Pharmacy name: horsetail herb – Equiseti herba (formerly: Herba Equiseti).
Botanical description.In early spring, brownish unbranched shoots with terminal spore-bearing spikelets come to the surface from a long branched rhizome. After a few weeks, barren green stems are found, which reach 20-30 cm in height and carry whorled lateral branches. These green shoots are the medicinal raw material that horsetail gives. In other, poisonous species of horsetail, unlike the field horsetail, spore-bearing spikelets are located at the ends of green shoots and are clearly visible until the beginning of summer. Horsetail can only be collected by yourself if you are completely confident in the ability to distinguish it from poisonous horsetails (refer to plant guides). Horsetail is very widespread; it grows on arable land and in crops, being a rather burdensome weed; willingly settles on the outskirts of meadows, on wastelands, along the edges of ditches and on slopes,
Collection and preparation. Only vegetative shoots are collected, and this must be done in early spring, when the shoots are juicy and bright green. The stems are cut just above the soil surface, hung in bunches in a ventilated area, and dried until the side branches become brittle, a sign of a well dried plant.
active substances. The most important components contained in raw materials are silicic acid (up to 10%), potassium salts, flavonoids and saponins.
Healing action and application. Horsetail is an integral part of many decoctions used for coughs, rheumatism, diseases of the kidneys and bladder, which also purify the blood. Since horsetail causes the excretion of excess water from the body without affecting its salt composition, it is very suitable in the treatment of inflammation of the kidneys and urinary tract. Horsetail tea helps with rheumatic pains, chronic cough and swelling of the legs associated with metabolic disorders. The German National Health Service does not recommend the use of decoctions containing horsetail products in heart or kidney failure.
- Horsetail tea: 1-2 teaspoons of chopped herbs insist in 1/4 a cold water for 12 hours or pour hot water and strain after half an hour. You should drink 3 cups every day for quite a long time.
The history of the use of horsetail is interesting. In ancient times, it was used as a hemostatic agent. In the Middle Ages, they were treated for coughs, gout, tuberculosis and urolithiasis. Later it was forgotten as a medicinal plant, its green summer shoots were valued only as “tin grass” for cleaning expensive pewter utensils. Sebastian Kneipp rediscovered it as a medicine. Horsetail began to be used as a mild diuretic, also for rheumatism and gout, as a lotion for poorly healing wounds, for gargling and mouthwash, and as an additive to baths. Flavonoids, together with saponins, act as a diuretic. Still, relying solely on horsetail for urinary retention and for removing water is not appropriate. Much more important is its beneficial effect on connective tissue: in the form of tea or as an additive to baths, it significantly increases the body’s resistance. This is mainly due to the effect of silicic acid, most of which enters the solution during the preparation of tea. The optimal result is achieved due to the combined action of all three of the above-mentioned chemical components. Therefore, horsetail is successfully used in the following cases: for baths that stimulate the metabolism in the skin and at the same time work well for circulatory disorders, for edema in fractures, for frostbite, abscesses and suppuration of bones (with open fractures). Since soluble silicic acid partially enters the skin during bathing, horsetail baths alleviate the condition in the majority of rheumatic diseases and metabolic disorders in gout. This is mainly due to the effect of silicic acid, most of which enters the solution during the preparation of tea. The optimal result is achieved due to the combined action of all three of the above-mentioned chemical components. Therefore, horsetail is successfully used in the following cases: for baths that stimulate the metabolism in the skin and at the same time work well for circulatory disorders, for edema in fractures, for frostbite, abscesses and suppuration of bones (with open fractures). Since soluble silicic acid partially enters the skin during bathing, horsetail baths alleviate the condition in the majority of rheumatic diseases and metabolic disorders in gout. This is mainly due to the effect of silicic acid, most of which enters the solution during the preparation of tea. The optimal result is achieved due to the combined action of all three of the above-mentioned chemical components. Therefore, horsetail is successfully used in the following cases: for baths that stimulate the metabolism in the skin and at the same time work well for circulatory disorders, for edema in fractures, for frostbite, abscesses and suppuration of bones (with open fractures). Since soluble silicic acid partially enters the skin during bathing, horsetail baths alleviate the condition in the majority of rheumatic diseases and metabolic disorders in gout. The optimal result is achieved due to the combined action of all three of the above-mentioned chemical components. Therefore, horsetail is successfully used in the following cases: for baths that stimulate the metabolism in the skin and at the same time work well for circulatory disorders, for edema in fractures, for frostbite, abscesses and suppuration of bones (with open fractures). Since soluble silicic acid partially enters the skin during bathing, horsetail baths alleviate the condition in the majority of rheumatic diseases and metabolic disorders in gout. The optimal result is achieved due to the combined action of all three of the above-mentioned chemical components. Therefore, horsetail is successfully used in the following cases: for baths that stimulate the metabolism in the skin and at the same time work well for circulatory disorders, for edema in fractures, for frostbite, abscesses and suppuration of bones (with open fractures). Since soluble silicic acid partially enters the skin during bathing, horsetail baths alleviate the condition in the majority of rheumatic diseases and metabolic disorders in gout. on frostbite, abscesses and suppuration of bones (with open fractures). Since soluble silicic acid partially enters the skin during bathing, horsetail baths alleviate the condition in the majority of rheumatic diseases and metabolic disorders in gout. on frostbite, abscesses and suppuration of bones (with open fractures). Since soluble silicic acid partially enters the skin during bathing, horsetail baths alleviate the condition in the majority of rheumatic diseases and metabolic disorders in gout.
- Bath with horsetail: 100 g of herbs insist for an hour in hot water; the resulting infusion is added to a bath filled with water. Ready-made extracts are also used.
My special advice. I believe, not only because Sebastian Kneipp was a staunch supporter of the use of horsetail in respiratory diseases, but also from my own experience, that this plant is most correctly used as part of cough infusions. The medicinal tea I had prepared, in which horsetail played an important part, I gave to patients of any age suffering from similar diseases, even asthmatics, and it invariably brought relief. This decoction can be used for prevention in the cold season, as it increases the body’s resistance. Sweetened with honey, it is quite tasty and can even be consumed as a homemade tea during the winter.
- Medicinal tea: Horsetail 10.0 Mallow flowers 10.0 Linden blossom 10.0 Plantain lanceolate 10.0 Fennel fruits 5.0 Elder flowers 5.0 Thyme 5.0
Two teaspoons of the mixture pour 1/4 liter of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes and strain. Best dosage: 2-3 cups every day. Sweeten with honey – not for diabetics! Use in homeopathy. The homeopathic product Equisetum hyemale is prepared not from field horsetail, but from fresh sterile stems of wintering horsetail (Equisetum hyemale L.), which grows in Europe and North America. Its chemical composition in action differs little from that of horsetail. Homeopathy uses the original tincture to increase the excretion of water from the body. In diseases of the kidneys and bladder (colic and stones), with irritation of the bladder and bedwetting, this remedy is prescribed in dilutions from D 1 to D6. Take several times every day from 5 to 15 drops.
Application in folk medicine. In folk medicine, horsetail tea is used for lung diseases, rheumatism and gout, for rinsing the mouth and throat, as a poultice for poorly healing wounds and for diseases of the urinary system. The method of making tea is described above. Horsetail does not give side effects.