BEAR ONION —
Allium ursinum L.
The bulbous family is Alliaceae, or the lily family is Liliaceae
What does it look like? Perennial plant 15-30 cm tall. Its underground part forms a bulb, with a sharp characteristic smell of a volatile oil that contains sulfur – allicin. The stem is covered with smooth purple sheaths of leaves from below. There are 2-3 leaves, their smooth plate is lanceolate or elliptical, 10-20 cm long and 2-3 cm wide, with a short petiole. The inflorescence is a spherical, rather abundant multi-flowered umbel. Perianth leaves are white-green, sometimes pink. Blooms in June – July.
Where does it grow? In shady, damp deciduous forests, near streams, in lowlands. Widespread in the Carpathians, sporadically in Polissia, in the forest-steppe and in the northeastern part of the Steppe (Sum region, Okhtyrka; the outskirts of Kharkiv, Lubotyn, Zmiyev).
What and when are collected? Leaves — in May, bulbs (heads) — in autumn.
When is it used? Fresh leaves are used as an anti-scurvy remedy, especially for indigestion, lack of appetite, and diarrhea. In drops, it is used for atherosclerosis and for blood purification in case of boils, rashes on the body, to improve peristalsis of the intestines. For this, the leaves of the bear’s onion are infused for 14 days in half a liter of strong vodka and 10 drops are taken in water several times a day.
Green onions (Allium sera L.) and garlic have a similar effect , which, in addition to the antibiotic allicin, also contain vitamins B and C, iodine, quercetin, two substances that have a beneficial effect on the heart, enzymes, sugar, inulin, mucus, pectins, glycokinins; volatile oil, which is a diuretic and expectorant.
Inhaling steam from a mixture of crushed heads of garlic and chives quickly cures a runny nose; treats sore throats, relieves attacks of whooping cough.
Garden onion is a diuretic, vitamin (hychka), bactericidal, phytoncide, cosmetic (fresh juice is used against freckles, acne, warts, to increase hair growth), appetite stimulant, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, anti-hemorrhoidal, pain-relieving, wound-healing, which strengthens sexual function and drive (stimulates sperm production and accelerates menstruation in women), improves heart function in atherosclerosis and general well-being. It is used to improve digestion (with atony of the intestines, with spastic colitis), with diseases of the respiratory organs, liver (cirrhosis), rheumatism, urolithiasis, with skin diseases (fungus), trichomonad colpitis.
Volatile antibiotics – phytoncides – of seed garlic (Allium sativum L.) kill various microbes: typhus and paratyphoid bacteria, cholera vibrios, diphtheria bacillus, staphylococci and streptococci, delay the growth of the tubercle bacillus. Purulent wounds and those that do not heal well, lichen on the skin, psoriasis, warts, swellings after insect bites are treated with compresses made from crushed fresh heads of bear’s onion and seeded garlic. Aqueous extracts of garlic destroy the protoinases of malignant tumors, which explains the fact that among those who eat a lot of garlic, cancer is much less common.
It has been proven that some microbes eventually adapt to commonly used antibiotics: penicillin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and others, and their resistance to these antibiotics increases year by year. However, natural antibiotics, such as onions, garlic, St. John’s wort, Icelandic moss, eucalyptus oil, without suppressing beneficial microbes (bifidobacteria) in the gastrointestinal tract, as they did thousands of years ago, destroy harmful microbes, and increased! their resistance to natural antibiotics has not been observed.
The use of water infusion and alcohol tincture (10:4) of garlic heads – up to 30 drops three times a day internally – treats dysentery, hepatitis, chronic constipation, flatulence. Garlic lowers blood pressure, strengthens the force of heart contractions, slows down the pulse, and increases urination. Its use sharpens the appetite, increases the secretory action of the esophageal glands, improving digestion, and stimulates the action of the gonads. People with epilepsy, pregnant women, and kidney inflammation are prohibited from using garlic. For sclerosis, a breakfast consisting of 1 cup of tea infused with dried strawberry or blackberry leaves, a slice of plain bread with butter, a crushed clove of garlic and fresh grated celery root is useful.
Fresh crushed heads are used to treat trichomonad colpitis in women (insert tampons into the vagina for several nights in a row). For painful calluses, a pulp of a crushed clove of garlic mixed with powdered chalk and internal fat is applied at night. The callus should not be plucked, it should fall off on its own after a few applications. A four- to six-hour infusion of 2 crushed heads of garlic in 1 glass of milk (only for cows) is used for anthelmintic enemas, especially to remove pinworms.
To get rid of bad breath, you need to chew a little fresh parsley root or cane root (even dry).
And also pay attention to the articles Rapped onion, Sown garlic