Walnut (Juglans regia); walnut; walnut
A monoecious plant of the nut family. A powerful, 10-25 (35) m tall tree with a spreading crown and a thick branched trunk covered with light gray longitudinally fissured bark. The leaves are large, alternate, odd-pinnate, with three to five pairs of oblong-ovate, pointed, glabrous on top, with hairy leaves on the corners of the veins below. The flower is unisexual; stamens – in drooping pink-green earrings, pistils – apical, single or collected by 2-3. The fruit is a false drupe. It blooms in April-May, the fruits ripen in September.
Spread. It grows wild in the mountains of Asia Minor, in the Caucasus and in Central Asia. It is grown as a fruit tree on the territory of Ukraine.
Procurement and storage . Leaves (Folia Juglandis regiae), green fertile (Cortex Juglandis regiae fructibus) and green, unripe fruits are used to make medicines. The leaves are collected, pinching them from the central petiole, in dry weather and after the dew disappears, and immediately dried, spreading in a thin layer and turning over from time to time. Blackened leaves are discarded. 23-25% of dry raw material is obtained. Fertilizers are collected during fruit harvesting. They are cut in half and dried in warm rooms or in dryers at a temperature of 30-40°. 20% of dry raw materials are obtained. Dry leaves and fruits are exported. Pharmacies do not release such raw materials. Green, unripe fruits are collected in the period of milk-wax ripeness, when the inner shell is still easily cut with a knife.
Chemical composition. Leaves and fruits contain flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, vitamins B1 , E, ascorbic acid (up to 3000 mg%), carotene (over 30 mg%), essential oil (0.06%), caffeic acid, trace elements, as well as coloring substance juglone (5-oxy-1,4-naphthoquinone). The kernel of nuts has 52-78% fatty oil, 9-20% protein, 13-20% carbohydrates, tannins and aromatic substances, vitamins and compounds of iron and cobalt.
Pharmacological properties and use .
Preparations from leaves.Hazelnut leaves have anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, astringent and anthelmintic properties, they can lower blood sugar, stimulate appetite, improve digestion and metabolism in skin diseases. Infusion of leaves is used internally for scrofula, atherosclerosis, gastroenteritis, diarrhea and irregular menstruation, as a tonic – for exhaustion, vitamin deficiency, scrofula and rickets, as an auxiliary – for diabetes, as well as for skin diseases caused by metabolic disorders ( chronic eczema, gout, etc.). Locally, an infusion or decoction of leaves is used for gargling in sore throat, stomatitis, gingivitis, loosening of the gums, periodontitis and candidiasis, for douching in baldness in women, as well as for baths and washing in polyarthritis, gout, rickets, scrofula and skin diseases (acne, rashes, boils, ringworm, eczema, skin tuberculosis). Products made from green fertilization are also used. It is only necessary to remember that products from leaves and fruits increase blood coagulation, and this is contraindicated for some patients. Fresh crushed leaves are applied to wounds and ulcers to speed up their healing. Often, walnut leaves are used in combination with other medicinal plants. Walnut kernels are recommended for patients with atherosclerosis, pulmonary tuberculosis, hepatitis and other liver diseases. Nuts with honey are useful for pulmonary tuberculosis. As a dietary product, nuts are used in cases of hypo- and vitamin deficiency, deficiency of iron and cobalt salts, after debilitating diseases. For hypertension, 100 g of walnut kernels with or without honey are consumed daily for 45 days. Patients with increased acidity of gastric juice are recommended to eat 25-100 g of walnut kernels every day. Use nuts in foodcontraindicated in intestinal diseases. Lacunae (“partitions”) of nuts also have therapeutic value. Thus, a 20% lacun tincture was effective in the euthyroid form of diffuse goiter and a mild form of thyrotoxicosis. Medicinal forms and applications.
Internally – infusion (20 g of leaves or seeds per 200 ml of boiling water) for a third of a glass 3 times a day; tincture (30 finely chopped green fruits per 1 liter of alcohol or vodka, infused in the sun for 14 days, strained) 1 glass 3 times a day for indigestion and pain in the stomach and intestines;
infusion on a glass of boiling water of 1 tablespoon of a mixture of walnut leaves, true burdock root, tall false root and common St. John’s wort, taken in equal amounts, drink 2-3 glasses a day for acne;
2 tablespoons of a mixture of walnut leaves, true burdock roots and three-color violet grass, taken equally, pour half a liter of boiling water, boil for 5 minutes, cool, strain and drink half a glass 4 times a day with a pronounced purulent nature of acne;
with night sweats, with tuberculosis, boil 1 tablespoon of a mixture of green seeds of walnuts, sage leaves, valerian roots (25 g each) and horsetail grass (50 g) in a glass of water for 15 minutes. and drink 3 glasses a day for 2-3 months;
1 teaspoon of a mixture of walnut leaves (20 g), cones of common hops and sage leaves (40 g each) is brewed with a glass of boiling water and drunk 2-3 glasses a day in case of excessive milk secretion in lactating women.
Externally – decoction of leaves (3-5 tablespoons of leaves per half liter of boiling water) for rinsing and douching;
250 g of leaves are boiled in 1 liter of water and added to the bath or used for washing;
2 tablespoons of a mixture of walnut leaves (25 g), chamomile flowers, sage leaves (15 g each), common oak bark and wild calico flowers (10 g each) brew 1 liter of boiling water and use for douching, baths and vaginal tampons with inflammatory diseases of the female genital organs, with baldness;
ointment for the treatment of wounds: 15 g of chopped leaves per 100 g of sunflower oil, infuse for 7 days, boil in a water bath for an hour, filter twice through cheesecloth, boil again for 30 min. in a water bath, after which 15 g of yellow wax is added.