COLLECTION AND DRYING OF RAW MATERIALS
ORDINARY CHICORY (Cichorium intybus L.) For medicinal purposes, chicory roots are used, which are harvested in the fall, when the rosette of basal leaves begins to fade. The roots are dug up, shaken off the ground, the aerial parts are cut off with knives, quickly washed in cold running water, damaged, rotten parts are removed and laid out in the shade for drying. Thick roots are cut lengthwise, and long roots are cut across into several pieces. To renew stocks of raw materials, several well-developed specimens are left on the thickets. Dry in ovens or dryers at a temperature of 50-60°C, laying out a thin layer of 3-5 cm. The raw material has no smell, the taste is bitter.
PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
The plant has a sedative, astringent, choleretic, diuretic, antimicrobial, antihelminthic, anti-inflammatory properties, regulates metabolism, improves digestion, lowers blood sugar levels, somewhat enhances cardiac activity.
APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE
Common chicory is used mainly in folk medicine. Roots. Decoction (inside) – as a choleretic agent for diseases of the gallbladder, liver (including gallstone disease); with kidney disease (as a diuretic); to improve digestion, increase appetite; with gastritis, dyspepsia, constipation, enlarged spleen, helminthic invasion, diabetes, asthenia, anemia, hysteria, itching dermatosis (eczema, neurodermatitis, skin itching, pruritus, urticaria, seboroid dermatitis), psoriasis, vitiligo, baldness, furunculosis, acne vulgaris; as a sedative, diuretic, choleretic agent and for the purpose of regulating metabolic disorders in the body. Decoction (externally in the form of baths, lotions, dressings) – with itchy dermatoses, gout. In the form of slurry in Bulgarian medicine for the treatment of furunculosis. Aerial part. Infusion – as an appetite stimulant, improves digestion, diuretic, choleretic, astringent, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent; with gastritis, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, cholelithiasis, diabetes mellitus, nephritis, neurasthenia, hysteria. Infusion, decoction in the form of washings – for wounds, ulcers; in the form of lotions – with boils, eczema; in the form of compresses – for pain in the abdomen, inflammation of the glands. Juice – with anemia; as a calming agent for the central nervous system and tonic for the heart; externally – for the treatment of skin rashes, acne, boils, purulent wounds, pustular skin diseases and eczema, with diathesis in children. Flowers. Infusion, decoction – with neurasthenia, hysteria. Juice – as a choleretic agent. anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent; with gastritis, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, cholelithiasis, diabetes mellitus, nephritis, neurasthenia, hysteria. Infusion, decoction in the form of washings – for wounds, ulcers; in the form of lotions – with boils, eczema; in the form of compresses – for pain in the abdomen, inflammation of the glands. Juice – with anemia; as a calming agent for the central nervous system and tonic for the heart; externally – for the treatment of skin rashes, acne, boils, purulent wounds, pustular skin diseases and eczema, with diathesis in children. Flowers. Infusion, decoction – with neurasthenia, hysteria. Juice – as a choleretic agent. anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent; with gastritis, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, cholelithiasis, diabetes mellitus, nephritis, neurasthenia, hysteria. Infusion, decoction in the form of washings – for wounds, ulcers; in the form of lotions – with boils, eczema; in the form of compresses – for pain in the abdomen, inflammation of the glands. Juice – with anemia; as a calming agent for the central nervous system and tonic for the heart; externally – for the treatment of skin rashes, acne, boils, purulent wounds, pustular skin diseases and eczema, with diathesis in children. Flowers. Infusion, decoction – with neurasthenia, hysteria. Juice – as a choleretic agent. in the form of lotions – with boils, eczema; in the form of compresses – for pain in the abdomen, inflammation of the glands. Juice – with anemia; as a calming agent for the central nervous system and tonic for the heart; externally – for the treatment of skin rashes, acne, boils, purulent wounds, pustular skin diseases and eczema, with diathesis in children. Flowers. Infusion, decoction – with neurasthenia, hysteria. Juice – as a choleretic agent. in the form of lotions – with boils, eczema; in the form of compresses – for pain in the abdomen, inflammation of the glands. Juice – with anemia; as a calming agent for the central nervous system and tonic for the heart; externally – for the treatment of skin rashes, acne, boils, purulent wounds, pustular skin diseases and eczema, with diathesis in children. Flowers. Infusion, decoction – with neurasthenia, hysteria. Juice – as a choleretic agent.
DOSAGE FORMS, METHOD OF APPLICATION AND DOSES
♦ Decoction of chicory roots: pour 1 teaspoon of crushed raw materials into 200 ml of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, then filter. Take 1/4 cup 4 times every day. ♦ Infusion of chicory herb: 1 teaspoon of raw material is poured into 200 ml of boiling water, insisted, then filtered. Take 1/2 cup 2-3 times every day before meals. For external use, 20 g of raw materials are infused in 500 ml of boiling water. ♦ Chicory juice: squeezed from young shoots collected at the budding stage, cutting off the tops 15-20 cm long. Wash well, scald with boiling water, pass through a meat grinder, squeeze through a dense cloth and boil 1-2 min. For internal use, take 1 teaspoon with an equal amount of honey in 1/2 cup of warm milk 3-4 times every day. The course of treatment is 1-1.5 months.
APPLICATIONS IN OTHER FIELDS
Roasted roots serve as a substitute for coffee. In Latvia, the root is added to coffee, a cold drink is prepared from it with honey, apple juice and lemon, in Estonia – egg coffee. Fruit and berry tea is flavored with chicory. The roots can be a source of inulin, fructose, used for the production of alcohol (the yield of alcohol from chicory is higher than from potatoes, and its quality is better). Chicory is especially valued in the diet of diabetics. Widely used in the food industry in the production of sweets and cakes. Fresh leaves are edible, lettuce varieties of chicory with a high content of ascorbic acid have been bred. Salads are prepared from young shoots, leaves and stems. Young shoots are boiled, fried, baked in dough. In Belgium, it is baked with apples in wine, also with cheese. In European countries, leaf chicory (Witloof) is grown. It is added to salads side dishes for fried, steamed, stewed and baked fish, in raw soup. Honey plant, in wet weather and during rains, the flowers secrete a lot of blue nectar. Up to 100 kg of honey is obtained from 1 ha of chicory.
ELEMENTS OF AGROTECHNICAL CULTIVATION
Chicory is propagated by seeds. After harvesting the predecessors, peeling and main plowing are carried out to a depth of 25-28 cm. In the spring, the soil is harrowed and rolled before sowing. Sow in May – April, seedlings are found in 8-12 days. Crop care consists of cultivating row spacing and weeding.
TASTY TIPS
Chicory salad.
1. Rinse young shoots of chicory (200 g), cut into 2 cm pieces and stew with butter or margarine (20 g). Cool, put in a salad bowl and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.2. Cut the prepared chicory into thin rings, add finely chopped onion (10 g), sugar (3 g), lemon zest (5 g), chopped on a fine grater, apples (10 g), chopped on a coarse grater, salt, season with kefir ( 30 g).
Coffee drink made from chicory roots.
Wash the roots, cut into pieces, dry, fry until brown in a dry frying pan and grind in a coffee grinder. Use as a coffee substitute.