Coltsfoot - useful properties, use in traditional medicine, contraindications. Use in oriental medicine

- (Tussilago), a genus of perennial herbs of the family. Compositae with unity, type M. and M. ordinary, or Kamchuzhnaya grass (T. farfara). Found in Eurasia to East. Siberia and the Himalayas, in the North. Africa and Sev. America (alien), on wet soils and on ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Coltsfoot- Coltsfoot. Mother and Stepmother, a type of perennial herbs (Asteraceae family). It is found in the temperate zone of Eurasia, in North Africa, North America. Grows in open, unshaded places. Yellow flowers appear before leaves, upper ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

COLTSFOOT Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

COLTSFOOT- MOTHER AND STEPMOM, mother and stepmother, and MOTHER STEPMOM, mother of stepmother, pl. no, female (bot.). Perennial grass with bright yellow flowers and large leaves, one side of which is fluffy, seeming warm when touched by the hand, to the face (mother!), the other ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

coltsfoot- And; and. 1. Herbaceous plant of this family. Compositae, with yellow flowers and large leaves, pubescent below, and smooth and cold to the touch above (used in medicine). Leaves mother and stepmother. 2. A decoction of the leaves or roots of this plant ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Coltsfoot- Mother and Stepmother: Mother and Stepmother (feature film of the Lenfilm studio, 1964). Mother and stepmother monotypic genus of herbaceous plants of the Asteraceae family ... Wikipedia

coltsfoot- noun, number of synonyms: 14 butterbur (5) water burdock (2) double leaf (7) ... Synonym dictionary

Coltsfoot- perennial herbaceous plant. Collection period May June. The juice from the leaves is used in the preparation of drinks. Dictionary of culinary terms. 2012 ... Culinary Dictionary

COLTSFOOT- MOTHER AND STEPMOTH, mother and stepmothers, wives. Perennial herbaceous plant. Compositae with leaves, smooth and cold above, and soft, pubescent below. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

coltsfoot mother and stepmother, mother and stepmother... Spelling Dictionary

Books

Mother and stepmother, chamomile from all diseases,. The healing power of plants has been known to people since ancient times. Recently, interest in natural medicines has increased significantly. Chamomile pharmacy and coltsfoot also ... Buy for 200 rubles
Coltsfoot. From a hundred diseases, Yuri Konstantinov. In folk medicine, coltsfoot is used as an expectorant, diaphoretic, emollient, antipyretic, enveloping agent. A decoction or infusion of leaves and flowers is drunk for coughs, bronchitis, ...

In the treatment of various diseases in the framework of official medicine and in the recipes of traditional healers, flower baskets and coltsfoot leaves are used, from which decoctions and infusions are prepared. The leaves and inflorescences of the coltsfoot are part of the nursing and diaphoretic herbal preparations. Fresh leaf juice is prescribed for both internal and external use. Leaf extract with syrup is used during rehabilitation therapy. Externally, coltsfoot is used in the form of lotions (prepare gruel from fresh leaves), compresses, rinses.

Medicinal properties

The leaves and flowers of the coltsfoot contain triterpene saponins (faradiol), flavonoids (rutin, hyperoside), bitter glycoside tusilagin, mucus, tannins, traces of volatile oils that act antibacterial and anticonvulsant, carotenoids (taraxanthin dye), silicon, apple and gallic acids, mineral salts, polysaccharides (inulin, dextrin). The flowers contain phytosterols. The leaves also contain sitosterol and the trace element zinc.

What is coltsfoot used for? Basically, as an expectorant, emollient, anti-inflammatory, mild diaphoretic, choleretic and weak antispasmodic. In scientific medicine, an infusion of coltsfoot leaves is prescribed for laryngitis, tracheitis, chronic bronchitis, bronchopneumonia, bronchial asthma, and bronchiectasis.

The mother-and-stepmother justified itself as an effective disinfectant for abscess and gangrene of the lungs. In folk medicine, in addition, an infusion of leaves is recommended for fever, catarrh of the stomach, intestines and bladder, with an inflammatory process in the kidneys, dropsy, general physical exhaustion; to increase appetite and improve digestion in chronic enterocolitis.

Raw coltsfoot juice is considered an effective diaphoretic and choleretic agent. Outwardly, an infusion of leaves is used for rinsing with sore throat, for douching with common diseases of the vagina, while enhancing the therapeutic effect by ingesting coltsfoot infusion in a tablespoon up to 6 times a day.

Application in official medicine

In the assortment of pharmacy products, you can find coltsfoot leaves, dry raw materials in packages of different weight values.

Use in traditional medicine

When the mucous membrane is inflamed tea from coltsfoot is useful for the upper respiratory tract: a tablespoon of flowers is brewed in a glass of boiling water and allowed to brew for a quarter of an hour. Drink warm 100 ml twice a day.
As an expectorant and enveloping agent in inflammatory processes of the upper respiratory tract, children and elderly patients are recommended a decoction: a tablespoon of coltsfoot leaves is poured into 200 ml of water and boiled over low heat. Let it brew for 10 minutes. Take half a cup three times a day (for adults, this decoction should be given with the addition of other herbs).
When coughing prepare an infusion from a tablespoon of the mixture (take all herbs equally) of coltsfoot leaves, black elder flowers, high and lime-colored mullein, rhizomes of couch grass and comfrey, brewed in a glass of boiling water. Withstand the infusion for at least 8 hours and take 50 g four times a day.
With liver diseases, rashes, spots on the body a tablespoon of the collection of coltsfoot flowers, rue grass and highlander (taken in proportions 5:3:10) is steamed in 200 ml of boiling water, let it brew for 10 minutes. Drink infusion in an amount up to 3 glasses per day.
With pulmonary tuberculosis, freshly squeezed juice from the leaves of the coltsfoot is drunk for a long time, 4 tablespoons per day.

When coughing, as an expectorant, advise infusion: 2 tablespoons of a mixture of coltsfoot leaves, large plantain and licorice root (in a ratio of 3:2:2), pour 400 ml of boiling water, let it brew. Take 0.5 cup three times a day.
With tonsillitis composition is useful: leaves of coltsfoot, raspberry and sage, calendula flowers (all herbs equally), chop, mix. Steam a tablespoon of this collection in 200 ml of boiling water, let it brew for half an hour, strain and drink 100 ml of infusion three times a day.
For whooping cough and bronchiectasis take equal parts coltsfoot leaves and pine buds. Grind the ingredients, mix well. Pour 2 tablespoons of the collection with a glass of cold water and let it brew for 2 hours. After boiling for 5 minutes, strain and drink 1/3 cup daily, observing the same intervals between doses.
With a cold syrup is recommended. To prepare it, you will need: 2 cups of coltsfoot flowers, lemon juice (from 2 lemons), 1.5 liters of water, 1.5 kg of sugar. Peel the inflorescences from the receptacle, rinse thoroughly, pour boiling water over. Insist for a day. After the infusion, strain, pour the juice of 2 lemons into it, add granulated sugar and cook until it thickens. Pour the warm syrup into jars and store in a dark, cool place. For colds, add to tea, milk.
As diuretic infusion helps: prepare a collection of coltsfoot leaves, raspberries and oregano herbs (in a ratio of 2:2:1). Pour a tablespoon of this mixture in a thermos with 200 ml of boiling water and leave overnight. Strain the infusion. Drink hot before bed.
With duodenitis recommend taking coltsfoot with honey. Boil a tablespoon of dry coltsfoot leaf in 200 ml of boiling water. Allow to cool slightly, strain, add a tablespoon of honey. Reception up to three times a day, a tablespoon.
For diseases of the bladder mix a dry leaf of coltsfoot, bearberry and lingonberry (take equal parts of each herb). Brew and drink like regular tea.
Cough remedy: 28 g each of coltsfoot leaves, fennel, veronica and 14 g of orris root. Mix the herbs, steam 3 tablespoons of the collection in 4 cups of boiling water, let it brew for 2 hours, strain and take a tablespoon every two hours. You can add some honey.
Remedy for sore throat and hoarseness: 42 g of coltsfoot leaves, 56 g of marshmallow root, 28 g of licorice root, 14 g of violet root. Mix all the ingredients, steam 3 tablespoons of the herbal mixture in 4 cups of boiling water, let it brew for a quarter of an hour, then strain and bring to a boil again. Sweeten with honey and drink 2 cups daily.

Lotions with fresh juice (or crushed leaves of coltsfoot) treat purulent wounds, ulcers, abscesses.
With hair loss and dandruff, accompanied by itching of the scalp, a strong decoction of coltsfoot and nettle leaves is recommended for washing (4 tablespoons of each herb per liter of water).
With erysipelas, the affected areas are sprinkled with powder from the leaves of the coltsfoot.
For douching, a decoction is prepared from the leaves of the coltsfoot at the rate of 50 g of raw material per liter of water. Boil the broth for 5 minutes, strain, cool to the desired temperature.
For headaches, fresh coltsfoot leaves are applied with the smooth side to the forehead and temples.
With rhinitis, the juice of fresh leaves is instilled into the nose.
For colds, inhalation with coltsfoot and chamomile helps. A teaspoon of coltsfoot leaves and 2 teaspoons of chamomile flowers pour 0.5 liters of boiling water, boil for a couple of minutes, let cool to the desired temperature. Breathe over herbal steam for about 10 minutes.
When mastitis begins, compresses are recommended from the leaves of the coltsfoot, soaked in hot milk.
With bronchial asthma in children, it is advised to pour 40 dry leaves of coltsfoot with 0.5 liters of vodka. Leave the raw material overnight. On the first evening, put the leaf soaked in vodka on the back of the child. The next day, attach the sheet to the chest. So alternate treatment for more than a month.
With thrombophlebitis, brew 3 tablespoons of chopped coltsfoot grass in 200 ml of boiling water, let it brew for half an hour, then strain. Use infusion for compresses.
Bath with coltsfoot
200 g of flowers and leaves of coltsfoot pour 3 liters of boiling water, boil the broth for a quarter of an hour, let it brew, strain and add to a full bath.

Use in oriental medicine

In Chinese medicine, coltsfoot flowers ( quan dong hua) are used to treat a wet cough, accompanied by copious sputum; to activate the lungs.

In scientific research

Nicholas Culpeper in his herbal (The Complete Herbal, 1653) pointed out that "... fresh leaves, juice or syrup from coltsfoot are suitable for the treatment of hot dry cough, wheezing and shortness of breath." Also, according to the notes of a British physician, coltsfoot remedies help with fever, erysipelas, burns and blisters.

The pharmacological and phytochemical aspects of the study are the aim of the scientific work of a group of Chinese scientists (Li K.Y., Tsang T.Zh. and others).

The medicinal potential of the mother-and-stepmother is devoted to the article by Karomatov I.J., Ibatov Kh.B., Amonov M.

The composition of water-soluble polysaccharides contained in the leaves of the coltsfoot and the significance in antiallergic therapy was studied in the work of Korzh A.P., Guryev A.M., Belousov M.V. and etc.

In cooking

The coltsfoot flowers are edible. They are added to salads, honey is insisted on them. Dried flowers are added to the dough for pancakes or fritters, in pastries. Young leaves of coltsfoot are added to soups, salads, stews, after boiling them to get rid of bitterness. Dried and fresh leaves are used in herbal teas.

Carrot salad with coltsfoot leaves

For the salad you will need: 50 g of fresh carrots, 30 g of coltsfoot leaves, 30 ml of kefir, salt to taste. Grate the carrots, rinse the coltsfoot leaves thoroughly under running water, chop, mix with carrots, season with kefir or yogurt without additives and salt.

Sauerkraut and coltsfoot salad

Required products: 300 g of sauerkraut, 100 g of young leaves of coltsfoot, 40 ml of vegetable oil. Rinse the leaves of the coltsfoot, finely chop, mix with sauerkraut and season with vegetable oil.

Soup with coltsfoot leaves

For the soup you will need: 100 g of fresh coltsfoot leaves, 200 g of potatoes, salt to taste, sour cream for serving. Cut the potatoes into slices, rinse the leaves of the coltsfoot well and chop finely. Boil potatoes until half cooked, add coltsfoot leaves, bring to a boil, remove from heat and let the soup brew. Salt to taste and serve with sour cream.

Honey with coltsfoot

Preparing such herbal honey is simple: separate the inflorescences of the coltsfoot from the cups, disassemble the inflorescences-baskets. Pour the prepared flower mass into a sterilized glass container and pour liquid honey to the top. Infuse honey in a warm place, on a windowsill well lit by sunlight, etc. Soak honey for 6 weeks. Then strain into a separate container and store in a cool place.

Herbal lollipops with coltsfoot

Ingredients: 15 cups of coltsfoot leaves, 5 cups of water, 450 g of sugar, 2 cups of corn syrup, 3 tablespoons of butter, a pinch of baking soda, a tablespoon of vegetable oil.

Rinse the leaves thoroughly, put in a saucepan, pour water. Bring to a boil, cook for 3 minutes, then add sugar, corn syrup, butter and boil the mass over low heat until a drop of syrup thrown into cold water hardens into a tight ball (the so-called sugar syrup test). Remove from heat, add soda, mix and beat with a mixer until a thicker and more viscous consistency. Lubricate a mold or a deep frying pan with vegetable oil and put the candy mass into it for solidification. Frozen candy layer split into pieces. These lozenges help relieve sore throats and coughing fits and are a great natural treat.

Coltsfoot Wine by Monica Wilde

Required: 5-liter container filled with coltsfoot inflorescences, 5 liters of water, juice and zest of two oranges and one lemon, wine yeast (bag), yeast nutrition, 1 kg of sugar (for dry wine) or 1.6 kg of sugar (for semi-sweet wine).

Boil water, add sugar, cook over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour orange and lemon zest into hot syrup and cool to 21 0. Add coltsfoot flowers, citrus juice, wine yeast and top dressing to the cooled syrup. Stir, cover tightly and leave in a warm place for a week. Stir daily. After a week, strain into a fermentation bottle. Keep the wine in a warm place for 3 months. After that, carefully (without lifting the sediment from the bottom), pour into a bottle, hold for another 2 or 3 months. Then bottled.

Sorbet from French chef Marc Veyrat (Tussilago Flowers Sorbet Recipe from Marc Veyrat)

To prepare an exquisite recipe, you will need products: 30 fresh coltsfoot inflorescences, 125 g of sugar, 400 ml of mineral water, a little lemon juice, half the protein of one large egg.

Grind the inflorescences into a crumbling flower mass. Separate the flowers from the sepals. Boil water with sugar, add lemon juice. Pour coltsfoot flowers into boiling syrup, boil for 2 minutes. Strain through a sieve and let the flower syrup cool. Then add the egg white and beat thoroughly. After that, cool the sorbet in the freezer or ice cream maker. If the sorbet is prepared in the freezer, it must be periodically removed from the refrigerator and whipped to form the desired structure.

When serving, you can serve sorbet with fresh coltsfoot flowers and caramel threads.

Use in cosmetology

Emollient herbal cream for dry skin

Ingredients: tablespoon of coltsfoot extract, 1 tablespoon of lanolin, half a cup of olive or corn oil, 1 tablespoon of fresh psyllium juice.

Mix lanolin and oil, stirring, gradually add plantain juice. Add coltsfoot extract, bring everything to a homogeneous state with a mixer or in a blender.

Face masks with coltsfoot

Mask for oily skin

Pour 2 tablespoons of dried and finely chopped leaves of coltsfoot with boiling water until gruel. Heat the mixture over low heat and let cool. Such a mask gives an anti-inflammatory effect, evens out the functioning of the sebaceous glands.

Mask for normal skin

0.5 cups of fresh stems, 0.5 cups of kefir. Rinse the leaves, grind to a mushy state, mix with kefir. Apply a face mask. Wash off with warm water after a quarter of an hour.

Mask for dry skin

2 tablespoons of finely chopped coltsfoot leaves pour 200 ml of hot milk, let it brew, mix thoroughly, apply the mask on clean face skin. Wash off with water after a quarter of an hour.

For problematic skin, rashes, the following cosmetic recipe is effective. Steam 2 tablespoons of finely chopped coltsfoot leaves in 200 ml of boiling water and keep in a water bath for at least 5 minutes. Allow to cool, strain and mix the infusion with 2 tablespoons of vodka. Use this "lotion" to wipe the cleansed skin of the face, twice a day.

Wrinkle mask

3 tablespoons of crushed coltsfoot leaf pour 100 ml of hot water. Keep the infusion for a quarter of an hour, then strain. Select 2 tablespoons of infusion, combine with 2 tablespoons of sour cream, bring to a homogeneous state, apply on clean face skin, for 20 minutes. Wash off the mask first with warm water, then with cool water.

Hair rinse with coltsfoot

Useful coltsfoot for hair. To improve and strengthen them, prepare a decoction: burdock leaves and coltsfoot (in a ratio of 1: 1) pour water and boil in a water bath for 20 minutes. Rinse washed hair with warm decoction.

Bath for nails

Dissolve a tablespoon of sea salt in a glass of coltsfoot infusion. Keep your nails in this infusion for 10 minutes. Then gently wipe the nails dry and smear with a nourishing cream.

If the nails exfoliate, it is useful to make a mask: mix a teaspoon of any hand cream with a teaspoon of ground red feather and coltsfoot juice. Keep the mask on the nails for 5 minutes, then rinse.

Other uses

Dried and burned to an ashy state, coltsfoot leaves are used as a substitute for ordinary kitchen salt if it needs to be excluded from the diet due to a certain diet, etc.

Toothache is relieved by smoking special cigars made from powdered coltsfoot leaves. The smoke of such a cigar must be held in the mouth.

The coltsfoot plant is one of the most common, widely known and popular, its appearance is familiar to almost everyone. Many owners of summer cottages fight it like a malicious weed, not realizing that they are destroying a useful medicinal plant. We offer you to get acquainted with its medical properties, contraindications for use, as well as learn some interesting facts.

Description

The coltsfoot plant is a perennial member of the Asteraceae family, a relative of the beautiful garden flower, the aster. Indeed, if you look closely, the sunny yellow small flower of the plant is very similar to the beautiful red, pink or white aster head. The features of the coltsfoot as a representative of the flora are as follows:

Long creeping rhizome.
There are two types of shoots. Flower-bearing flowers are formed in early spring, their height is no more than 30 cm, at the end of each there is a head - a flower. After flowering, these shoots immediately die off.
Vegetative - the second type of shoot, leaves are located on them. Formed some time after the completion of flowering.
The sheets are very unusual, on the inside soft, pleasant to the touch, on the outside - smooth, cold. The parties refer to each other as "mother" and "stepmother" respectively.
The shape of the leaf is rounded, at the ends there are characteristic notches, the size depends on age. Mature leaves often reach 20 cm in diameter. Color - rich green.
The flower is a basket of bright yellow color, reaches a diameter of 2.5 cm. It is with their flowers that the coltsfoot plant and the dandelion are very similar, but the second has a larger diameter.
The fruit is a seed.

It is one of the amazingly prolific, for the season only one bush is able to produce almost 20 thousand seeds, which themselves have good germination.

Name

Consider why the plant was called coltsfoot. There are several sad legends explaining this strange name.

In ancient times, a man left his family for another woman, leaving his wife and daughter with beautiful golden hair. But the new wife, tormented by jealousy, decided to destroy the child, lured the girl to a cliff and threw her down. The mother, sensing that her child was in danger, ran to the ominous place, but was late - the girl could no longer be saved. In desperation, she rushed at the killer, and both of them fell down, not unclenching their deadly embrace. The next morning, a huge number of unusual plants appeared at the cliff, one half of the leaf symbolized maternal love, the other - stepmother's jealousy. And the sunny yellow flowers gave rise to associations with the blond hair of the deceased girl.

Another legend explaining the origin of the name of the plant coltsfoot is as follows. One woman had a daughter, in which she was also an unloved stepdaughter. Fate took away her own child from her, so the unfortunate mother spent many hours at the cemetery, stroking the ground on the grave. So the plant grew, one half of its leaves was warm, like a mother's love for her own daughter, the second - cold, like a woman's indifference to her stepdaughter.

Spreading

We continue the description of the coltsfoot plant by indicating the places where it can be found. There are many of them, primarily sun-drenched glades, ravines, river banks. The plant is also found on forest edges, summer cottages, fields, meadows, preferring wet clay soils without turf. This natural healer grows in Western Europe, Siberia, Asia, and is also found on the African and North American continents.

Peculiarities

The medicinal plant coltsfoot is interesting in that in the spring (mid-March - early April), flowers first appear, and then leaves. For this feature in the UK, the flower is called "the son before the father." The plant has a powerful root that goes into the ground for a meter, develops at a very high speed, so it can become a real disaster for fields and gardens, displacing cultivated plants. Sometimes the mother and stepmother is called the first herald of spring, because modest yellow flowers begin to decorate the earth, barely freed from snow.

It grows in families, so the meadow is almost always strewn with yellow baskets: if one flower has already faded, then the second one is just starting to bloom. After that, like a dandelion, the plant scatters seeds located on fluffy villi.

Leaves and inflorescences are used as medicinal raw materials; it is recommended to collect the latter in July, without waiting for them to grow large and coarsen. The resulting raw material should be dried in the fresh air, avoiding exposure to direct sunlight, periodically turning over.

Medicinal properties

The use of the plant for medical purposes began in ancient Greece and Rome. Since these ancient times, it has been known that the gift of nature helps to cope with the symptoms of bronchitis and alleviate the course of bronchial asthma. Hippocrates and Avicenna used it in their work.

In Latin, the coltsfoot plant is called Tussilago farfara L., which means "healing cough." The name very accurately characterizes the specifics of the perennial, its flowers really allow you to quickly get rid of throat diseases, including cough, both dry and wet. But that's not all. The plant has such an extensive list of medicinal properties that it is used not only in traditional medicine, but also in quite traditional medicine. There are several main effects:

disinfectant action.
Expectorant effect.
Due to the content of tannins in the composition of the leaves, the plant prevents the growth of pathogenic microorganisms.
Essential oils are good for the heart.
The plant is used for pathologies of internal organs: kidneys, bladder, intestines, stomach.
The leaves of the plant are applied to wounds and burns for their speedy healing.
The healing flower will help with increased fatigue, drowsiness, overwork.

Sometimes coltsfoot as part of complex therapy is used to treat a wide range of diseases of the throat, oral cavity, and purulent infections. However, it is important to remember that, having consumed a large amount of the drug, it is impossible to speed up getting rid of the disease, but it is very easy to harm yourself. Therefore, the dosage should be strictly observed and, in case of disputes, seek the advice of a medical specialist.

Contraindications

The coltsfoot medicinal plant has several contraindications that should be taken into account by everyone who decides to improve their health and well-being with its help. Who should not eat flowers and leaves?

Pregnant women and young mothers during lactation.
Children under 3 years old.
With pathologies of the liver (hepatitis, cirrhosis).
With constant violations of the menstrual cycle.
Cases of individual intolerance.

Also, doctors do not recommend extending the course for more than 1.5 months, because after regular intake of coltsfoot grass, glycosides accumulate in the body and begin to poison it. The use of the plant in conjunction with antipyretic drugs is possible only after agreement with the physician.

Possible side effects

When properly taken in compliance with the dosage, coltsfoot rarely has a negative effect on a person's health. However, the following side effects are possible:

Chair disorder.
Vomiting and nausea.
Cramps in the abdomen.

Most often they occur when using a medicinal plant in unreasonably large doses. In this case, the reception is immediately terminated.

Best Recipes

Let's get acquainted with the most useful recipes from the piggy bank of folk wisdom, which will help you use the healing properties of the coltsfoot plant with maximum benefit. You can quickly get rid of a cough with the help of this remedy: pour a glass of boiling water 1 tsp. leaves of the plant, insist for 30 minutes. Drink the resulting drink three times a day for 1 tbsp. l. 10 minutes before meals. After 2-3 days, only memories will remain from coughing.

Such an infusion will help to normalize the acidity of the stomach: 20 g of dried flowers are taken for 1 liter of boiling water, the time for infusion is 60 minutes. Next, the agent is filtered with gauze, taken every 6 hours, 100 ml.

With a choking cough, you can use the smoke from the plant. To do this, crushed dry grass and leaves are poured into a hot frying pan, and a person suffering from a cough inhales the resulting smoke. A 2-3 minute treatment will bring relief almost immediately.

Fancy Pasta

Coltsfoot is a useful plant that can also be eaten, surprising the household with an unusual dish, the ingredients of which they will never guess. So, for cooking you will need:

Apple.
Butter - 2 tbsp. l.
Coltsfoot flowers - ½ cup
Sugar - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - a little, on the tip of a knife.

The apple should be baked in the oven, then chopped to a puree state, mixed with butter, flowers, sugar, add cinnamon. The result is a sweet paste that can be spread on bread or eaten as jam.

In conclusion, we offer you to get acquainted with a selection of fascinating facts about an amazing plant:

The coltsfoot is the emblem of pharmacies in Paris.
For medical purposes, the root of the plant was also previously used, but now only the ground parts are used.
The duration of flowering is almost 40 days, which is a real record for the first spring flowers.
The mother-and-stepmother plant is a honey plant, and at the same time it is very useful, it is it that helps the hardworking inhabitants of the hive to wake up. The honey productivity of the flower is low, but the problem can be solved due to a large number: often bright yellow baskets decorate meadows and fields, giving the bees the opportunity to collect the required amount of nectar.
This representative of the flora is also a natural barometer that allows you to predict the weather.
The plant grows very well on fires, uses ash as a fertilizer.
In the old days, the flower even had its own day - April 10th. It was believed that potions prepared from raw materials plucked that day had magical properties.

We examined the features of the appearance of an amazing inhabitant of meadows and ravines, learned the history of the origin of the coltsfoot plant, its medicinal properties.

Update: October 2018

Coltsfoot (in the description of the composition of dosage forms you can find the Latin name Tussilago) belongs to a monotypic genus of herbaceous perennial plants from the Asteraceae family.

It blooms with yellow flowers, located on low flowering shoots, even before the blooming of broad leaves, smooth on one surface, and rough on the other. Flowering season is early spring (April).

Flowers and leaves have medicinal properties. A concentrated extract is obtained from plant materials, and also used in dried and fresh form.

It grows in Eurasia, Eastern Siberia, North Africa and North America, in the mountainous areas of Central Asia and South Siberia. Favorite places - areas free of turf, near water bodies, in meadows, glades, along roads.

The chemical composition of the plant

The active chemical composition determines the medicinal properties of coltsfoot:

Healing properties mother and stepmother

Indications for use

Raw materials and herbs of coltsfoot, the properties of which have long been studied, are used as auxiliary therapeutic agents in the treatment of the following groups of diseases:

Inflammatory diseases of the respiratory organs: bronchitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, asthma.
Acute respiratory diseases viral nature, including influenza.
Diseases of the gallbladder, liver and biliary tract, pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, urinary system, stomatitis.
CVS diseases: ischemic heart disease, hypertension 1-2 degrees, atherosclerosis, inflammation of the superficial veins of the lower extremities.
Diseases of the skin and its derivatives: burns, boils, purulent wounds, inflammatory rash, erysipelas, diathesis, scrofula, alopecia ().

Treatment with coltsfoot drugs

Tea

For one tsp dry flowers, take 250 ml of boiling water, pour raw materials and cover, let it brew for 10 minutes. Helps with coughs and also helps to thin sputum and excrete it. Take 100 ml twice a day.

Infusion

Promotes the restoration of the body during the period of illness;
Reduces high blood pressure;
Reduces cholesterol formation;
Helps relieve muscle spasm of internal organs with cholecystitis, gastritis;
Used as a mild expectorant;
Helps with sweating feet, armpits, face;
Effective for inflammation of the veins, wounds, boils, abscesses, shingles;
Helps to cure inflammation in the throat and intestines.

1 tbsp dry, pre-chopped leaves, brew 250 ml of boiling water, leave for about 40 minutes, strain. Inside: take three tablespoons. before meals four times a day. Externally wipe the affected areas or make compresses with infusion. In the treatment of the throat, rinsing is effective, and for the treatment of the intestines, enemas with infusion are made.

Decoction

1 tbsp dry raw materials (leaves) pour 250-300 ml of boiling water and boil over low heat for about 10 minutes, cover and leave for half an hour. Helps with diseases of the respiratory system and ENT pathology, scrofula, general weakness. Drink one tbsp. before meals three times a day.

Strong decoction

2 tbsp. dry raw materials of coltsfoot and dioecious nettle are poured with boiling water (300 ml), boiled for about 10 minutes over low heat, filtered and cooled. Effective for oily scalp and hair loss. Rinse the hair with the resulting decoction after washing.

Applications

A fresh leaf of the plant is rubbed to a mushy state and applied on a sterile gauze to a problem area (corns, erysipelas, inflammatory foci on the skin, inflamed veins).

Inhalations

1 tbsp brew a mixture of dry leaves and flowers with boiling water in a volume of 200 ml, cover with a towel and breathe over the infusion. Accelerates recovery in bronchopulmonary pathology. You can not do inhalation at elevated body temperature.

Fresh Juice

Effective in the treatment of infectious rhinitis. Juice is squeezed out of fresh leaves of the plant and one or two drops are instilled into each nasal passage 3 times a day. Acne is also treated with juice, lubricating the affected skin 3 times a day.

Syrup

Recipe 1. Freshly squeezed plant juice is mixed with powdered sugar in a ratio of 2:1. Stored in the refrigerator. Helps in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia. Take 1 tbsp. five times a day before meals.
Recipe 2. Fresh leaves with a layer of 1 cm are placed on the bottom of thick-walled metal enameled dishes, a layer of sugar 1 cm is poured on top. The layers are repeated until the dishes are completely filled. Close with a tight lid and insist 3 weeks in the cellar or refrigerator. Leaves and sugar should become a homogeneous green mass, which is mixed with honey (2: 1 ratio). Used for the treatment of tuberculous caverns: 1 tbsp. three times a day before meals.

Foot baths

Brew two handfuls of dry raw materials of coltsfoot with boiling water in a volume of 2 liters, leave for 5 minutes and take a bath for 20 minutes without filtering the raw materials. Contribute to the treatment of SARS.

Alcohol infusion

Broth coltsfoot diluted with vodka in a ratio of 4:1. Wipe the skin with infusion 3-5 times a day. It is indicated for the treatment of pustular skin lesions, boils, acne (see).

Powder

Dry leaves of the plant are ground into a powder, which is used:

for oral administration, 1 g three times a day, drink hot milk. Helps in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory system;
externally: sprinkle inflamed areas 2-3 times a day. Effective in getting rid of diathesis, sweating feet, erysipelas, furunculosis.

leaf compress

Fresh leaves of the plant are poured with hot cream and the raw material is allowed to soften.

Helps to warn at its first signs (applied warm to the mammary gland).
Reduces the severity of cough (warm leaves are placed on the chest, covered with a towel on top).

Mother-and-stepmother contraindications

Healthy people should not take coltsfoot for longer than 4-6 weeks in a row. The healing properties of coltsfoot are known to everyone, and few know contraindications. The plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (toxicity has not been fully studied), therefore it is contraindicated in:

pregnancy;
breastfeeding;
severe liver disease;
Individual intolerance.

In Germany, restrictions have been placed on the sale of mother and stepmother after one case of misuse of this plant. The nursing mother drank tea with her mother and stepmother, which led to the death of the baby from liver damage.

Side effects

Today, many people turn to alternative methods of treatment without first contacting a doctor, examination, establishing an accurate diagnosis and believe that if you take a medicinal plant, it is safe and does not have side effects. It's a delusion. Folk remedies are not subject to modern research, there is no reliable information about the harm and benefits of mother and stepmother and other medicinal herbs.

Any medicinal plant has a complex composition, and most of them contain microdoses of poisonous, toxic compounds that affect the liver and have carcinogenic properties (see). With an overdose or prolonged use of such drugs, the development of a slow poisoning of the body is possible.

So, coltsfoot is considered a relatively safe plant, but it can only be consumed in small quantities, in a short course, since the cumulative effect can provoke the growth of malignant tumors. In case of overdose or long-term use, the following symptoms and side effects are possible:

nausea, vomiting
stomach ache

Procurement and storage

Leaves and flowers are collected separately.
Leaves are suitable for harvesting in early June. The most valuable are the leaves of medium maturity (young and overripe should not be plucked). They are dried in the shade, in a ventilated place, spread out on paper or fabric in 1 layer.
Flowers, or rather yellow baskets without a stalk, are harvested in April-May, dried in the same way as the leaves.
Store dried raw materials in cloth or paper bags in a dark, dry place. Leaves can be used for 3 years, and flowers - 2 years.

Dietary supplements and herbal remedies with coltsfoot

Dry leaves of coltsfoot;
Syrup with coltsfoot and plantain from Evalar, Natur Product, Green Doctor;

The benefits and harms of coltsfoot are directly related to its healing properties. The potent substances in the composition of the herb can provide tangible help to the body in many diseases, but its inept or immoderate use can be harmful to health. Having studied the beneficial properties of the coltsfoot herb before independent use, you should also familiarize yourself with the features of its action and contraindications.

What does coltsfoot look like and where does it grow?

Yellow, bright coltsfoot flowers are among the first to bloom in spring, often as early as April. On stems covered with brown scales, one inflorescence opens. Small, tubular petals are collected in baskets of small diameter.

After flowering, palm-sized leaves appear, with large teeth along the edges. The upper part of the plate is smooth and glossy. The lower one is covered with white fluff, velvety, warm. For this property, they called the grass - coltsfoot. The Latin name speaks more about the application, literally it translates as "coughing away".

The perennial prefers clay soils near water bodies, in wastelands, and can settle in the garden. Useful coltsfoot grass is considered a weed, often growing on uncultivated lands.

The chemical composition of coltsfoot

The benefits of coltsfoot for the human body are determined by the complex balance of a large number of components in the composition. Medicinal properties are found in flowers, seeds, roots and leaves of coltsfoot.

The main active substances in the composition of the herb and their beneficial properties:

essential oils have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory properties against viruses, fungi, protozoa;
mucus envelops the inner surface of the oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, intestines, contributing to their healing, reducing swelling;
phytosterones help build muscle mass, tone up, strengthen the body's defenses, are antioxidants, normalize cholesterol;
glycosides exhibit the property of thinning bronchial secretions, help to remove sputum from the respiratory system, improve digestion;
organic acids prevent cell wear, accelerate regeneration, treat purulent processes, strengthen immunity;
tannins disinfect, relieve inflammation, constrict and strengthen blood vessels, reduce bleeding;
flavonoids, carotenes, saponins, sterols, inulin, rutin, vitamin C, and many other valuable compounds.

Important! The whole complex of substances that enhance and complement each other's healing properties has a beneficial effect. Therefore, the range of applications of simple grass is simply huge.

What is useful coltsfoot

The actual property of coltsfoot is the treatment of cough of any origin. Any part of the herb is able to enhance the production and withdrawal of sputum, which is successfully used for dry cough, bronchitis, pneumonia, rhinitis.

The benefits of coltsfoot flowers are determined by the presence of essential oils, tannins, phenolic acids, phytosterol. Substances destroy many pathogens, speed up metabolism.

The leaves of the coltsfoot accumulate more plant mucus, carotenes, vitamins, and microelements. Their benefits are more noticeable in the treatment of anemia, beriberi, asthenia. The enveloping, antiseptic, healing properties of the herb are used externally and to help internal organs with affected mucous membranes.

What does coltsfoot treat?

Ordinary weed grass has outstanding qualities, it can help in the treatment of several dozen diseases, strengthens a weakened body and even increases muscle performance.

Home remedies from coltsfoot provide benefits but do not cure diseases on their own. Herbal formulations are used as auxiliary in the main therapy, which is prescribed by the doctor. Unauthorized combination of medicinal substances can be harmful.

Grass coltsfoot is prescribed for such diseases:

any inflammation of the respiratory tract with cough, swelling of the mucous membranes;
tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema;
dermatitis, erysipelas, varicose veins, trophic ulcers, abscesses, wounds;
stomatitis, periodontal disease, gingivitis, inflammation in the oral cavity;
gastritis, enterocolitis, diseases of the stomach, intestines, hemorrhoids;
inflammatory processes in the genitourinary system.

The restorative effect of coltsfoot drugs on the body can be useful for cardiovascular disorders, diseases of the nervous system. Immunostimulating, antihypoxic, antioxidant properties of the herb are used in recovery from illnesses.

Is coltsfoot good for pregnancy

The herb seems to be a harmless substitute for pills during pregnancy. But during the period of bearing a child, the medicine is not entirely harmless. The benefits and harms of coltsfoot grass must be carefully correlated for the mother and for the fetus.

During pregnancy, the property of alkaloids to penetrate the placental barrier is especially dangerous. This can harm the fetus, lead to miscarriage, or cause premature birth. During lactation, alkaloids enter breast milk, so taking the herb inside is prohibited.

As part of the coltsfoot for pregnant women, there are not only useful compounds. Alkaloids are harmful to a woman's body. With prolonged use, they accumulate in the liver, destroying it. Harm is caused by herbal treatment for longer than 6 weeks.

It is permissible to use coltsfoot during pregnancy to correct skin problems (acne, dermatitis) or hair care.

Mother and stepmother to children

Reviews of coltsfoot grass regarding the benefits and harms for children are quite contradictory. Some parents advise her from the first days of a child's life. Doctors are more categorical. Due to the strong composition and the presence of poorly studied components, official medicine prohibits treatment until the age of 2 years, when the treatment will do more harm.

It is useful to give a decoction or water infusion of grass to children under 7 years of age with colds, coughs, fever, infectious diseases of the ear, throat and nose: 1 tbsp. l. up to 6 times a day. Only on condition that the main treatment is selected by the pediatrician, a useful remedy from coltsfoot shortens the recovery time, copes with a protracted, unproductive cough.

Important! A useful amount of funds for school-age children is up to 250 ml per day. It is advisable to divide it into several receptions.

Recipes with coltsfoot in folk medicine

If you need a softening, healing, enveloping effect, a decoction of grass is useful. When it is more important to preserve essential oils, glycosides, micro and macro elements and their beneficial properties, it is better to make an infusion.

Decoction of coltsfoot for cough and bronchitis

As an expectorant, emollient in acute and chronic bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis, a decoction of coltsfoot herbs is effective.

Recipe for cough:

Mashed or crushed leaves (1 tbsp.) Pour 0.5 liters of hot water.
Warm up no longer than 5 minutes.
Leave covered until cool, strain.

Take the medicine in two doses - in the morning and in the evening, 250 ml before meals.

A stronger composition will benefit from problems in the gastrointestinal tract, to maintain the work of the heart and vascular tone: 2 tbsp. l. herbs pour 1 tbsp. boiling water and boil for up to 15 minutes. The resulting remedy should be drunk in small portions per day.

With diathesis, a decoction of grass is prescribed for children over 2 years old: inside, 1 tsp. three times a day; externally - for wiping inflamed areas.

Infusion of coltsfoot

For rinsing the mouth, throat, washing the nasal passages, an infusion of coltsfoot is useful. The recipe is very simple: 1 tbsp. l. crushed raw materials are poured with boiling water (250 ml) and infused for 20 minutes.

Strained composition is useful to take 1 tbsp. l. up to 10 times a day for respiratory infections. You can repeatedly rinse your mouth with dental inflammations or your throat with a cold with an infusion of herbs and flowers.

Vodka coltsfoot tincture

For alcohol infusion, you will need fresh coltsfoot flowers.

Preparing the tincture:

Raw materials are mixed with high-quality vodka as 1:1 or with alcohol - 2:1.
The mixture is poured into a glass dish, sealed tightly.
Leave for a week without access to light, otherwise the grass will lose its properties.
The precipitate is filtered off and the alcohol solution is stored in a dark place.

Dermatologists note the benefits of tincture for acne. Treating the face several times a day, you can reduce the number of rashes in a few days. If it is noticed that alcohol irritates the skin, it is permissible to dilute the product with water. The benefits as an antiseptic will decrease slightly, but the harm will be minimal.

Tincture coltsfoot is taken orally: 20 to 30 drops before meals. Alcoholic compounds of any herb can harm a sick stomach and are contraindicated in alcoholism.

Tea from coltsfoot

The benefits of coltsfoot tea are invaluable during the cold season. For the prevention of influenza, with a dry, prolonged cough, chills, brew 1 tbsp. l. flowers 1 tbsp. boiling water. Useful grass is used separately or as part of a collection, not longer than 3 weeks.

Fresh coltsfoot juice

Vitamin and health-improving properties are distinguished by fresh juice from young leaves, if you collect grass in June.

Application and useful properties:

1 tsp up to 4 times a day with a course of at least 1 week with beriberi, loss of strength;
10 drops of juice in each nasal passage, up to 3 times a day with a severe cold;
externally - with lichen, burns, abscesses on the skin, boils.

To prepare the product, the washed herb is crushed with a blender or passed through a meat grinder, the mixture is diluted with filtered water (50/50), the useful liquid is squeezed through gauze.

Applications

Mashed fresh coltsfoot disinfects and heals when applied to damaged skin. Apply the herbal mass directly to the wound, burn, inflamed veins and cover with a clean cloth.

leaf compress

A coltsfoot compress is prepared as follows: 5 tbsp. l. leaves with flowers are steamed 1 tbsp. boiling water. After half an hour of infusion, the steamed grass is ground. Gauze is placed on the skin, then the mass is evenly applied and covered with a cloth on top. It is useful to fix such a compress and leave it overnight. The course of treatment for significant damage is about 10 days.

Foot baths with coltsfoot

The antifungal, anti-inflammatory, tonic property of the herb is beneficial for foot skin infections, calluses, wounds, and swelling.

Decoction for external use:

Fresh or dried coltsfoot (2 tablespoons) is poured with boiling water (2 liters).
With a slight heating, languish for 45 minutes.
Filtered and cooled to a comfortable temperature.

Foot baths with a decoction of herbs are done for 15–20 minutes before bedtime. With the expansion of the veins of the lower extremities, the fragility of the vessels with the same decoction is recommended to regularly treat the surface of the legs.

dried leaf powder

It is convenient to treat wounds with finely ground grass when other types of disinfection are not available. Coltsfoot powder, as a dry concentrate, can also be taken orally.

Comment! When drying and grinding raw materials, medicinal herbs quickly lose their useful properties, sunlight is harmful to collections. Powders should be kept in tightly closed containers or prepared as needed.

coltsfoot syrup

The medicine in the form of a syrup is well stored in the cold, does not lose its properties for a long time, children like it. In June, when the benefits of grass are most pronounced, they make a harvest from coltsfoot for the whole year.

A simple cooking option: the juice from young leaves is mixed with powdered sugar. For 2 parts liquid - 1 part sugar or honey. Healthy herbal syrup is stored in the refrigerator.

Apply 1 tbsp. l. up to 4 times a day for tuberculosis, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis. Children are given 1 hour or st. l. sweet medicine a day. The dose depends on the age and recommendations of the pediatrician.

Coltsfoot in home cosmetology

The coltsfoot herb, its decoctions and infusions are added to masks with a rejuvenating and lifting effect, to enrich creams, tonics, lotions, and hair products.

For facial skin

Coltsfoot preparations gradually but deeply cleanse the pores, eliminate inflammation of small vessels, and treat acne. Alcohol tincture of the herb has the ability to whiten age spots, lighten freckles.

Cosmetic ice:

To 50 ml of decoction add 2-3 drops of rosewood essential oil and 10 ml of linseed oil. Enhances the beneficial properties of the addition of 10 ml of fresh coltsfoot juice. The components are mixed and frozen in special forms.

Massage with ice cubes in the morning quickly relieves swelling and puffiness. Regular use restores facial contours, rejuvenates and refreshes the skin. But cryotherapy, instead of benefit, can be harmful in case of rosacea, increasing spider veins.

Anti-wrinkle mask with seaweed: 50 ml of warm coltsfoot broth will require 30 g of crushed kelp. Cooking:

Algae powder is mixed with liquid, left for 15 minutes for complete swelling.
10 g of oil is added to the mixture, mixed.
The finished mass is distributed on the face and left for 30-40 minutes.

The mask has the ability to improve microcirculation in the vessels, regenerate cells, enhance nutrition and oxygenation of the skin.

For hair beauty

An infusion of coltsfoot with nettle will help against severe dandruff and hair loss. Herbs taken in 2 tbsp. l. each, pour a liter of boiling water, leave for half an hour, filter. Rinse hair after every wash.

Contraindications and side effects

Coltsfoot is a plant with powerful properties that can benefit or harm. You need to drink it with caution, without increasing the dosages in the recipes.

Contraindications to taking herbs:

coltsfoot intolerance;
renal failure, liver dysfunction;
allergic diseases;
pregnancy and lactation;
age up to 2 years.

Between courses take a break of 4 months. Long-term use without medical supervision does not bring benefits, but harm, disrupting liver function, poisoning the body.

Collecting and drying coltsfoot

Grass accumulates toxins, resins, salts of heavy metals. Harvesting of leaves and flowers should be carried out away from roads, enterprises, polluted places. Toxic raw materials harm, not help health.

Flowers are harvested fully open, without stems. The leaves are cut off with a small petiole. Drying of grass is carried out in the air, under shelter from sunlight. If stored in tight packaging, without access to light and moisture, the beneficial properties of coltsfoot remain for about 2 years.

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of coltsfoot have been well studied over the centuries of its use. A simple herb can relieve the symptoms of the disease, improve the appearance, help to lose weight. But without harm to health, only proven recipes can be used.