In the process of evolution, humanity has learned to benefit from almost everything. The turn, known by biblical legends, was no exception, because it was from its thorny branches that a crown was woven for Jesus Christ. Despite the sad glory, This plant has healing properties, and its fruits are used in cooking.. Let's take a closer look at this plant, what benefits and harm it can bring to the human body.
Table of contents
Botanical description
The turn is a fairly tall shrub growing to 3.5-4.5 m in height. Some species are represented in the form of stunted trees up to 5 m. The thorn branches are completely covered with sharp spines.
The plant blooms in April-May, depending on the region of growth. Blooming blackthorn very beautiful - at first, white flowers abundantly cover the branches of a bush, and after a while the leaves open. During flowering, the bees collect pollen and nectar, so the plant is classified as a honey plant.
Thorn leaves reach length 5 cm and are elliptical with jagged edges. Brown-reddish shrub wood is used to make various joinery and turning products of small diameter and is valued for its strength and hardness.
The turn occurs in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, on the forest edges and in the cutting areas, on the steep banks of the rivers and along the roadsides, often forms impassable thickets. Roots of bushes well strengthen the slopes and prevent soil erosiontherefore, they are planted along rivers and in ravines.In landscape design, shrubs are used as hedges.
The plant range includes Western Europe, Asia Minor, Iran, Tatarstan, Ukraine, the European part of Russia, the Crimea and the Caucasus, and in the mountains the shrub is found at an altitude of 1200-1600 m above sea level.
The turn has a black and blue color, round shape and a diameter of about 12 mm. The outer part of each fruit is covered with a gray wax coating, and inside there is one wrinkled bone.
Calorie and chemical composition
The chemical composition of the turn varies depending on the geographic region, but the base remains the same. The fruits contain:
- glucose, sucrose and fructose;
- pectin;
- tannins and aromatic substances;
- organic acids;
- vitamins A, C, E, B₁, B₂, PP;
- iron, potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, iodine, cobalt, zinc, manganese, chromium;
- essential oil.
The energy value of fresh turn fruit is 49-54 kcal on 100 g.
Tart-sour berries of wild plum ripen in July-August, but at this time they are not removed, because they are almost inedible, due to the high content of tannins.
From one adult bush, dwarfs are harvested to 12-15 kg fruitswhich are characterized by good quality and transportability.
Useful properties of terena for the human body
If in many medicinal plants one part has healing power, then the turn is unique in this regard - not only its berries are used for medicinal purposes, but also leaves, roots, flowers, branches and bark.
Fruit
Thorn berries are eaten fresh, and also dried or prepared from them jams, jams, pasteurized juices. The fruits of this fruit have a lot of useful properties.:
- normalize microflora and improve intestinal peristalsis, relieve flatulence;
- remove harmful substances from the body and reduce slagging;
- relieve insomniaincreased irritability, nausea and shortness of breath;
- reduce and normalize patient weight. Specially designed diet includes in the diet of the berries of the turn, which contribute to the burning of fat deposits, the normalization of metabolic processes;
- strengthen the walls of blood vessels, lower blood pressure and cholesterol in the blood, reduce the risk of developing heart disease;
- improve the condition of the kidneys and the liver in various pathologies;
- strengthen the immune system, mobilizes the body's defenses;
- are a preventive measure against the development of prostate adenoma, normalize the work of the prostate prostate;
- strengthen the gums;
- reduce menstruation pain.
Flowers and leaves
The black flowers are collected during their full bloom, dried in a dark ventilated area and stored in tightly closed jars (glass or tin) in a place inaccessible to sunlight. Basically use a decoction or tea from flowers that have healing properties.:
- purify the blood and remove toxins from the body;
- rid of skin ulcers and erysipelas, help with furunculosis;
- clean the liver, normalize the bowels;
- contribute to metabolic restoration;
- act soothingly for insomnia and neuralgia;
- serve as a diuretic and diaphoretic agent.
From the flowers of the turn brew healing tea: 25 g of flowers pour 0.5 liters of boiling water and wrap the container with a drink for 10-15 minutes to infuse. Tea from thorns flowers is drunk as usual without a strict dosage, and also used for external use as a lotion.
Black leaves decoctions have the same properties as floral. For their preparation, the leaves are torn off in the middle of summer, after the end of flowering shrubs. They are dried and stored in the same way as the flowers, and cooked broths are drunk like regular tea.
Roots, shoots and bark
In order to preserve the healing power of a plant, it is important to harvest raw materials at the “right” time.:
- Roots dug in the fall, dried 2-3 weeks outdoorsand then dry it in the oven. Dried roots can be stored in bags of linen or cotton fabric for up to three years.
- Twigs and young shoots are picked in early summer, dried in the open air and stored for a year.
- Bark removed from the bush in early springuntil the plant has bloomed. Drying and storage of bark is carried out similarly to the harvesting of roots.
Broths from the roots, branches and shoots have antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and diaphoretic properties, so they are taken for colds and flu.
Brew decoctions instead of regular tea - They help cleanse the blood and get rid of irritations on the skin. In the form of broth diluted with boiled water, it is used for douching for female inflammations.
Contraindications and possible harm to human health
The thorns have no specific contraindications for human health. Reduce the use of berries to those who are concerned about stomach problems:
- gastritis;
- gastric ulcer in the acute stage;
- increased acidity of the stomach.
People with severe allergies will have to quit teren, although such cases are quite rare.
Special harm fruits deliver tooth enamel - after using the turn, the teeth are painted a bluish tint. It looks extremely unaesthetic, and the blue is washed off the teeth completely only after a few days.
Eating thorny berries not contraindicated in children and pregnant women, the latter is even useful for toxemia and bouts of nausea.
Fresh berries can trigger stomach upset., sweet preserves and jams are an undesirable set of excess body weight, but only if these products are used excessively.
Recipes with dwarf
The turnip is used to prepare sweet preparations for the winter (jam, jam, jam), as well as all sorts of sauces, seasonings and wine-vodka liqueurs and liqueurs.
Jam
The most popular is the jam from the thorns. Boil a sweet treat should be on the same principle as any other berries.:
- Bust and wash 1 kg turnip fruit, drain the water.
- Remove the bones from the berries.
- Of 1.5 kg sugar and 2-3 glasses water cook syrup.
- After the sugar has completely dissolved in the boiling syrup add the turn, boil and remove dishes from the fire.
- Cool the jam to room temperature and boil it again, bringing to a boil and by boiling over 2-3 minutes.
- The third time Boil the jam and cook over low heat until cooked. In the process of cooking periodically stir and remove the foam.
- Ready jam hot pour into dry sterilized jars and roll up tin lids. After cooling, remove the banks for storage.
Blackberry juice
To get the juice, use the juice cooker, which is loaded with the turnip with sugar (on 1 kg take berries 100 g Sahara). The juice is poured into cans, then sterilized and rolled tin lids. After cooling the cans to room temperature, they are removed for storage in a dark place.
Kvass from the turn
To prepare a refreshing drink, you will need 3-4 liters of water, 0.5 kg of black berries, 0.5-1 cup of any honey and 15-20 g of yeast:
- Washed and pitted fruits, grind to a state of mashed potatoes, pour water and boil 40 min.
- Received by strain the broth, add to it the yeast and honey.
- Leave to ferment on 10-12 h at room temperature.
- Thereafter bottled and put in the fridge.
Simple blackthorn
It takes a long time to prepare the classic blackcurrant liqueur - for aging the liqueur will need 4-6 months. Strong drink lovers use a quicker recipe. For him, you need to take 1 kg of turn, 200-300 g of sugar and 1 liter of vodka. Instead of vodka, you can use ethyl alcohol, diluting it with water to the fortress 40-45%, as well as inexpensive cognac or refined moonshine:
- Berries to sort out, remove rotten and tainted, wash and free from stones.
- Purified pulp mix with sugar and put in a glass jar.
- Jar tie a two-layer gauze and put on solar window sill.
- Through 2-3 days pour in vodka, mix the berries and put the jar in a dark place with room temperature (cupboard or closet).
- Withstand brandy over 14 days, with the first week shaking the jar with the contents daily.
- In two weeks strain the drink and bottle. Hermetically sealed and stored.
The turnaround can be stored for up to 5 years, and alcohol drink strength is 30-32%.
Conclusion
Thorny shrub with plain berries on closer inspection turned out to be a useful plant. From it you can make alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, sweet preparations for the winter, seasonings and sauces for different dishes..
Beneficial to the human body are the fruits of the turn and all kinds of decoctions made from different parts of the plant. Their use is not limited to certain dosages - healing broths drink like ordinary tea. The main condition for preserving the therapeutic effect of the turn is to comply with the terms of the collection and drying process of raw materials.