Wheatgrass
Instructions for use:
- 1. Procurement of raw materials
- 2. Application
- 3. Harm
The people call wheatgrass a dog's tooth or wheatgrass. It belongs to the family of cereals. Flowering plants can grow over a meter in height. They form dense continuous thickets. The grass has dark green flat and linear leaves, and its flowers are quite simple - similar to those of other plants belonging to the family of cereals. Flowers are collected in 4-7 pieces in small spikelets, which form long apical ears, the length of which can reach 15 cm.
Wheatgrass fruit is a caryopsis that looks like wheatgrass, up to 0.5 cm in length.
The flowering period is in May-June, and the plant bears fruit in July-September.
Grass is widespread throughout Asia and Europe, excluding dark forests and deserts. It grows well on forest edges and clearings, but often inhabits fields, orchards, vegetable gardens, fallow lands and meadows.
The old Latin name for wheatgrass is translated into Russian as "creeping fire of the fields." The appearance of grass in the fields due to a natural disaster is compared to a fire. By the way, under normal conditions, the seeds of the plant practically do not develop. And he doesn't need seeds, since the grass spreads very quickly by a vegetative way of reproduction. Wheatgrass rhizome is underground and branched, has a large number of buds.
Procurement of raw materials
It is best to harvest wheatgrass rhizomes during spring or autumn digging of the site, since it is at this time that the plant contains the maximum amount of active ingredients.
The dug roots must be shaken off the soil and cleaned of leaves and stems. Dry the grass by spreading it out in a thin layer. In hot and dry weather, it is allowed to dry the plant directly in the sun. The dried rhizomes must be piled up, and then rubbed very carefully by hand (it looks something like washing clothes or kneading dough). When preparing raw wheatgrass, all small roots, leaves and soil must be removed from the large rhizome.
Rhizomes are stored in well-closed jars like any other raw carbohydrate. By the way, the plant is very easily damaged by any pests such as weevils, moths or beetles. The shelf life of properly prepared raw materials is 2-3 years.
Wheatgrass application
The rhizome of the plant contains malic acid salts, proteins, mineral salts, mucous substances, fatty oil, saponin, ascorbic acid, carotene, essential oil, carbohydrates (levulose, mannitol and triticin), glucovanillin and agropylene.
The properties of wheatgrass are widely used in medicine. The plant is noted to be harmful, but if used correctly, it can be of great benefit. In many countries, the herb is considered a good pharmacopoeial raw material. Wheat grass treatment is performed for metabolic disorders. The herb is considered a diaphoretic, regulating salt metabolism, laxative, diuretic and expectorant.
In addition to medicinal properties, wheatgrass, or rather its rhizome, has considerable nutritional value. The rhizomes were especially useful in the lean years, then they were ground into flour, dried and baked bread. Also, rhizomes peeled from the ground are perfect as raw materials for livestock.
Wheatgrass contains a lot of useful substances such as fructose, silicic acid (used to strengthen the blood vessels of the circulatory system), protein substances and polysaccharides. Wheatgrass treatment is performed for rheumatism, cystitis, urolithiasis and gallstone diseases, gastritis, hemorrhoids, diathesis, bronchitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, diabetes mellitus.
To prepare an infusion of wheatgrass, you need to pour 400 ml of cold water with 10 g of raw materials, and then infuse this mixture for 12 hours in a dark place. The resulting infusion must be filtered, pour the roots with another glass of boiling water and leave for another hour. Combine two mixtures, take half a glass of infusion three times a day.
It is advisable to harvest wheatgrass juice in the fall. It should be squeezed out of scalded and washed rhizomes. To make it easier to squeeze, you can initially scroll the roots through a meat grinder. Squeezed juice should be mixed in equal parts with water and boiled for a couple of minutes. It is recommended to take half a glass three times a day before meals. Treatment with wheatgrass in the form of juice is also performed with gallstones, only here juice from the leaves and stems of the plant is suitable.
The properties of wheatgrass will also be useful for chronic furunculosis. To do this, pour 8 tablespoons of chopped and dried roots with a liter of boiling water. Infuse the mixture for 3 hours, and take 3 glasses a day for 3-4 weeks.
In the form of enemas, a decoction of the plant can be used for chronic constipation. It can also be added to baths to treat scrofula and many other skin conditions.
Wheatgrass harm
Wheatgrass is harmful only to gardeners, since it is a weed crop that spreads very quickly.
Information about the drug is generalized, provided for informational purposes only and does not replace the official instructions. Self-medication is hazardous to health!
