Black berries of the nightshade family. Black nightshade: poisonous or not, what properties does it have? The benefits of black nightshade and treatment

Among poisonous plants there are those that can be eaten, used for medicinal purposes, following the rules of admission. The Solanaceae family is represented by many cultures of our garden. It is not surprising that black nightshade is a close relative of tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers. Who does not know the black berries of the plant, which are called crow, wolf berries or bzdnik. They are eaten, even jam is made from them. But many nightshades are poisonous.

There are more than a thousand species in the world. In addition to cultivated plant species, there are many wild ones. Close relatives look like grasses, shrubs, trees. Their stem can spread along the ground or stand straight. Solanaceae leaves have both a simple shape and are dissected into pieces. Depending on the type of plant, the flowers have a different color from white to pink and purple. Over time, the inflorescences turn into fruits that have the shape of berries. But, despite the beauty of appearance, many plants of the Solanaceae family are poisonous.

An annual plant, black nightshade, or common nightshade, reaches a height of 70 centimeters. Its stem is erect and slightly pubescent. Leaves are on long petioles. They are either solid in shape or serrated at the edges. On drooping pedicels from June to September, small white flowers appear, collected in umbrellas.

From July to the beginning of autumn, fruits appear on the stems - black, juicy berries, rounded in shape. While the fruits are green, they are poisonous. As the toxic substance solanine in berries ripens, it loses its toxic effect. You can safely eat black fruits with a large number of yellowish seeds inside. The poisonousness of nightshade is known to everyone, therefore, for medicinal purposes, leaves and flowers are used under the supervision of a doctor. There are no harmful substances in black berries, but you should not get carried away with their use.

All parts of the plant are poisonous, except for the ripe, juicy berries.

The homeland of black nightshade is considered to be the warm regions of the Mediterranean. Now it can be found in abundance everywhere. On the banks of reservoirs, near the roads, bushes strewn with black berries are found. In gardens and fields, they try to get rid of nightshade like weeds. On the territory of the south of Europe, in Central Asia, in the Caucasus, in Siberia, this unpretentious plant is found. It grows well in poor soils.

Spreading with the help of seeds, black nightshade fills wastelands. It multiplies rapidly and grows on sunny slopes. The plant is not afraid of cold winters either, which is why it has spread to areas with a temperate climate. An annual plant is not found only in Kazakhstan due to the arid climate. Black nightshade grows everywhere, but few people know about the beneficial properties of the plant. A person passes by, not paying attention to the source of vitamins and microelements.

Black nightshade deservedly enjoyed the attention of physicians of antiquity. It was used as a narcotic and pain reliever before operations. He saved me from severe headaches.

Parts of the plant rich in trace elements and vitamins will help:

1. calm with nervous excitement, epilepsy, convulsions
2. regulate the menstrual cycle in women
3. in the treatment of bronchial asthma, cystitis, gastritis
4. dissolve swelling, accelerate the maturation of abscesses
5. relieve inflammation of the skin, mucous membranes of the mouth, throat

As part of nightshade, calcium, which has a beneficial effect on the state of the skeletal system, strengthens the heart and blood vessels. To prevent kidney stones, normalize the functions of the digestive tract, magnesium is needed, which is abundant in nightshade.

Glycosides neutralize the action of pathogenic bacteria on the body, and rutin is needed to reduce pressure in the vessels. The role of organic acids is to remove toxins, break down fats. All preparations based on black nightshade are beneficial, provided they are dosed correctly and the regimen is followed.

In folk medicine, the aerial part of black nightshade is widely used:

• The flowers of the plant are characterized by a diuretic and expectorant effect. With rheumatism, one teaspoon of flowers is poured with 250 milliliters of boiling water and insisted for two hours. Use a tablespoon three times a day.
• Leaves applied to purulent wounds and ulcers can quickly heal the affected areas. Fresh and dry leaves, pre-soaked, help the maturation of purulent abscesses, the elimination of hemorrhoids.
• Leaf compresses soothe headaches by applying them to the temples.
• An infusion is prepared from the leaves (two teaspoons of raw materials per liter of boiling water). Take a tablespoon four times a day to soothe headaches, stomach cramps, bladder, itchy skin.
• To wash purulent wounds, use an infusion prepared from eight tablespoons of black nightshade leaves in two liters of boiling water. It is necessary to insist the medicine for three to four hours. Use this infusion for sitz baths for hemorrhoids.
• Ripe nightshade berries are consumed fresh to relieve inflammation in the oral cavity.
• Infusion of fruits in the amount of 50 milliliters can easily cleanse the body of toxins. A medicine is prepared from two to three tablespoons of berries per 250 milliliters of hot water. Infusion should not be taken in large quantities, as it contributes to increased gas formation.
• Mixed in 100 grams of water, berry juice (three tablespoons) is used for gargling with sore throat. And the juice of the leaves cures a runny nose, instilling two or three drops into the nose.
• Like nightshade leaves, black berries mixed with sour milk promote the healing of ulcers, purulent wounds, abscesses.

Before using black nightshade products in treatment, you should consult your doctor. Ripe berries of the plant are used in cooking as a filling for pies, they are used to make delicious jams and jams. Previously, the berries were used to make dyes. And now folk healers do not forget black nightshade, they prepare useful preparations from it.

In addition to benefits, nightshade can be harmful if used incorrectly. Poisoning from unripe berries, leaves will seriously affect human health. The patient has shortness of breath, vomiting, depression of the psyche and motor activity.

Timely assistance should be provided in case of nightshade poisoning: gastric lavage, giving the patient activated charcoal or a one percent solution of potassium permanganate. Be sure to call an ambulance, because poisoning can even lead to death with the rapid accumulation of poison in the body.

It is forbidden to take funds from black nightshade for those who have impaired pancreatic and liver functions.

You can not use the berries of the plant for people with low blood pressure, vegetative-vascular dystonia. Women during pregnancy and lactation are also prohibited drugs based on black nightshade. Given the healing properties of the plant, one must be attentive to the use of Solanaceae berries. This is especially true for children.

Leaves, flowers of the plant are harvested from July to September, when the bushes are covered with white umbrellas of white corollas. Raw materials are laid out under a canopy or in a ventilated room. During drying, they try to constantly stir up the plant mass, then it will dry better.

The fruits are best harvested in October, when they are fully ripe. The dried parts of nightshade are laid out in boxes lined with tissue paper and stored in a dark place. You can use plant material for eight years - it will not lose its medicinal properties.

The product is cooked as usual with the addition of sugar and citric acid. You can dry the fruits, so that later you can cook compotes, jelly from them and use them as a filling for pies, dumplings. From the age of three they give children this tasty and healthy product that benefits.

It is necessary to harvest the leaves and flowers of black nightshade in time so that they help in the treatment of diseases in infusions. And the fruits are harvested, paying attention to the juiciness of the color of the fruit. Unripe berries are not left, because they contain a lot of poisonous solanine.

More information can be found in the video:

Black nightshade is a herbaceous annual that is found throughout almost the entire territory of Eurasia. Many people think that this is a useless and poisonous weed, but in fact, it has strong healing properties.

Among the people, the black nightshade plant is called differently - crowberry, bzdnik, late ... Science has dubbed this herbaceous plant Solanum nigrum and attributed it to the nightshade family.

Nightshade has its own distinctive features, by which it is very easy to recognize:

• oval-shaped leaves with a serrated edge;
• straight branched stem;
• miniature snow-white flowers collected in umbrellas;
• spherical fruits of black or dark purple color, resembling blueberries.

Blossoms in the second half of summer, fruits ripen in August and early autumn. Often it can be found on the banks of reservoirs, landfills, vegetable gardens, ravines, roadsides.

The benefits of bzdnik for the human body

The benefits and harms of this herb have long been discussed by scientists. Although nightshade has been recognized as a useful medicinal plant, it must still be used very carefully.

Pozdnik is also used externally to quickly eliminate itching, redness, and purulent skin lesions.

Poisonousness and medicinal properties of late

Many do not know if nightshade is poisonous or not. Unripe fruits do contain the poisonous substance corned beef, but ripe berries do not. It passes into other forms and loses its toxicity.

But in the composition of nightshade there are a lot of useful substances:

• tannins;
• carotene;
• vitamin C;
• glycosides;
• vitamin C.

The plant has strong wound healing, anti-inflammatory, analgesic properties.

This makes it possible to use it for the treatment of such diseases:

• atherosclerosis;
• fever;
• neuroses of various kinds;
• rheumatism;
• gastritis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• epilepsy;
• hysteria;
• cystitis;
• scrofula;
• haemorrhoids;
• sinusitis and rhinitis;
• diarrhea;
• bronchial asthma;
• hypertension;
• headache.

External preparations based on nightshade are used to treat skin rashes, pustular skin diseases, boils and lichen.

Voronyazhka in folk medicine

In folk medicine, this plant has been used for a very long time. Hippocrates wrote about its properties. In official medicine, the medicinal properties of this plant are not documented, but this does not prevent traditional healers from actively using it to treat various diseases in the form of decoctions, infusions, juice and ointments. For medicinal purposes, grass is harvested along with leaves in the second half of summer, and berries - at the end of summer.

The most common traditional medicine recipes:

• Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. You need to take 2 tsp. leaves, pour 300 ml of boiling water, leave for 2 hours. Drink 1 tbsp. l. 1/3 hour before meals.
• Rheumatism. For 1 tsp. inflorescences take 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 2 hours, take 1 tbsp. l. before main meals.
• Atherosclerosis, hypertension. It is enough to eat 5 - 6 ripe berries every day.
• Asthma, headaches. To prepare a decoction, you need to take 1 tsp. dry raw materials in 200 ml of hot water. Boil ¼ hour over low heat. Cool the cooled broth and dilute with boiled water.
• Weakened immunity. Pour a handful of berries with alcohol, leave for 4-5 days and take 20 drops, diluting them in a glass of water.
• Angina, laryngitis. Requires 3 tbsp. l. freshly squeezed juice diluted in 100 ml of warm water, leave for 30 minutes and gargle.
• Pustular diseases of the skin. In such cases, compresses from strained infusion of leaves are very useful. 4 tbsp. l. raw materials pour 1 liter of boiled water and leave for at least 3.5 hours.

The juice of ripe berries is used to improve vision in old age, as well as to eliminate insomnia. It can also be instilled into the sinuses for sinusitis and rhinitis.

Nightshade is especially useful for women. It normalizes the cycle, has a beneficial effect on the body with both scant and heavy bleeding.

The use of bzdnik in cooking

Ripe berries are often used for food. They make jams, jams, kissels, compotes. Sweet preparations are then used as a filling for various pies. The black nightshade berry has a specific smell, which can be removed by dousing it with boiling water. The scalded fruits are then used for their intended purpose.

Preparing jelly from berries is very simple. The fruits must be rubbed through a fine sieve, pour boiling water, bring to a boil, strain, add starch and cook until thickened.

In the Caucasus, young leaves are even used as an ingredient in salads.

Possible harm from black nightshade

Of the contraindications, the following should be mentioned:

• diarrhea;
• hypotension;
• diseases of the pancreas in severe form;
• liver disease;
• pregnancy and lactation;
• childhood.

Prolonged use of berries in large quantities can cause dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, heaviness in the head, and even convulsions.

Signs of plant poisoning

Mild poisoning is accompanied by sore throat, nausea and diarrhea.

In severe cases, a person complains of the following symptoms:

• severe vomiting;
• frequent and loose stools;
• severe weakness and dizziness;
• increased heart rate;
• profuse wet cough;
• decreased visual acuity;
• pupil dilation;
• speech disorder;
• dyspnea;
• convulsions.

Even death from cardiac or respiratory arrest is possible.

Signs of late poisoning resemble poisoning with henbane or green potatoes. The patient may even lose consciousness. The victim urgently needs to be delivered to a medical institution, where he will be washed out of the stomach and prescribed the necessary drugs. If it is not possible to show the patient to the doctor, you need to wash his stomach with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Most often, poisoning is received by children who eat attractive-looking unripe berries of a bright scarlet color. Therefore, if there are kids in the house, it is definitely not worth leaving nightshade bushes on the site.

Under no circumstances should unripe berries be eaten or used as medicine. All parts of the plant, except for ripe berries, are toxic. Corned beef can cause severe poisoning, and it does not break down even with prolonged heat treatment.

It is possible to be treated with nightshade only after a preliminary consultation with a phytotherapeutist and only under his supervision.

When nightshade berries ripen, they look very appetizing. The plant can grow in Europe, Asia, Australia and America. Many people believe that black nightshade or crowberry, as it is popularly called, is poisonous, so you should not eat its fruits. But not everyone knows that berries can benefit the body. That is why before eating any little-known foods, you should carefully study the information about them.

Description and characteristics

The classification of the Solanaceae genus includes many species, each of which has its own characteristics. Black nightshade is considered one of the most unusual plants.

It is distinguished from other herbs of this species by not very beautiful flowers., so it is not used to growing on plots and cultivating as an ornamental plant. An annual grass leads a normal life process in a temperate climate. People are accustomed to consider nightshade as one of the weeds, since it is not demanding on the characteristics of the soil and the humidity of the territory. Quite often, the grass finds a habitat between plants in the garden, in a ravine or on the edge of a road.

Nightshade looks like a grass with an upright massive stem that branches at the top. The stem is slightly pubescent and cylindrical in shape. The leaf of the grass is simple, without the presence of stipules. The shape of the leaves is characterized by elongation. The largest specimens reach a length of thirteen centimeters. The plate is painted in a rich green color, has noticeable streaks.

The plant blooms with white flowers. The presence of a double perianth and a five-pointed corolla is characteristic. The flowers are about a centimeter in diameter. The inflorescence of the grass is umbrella. The flowering period falls on May, but under favorable weather conditions it can last until September.

Funnel berries begin ripening in August, but this period can last until October. The ripe fruit is black in color and spherical in shape. Its diameter is about one centimeter, the surface is smooth and matte.

Why is it useful?

The composition of black nightshade is very rich, so the plant can have a versatile beneficial effect on humans.

A large percentage of the composition of the funnel is such elements as:

• vitamin C;
• glycosides, alkaloids;
• carotene;
• tannin components;
• sugar type compounds;
• magnesium salt;
• calcium;
• manganese.

Nightshade with black berries has been used in folk medicine for many centuries. This tool helps in the treatment of a variety of diseases. Tinctures and other medicines are used for external and oral use. There are several main medicinal properties of the funnel.

• Antioxidant and antitumor activity. Carotene, which is present in the composition of the herb, reduces the body's tendency to rapid aging. The use of the funnel leads to the normalization of protein metabolism, the strengthening of bone tissue, the regeneration of cartilage, the improvement of tissue respiration processes and the regulation of metabolism.
• Analgesic, antispasmodic, sedative, vasodilating effect. These effects are achieved by the alkaloids present in the nightshade in the form of dulcamarine, solanine, solacein.
• Improvement of metabolism, normalization of digestion. Organic acids in the complex stimulate the synthesis and outflow of bile, and also have an antianemic and vasoprotective effect. Due to the antitoxic property, a complex cleaning of the body is observed.
• Anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, astringent action. The presence of components of a tannic nature favorably affects the processes of healing and absorption of toxic elements.
• Strengthening the body's defenses. This effect is possible due to the presence in the composition of a large amount of ascorbic acid, which is also able to slow down the aging and wear of the body.

• Increasing the strength of blood vessels, activation of peripheral blood flow.
• Stimulation of activity adrenal glands.
• Normalization of intraocular and blood pressure.
• Strengthening bone and muscle tissue. The presence of magnesium salts in the berries ensures the active transmission of nerve impulses, as well as the normal functioning of all muscles, including the heart.
• Normalization of the activity of the thyroid gland. Manganese takes an active part in this, which also helps the synthesis of enzymes, the conversion of lipids into energy.
• Production of insulin. A high percentage of calcium in the product allows you to normalize many metabolic processes in the body, stimulate contractile muscle activity.

Many traditional medicine recipes are based on black nightshade. Official medicine has not yet documented its properties, but healers from the people successfully use the properties of grass. From many diseases and disorders of the human body, decoctions, tinctures, juices, ointments, the basis of which is nightshade with black fruits, help.

For medicinal purposes, the plant is harvested with foliage in the second half of the summer season, and with berries - at the end of it.

Possible harm

The benefits of black nightshade have been proven in practice, but like any other plant, it can be harmful if used carelessly. For many people, the question remains whether this herb is poisonous. Scientists have proven that unripe nightshade berries have a high content of corned beef. During the ripening period, the substance passes into a different form, so the fetus becomes absolutely safe. It is important to remember that fully ripe nightshade berries are black in color.

Any medicinal or food product prepared on the basis of the funnel is forbidden to be used in the presence of allergic reactions to the plant. Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, young children, and hypotensive patients should also not use the herb. The following side effects are known:

• excessive fatigue;
• dizziness;
• psycho-emotional overexcitation;
• diuresis;
• diarrhea.

User reviews show that cases of negative effects on a person are seen mainly with an overdose. At the same time, intoxication of the body and untimely help from doctors can lead to death.

Symptoms of poisoning include the following:

• vomit;
• frequent loose stools;
• weakness, dizziness;
• frequent contractions of the heart muscle;
• wet cough;
• deterioration in visual ability;
• shortness of breath, convulsions;
• incoherent speech.

If a person has been poisoned by a nightshade, immediate assistance is required. It consists in washing the stomach and delivering the victim to the doctors.

Features of harvesting berries

For therapeutic purposes, you can use a young shoot of black nightshade without removing foliage and inflorescences. Ripe berries are also often used. Funnel grass is harvested during its active flowering. The procurement process includes several steps:

• cutting the tops of the grass (with a retreat from the ground by twenty centimeters);
• sorting out the collected material, removing spoiled and rotten shoots;
• unfolding to dry in a place that is well ventilated and in the shade;
• turning the herb until it is completely dry.

In August, you can start harvesting nightshade berries. This procedure is carried out in several stages:

• black berries must be picked with stalks;
• each of the fruits must be thoroughly washed with cold water, dried in the open air;
• remove the stalks;
• prepared berries must be laid out in one layer on a pallet, pre-covered with a cloth or paper (drying is carried out in a shady place with regular turning over);
• dried fruits should be laid out on a baking sheet and placed in the freezer for several hours, then poured into a bag;
• berries should be covered with sugar in a ratio of one to one;
• after a few hours, they must be ground on a sieve or crushed with a crusher.

Harvesting a berry plant for the winter is also possible in the form of jam. To prepare it, you should boil whole fruits in syrup with sugar or boil grated berries. Freezing is a great opportunity to preserve almost all the useful properties of the product.

What can be made from it?

The use of berries is possible in various ways.

1. Fresh. The product is used to treat hypertension, prevent atherosclerosis, get rid of disorders of the genitourinary system, and eliminate inflammation on the skin.
2. In the form of an alcohol extract. The plant in this form has a sedative and anticonvulsant effect.
3. In the form of juice from ripe fruits. This remedy is effective against inflammation, bacteria, and is used to heal injuries.

There are recipes for time-tested remedies based on black nightshade.

• Ointment from the funnel. It is used to treat skin diseases, as well as damage of a mechanical, infectious, allergic nature. In order for the effect of using the product to be noticeable, the ointment must be applied under the bandage and kept for at least two hours. To make the drug, dry nightshade grass should be ground into powder with a mortar or in a coffee grinder. The finished powder in the amount of one teaspoon should be mixed with vegetable oil in the amount of four teaspoons. The prepared ointment must be used three times a day.
• Berry juice. It is a fairly effective remedy for getting rid of edema, diseases of the skin and mucous membranes. To make juice, you need to grind one glass of fruit with a blender. The resulting puree should be squeezed out with gauze. The resulting juice must be diluted with water in a ratio of one to three. Such a solution has a beneficial effect in gargling, washing wounds and instillation of the nose.

• Herbal decoction. This drug is used if a person is coughing, suffering from spasms, severe pain or inflammation. To prepare a decoction, chopped grass in the amount of one teaspoon must be poured with a cup of boiling water. The finished mixture is heated in a water bath for fifteen minutes. When the broth has cooled, it must be filtered. You need to use the medicine twice a day in the amount of one teaspoon. The shelf life of the product is two days, after which it is necessary to prepare a new portion of the broth.
• Alcohol extract. This remedy must be taken orally to treat colds, inflammation, problems with the outflow of bile and diseases of the urinary system. The dried fruits of black nightshade must be poured with sixty percent alcohol in a ratio of one to six. The mixture should be infused for at least seven days in a cool place, while it must be shaken daily. The finished extract must be filtered and taken at least fifteen drops 1 or 2 times a day.
• Tincture. This remedy is quite effective if a person is worried about headaches, joint and stomach pains, as well as nerve disorders. Warm tincture should be used in the form of lotions on wounds and boils. To prepare a remedy, you need to pour five grams of grass with a glass of boiling water and leave for at least three hours. Then the tincture is filtered and used externally. When taken orally, you need to drink one tablespoon four times a day.
• baths. This method of using nightshade grass provides an increase in the body's resistance to colds, relief from pain in muscles and joints, and elimination of rashes in case of allergies. It is also effective in the fight against psoriasis and eczema. For this purpose, three tablespoons of the plant must be poured with boiling water in the amount of two liters. The herb is infused until it cools completely. After this, it is necessary to carry out filtering and squeezing the cake. The resulting substance must be poured into a bath of water.

There are also recipes for making black nightshade as a culinary dish. From berries you can make jam, jam, compote, jelly. Sweet preparation is often used to fill your favorite pies and desserts. For example, the preparation of jelly is quite simple:

• the fruits are ground on a sieve;
• pour boiling water;
• bring to a boil, then filter;
• add starch;
• boil until thick.

Black nightshade is an annual plant that is quite widespread in Asia, Europe, Australia and America. Most often it is perceived as weedy and poisonous. Not many people know about the benefits of this plant. Can black nightshade be harmful? How is it used in traditional medicine? We will talk about this in the article.

Spreading

Black nightshade, the photo of which you can see below, is common in our country. It grows everywhere, including the northern regions. The plant is found even in the southern regions of Siberia. It is a native of Europe and Asia, which was later introduced to North America. The plant adapts well to temperate climates.

Black nightshade is considered a weed because of its unpretentiousness: it is undemanding to the composition of soils and humidity. Equally actively develops among garden plants and in ravines, beams, along roadsides.

Description

Black nightshade is an annual herb. Unlike other varieties of this plant, it does not differ in the outstanding beauty of flowers and is practically not grown in garden and summer cottages, it is rarely cultivated for harvesting. The need for this plant, as a rule, satisfies the nightshade growing in natural conditions. Consider the structure of nightshade:

• stems. Nightshade has massive erect cylindrical stems that branch upwards. Stems can be either bare or slightly pubescent.

• Leaves. They are simple, not having stipules, placed alternately on the stem on the cuttings. The leaf plate is ovoid, slightly elongated. Its length can reach 13 cm, with a width of 8 cm. The surface of the plate is deep green, matte, with well-defined venation. The edge is most often smooth, but sometimes it is angular-notched.

• Flowers. In black nightshade, they are bisexual, painted white. The flowers have a double perianth and a five-pointed star corolla. Small flowers (up to 1 cm) are collected in umbrella inflorescences, they are often called curls. The flowering of black nightshade begins in mid-May. Under favorable weather conditions, it continues until September.

• Fruit. Spherical black berries of black nightshade do not exceed a centimeter in diameter. They are covered with a smooth, matte skin. The fruits ripen from early August to mid-October.

There are different opinions about the benefits and harms of black nightshade: some consider the plant poisonous, others consider it useful and healing. You will be surprised, but both arguing parties are right. The fact is that only green nightshade berries are poisonous, containing solanine, which has a toxic effect on the body. When the fruits ripen, solanine is destroyed, and ripe berries become an effective remedy.

Chemical composition

The composition of different parts of the plant black nightshade includes many useful substances. This explains its powerful effect on the body. The main useful substances include:

• glycosides and alkaloids;
• carotene;
• organic acids;
• tannins;
• ascorbic acid;
• sugar compounds;
• magnesium salts;
• calcium;
• manganese

Medicinal properties

The beneficial properties of black nightshade are used by folk healers to get rid of many diseases. For healers and healers, the entire aerial part of the plant is of value. The selectivity of the action of nightshade in the manufacture of preparations by the same methods is interesting. For example, the infusion of the plant is equally effective for both internal and external use.

Nightshade black has the following properties:

• choleretic;
• antispasmodic;
• laxative;
• diuretic;
• painkillers;
• anti-allergic;
• anticonvulsant;
• sedative.

When is the herb indicated?

Black nightshade herb preparations are used in the following cases:

• with diseases of the stomach, intestines;
• with cholecystitis, pyelonephritis;
• with epilepsy, neuroses;
• with skin diseases.

A water extract from the grass with lichen, furunculosis, allergies of an unknown nature cleanses the blood. In addition, herbal infusions are an effective addition to therapeutic baths. Nightshade herb is known for its expectorant and bronchodilator properties, and therefore drugs based on it are used for colds, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and tuberculosis.

Fruit use

Numerous patient reviews confirm the benefits of black nightshade fruits when using its fruits in various forms:

• Fresh berries. Fresh berries are useful for hypertensive patients, they are used as a prophylactic and therapeutic agent for atherosclerosis, infectious diseases, kidney diseases, and improving vision.

• Alcohol extract. It has anticonvulsant, sedative, muscle relaxant properties. It is used in the treatment of neuroses, mild forms of neurasthenia.

• Berry juice. This nightshade remedy is used to treat inflammation of the oral cavity: periodontal disease, stomatitis, tonsillitis. Juice lotions help fight conjunctivitis and chronic rhinitis when instilled into the nose. Berry juice has anti-inflammatory, astringent, healing, bactericidal properties. It is diluted and used in the form of compresses for the treatment of psoriasis, eczema, and lichen.

Traditional healers believe that nightshade is able to heal from malignant tumors, including blood cancer. With oncology, extracts from flowering grass or fruits are taken. The plant cures hepatitis of any origin, cirrhosis of the liver. The hypoglycemic properties of this plant have a beneficial effect on blood sugar levels.

Nightshade-based preparations

From black nightshade at home, you can prepare effective remedies for the treatment of many serious diseases. We offer you recipes for some of them.

Nightshade ointment

Nightshade grass is used to treat many skin lesions: infectious, mechanical, allergic, trophic, autoimmune nature. To enhance the effect, the ointment is covered with a bandage. The procedure takes two to four hours. To prepare the ointment, dry nightshade grass is used. It should be ground into powder in a mortar or coffee grinder.

Mix a teaspoon of the powder with four teaspoons of refined vegetable oil. The resulting drug lubricates the damaged skin three times a day.

Juice from berries

Used for edema, ascites, hypertension, for external use in diseases of the mucous membranes and skin. Making juice is easy. To do this, grind a glass of berries through a sieve or chop in a blender. The resulting mass must be squeezed through cheesecloth. A quarter cup of freshly squeezed juice is diluted with boiled water at room temperature to a full glass.

The resulting solution can be used to rinse the mouth, throat and wash wounds. For rhinitis, instill 2-3 drops of diluted juice in each nasal passage. With cystitis, hypertension, dropsy, take 30 drops of undiluted juice every day. It should be taken with milk or clean water. A decoction of the herb is used as an antispasmodic, antitussive, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-allergic agent.

Pour a glass of boiling water over a spoon (tea) of crushed dry nightshade herb. Heat the resulting mixture in a water bath for 15 minutes. When the composition has cooled, strain it. Take the remedy on a spoon (tea) twice a day. A new portion is prepared every two days.

Alcohol extract

When taken orally, it has an anti-inflammatory, anti-cold, diuretic and choleretic agent. Pour dry fruits of nightshade with 60% alcohol in a ratio of 1:6. For a week, the mixture is infused in a dark place, shaking the container daily. Take the drug 15 drops once a day.

Infusion

It is used for the treatment of articular, stomach, headaches, with disorders of the nervous system. Lotions are made from warm infusion for ulcers, boils, wounds.

Steam 5 grams of nightshade herb with a glass of boiling water. Let the composition brew for three hours. Then the composition can be filtered. Inside, the infusion is taken in a tablespoon up to four times a day.

Nightshade bath

In the season of colds, such a bath enhances the body's resistance, relieves joint and muscle pain. Eliminates allergic rashes, helps in the treatment of eczema, psoriasis. Two liters of boiling water, pour three tablespoons (table) herbs. It is insisted until it cools to room temperature, filtered, and the cake is squeezed. Pour the resulting infusion into a bath filled with warm water.

Safety regulations

Opening any herbal treatment guide, you can see a photo of black nightshade. The benefits and harms of this plant are closely intertwined. We have already said that the green fruits of the plant are toxic, therefore, when harvesting raw materials, you must be extremely careful. You can collect only fully ripened fruits, evenly colored black.

Preparations based on black nightshade are contraindicated in children under three years of age, pregnant women, as well as during lactation, people with individual intolerance to the substances that make up the plant. Side effects to watch out for when taking drugs made from nightshade include:

• increased fatigue;
• dizziness;
• nervous excitability;
• diuresis;
• diarrhea.

According to the reviews of people who took these drugs, the negative effects of the plant appear very rarely and only if the dosage has been exceeded. Its violation leads to intoxication of the body, which, in the absence of medical care, can be fatal, since the harm of nightshade is due to the content of potent substances in its composition. Traditional healers claim that natural bee honey effectively eliminates the side effects of nightshade.

Herbaceous annual plant black nightshade belongs to the Solanaceae family. The plant reaches a height of 10 to 70 cm, has a straight branched stem, ovate leaves, serrated along the edge. White small flowers are collected in umbellate inflorescences. The fruits are black round berries. The plant blooms from July to August, and the fruits ripen from August to September.

Black nightshade is found throughout Europe and Asia, as well as in North America. Often found in Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus. Nightshade grows well along the banks of reservoirs, on roadsides, in wastelands. It is considered a weed with beneficial properties.

Ripe nightshade fruits and young leafy shoots are widely used. Grass and leaves should be harvested during the summer and dried in the fresh air, and the fruits are harvested in late autumn, when they are already fully ripe, most often they are dried in dryers. Unripe berries contain poison - corned beef, but it is destroyed after the full ripening of the fruit.

Black nightshade berries are used as food in some countries. They prepare jam, jelly, make fillings for baking, after scalding with boiling water to eliminate the unpleasant odor.

Pharmacological composition

• black nightshade fruits contain a lot of sugar and a large amount of vitamin C. Unripe fruits contain a poisonous glycoalkaloid - solanine.
• grass contains tannins, ascorbic acid, carotene.
• there are also alkaloids, glycosides and poisonous saponic acids.

Useful properties of black nightshade

Since ancient times, nightshade has been used in folk medicine. For example, in France, it was argued that its reception is necessary when working in cold and damp rooms. In ancient times, this plant was used as a sleeping pill and anesthetic during surgery.
Although black nightshade has not found application in official medicine, due to a wide range of useful properties, it is widely used in traditional medicine.

Medicinal properties

The use of nightshade in folk medicine

Contraindications

Nightshade is contraindicated in hypotension, diarrhea, severe diseases of the pancreas and liver. Nightshade preparations are not prescribed for pregnant and lactating women, children.

In the unripe berries and leaves of nightshade there is a toxic substance - solanidine, which can cause severe poisoning. Poisonous solanidine is not destroyed even by heat treatment.
Ripe nightshade fruit and grass should be used very carefully.