.

Horsetail herb

In folk medicine, a decoction and infusion of horsetail herb is used for many diseases: bronchial asthma, scarlet fever, malaria, dysentery, lumbago, sciatica, and also as an antitumor, anthelmintic agent. In the collection, this herb is used in the treatment of neuroses, chronic heart failure, rheumatoid arthritis.

Decoctions, infusions are used and externally - in the form of baths and applications - for hemorrhoids, myositis, neurodermatitis, varicose veins, furunculosis, dermatitis, eczema. They are also used as a gargle for diseases of the oral cavity and pharynx, as well as for toothache.

Hard-healing ulcers are sprinkled with powdered horsetail grass.

In homeopathy, horsetail herb is used for cystitis, enuresis, pulmonary tuberculosis.

Horsetail herb tincture

To obtain it, 100 g of dry chopped horsetail herb is poured with half a liter of 70% alcohol or vodka. Insist the herb in a dark place for a week and a half, occasionally shaking the contents. After that, the tincture is filtered, the rest of the grass is squeezed out. This tincture is taken 3-4 times a day for a teaspoon before meals with jaundice.

Healing baths with field horsetail

To prepare them, take 100 g of dry horsetail grass and fill them with a sufficient amount of hot water (5-10 liters), insist for one hour. Then the resulting infusion is poured into the prepared bath.

Such baths are recommended for diseases associated with metabolic disorders (with rheumatic and gouty pains) and with circulatory disorders. These baths help relieve swelling and inflammation in fractures. As experts note, this therapeutic effect is explained by the penetration of soluble silicic acid compounds into tissue cells.

Contraindications

Horsetail is contraindicated in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Long-term use of field horsetail preparations can irritate the kidneys, so they are contraindicated for people suffering from nephritis and nephrosis. Therefore, before starting treatment with such drugs, it is imperative to consult a doctor.

E. Valentinov