Medicinal properties of Echinacea purpurea. Echinacea purpurea: healing action and application

– a real gift of nature to man. Everything is useful in it: roots, stems, leaves, and inflorescences. In addition, she is unusually beautiful, her bright large inflorescences are a true decoration for the garden. Let's talk about the beneficial properties of echinacea and contraindications to its use, consider how to harvest and store raw materials, and also briefly find out which echinacea has a chemical composition.

The chemical composition of echinacea

The aerial part of echinacea is rich in polysaccharides (heteroxylans, arabinorhamnogalactans), essential oils, organic acids, flavonoids, tannins, hydroxycinnamic acids (ferulic, chicory, coumaric, coffee), polyamines, saponins, echinacin, echinolone, echinacoside (a glycoside containing caffeic acid and catechol), resins and phytosterols. The rhizome contains inulin, betaine, glucose, phenolcarboxylic acids, essential and fatty oils, and resins. Each part of echinacea contains enzymes, antioxidants, organic acids, vitamins A, E, C, macro- (calcium, potassium) and microelements (selenium, cobalt, silver, molybdenum, zinc, manganese).

Did you know? The Indians called echinacea "evening sun". They used it for bites of poisonous insects and snakes, and from here the plant also received the name "snake root".

Medicinal properties of echinacea

The range of medicinal properties of echinacea is very large. It is endowed with antiviral, antifungal, immune system strengthening, antimicrobial, antirheumatic, detoxifying and anti-inflammatory properties. It is widely used in the fight against all kinds of infectious diseases: SARS, flu, swine flu, urinary tract infections (UTIs), infections of the upper respiratory tract, human papillomavirus, vaginal yeast infections, herpes, syphilis, typhoid, malaria, tonsillitis, bloodstream infections, streptococcal infections, warts and diphtheria, ear infections.

Echinacea is also used for dizziness, low white blood cells, migraines, anxiety, chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, heartburn, rattlesnake bites. It is widely used externally to treat abscesses, boils, skin wounds, gum disease, burns, ulcers, eczema, psoriasis, herpes simplex virus, bee stings and mosquitoes, and hemorrhoids. This plant is also a good helper for dermatological problems, because echinacea treats acne and ulcers, blackheads and warts, abscesses and eczema on the skin. With its help, age spots and freckles are removed, it relieves skin inflammation and smoothes wrinkles. It also enhances hair growth, gives them shine and saves from dandruff.

Echinacea preparations

Echinacea-based preparations are now extremely popular and are sold in pharmacies in many forms - dried flowers, capsules, drops, extract in tablets and lozenges, powders, teas and juices, alcohol tincture. The pharmaceutical industry in many countries manufactures preparations of their echinacea purpurea to strengthen the human immune system (for example, "Immunal"). Echinacea preparations are allowed to be prescribed to children from the age of six, and alcohol tincture - from the age of twelve.

Now more than three hundred types of echinacea preparations are known, and the list of diseases for which echinacea preparations are used has exceeded seventy names. Preparations with echinacea have immunostimulating, antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.

Did you know? Approximately 10% of the total market of bioadditives North America and Europe are occupied by preparations with echinacea.

Use in folk medicine: treatment of diseases with echinacea

The medicinal properties of echinacea have long been used in folk medicine in the form of teas, decoctions, tinctures and alcohol tinctures. Echinacea treatment was simply indispensable for flu and colds, constipation and gastritis, abscesses and ulcers, headaches, joint pain, prostate adenoma, inflammation in women, was used to streamline metabolism and well-being.

Echinacea tea for flu and colds

Echinacea tea is a very valuable remedy for colds and flu. It lowers body temperature, has an antimicrobial effect, prevents bacteria and viruses from multiplying. Echinacea tea is made as follows: one teaspoon of the crushed plant root, one teaspoon of leaves and three flowers are poured with boiling water (0.5 l) and infused for about 40 minutes. It is necessary to take tea in the treatment of a disease three times a day, one glass each, and for prevention - one glass a day.

Echinacea tincture will relieve fatigue, increase immunity

Perhaps the most pronounced beneficial quality of echinacea is its ability to raise immunity and strengthen the entire body. It should be used by anyone who is often stressed and faces fatigue. To prepare echinacea tincture, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water into 30 g of dry or fresh flowers in an enameled saucepan, cover with a lid and boil for 10 minutes. Then let it brew in a warm place for five hours to reach the highest concentration of nutrients. Then strain the infusion, add honey, syrup, sugar, or berry juice to it to taste. Drink half a glass three times a day.

Echinacea tincture for constipation or gastritis

In the treatment of these ailments, echinacea tincture will help according to this recipe: pour 20 g of raw materials (stems, flowers, leaves) with a glass of vodka, leave to brew in a dark place for twenty days, shake occasionally. Before taking the tincture should be filtered and taken 20-30 drops a day before meals.

Alcohol tincture for prostate adenoma

With prostate adenoma, you will need an alcohol tincture of echinacea. You can buy it at a pharmacy or make it yourself: pour fresh or chopped dry echinacea leaves with alcohol (vodka) in a ratio of 1:10, let it brew for ten days. Take 25-30 drops three times daily before meals.

Echinacea decoction for headaches and joint pain

A decoction of echinacea can help with headaches, migraines, joint pain, insomnia. The decoction is prepared as follows: a teaspoon of chopped fresh (dry) echinacea leaves is poured with a glass of boiling water, placed on water bath for five to ten minutes, then removed from the water bath and infused for some time. Take 100 ml three times a day before meals.

From a headache, you can also use honey with echinacea, prepared according to this recipe: grind all parts of echinacea into powder and mix well with honey (300 g of honey - 100 g of echinacea powder). Used three times a day with tea.

How to prepare medicinal raw materials from echinacea

medicinal properties all parts of the plant have. The aerial part of echinacea is collected in summer (July-August), and the rhizome with roots is collected in spring and late autumn. Only flowering plants are harvested, and as for the roots, three or four-year-old roots are suitable for medicines. Harvested raw materials are dried in the shade for fresh air, spreading it in a thin layer, or in special dryers. The raw materials are stored in a dry place. Echinacea herb can be stored for no more than six months, and echinacea tincture can be stored for one to five years, in a well-closed bottle, in a dark and cold place.

Echinacea is perennial With large quantity rhizomes, native to the eastern United States. Cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal plant, common in Russia, Europe, the North Caucasus. There are several varieties of Echinacea (pale purple, narrow-leaved), but Echinacea purpurea (Echinacea purpurea) is used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes.

Content:

Medicinal properties of echinacea

Echinacea is rich in biologically active and various minerals, it contains a lot of selenium, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc, magnesium and other components that are useful for us. The roots and rhizomes of the plant are saturated with essential and fatty oils, inulin, tannins, glucose, various resins, organic acids (including polyunsaturated fatty acids), polysaccharides, alkaloids, but the main thing in them is a special substance - betaine, which prevents the development of such diseases, like heart attack and stroke. The phenolcarboxylic acids that are part of the plant stimulate the immune defense of the body and have a diuretic effect.

Due to the variety of chemical composition, echinacea exhibits antiviral and antiseptic properties, prevents further growth and development of bacteria and viruses (flu, stomatitis, etc.), coccal infections. It is also effective against macrophages and neutrophils.

The plant also has a high antifungal and anti-inflammatory ability, accelerates the healing of eczema, wounds and ulcers.

Echinacea, although to a lesser extent, exhibits antirheumatic and antiallergic effects. The plant and preparations from it are of particular benefit in the treatment and prevention of colds, sore throats, flu and SARS.

Echinacea is also known for its antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties, has the ability to reduce the level of toxins in the body, and often inhibit the development of metastases.

Echinacea

The unique properties of echinacea are used in the complex treatment and prevention of various diseases, especially respiratory diseases, including in children, because it does not cause allergic reactions. Echinacea intake for early stages development of the disease can significantly reduce the duration of the disease and speed up recovery.

For the use of echinacea for medicinal purposes, a plant that is at least two years old is suitable, and flowers, leaves, roots and stems are used. The internal use of the plant and preparations from it is especially relevant for colds, flu, ear infections, intestinal infections, diseases of the upper respiratory tract, diabetes mellitus, diseases Bladder, liver, inflammatory processes in a chronic form, female diseases. But outwardly, it has no less effect, relieving skin diseases and various problems(urticaria, herpes, eczema, abscesses, furunculosis, burns, insect bites, etc.). Echinacea and preparations from it showed good results on the body in eliminating the effects of exposure heavy metals and chemical substances(fungicides, pesticides, etc.), in the treatment of prostatitis, osteomyelitis and rheumatism, as a restorative agent after radiation and chemotherapy, antibiotic treatment.

Lotions from a decoction of echinacea are used as a remedy for psoriasis, as well as relieving itching and pain after an insect bite. Also, a decoction of echinacea is useful for stomach ulcers, normalizes arterial pressure and improves the condition of the body as a whole.

Echinacea tincture (pharmacy) for immunity

Echinacea tincture on alcohol has a powerful immunostimulating effect on the human body, strengthening protective properties. Its reception will be especially relevant during the period of respiratory diseases as the strongest prophylactic. The systematic intake of tincture increases the level of leukocytes, "awakens" the phagocytic response, and inhibits the reproduction of harmful microbes.

Echinacea tincture is effectively used in the treatment of diseases of the genitourinary system, to accelerate the processes of wound healing and tissue repair, as well as in the treatment of skin diseases.

Echinacea tincture in order to strengthen immunity and treat colds can be given to children after two years. The use of echinacea tincture almost never causes allergic reactions and side effects, because the composition of the drug is absolutely natural. In rare cases, if a rash or dizziness occurs, the drug should be stopped immediately.

How to take alcohol tincture of echinacea?

It is recommended to take the tincture twenty minutes before the main meal three times a day. At the beginning of therapy, the daily dose of tincture for an adult should not be more than 40 drops, during further treatment this amount can be increased to 60 drops per day. Alcohol tincture can be given to children after 12 years twice a day, 5-10 drops diluted in water (ratio 1:3).

Depending on the severity and characteristics of the course of the disease, the doctor prescribes the duration of the drug, which should not exceed eight weeks, even if the drug is well tolerated.

For external use, the tincture should be diluted in sodium chloride (40 drops of tincture per 100 ml of sodium chloride). Apply such a solution as rinses, compresses or lotions.

Video: external use of echinacea.

Echinacea Recipes

Echinacea homemade tincture for depression.

Compound.
Echinacea roots - 10 g.
Medical alcohol - 100 ml.

The tincture is prepared from the roots of the plant and medical alcohol. It is necessary to grind 10 g of roots, place them in glass containers, pour alcohol, cork with a lid and place in a cool dark place for a day. The finished tincture should be filtered through gauze and taken daily, 20-30 drops before the main meal. The drug should be taken three times a day. Duration is two to three weeks until a stable therapeutic effect appears.

Echinacea for headaches.

Compound.
Root, leaves, stems, flowers of echinacea (mixture) - 100 g.
Village honey in liquid form - 300 g.

Preparation and use.
To prepare the remedy, you will need all parts of the plant. They must be crushed, take 100 g, combine with liquid natural honey (300 g). Take 1-2 teaspoons with tea three times a day. In addition to getting rid of headaches, an echinacea-based remedy has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, calms it, normalizes blood pressure and improves sleep.

Video: Echinacea recipes part 1 and part 2

Echinacea tea for flu and colds.

Compound.
Echinacea flowers - 3 pcs.
Echinacea root chopped - 1 tsp.
Echinacea leaves - 1 tsp
Steep boiling water - 1 cup.

Preparation and use.
This tool perfectly copes with colds and flu, and during the period of respiratory diseases will be an excellent means of preventing them. You will need a crushed echinacea root (1 tsp), the same number of leaves of the plant and three of its flowers. Mix it all up ceramic dishes, brew a glass of boiling water and leave to infuse for forty minutes. During the period of treatment of diseases, you should drink a glass of tea three times a day, for a preventive purpose - a glass a day, preferably before meals (twenty minutes).

Echinacea tincture for constipation or gastritis.

Compound.
High-quality vodka - 1 liter.
All parts of echinacea in crushed form - 100 g.

Preparation and use.
We put the raw materials in a glass dish, fill it with vodka, cork and leave it in a dark, cool place for twenty days. Every two or three days, the contents of the container should be shaken. After twenty days, filter the vodka tincture, take the finished product three times a day, thirty drops before meals for a week and a half. Next, you should take a three-day break, again conduct a treatment course, again take a three-day break and repeat the treatment course.

This tincture is also effective in the treatment of peptic ulcer, diseases of the female genital area, kidneys or bladder, and vasospasm.

Echinacea decoction.

Compound.
Fresh (or dry) leaves of the plant in crushed form - 1 tsp.
Steep boiling water - 1 cup.

Preparation and use.
Brew the raw materials with boiling water and put in a water bath. After twenty minutes, remove the liquid from the bath and leave for half an hour, filter. Take 1/3 cup three times a day fifteen minutes before the main meal for ten days. This is followed by a five-day break and another ten days of admission. This is one course. Such courses should be done two or three after a 5-10 day break. A decoction of the plant improves vision, eliminates swelling, relieves joint pain, treats stomach ulcers, improves mood.

Echinacea infusion.

Compound.
The crushed parts of the plant in dry form - 1 tbsp. l.
Steep boiling water - 0.5 liters.

Preparation and use.
Pour boiling water over the raw materials (it is better to do this in a thermos, but you can also use an enamel saucepan with a lid) and leave overnight. In the morning, filter the prepared infusion, take 100-150 ml three times a day half an hour before the main meal. The drug should be taken for ten days, then take a five-day break and repeat the intake of the infusion two more times for 10 days with breaks of five days. This is 1 course. If necessary, the course of therapy can be repeated three times for ten days after a month break. The infusion is effective in obesity, the treatment of herpes, the treatment of infertility, to strengthen the immune system, increase efficiency, improve memory and attention, as well as gynecological disorders.

Echinacea extract.

The drug is a powerful tool with a tonic effect, gives vigor, improves performance. High adaptogenic properties increase the body's resistance to adverse effects external factors. The remedy, when taken systematically, relieves overvoltage and serves as an excellent prophylactic against acute respiratory infections. For internal use, the drug is recommended in the amount of 8 drops (adults), diluted in a small amount of water. Depending on the age of children, the recommended dose varies from 3 to 5 drops diluted with water or tea.

Echinacea is contraindicated for people suffering from chronic hypertension.

Echinacea syrup.

This remedy based on healing echinacea strengthens the protective ability of the body, increasing resistance to the harmful effects of microorganisms. It is often recommended for use in manifestations of an oncological nature. Plus, the remedy restores the functioning of the thyroid gland and normalizes metabolism.

Contraindications to the use of echinacea

1. Children's age up to two years.
2. The period of pregnancy and lactation.
3. Patients with multiple sclerosis.
4. Acute angina.
5. Leukemia.
6. Tuberculosis.
7. The presence of allergies.

Regardless of contraindications, Echinacea should not be taken for more than a month.

Purple Echinacea is a medicinal plant with immunomodulatory properties. Thanks to him, our body quickly copes with a variety of ailments, such as SARS, influenza.

Echinacea is used in the preparation of a variety of medicinal preparations, but best effect has raw materials prepared independently, as it will be free and you can be sure of the freshness of the collected funds.

Echinacea for diseases

Purple Echinacea is a plant native to North America. Every part of it has healing properties. The roots, leaves, flowers contain immune-stimulating substances that can destroy viruses, fungi, and bacteria.

For many years, Indians have used echinacea to treat colds, diphtheria, malaria, blood poisoning, and more. This plant has a lot of useful properties, but there are also contraindications.

plant description

Echinacea purpurea is a plant from the genus Asteraceae. Almost until the middle of the twentieth century, the flower was used in folk medicine, and after that it began to be grown as garden culture. Since 1938, it has been used in official medicine. Dr. Madaus conducted a study of purple echinacea, after which he began to use the plant for sore throats, tonsillitis, and inflammation of the internal organs. The list of diseases from which the plant helps is constantly updated. Later, echinacea was officially included in the pharmacopoeias of many foreign countries, and also began to be used as a medicinal raw material in the production of various pharmaceutical preparations.

Chemical composition

The ground part of echinacea contains many different useful elements. There are mucus, resins, polysaccharides, essential oils, hydroxycinnamic acids, saponins, polyamides, echinacin, echinacoside, enzymes, vitamins, phytosterols, palmitic and linoleic acids.

The root contains a lot of inulin, polysaccharides, resins. It also contains essential oil, phenolcarboxylic acids, betaine, echinacoside and echinacin, vitamins, enzymes and other useful elements.

It contains a lot of essential oil.

plant properties

The use of Echinacea purpurea is very wide. This plant helps to cope with many diseases, but primarily the plant is used as an immunostimulant. Pharmaceutical companies produce tinctures of Echinacea purpurea. It is already ready for use. The drug is made on the basis of purple echinacea extract or plant juice.

The herb has antibacterial, fungicidal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. Echinacea preparations are strong activators of macrophages, lymphocytes and granulocytes. Thus, the functioning of the immune system is stimulated: the plant gently stimulates the work of the adrenal cortex, increases the production of hormones. Also, the medicinal preparations that make up the plant have anti-allergic and anti-rheumatic properties.

The instructions for use of echinacea purpurea say that this plant helps with depression, SARS, inflammatory pathologies, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, cystitis, prostatitis, as well as wounds and ulcers, burns.

In folk medicine, decoctions, extracts, and infusions are used. The drugs are taken as antiseptic, to remove warts, with physical overwork. Echinacea-based products show good results after antibiotic treatment, radiation therapy and the use of cytostatics.

Echinacea can be brewed as a tea to strengthen and boost immunity. To do this, it is enough to pour a teaspoon of raw materials in a teapot with boiling water. Tea is infused for ten minutes. It is taken in a cup once a day, but not longer than a week. It is better to alternate such teas with other means, taking echinacea once a week, and on other days - other vitamin teas that can strengthen the immune system.

Contraindications

The instructions for use of Echinacea purpurea say that this plant should not be used during pregnancy and during breastfeeding. Do not use the plant for leukemia, tuberculosis and in case of individual intolerance. In any case, the drug should be taken only after consulting a doctor.

Dosage of tablets and solution

Pharmacological companies produce echinacea in the form of tablets and solutions. According to the instructions, echinacea purpurea in the form of tablets can be used by children over the age of twelve years and adults, one tablet three times a day. For children aged six to twelve years, the drug is prescribed at a dosage of 1 tablet 1-2 times a day. Children aged four to six years are prescribed the drug in a tablet once a day.

The oral solution is applied three times a day at the dosage prescribed by the doctor. Be sure to dilute the solution with water before use.

Duration of admission - no more than eight weeks.

Side effects

Echinacea is a herbal remedy that can cause side effects. Sometimes there is an allergic reaction to plant preparations in the form of itching, rash, bronchospasm. In isolated cases, anaphylactic shock occurs.

With prolonged use of echinacea, leukopenia may develop.

Echinacea during pregnancy and lactation

Scientists cannot say what effect echinacea has on pregnancy, since no such experiments have been conducted. Because of this, it is not recommended to use the plant during pregnancy and lactation.

Alcohol tincture of echinacea

Tincture can be bought at a pharmacy, or you can make it yourself at home. All parts of the plant are used for it, including rhizomes.

To prepare the tincture, you need to take fifty grams of crushed raw materials, place in a dark glass container and pour alcohol (0.25 l). The remedy is infused for two weeks, periodically shaken. After the composition is infused, it is filtered.

Alcohol tincture is used to treat a variety of ailments. It can be used for rubbing with sore joints, make night compresses with it.

An alcohol remedy helps well for the treatment of purulent wounds. To do this, a tablespoon of tincture is diluted with a spoonful of water. The resulting remedy treats the wound.

With radiculitis and myositis, compresses are indicated. For them, you need to take a piece of cloth, moisten it with tincture and attach it to the sore spot. From above it is covered with polyethylene and a scarf.

plant infusion

Flowers are used to prepare the infusion. A teaspoon of raw materials is poured into a glass of boiling water and insisted for two hours. Then the agent is filtered. Ready infusion is used for emotional overstrain, as well as for chronic stress. For this purpose, a glass of the drug is drunk during the day in small sips.

For colds, take half a glass three times a day.

Good results are shown by taking an infusion to enhance potency: for this purpose, the infusion is drunk in a glass twice a day.

In case of obesity, in order to reduce cravings for sweets, it is recommended to drink half a glass of infusion before meals.

Oil

You can prepare the oil yourself, or you can buy it ready-made, especially since the price of echinacea purpurea is low (50 ml tincture will cost 150 rubles).

To prepare the oil, the roots are taken, washed thoroughly and passed through a meat grinder. Then one hundred grams of the resulting slurry is poured into 0.5 liters sunflower oil and insist in a cool dark place for three weeks. After that, the agent is filtered. The finished product is stored in the refrigerator.

The oil helps well with a duodenal ulcer or stomach ulcer, a teaspoon of oil is mixed with the same amount of sea buckthorn oil and taken orally once a day on an empty stomach. The therapy lasts two weeks.

For bronchitis, the oil is used three times a day. Be sure to drink water.

Good results are obtained by the use of echinacea for the treatment of dermatological diseases. The oil helps with eczema, dermatitis. For treatment, it is applied to the affected areas several times a day.

When seizing with oil, the corners of the mouth are lubricated every three hours for two weeks.

Echinacea decoctions

Echinacea can be used to make decoctions. They use flowers and leaves. Dry, crushed raw materials are poured with water and put on fire. The product is boiled for five minutes, then cooled and filtered.

A decoction helps to cope with a breakdown: for this, they drink a glass of the remedy, dividing it into four doses. In diseases of the kidneys, a decoction of one hundred milliliters is taken three times a day.

Echinacea can be used to wash wounds.

The plant shows good results with a rash: lotions are used to cope with it.

Echinacea cultivation

Grow echinacea on your own garden plot very simple. This plant is propagated by seeds and division of the bush. The last method allows you to quickly get big plants with a strong root system. Planting Echinacea purpurea is best done in the spring. With cluster division, raw materials can be collected already in the first year.

When sown with seeds in the first year, there will be no flowering. The plant actively increases the root mass, and blooms in the second year. Flowering begins in mid-July and lasts until frost.

The plant is planted in sunny areas. Although it grows well in the shade. If we compare the bush in the sun and in the shade, then when grown in the shade, the bushes are more powerful, with large leaves and huge flowers. There are no other differences.

Echinacea purpurea is easy to care for. The plant needs to be watered abundantly. This plant loves moisture, so it is watered very plentifully. Responds well to fertilization. For the entire growing season, the plant is fed twice per season. At the end of September, the stems are cut.

Seeds ripen after flowering. To get new plants, just scatter them where you want to get new bushes. Next year they will rise by themselves, and in a year they will delight abundant flowering and a large amount of medical material.

How to collect

All parts of the plant are used to treat ailments. Collect it in dry sunny weather, immediately after the morning dew. When collecting roots weather do not play a role.

Leaves from young plants of the first year of life are collected in autumn. In plants of the second and subsequent years of life, the leaves are cut in the spring, as soon as they bloom. It is impossible to completely remove the foliage, since in this case the bush will not bloom.

The resulting greens are dried in a ventilated room. Sun rays adversely affect the workpiece, so you need to carefully consider the choice of a place for drying raw materials.

The inflorescences of the plant are collected at the very beginning of their flowering. At this time, they contain many useful substances. After a cut, after about three weeks, the echinacea will bloom again.

Inflorescences are dried in the same way as leaves. This video shows how to brew flowers.

The rhizomes are harvested or in early spring or in late autumn, after pruning the aerial part of the plant.

All harvested raw materials are stored in glass containers or in fabric bags. Raw materials are used not only for the treatment of diseases, but also as prophylactic agents for various ailments.

AT winter period especially relevant is the issue of strengthening immunity. Everyone knows that the approach in this matter must be comprehensive - healthy eating, full sleep, walks in the fresh air. But far from the last role in this list is played by drugs based on medicinal herbs activating the body's defenses. - one of these "magic" plants that give a person the strength to prevent or defeat the disease.

Your name Echinacea purpurea (Echinacea purpurea) received due to the beautiful, very rich shade of flowers. There are other types of this plant: Echinacea narrow-leaved and pale purple, however, in terms of its healing properties, it is the undisputed leader in this family. For medicinal purposes, flowers, leaves and roots of this plant are used.

Composition and beneficial properties of Echinacea purpurea

Most people only know about the good immunomodulatory effect of Echinacea purpurea, but in addition, the plant has antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-allergic and anti-rheumatic effects.

Echinacea immunomodulatory properties due to the presence in it a large number biologically active substances. These are polysaccharides, essential oils, glycosides, saponins, resins, organic acids, alkaloids, tannins. The plant also contains phenolic acids, which have antiseptic properties, and polyenes, substances that destroy many types of fungi.

And that is not all! Echinacea roots and rhizomes contain glucose, essential oil, resins, betaine (a substance that prevents the development of heart attack and stroke); phenolcarboxylic acids, which strengthen the immune system and have diuretic properties.

Mineral substances were found in all parts of the plant: calcium, potassium, selenium, manganese, zinc, iron, magnesium, nickel.

That's how many "utilities" nature gave to one plant, making echinacea one of the most valuable medicinal herbs on Earth.

Echinacea purpurea. Indications

The list of diseases for which Echinacea purpurea preparations are used is impressive: overwork, sore throat, tonsillitis, colds, flu, herpes, bladder diseases, prostatitis, polyarthritis, mononucleosis, ear infections, upper respiratory tract diseases, blood poisoning, liver disease, chronic inflammatory processes, diabetes mellitus. They are also prescribed after chemotherapy and antibiotic treatment.

it unique plant cures male and female infertility, obesity, reduces cravings for alcohol and smoking. Externally, echinacea preparations are used for skin diseases - herpes, eczema, urticaria, boils, abscesses, burns, insect bites. Lotions with a decoction of the plant are prescribed for psoriasis.

For treatment various diseases apply tea, decoction, infusion and alcohol tincture of echinacea.

Echinacea purpurea tea

Echinacea tea is drunk for colds, flu, abscesses, ulcers, eczema, for the speedy recovery of health after a long illness, surgery or taking a course of antibiotics.

Tea preparation: 3 fresh flowers or 2 tsp. crushed root or leaves of echinacea, brew 0.5 liters of boiling water and leave for 40 minutes, then strain.

Drink tea 150-200 ml per day to strengthen immunity or 450-600 ml (3 cups) at the beginning of any disease, in addition to the main treatment.

This drink also slows down the aging process, perfectly cleanses and rejuvenates the entire body.

Echinacea purpurea decoction

In addition to being used for flu and colds, a decoction of echinacea is also drunk for stomach ulcers, headaches and joint pains, and swelling. It helps to normalize blood pressure, improves vision, improves mood and body tone.

Decoction preparation: 1 tsp crush fresh or dry leaves, pour 250 ml of boiling water and place in a water bath. Heat for 15-20 minutes, then let it brew and strain.

Drink 1/3 cup 3 times a day before meals for 10 days. Then take a break for 5 days and drink another 10 days. This is one course of treatment. You need to repeat it at least 2-3 times with a break of 5-10 days.

Echinacea purpurea infusion

Echinacea infusion is especially useful in winter: it increases the body's resistance to various colds, relieves fatigue, and has tonic properties.

Infusion preparation: Place 30 g of fresh or dried flowers in an enamel saucepan, pour 500 ml of boiling water, close the lid and boil for 10 minutes. Then insist in a warm place for 5 hours - during this time the concentration of nutrients contained in the flowers reaches a maximum. After 5 hours, strain the infusion, optionally add sugar, honey or berry juice. Drink 3 times a day for 1/2 cup.

Echinacea purpurea tincture

Reception of echinacea tincture helps to strengthen memory and attention, relieve stress, increase efficiency. It is also taken for gastritis and stomach ulcers, kidney stones, to improve metabolism, for vasospasm, constipation, inflammatory diseases of the female genital area, diseases of the kidneys and bladder, prostate adenoma.

Ready-made tincture is sold in any pharmacy, but you can prepare it at home.

Preparing the tincture: 200 g of fresh raw materials (leaves, flowers, stems) pour 2 liters of vodka. (For 50 g of dry raw materials, 1 liter of vodka is required; the main thing is to keep the ratio 1:10.) Infuse for 2-3 weeks in a dark place, shaking occasionally. Then strain and take 20-30 drops 3 times a day 20-30 minutes before meals for 10 days. Make a three-day break and repeat the course of treatment twice for 10 days.

With bronchial asthma, pneumonia, cough alcohol tincture is rubbed on the back, especially under the shoulder blades, for 7 days.

Special healing properties echinacea acquires in combination with honey. This mixture is effective for severe headaches, chronic fatigue, beriberi, high blood pressure. It normalizes sleep, soothes nervous system, and when taken regularly, it cures epilepsy, irritability, atherosclerosis, and has a beneficial effect on vision and memory.

To prepare a healing mixture, all parts of the plant must be ground into flour (using a coffee grinder) and mixed with honey in a ratio of 1:3. Take with tea 2-3 times a day.

Echinacea preparations take no longer than 3-4 weeks, then take a break for a month. Breaks allow your immunity to work in full force.

Echinacea purpurea. Contraindications

Echinacea preparations are not recommended for children under 2 years of age, pregnant and lactating women, patients with lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatism, multiple sclerosis, leukemia and tuberculosis. A contraindication is also an allergy to the plant itself. With acute sore throat, you can not take tincture.

Attention! When using echinacea in large doses, insomnia can begin, a person becomes excitable, nausea and vomiting appear, and the work of the intestines and kidneys is disrupted. Therefore, remember that everything is especially medicine! - good in moderation!

Other names: Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea herb, Echinacea angustifolia, Echinacea purpurea, Rudbeckia purpurea.

Echinacea purpurea is a perennial herb native to North America with beautiful purple flowers. Echinacea has a specific taste and smell. Cultivated in Ukraine as a medicinal and ornamental plant.

FROM therapeutic purpose the roots and flowers of the plant are mainly used, preferably fresh, as well as leaves.

Echinacea roots contain: essential oil (up to 1.4%), resins, phytosterols, echinacin, echinacoside, polysaccharides, in flowers - 0.13-0.48% essential oil. It has been experimentally established that echinacea tincture is non-toxic.

Echinacea purpurea has a bacteriostatic, fungicidal, virusostatic and anti-inflammatory effect, inhibits the formation of hyaluronidase, enhances deicopoiesis, is a strong activator of macrophages, granulocytes and lymphocytes (especially T-lymphocytes), increasing the body's defenses, immunity and thus refers to plant stimulants or immune system modulators.

It also gently stimulates the adrenal cortex, increasing the production of hormones that have a certain anti-allergic and anti-rheumatic effect.

Juice from fresh inflorescences causes an acceleration of blood clotting, and when applied topically - an acceleration of wound healing.

Echinacea is popular in many countries: in the FRG, France, the USA, etc. In the FRG, the drug echinacin has been obtained for oral administration and in ampoules. The German physician Madaus (1938) recommended echinacea for angina, tonsillitis, chronic sepsis, parametritis, and various inflammatory diseases of the internal organs.

The first researcher and popularizer of echinacea in Russia was Professor S. A. Tomilin, who considered it a powerful stimulant of the central nervous system, a biostimulant and a wonderful therapeutic agent, like ginseng.

It was found that echinacea tincture has the property of enhancing sexual potency, and has a good wound healing effect on wounds and burns.

Alcohol tincture of echinacea: Berm raw crushed root or flowers, pour 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1:4 and leave for 1 month or more. Take 0.5-1 teaspoon 3 times a day, and this tincture can also be used externally, for wet compresses for wounds and burns.

There is another recipe for an alcoholic tincture of echinacea, using flowers: cut the flowers of echinacea purple, place in a half-liter jar, with a twist, to the top and pour good vodka, also to the top. Close the lid tightly and set aside to infuse in a dark place for 40 days. Then drain everything and you can use it, 15 drops, 20-30 minutes before meals, diluted in a small amount of water or added to tea.

Echinacea is used for mental depression, phenomena of mental and physical overwork, as well as infectious diseases: typhoid fever, erysipelas, scarlet fever, gonorrhea, osteomyelitis, cerebrospinal meningitis, lupus, in septic conditions. There are known cases of treatment with echinacea in patients suffering from the discoid form of lupus erythematosus (cutaneous form).

Echinacea tincture is effective for the treatment, and especially prevention, of respiratory and viral diseases(influenza, herpes simplex, SARS, etc.), with many chronic autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, nephritis, etc.), with adnexitis, cystitis, prostatitis, leukopenia caused by radiation or cystostatics, septic processes, eczema, psoriasis , burns, frostbite, trophic ulcers, purulent deep wounds, carbuncles, and also has a certain effect in oncological processes.

In some patients with chronic gastritis, pancreatitis, psoriasis and allergic rashes on the skin and mucous membranes, a positive effect of raw echinacea root tincture was noted.

It has also been found that a tincture of fresh echinacea flowers acts like a tincture of echinacea root.

Echinacea infusion: 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of dry chopped raw materials (herbs) with 1 cup of boiling water, boil in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. Let stand until cool, then strain. Use 1/3 cup 3 times a day, see application above.

Echinacea root decoction: 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of dry crushed root into 300 ml. water, boil in a water bath for 30 minutes, insist until cool and strain. Take 1-2 tbsp. spoons 3-4 times a day before meals for acute infectious diseases, chronic fatigue, influenza, etc.

Echinacea root extract: pour crushed fresh root with 95% medical alcohol so that it slightly covers it, leave for 2 weeks. Then strain and squeeze out the rest. Take an alcohol infusion of 25-30 drops 3 times a day half an hour before meals with water, as an immunostimulating agent, in case of overwork, flu (prevention, treatment), etc. Store in the refrigerator, shelf life is 2-3 years.

Echinacea contraindications. In some people, this plant causes allergies, you should not use it for pregnant and lactating women, with leukemia, progressive tuberculosis, collagenosis, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, individual intolerance.
But, as practice shows, the doctor decides in each individual case.

Echinacea

For the treatment of various diseases ethnoscience uses echinacea that is at least two years old. Medicinal raw materials of the plant are flowers, stems, roots and leaves. Echinacea is recommended internally for colds, flu, blood poisoning, or bladder problems. In addition to internal use, echinacea is still successfully and quite often used externally in the treatment of urticaria, burns, herpes and other skin diseases.

Echinacea is used for exposure to heavy metals and fungicides, liver disease, and diabetes mellitus. Preparations made on the basis of echinacea have a depressing effect on streptococci, Escherichia coli and the influenza virus present in the body.

The plant has shown good results in the treatment of prostatitis, rheumatism, osteomyelitis and diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Lotions from a decoction of echinacea are used for psoriasis, insect bites, as an antidote to a snake bite. A decoction of echinacea treats stomach ulcers, normalizes blood pressure and improves the condition of the body as a whole.

Echinacea decoction. Take the fresh (dry) leaves of the plant and grind them. Now pour 1 teaspoon of chopped raw materials with a glass of boiling water. Put everything in a water bath for 5-10 minutes. After removing from the water bath, the broth is allowed to brew. Take it 100 ml 3 times a day before meals.

Echinacea tincture for depression. To prepare it, you need to take 10 grams of plant roots and pour them with 100 ml of 70% alcohol. The tool is left to infuse for a day. Take tincture of 20 (30) drops three times a day.

Echinacea for headaches. We take all parts of the plant and make a powder out of them. Mix the finished powder with honey. For 100 grams of echinacea powder, you need 300 grams of honey. All contents are thoroughly mixed and taken with tea three times a day. This tool helps to normalize sleep, calms the nervous system and lowers blood pressure.

Echinacea tea for flu and colds. Take the root of the plant and grind it. Now mix 1 teaspoon of the root and the same amount of echinacea leaves with three flowers of the plant. Pour the whole mixture with two cups of boiling water and leave for 40 minutes. Tea is taken in the amount of three glasses a day in the treatment of a disease, and as a prophylaxis - one glass a day.

Echinacea tincture for constipation or gastritis. We take 200 grams of stems along with leaves and flowers and fill them with two liters of vodka. Leave to infuse for 14-20 days dark room. During the infusion period, it is necessary to periodically shake the contents. After straining the finished tincture, it is taken three times a day, 20-30 drops before meals. The course of treatment is 1.5 weeks, after which they take a break for 3 days and again resume the course of treatment, and so one more time. This tincture can be used to treat diseases of the female genital organs, diseases of the kidneys or bladder, vasospasm and stomach ulcers.

echinacea tincture

Alcohol tincture of echinacea has a powerful effect on the human immune system. Regular use of such a remedy significantly increases the number of leukocytes, activates the phagocytic response, and can also inhibit the reproduction of pathogenic microbes. In the cold season, taking such a healing tincture will lengthen the periods between episodes. viral infections because it activates protective immune mechanisms. In addition, the unique components that make up echinacea will help get rid of inflammatory processes in the bladder, kidneys and ureter. It should also be noted that this wonderful tincture can be used to treat wounds for their speedy healing, as well as various boils and skin inflammations. It not only increases the action of histogenic phagocytes, but also promotes tissue repair.

To strengthen the children's body, modern pediatricians recommend giving children such a tincture. It is an excellent anti-cold remedy of natural origin. Side effects with prolonged use, echinacea tinctures are very rare. As a rule, it can be various allergic rashes and dizziness. In these cases, the tincture should be stopped immediately.

How to take echinacea? Experts prescribe such a remedy before meals (20-30 minutes) at least three times a day. Note that at the very beginning of treatment, the exact dose should not exceed 40 drops for an adult per day. In the following days, the maximum dosage is 60 drops. Children over 12 years old can take a tincture diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3, 5-10 drops 2 times a day.

The appropriate duration of the course of treatment is determined by the doctor, depending on the specific characteristics of the course of the disease and its severity. With good tolerance, the drug can be used in prescribed doses until a stable therapeutic effect is achieved. However, the maximum duration should not exceed 8 weeks. For external use, it is recommended to prepare a special solution. 40 drops of tincture should be diluted in 100 ml of sodium chloride. Such a tool is indicated as compresses, lotions, abdominal tampons and rinses.