pine; Horsetail family (Equisetaceae); horsetail
Immediately after the snow melts, in floodplain meadows, fields and gardens, you can see a strange plant, which consists of jointed stems, at the top of which there are oval cones – spore-bearing spikelets. These are spore-bearing shoots of horsetail. After the spores are shed, the stalks die, and in their place, jointed vegetative shoots of green color, resembling a miniature Christmas tree, grow. The height of the plant is 15-40 cm. This type of horsetail occurs throughout the territory of Russia and Ukraine, except for the desert zone; in fields, meadows, forest clearings, in forests, and as an evil weed in gardens.
The aerial part of the plant is used in medicine. It is harvested in June-August, plucked by hand, cut with a knife or mown with a scythe. After harvesting, extraneous plants are removed and the grass is dried in the shade in the open air, spread out on paper or cloth. The shelf life of raw materials is 4 years. Horsetail herb briquettes are sold in specialized pharmacies.
The aerial part of the plant contains up to 25% silicic acid, flavonoids, traces of alkaloids, tannins, resinous and bitter substances, organic acids, vitamin C (up to 190 mg%) and carotene.
Horsetail preparations have versatile properties. They are used as a diuretic, anti-inflammatory, hemostatic, general tonic, wound healing and astringent. Infusions and decoctions of the plant have a positive effect on heart failure, improve water-salt exchange. These agents are also taken for edema of various origins and exudative (wet) pleurisy. As part of various collections, horsetail is used to treat hypertension, gout, and accelerate wound healing.
In traditional medicine, the plant is used in all of the above cases. In addition, it is believed that the use of horsetail products helps with some malignant neoplasms, internal and external bleeding, gallstones and urolithiasis.
Horsetail infusions and decoctions should not be used for severe kidney damage, as they irritate the kidney tissue.
Decoction of grass . 4 tablespoons of raw materials per 200 ml of boiling water. Heat in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes, filter, wring out, bring to the original volume with warm boiled water. Take 1/2-1/3 cup 2-3 times a day an hour after meals.
Herbal infusion (external). 2 tablespoons of raw materials are placed in a thermos in the evening and poured with two glasses of boiling water. Insist overnight, filter. For rinsing, lotions, compresses and douching.