A climbing shrub of the grape family with a thick trunk and long branching tendrils on the branches. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, rounded or pentagonal, 3–5 (7) lobed, rarely whole. The flowers are bisexual, rarely unisexual, or functionally pistillate, collected in panicles. The fruit is a fleshy juicy berry of various shapes and colors (from yellow-green to black-purple). Berries are collected in bunches. Blooms in May – June.
Spread. It is grown almost all over the territory of Ukraine, but mostly in the steppe and forest-steppe areas, in Transcarpathia, and in the Crimea.
Raw. Ripe berries and leaves are used. There is no single opinion on the timing of harvesting leaves: according to some sources, it should be harvested in May, according to others – in October, and preference is given to leaves that turn red when they die.
Leaves are not used in scientific medicine .
Chemical composition . Berries contain glucose (up to 20%), sucrose (5.5%), organic acids, tannins (3.4%), amino acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, aromatic substances, sterols (ergosterol, sitosterol, α-sitosterol), catechin , epicatechin, gallocatechin, ascorbic acid, vitamins of group B, C, PP, provitamin A (carotene), compounds of potassium, calcium, iron and phosphorus and other substances. The leaves contain sugars, organic acids, inositol, tannins, quercetin, carotene, choline, betaine, etc.
Pharmacological properties and use. Cultivated grape fruits are used in scientific and folk medicine. They have a versatile effect on the human body – tonic, diuretic, weakening and choleretic. When using them, metabolism increases, appetite increases, blood circulation and hematopoiesis improve, blood pressure decreases, and the acidity of gastric juice decreases. The use of berries is effective for anemia, cachexia, exhaustion of the nervous system, chronic bronchitis, emphysema of the lungs, liver diseases, spastic and atonic constipation, nephritis and kidney stone disease, and hemorrhoids. It is considered useful to use fresh fruits of cultivated grapes in the initial stage of pulmonary tuberculosis. A decoction of dried fruits is drunk to facilitate expectoration,
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – fresh berries on an empty stomach one and a half to two hours before meals three times a day for 4-6 weeks, starting with 1 kg and gradually increasing the amount to 2-3 kg per day;
decoction (100 g of dried berries per 200 ml of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes) half to a third of a glass 3–4 times a day;
dry leaf powder 1–2 g per dose three times a day for uterine bleeding.
Externally – infusion of leaves for rinsing (for sore throats) and lotions (for skin diseases);
leaf powder is sniffed for nosebleeds;
crushed fresh leaves are applied to purulent wounds and ulcers. The use of cultivated grape fruits is contraindicated in diabetes, obesity, peptic ulcer disease, heart failure with edema and hypertension, uremic condition, colitis accompanied by diarrhea, and chronic purulent processes in the lungs. Before the treatment, teeth are treated with fresh berries or canned juice, and during the treatment period, the consumption of other fruits and vegetables, fatty meat, milk, beer, alcoholic beverages and mineral water is limited. Their combined use increases fermentation processes and can cause a disorder of intestinal function.