Sour cherry (Cerasus vulgaris); common cherry
A tree of the rose family, 2.5–6 m tall. The leaves are glabrous, shiny, without glands on the petioles, elliptical or ovate, short-pointed, serrated. The flowers are large, bisexual, regular, 5-petalled, white, in umbel-shaped or cluster-shaped inflorescences. The fruit is a juicy dark red drupe. Blooms in April – May.
Distribution . Comes from the Balkan Peninsula. It is widely grown as a fruit tree in Ukraine.
Procurement and storage . Stems, fruits, young shoots, roots and leaves are used. Raw materials are harvested at different times: branches and leaves – in May; roots – in spring or autumn; stalks are collected together with ripe fruits. The peduncles are exported. They are dried in the shade in the open air or in dryers at a temperature of 60–70°. 40% of dry raw materials are obtained.
The plant is unofficial .
Chemical composition . All parts of the plant have a considerable set of physiologically active substances in quantities that have therapeutic and prophylactic value. The leaves contain citric acid, tannins, quercetin, coumarin, camedin and amygdalin; bark – tannins, citric acid, glycosides (fuscoflobafen, rubroflobafen), dyes; fruits – anthocyanins, sugars, tannins, pectin and coloring substances, ascorbic acid, vitamins B, PP, folic acid, inositol, more than 10 organic acids, compounds of copper and iron, in ionic form – compounds of potassium, magnesium, etc.
Pharmacological properties and use. The peduncles have diuretic and astringent properties, they are used for kidney stone disease, joint disease, edema and diarrhea. The fruits have an expectorant, laxative, diuretic and antiseptic effect, improve appetite and digestion, quench thirst in case of fever. Aqueous infusions of fruits have a sedative and anticonvulsant effect. Fresh or in the form of infusions, the fruits of the common cherry are used for inflammation of the respiratory tract, to reduce fermentation in the intestines, as a tonic for anemia and as a laxative for constipation. Fruits with milk give positive results when used by patients with arthritis. Syrup (Siripus Cerasi) is prepared from the fruits, which is added to various medicines to improve their taste. A decoction of young shoots is used for diarrhea, chronic colitis and in the complex treatment of intestinal atony, and a decoction of fresh leaves in milk – for jaundice. Alcoholic tincture or aqueous root extract is used to treat stomach ulcers. For external bleeding (injuries to the skin and mucous membranes, epistaxis), freshly crushed leaves or tampons from it are applied.
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – infusion of peduncles (1 teaspoon of dry crushed peduncles per 200 ml of boiling water) 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day;
a decoction of 30 g of dry, crushed fruit stalks in 1 g of boiling water, to which half a glass of cherry or raspberry juice is added, is drunk during the day for gout accompanied by uraturia.