Elderberry juice will not only fight fever and alleviate cough, but additionally, thanks to the large amount of vitamins and minerals, it will strengthen the body, which will deal with the infection faster. Elderberry flowers and fruits have the strongest healing properties. Learn how elderberry works, when to harvest it and how to process it. Is elderberry poisonous?

Black elderberry , due to its healing properties, has been used in folk medicine for centuries. Black elderberry bushes often grow so fast that they look like trees. Their tiny white flowers gathered in umbels are very decorative, but have a rather unpleasant smell.

Also the black-violet fruits and juicy berries are not delightful with the taste. And yet, both flowers and fruitselderberryare among the most valuable herbal raw materials.

Black elderberry - healing properties of flowers and fruits

Elderberry flowerscontain a lot of flavonoids and phenolic acids, as well as organic acids, sterols, oil, tannins, triterpenes, and mineral s alts. Such a composition of ingredients determines the diaphoretic and antipyretic properties of the flowers. Moreover, they also act as diuretics, seal capillary walls and improve their elasticity. Due to their anti-inflammatory properties, they are also used to rinse a sick throat and compresses in conjunctivitis.

An even greater variety of valuable substances is hidden inelderberries : incl. anthocyanin glycosides, pectins, tannins, fruit acids, vitamins (especially vitamin C and provitamin A), mineral s alts (calcium, potassium, sodium, aluminum and iron). In addition to diaphoretic and diuretic properties, they also have a slightly laxative and analgesic effect.

They belong to the so-called blood cleansers, they are recommended as a detoxifying drug and help to remove harmful waste products and toxins from the body in rheumatic and skin diseases. Elderberries are also used in inflammation of the stomach and intestines, and as an auxiliary pain reliever in neuralgia and sciatica.

Worth knowing

Is elderberry poisonous?

Raw elderberries are harmful to he alth because they contain sambunigrin and prunazine. It is substances that can provoke the manifestation of poisoningnausea and, in more severe cases, vomiting. Heat-treated (boiled) or dried fruits are free of these compounds, so they can be eaten safely.

These toxic substances can also be found in the bark and leaves of elderberry. They are not found in elderberry flowers - they are edible and can be used in the kitchen, e.g. for making salads.

When to collect black elderberry?

Elderberry leaves and roots used to be used in a herbal pharmacy, but now the basic raw material is flowers and fruit due to their much stronger healing properties.

Flowering umbels are harvested in May and June, when some of the flowers are still undeveloped. They must not be dried in the sun because they darken and lose their healing properties.

When picking fruit (in August and September), the umbels are not cut off until all the berries are ripe, black and shiny. The stalks should be removed after drying.

Black lilac - pharmacy preparations

Black elderberry is a component of many herbal preparations. Flowers are included, among others Tussiflos mixture with antitussive and expectorant properties, helpful in combating dry, tiring cough.

Fruits are one of the ingredients of preparations used, among others, in in constipation (e.g. Normosan) and in skin diseases, mainly psoriasis (e.g. Betagran), and the basis of anti-inflammatory and diaphoretic mixtures (e.g. Agryflos), especially helpful in colds and coughs.

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You must do it

Elderberry flower decoction

Pour a tablespoon of elderberry flowers in a glass of cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside for 15 minutes, strain. Drink 1/3 cup 2-3 times a day as a diaphoretic, antipyretic and diuretic.

Elderberry juice recipe

Elderberry fruits heat in a pot until they release the juice, rub them into a pulp and squeeze through gauze. Boil the juice with honey (1 part honey to 10 parts juice), pour into dark bottles. Drink a glass of diluted juice 2-3 times a day (add 50 g of juice to it with hot water) in case of a cold, digestive disorders, neuralgia.

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He alth