Collection and preparation of celandine for further treatment

Author: Anatoly

Despite the abundance of various medications that can cope with almost any disease, traditional medicine recipes continue to be extremely popular. This is not surprising, because the effectiveness of herbs has been proven over the years, and all that is needed for treatment is to collect them at the right time, store them, and prepare the mixture correctly. In our article we will talk about celandine - one of the most multifunctional herbs. You will not only learn when to collect and how to dry celandine, but also become familiar with the most effective options for its use.

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Timing and features of grass collection

In the old days, people noticed that the best time to collect celandine coincides with the arrival of swallows. Perhaps they were right, because it was during this period that the bushes begin to bloom, and the content of healing juice in the stems reaches its maximum. For medicinal purposes, celandine is harvested from late spring to mid-summer, at the moment when flowering occurs. Considering the climate in different regions, it is impossible to say specifically when to collect celandine, but in any case, the main guideline for you is the beginning of the first flowering of the bushes.

Where to collect celandine

This plant is widespread and is often found in our gardens and summer cottages as a weed. Despite this availability, collecting celandine in residential areas is not the most optimal solution. For medicinal purposes, plants from forests, remote ravines and plains, that is, any places as far as possible from urban civilization, are best suited. Celandine does not like open areas, preferring shady places. It can also be found in swampy areas, where, thanks to the large amount of moisture, the bushes reach impressive sizes.

General contraindications to the use of celandine:

• increased sensitivity;
• bronchial asthma (BA);
• epilepsy;
• unstable angina;
• pregnancy and lactation;
• children's age (with caution).

Author: Ekaterina Solovyova

Please note that the information presented on the site is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended for self-diagnosis and self-medication. The selection and prescription of medications, treatment methods, as well as monitoring their use can only be carried out by the attending physician. Be sure to consult a specialist.

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In order for celandine preparations to bring you maximum benefit, the raw materials must not only be collected on time, but also properly dried and then stored. The big plus is that the herb can be prepared for future use, and fresh medicine can be prepared as needed. Sunny days are the best time to collect celandine. For cutting, it is good to use a sharp knife or sickle.

Be careful that the selected bushes should not have wilted parts, pale or diseased leaves - harvesting such plants is impractical. Choose bushes of medium height, the leaves of which have bright and rich colors. Do not forget that you are collecting herbs for treatment, so all parts of it must be absolutely healthy.

The selected plants are cut in one motion, but not at the very root, but a little higher from the ground. If you suddenly find yourself in a good place, but don’t have a knife with you, you can simply break off the stems. It is important to ensure that the juice gets as little as possible onto exposed skin, otherwise it can cause minor burns and irritation. It’s even worse if the juice gets on the mucous membranes, so wear safety glasses and gloves.

What parts are used for drying?

All parts of the plant are suitable for drying. Don’t forget that you can use absolutely everything, and in order not to waste time sorting through the grass in the future, it is better to divide it into different parts before drying. Separate the flower stalks and leaves, cut the stems into small pieces. You can also dry the rhizome of celandine. To do this, it is dug up, cleared of soil, washed and cut into small pieces.

How much and how to dry the grass

All parts of celandine can be dried hanging on gauze or any other porous fabric. The best place for drying is the attic of the house, but it can be done in other places. It is important that there is shade and a slight draft. Also, cut grass can be tied into small bunches and hung. Whatever drying method you choose, you need to periodically check the condition of the grass, removing rotten or simply suspicious parts from the total mass.

Well-dried plants should break, not bend. As soon as this state is reached (usually it takes about two weeks), the raw materials are sorted for further storage.

Storage

After drying, the grass is transferred to paper or rag bags, which are hung or folded in a dark room. Of course, the hanging option is optimal, because in this case the contents of the bags are evenly ventilated from all sides. But not everyone has this opportunity, so bags of raw materials can be placed in a wooden box, which is also stored in a dry and dark room. If you store celandine correctly, its healing properties will last for three years.

Dried celandine roots are wrapped in paper or loose fabric and stored in a dark, cool room. If the drying process is not disturbed, then the storage time of the roots without loss of healing properties is as much as five years.

Healing weed

Two years ago, he advised one woman to plant celandine in her garden and gave her the roots of this plant. A month later, when we met, I asked if the plants had taken root. Unfortunately, she didn’t even drop them off, but threw them away. Some friend of hers, seeing these plants, exclaimed: why do you need such a weed, throw it away! I remained silent and did not answer her. Since then, I have not given my plants to anyone for free.

If that friend knew about celandine, the medicinal properties of which have been known since ancient times, she would not have made such statements, trampled this grass under her feet, and pulled it out along with the weeds from the beds.

I knew before that celandine can work miracles, but one unpleasant incident made me realize this once again. A good friend of mine was discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of a severe form of tuberculosis. He was told that it was too late to do the operation, and his heart wouldn’t hold up. I responded to his letter and suggested celandine.

He took a quarter of a liter jar with this herb with roots and poured boiling water over it. The result was a cognac-colored decoction, which was infused for about two hours and filtered. I drank 0.5 glasses 3 times a day, but washed it down with regular store-bought kefir. This is already his invention. He drank it without limit, 4-5 bottles a day. He survived and was healthy for a long time, but died in a car accident.

Medicinal preparations

Celandine is a unique plant that can be used to get rid of a variety of diseases. Products prepared from its parts can be taken not only externally, but also internally, but before taking them you should consult your doctor. Do not forget that celandine juice contains toxic substances, so all prepared products have an extremely limited shelf life. We have selected several proven recipes, the effects of which you will see most quickly.

Ointments

The ointment according to this recipe helps get rid of warts and calluses. There are cases where, with its help, eczema, diathesis and even psoriasis were almost completely cured. But this ointment is used not only for treatment, but also for cosmetic purposes, perfectly eliminating freckles and unwanted pigmentation. To prepare this ointment you will need only two ingredients: Vaseline and celandine juice.

Instead of the latter, you can take dried leaves, having first crushed them well. The working proportion is 4:1, that is, for 4 parts of Vaseline you need 1 part of a celandine derivative. To ensure that the ingredients combine well, Vaseline is heated slightly in a water bath. The finished ointment is stored in the refrigerator in a glass or ceramic jar. The period of use of the ointment is two years.

Juice

The poisonous orange juice of celandine is not only a basic component of many recipes, but is also good on its own. For different diseases, juice is used in different proportions, so self-medication should be done with extreme caution. Fresh juice has remarkable antiseptic properties, so it is used to disinfect wounds as an alternative to iodine. Unlike it, it does not pinch the skin at all, so it can be safely used to treat children's wounds and scratches.

It is clear that fresh juice can be used in the summer, but your task is to prepare it for the winter. It's not that difficult to do. Choose young plants, they contain more juice than old ones. The bushes must be dug up from the roots, washed and cleaned. Next, all parts of the plant are sent to a meat grinder, and then the pulp is squeezed out through gauze.

The resulting juice should be poured into glass bottles or jars, closed with lids and placed in a cool place. A few days later, the lids need to be opened slightly to release the gases formed during the fermentation process. This is done several times at intervals of several days until fermentation stops. When the juice is ready, it is sealed in bottles and stored in a cool room. Can be used for two to three years.

Oil

Healing oil from celandine is mainly used externally to treat skin diseases. To prepare it you will need dried parts of the plant. The crushed leaves and stems are placed in a glass container and poured with heated oil. You can use ordinary refined oil, but it is best to take apricot or peach oil.

Oil is poured so that it covers the celandine by 2 cm. The resulting mixture is kept in a warm place for about an hour, and then transferred to a cool place for a week. After this time, the extract is filtered and mixed with pure oil in equal parts. The fruits of labor are best stored in a glass bottle in a cool place.

Decoctions

Dried celandine can be used in combination with other herbs to prepare decoctions for health baths. On the one hand, such procedures help you relax, and on the other, they produce an incomparable healing effect. To prepare the decoction, only the above-ground parts of celandine are used. For 4 liters of boiling water, take no more than 100 g of dried leaves. The broth is infused for about an hour, after which it is filtered and added to the bath. The water temperature in it should not exceed +38°C, and the duration of use should not exceed 20 minutes. Such baths are done every 4-5 days.

Tinctures

This tincture can be prepared from both dry and fresh raw materials. It gives good results when used for preventive purposes, for example, when weakening the body’s immune system and for general restoration of strength. The tincture is prepared in a glass jar, which is filled a quarter full with dried herbs (twice as much fresh herb is taken) and filled with boiling water to the top. Cover the jar with a lid, wrap it in a towel and leave it like that until it cools completely. The resulting infusion is filtered and stored in the refrigerator for three days.

The tincture can be taken by adults and children over 7 years of age. For adults 1 tbsp. A spoonful of tincture should be diluted in half a glass of water and drunk 20 minutes before meals. Children dilute 1 teaspoon of tincture in a third of a glass of water and also give it 20 minutes before meals. The tincture is taken three times a day for a week, after which a break is taken for 5 days. After 4 weeks of taking the tincture, you need to take a break for 2 months. To avoid aggravating the disease, be sure to consult your doctor before taking the tincture. He may prescribe you a different course of treatment.

Other useful uses of celandine

Since the healing power of celandine also lies in its above-ground part and roots, you can collect it not only to get rid of warts, papillomas or condylomas, but also from other problems associated with the condition of the skin and mucous membranes externally , and also use it with the permission of a specialist it orally or topically according to After all, this medicinal plant has antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antituberculosis, immunosuppressive, sedative, antispasmodic, analgesic, diuretic, choleretic, hypotensive, antiallergic effects, etc.

Based on this, celandine is used for:

• angina pectoris and hypertension;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver;
• gout, rheumatism, polyarthritis;
• periodontal disease;
• tuberculosis;
• various skin diseases;
• colpitis, endocervicitis, etc.

In city pharmacies you can find a ready-made medicinal product - Mountain celandine (made from the milky juice of celandine). As for SuperClean and SuperClean, these products have nothing to do with this plant and are cosmetic liquids based on alkalis. Be vigilant and attentive when choosing medications.

Adviсe

Tip 1

When going to harvest celandine, keep in mind that it is a poisonous plant. To protect yourself from the juice, be sure to use thick gloves, goggles and a respirator or medical mask.

Tip 2

Be sure to carefully shake the bush from insects and lumps of earth. This must be done very carefully so as not to damage the fragile leaves and stems. To carry grass, you can use any container - bags, bags, baskets or buckets. When laying medicinal plants, under no circumstances should they be compacted or squeezed too much.

How to make butter

This substance is widely used in cosmetology, as well as for the treatment of fungus and various dermatitis. It is best to buy ready-made oil at a pharmacy, but if you wish, you can make it yourself at home.

You will need:

• 250 g of fresh celandine leaves;
• 500 ml of base oil (can be olive, almond, unrefined sunflower).

Preparation:

1. At the beginning of flowering (this is mid-to-late May), you need to collect leaves and young flowers from the top of the plants.
2. Pour the base oil into a liter jar, place in a cold water bath and heat for 30 minutes from the moment it boils.
3. Mash the leaves with your hands and place in oil.
4. Warm everything up for another 30 minutes.
5. Set aside to infuse in a dark place for 3 weeks.
6. Strain and the oil is ready.

It is best to store in the refrigerator for up to three years.