common gooseberry
Shrub of various heights from the saxifrage family. Shoots with thorns at the nodes and rafts at the internodes. Leaves alternate, 3-5-lobed, glabrous or pubescent, without stipules. Brushes traditionally 1-3-flowered. Flowers bisexual, small, greenish or reddish. Stamens 5, pistil 1. The fruit is a false berry, round or oblong, white, yellow, green, red, purple or black, with a large number of seeds.
Medicinal raw materials are berries, leaves. Berries contain 6-12% sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose), 0.4-1.7% organic acids (citric acid prevails), 0.88% pectin, vitamins C (30-60%), B1, P , provitamin A, salts of iron, copper and phosphorus.
Gooseberries are a dietary product recommended for children and the elderly with metabolic disorders and obesity. Refreshing, choleretic and diuretic; used as a laxative for chronic constipation. Berries are used for anemia, frequent hemorrhages and skin diseases.
In folk medicine, a decoction of berries is taken for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as an analgesic and laxative, and also to increase urination. An infusion of the leaves is recommended for pulmonary tuberculosis.
Application
Decoction of berries: 1 tbsp. boil a spoonful of berries for 10 minutes in a glass of water, adding sugar to taste, drink a quarter cup 4 times every day.