Suckers – Elaeagnaceae.
Popular names: meadow thorn, dune thorn, pheasant berry, lagoon thorn, red blackthorn, sand berry.
Parts Used: Ripe fruits.
Pharmacy name: sea buckthorn fruits – Hippophae rhamnoides fractus (formerly: Froctus Hippophae rhamnoides).
Botanical description.It is a low to medium sized shrub that can also grow as a tree, sometimes reaching over 5 m in height. Its roots penetrate deep into the soil, creeping lateral ones depart from the main root, developing a large number of root offspring. The branches are splayed and prickly. Sea buckthorn leaves resemble willow leaves: they have a linear shape and silver-white pubescence on the underside. The flowers are inconspicuous, after pollination orange-red shiny fruits develop. They are ovoid, not often more than 1 cm in size, with a nut-shaped seed; tastes very sour, with an aromatic smell. The usual natural habitats of sea buckthorn are sand dunes near the sea, banks of rivers and streams, slopes. In the last time, it is increasingly grown in gardens and parks. Thanks to its root system, sea buckthorn is a good fixer for sands and landslides, it is often planted on slopes along streets and highways. Blooms in April; fruits ripen in September-October.Collection and preparation. Due to the splayed branches and sharp thorns, picking ripe fruits is a very laborious task. The following method is considered to be tried and tested: large branches are tied with a cord, bent within the radius of a bush, a cloth is placed on the ground under them and mature fruits are cut off with scissors. It is not recommended to tear off the fruits with your fingers: they are easy to crush, while valuable juice is lost. Then the fruits are processed into juice, puree or jam.
Active ingredients: from 200 to 900 mg% of vitamin C, other vitamins (provitamin A, B vitamins, vitamins E, F and P), minerals, organic acids, sugar, flavonoids, anthocyanin; fatty oil in the seeds. Therapeutic action and application. Fruits with such an abundance of vitamin C serve as a refreshing remedy for colds and diseases with an increase in temperature. Sea buckthorn juice is drunk on a spoon 3 times every day or mashed with sugar is prepared from it (1 part of juice and 1 part of sugar); puree give a teaspoon several times every day. Ready-made juice with sugar is also for sale.
Application in folk medicine. Where .sea buckthorn grows abundantly, the fruits are harvested for making juice, jam, jam or marmalade for long-term storage. In winter, all this can be consumed as a dessert or for preparing a refreshing drink at a high temperature.
Side effects are unknown.
Note. In Russian medicine, in addition, with great success, according to A. Khode, fatty oil prepared from sea buckthorn seeds is used for chronic skin diseases, against acne and for wound healing. It is also an effective remedy for bedsores and burns, including radiation (which they can prevent!).