Razorback prickly

Name: Barbed iron

Legumes – Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

Popular names: hare’s ear, hay thorn, women’s war.

Parts used: root.

Pharmacy name: harrow root – Ononidis radix (formerly: Radix Ononidis).

Botanical description. This semi-shrub reaches 30-60 cm in height. From a long, powerful tap root, erect, very prickly stems pubescent with a number of glandular hairs depart. The leaves are ternate, the leaflets are narrow, with a serrated edge. Due to its cluster-shaped foliate inflorescences with pink-red flowers sessile or arranged 1-3 on short peduncles, the steelwort is an outwardly very attractive plant. Blooms from June to August. Stalnik loves sunny, dry places on forest edges, along roadsides and edges of fields, and is often found on slopes and pastures.

Collection and preparation. Roots reaching a length of 50-100 cm are dug in the fall. This is not easy at all, because they sit very deep. After they are cleared of adhering earth, they should be cut lengthwise, so that later they can be dried in air or with artificial heating.

Active ingredients: essential oil, isoflavones (okonin, tripolirizin), onokol, tannin and sitosterol.

Healing action and application.Since ancient times, prickly harrow has been known in medicine as a diuretic. This use of it is preserved to this day: diuretic and so-called blood-purifying teas contain arborvitae root. However, more recently, there has been some skepticism regarding this remedy, since sometimes it is ineffective. It turned out that saponins are not always contained in the root of the harrow, and it is these components that mainly determine the diuretic effect. Perhaps the point here is in the method of preparation, since the other diuretic component of this remedy – the essential oil – evaporates with water vapor. If the decoction is obtained, as is often the case in the preparation of remedies from the roots, by prolonged boiling, then this substance will be lost. Despite all the difficulties, the root of the steelwork remains, in my opinion, a valuable ingredient in diuretic teas. The German National Health Service recommends tea from the thorn root also to increase urination in case of inflammation of the renal pelvis and bladder, also in case of urolithiasis and for its prevention, and calls edema contraindicated in heart and kidney failure. o Harrow tea: 2 teaspoons topped with chopped roots are poured into J/4 liters of boiling water and incubated for half an hour in a warm place. Enough 2 cups every day. Steel tea should be drunk only for a few days, as its effectiveness is quickly lost. After a short break, you can continue treatment. also for urolithiasis and for its prevention and calls edema contraindication in heart and kidney failure. o Harrow tea: 2 teaspoons topped with chopped roots are poured into J/4 liters of boiling water and incubated for half an hour in a warm place. Enough 2 cups every day. Steel tea should be drunk only for a few days, as its effectiveness is quickly lost. After a short break, you can continue treatment. also for urolithiasis and for its prevention and calls edema contraindication in heart and kidney failure. o Harrow tea: 2 teaspoons topped with chopped roots are poured into J/4 liters of boiling water and incubated for half an hour in a warm place. Enough 2 cups every day. Steel tea should be drunk only for a few days, as its effectiveness is quickly lost. After a short break, you can continue treatment.

Use in homeopathy. The homeopathic remedy Ononis spinosa is considered an excellent diuretic. Applying the original tincture 3 times every day, 10 drops, a good result is achieved with ascites and other accumulations of fluid in the body. This dosage also allows you to eliminate urinary retention in urolithiasis.

Application in folk medicine. Already Theophrastus in about the 4th century BC. e. reports the use of harrow root against bladder and kidney stones. We also find similar prescriptions in Dioscorides and Pliny. The Roman military doctor Galen, reporting on the increased excretion of urine, suggested that the steel worker grinds stones in the urine. In German herbalists, the steelmaker is mentioned for the first time in the 16th century. Modern folk medicine uses this medicinal plant to combat fluid retention, to stimulate metabolism with stones in the bladder and kidneys, with articular rheumatism and gout, with skin rashes and weeping eczema. There is no reason to fear side effects.

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