It’s time for strawberries to bloom. Berries still have to wait, but it’s time to harvest strawberry leaf — vitamin and medicinal plant raw materials.
To whom and what is useful strawberry leaf
Many people forget about the beneficial properties of strawberry leaves — and in vain! They are rich in vitamin C (250-300 mg%), contain tannins and essential oil. Folk medicine widely uses them in the treatment of a variety of diseases.
Strawberry leaf infusions are an effective remedy for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: gastritis, colitis and enterocolitis, stomach and duodenal ulcers, digestive disorders (diarrhea, constipation). Also, this simple remedy helps to improve appetite and normalize digestive processes.
As a diuretic and to remove salts, decoctions and infusions of strawberry leaf are used for urolithiasis and gout. This property is also used for hypertension and edema of cardiac origin. Teas and infusions with strawberry leaf have a positive effect on the work of the heart, help to reduce blood pressure. Strawberry teas are also useful for the prevention of atherosclerosis.
Externally, strawberry leaf preparations are used for inflammatory diseases of the throat and oral cavity (in the form of rinses), for healing bleeding and wet wounds, for hemorrhoidal bleeding and skin rashes (in the form of rinses and lotions).
The vitamin properties of strawberry leaves allow the use of raw materials for the preparation of restorative infusions and teas used for colds and bronchitis, general weakness of the body, as well as for the prevention of vitamin deficiency. Dried strawberry leaves are often included in a variety of vitamin collections.
How to properly prepare medicinal raw materials
An important caveat: unlike berries, which can be harvested from both wild and garden plants, leaves as medicinal raw materials are collected only from wild strawberries. They are cut selectively, without exposing the plants completely, with short (about 1 cm) petioles. Harvesting is carried out during the strawberry flowering period. Dried in the shade under a canopy, stored in a dry dark place for up to 1 year.
It is good to use fermented strawberry leaf for the preparation of vitamin tea (including combined herbal drinks). To do this, fresh raw materials are first dried in the air in the shade (until the leaves wither, partially losing moisture), then intensively kneaded with their hands so that the juice is released from them. The leaves prepared in this way are folded into a glass or enameled container and kept for 8-9 hours, covered with a damp cloth. The fermented leaf is dried in an oven or dryer, stored in the same way as ordinary raw materials, brewed as tea and added to herbal preparations.
Are there any contraindications to the use of strawberry leaves?
No. Unlike berries, which can cause allergic reactions, strawberry leaves do not give any side effects and have no contraindications to use.
Leave a Reply