Vitex sacred: medicinal properties of the plant and application in folk medicine

Vitex sacred - a tree-like shrub of the genus Vitex, belonging to the family. Its medicinal properties were known even in ancient times. Mention of them are present in the writings of Pliny, Theophrastus and Dioscorides. The famous Greek physician Hippocrates noted the effectiveness of the leaves of vitex in combination with wine to prevent postpartum complications in women. Currently, the plant is used in folk and traditional medicine for the treatment of female diseases caused by hormonal disorders, and with other problems. In nature, the vitex sacred is found in the countries of North Africa, Southern Europe, Middle and Near Asia, and Transcaucasia. The plant is also known under other names: Vitex vulgaris, tree of purity, Abraham tree, monastic pepper, ordinary prutnyak.

Botanical Description

Common Prutnjak is a perennial plant whose life expectancy is about 60 years. It is not picky for the soil, it is resistant to drought and to the lack of bright light, it grows mainly on the banks of rivers and seashores, along the beams, on mountain slopes, sometimes forming small thickets. Reproduction is carried out by seeds and cuttings.

The root system is rooted, the root has branches with numerous accessory roots.

The height of the shrub can reach 4 - 6 m. The branches are erect, brown in color, quadrangular in cross section. They have a specific acute aroma. Above, they are covered with thick-bodied, soft to the touch.

Interesting: Branches of plants are flexible and resilient, so they are used for making decorative wickerwork and garden furniture.

Sheet opposite. The leaves are complex, large, are on long petioles, on top of a matte green color, and from below - grayish, since they have a dense short pubescence. The shape of the palmate is composed of five sharp narrow lanceolate whole or rarely toothed leaves up to 10 cm long.

Flowering lasts from June to September. The flowers are numerous, forming paniculate-spicate inflorescences up to 20 cm long at the tips of young shoots. They can have a pale lilac, pink, purple or lilac color. Calyx calcivorous with five teeth, tubular, three times smaller than corolla in height. Inside the flower there are four stamens, which extend beyond the corolla considerably.

Fruits appear in September-October. They are spherical drupes with a diameter of up to 4 mm, collected in the cobs. Initially, it has a red color, and then it darkens as it dries and looks like a pea of ​​black pepper in appearance.

Chemical composition

Vitex sacred is rich in various substances useful for human health, some of which are present in the whole plant, and others only in its separate organs. So, in all parts of the plant the following groups of compounds were found:

• iridoids;
• essential oils;
• tanning agents;
• flavonoids( cysticin, kaempferol, orientin, isovitinexine, iso-oriene, etc.);
• vitamins and trace elements;
• alkaloids.

The leaves of the plant additionally contain glycosides, in seeds - fatty oil. The fruits of sacred vitek contain the maximum amount of alkaloids, tannins and essential oil in comparison with other parts of the plant. They also found organic acids( formic, propionic, acetic, oily, caproic, valerian), fatty oil and coumarins.

The healing properties of

Prutnyak ordinary has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, analgesic, sedative and antifungal effects. Means from its fruits normalize the digestive system, have a tonic and restorative effect. They are used in the complex treatment of chronic diseases of the liver and spleen.

Abraham tree has a hormone-like action similar to progesterone. It stimulates the secretion of gonadotrophic sex hormones in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland - LH and FSH, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the female reproductive system. Vitex sacred is effective in endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, resulting from hormonal failure in the body of a woman.

It is used for some gynecological and endocrine disorders:

• cycle disorders due to taking birth control pills;
• fibroids, uterine fibroid;
• no ovulation;
• lack of menstruation or lack thereof;
• mastitis, mastopathy;
• infertility.

Means from sacred vitek are used in gynecology to facilitate the manifestation of premenstrual and climacteric syndrome in women. For men, they help with spermatorrhea, increased sexual excitability, premature ejaculation, impotence and prostatitis.

Vitex sacred is useful for women who have problems with conceiving a child due to increased prolactin levels and a decrease in the level of progesterone compared to normal values, which leads to suppression of ovulation. Also, the vitex sacred influences testosterone, reducing the level of this male hormone.

For the treatment of mastopathy, mastalgia, disorders of the menstrual cycle and infertility caused by malnutrition of the ovary's yellow body, premenstrual syndrome, the common rod is also used in traditional medicine. The extract of the fruit of saccharine is included in such drugs as Mastodinone, Cyclodinone, Pregnoton, Agnukaston.

Interesting: Fruits and seeds of common squash are used in cooking as a spicy seasoning for meat dishes, soups, fish preserves and smoked products. They can be a substitute for sweet pepper.

Vitex sacred used in bodybuilding, it helps to accelerate the synthesis of protein in the body and an intense set of muscle mass.

From the seeds of the plant, oil is extracted, which helps in the treatment of oncological diseases. Alcoholic tincture of fruits is used for depressive states, neuroses, insomnia, headache and other pathologies of the nervous system. Freshly prepared juice from the plant helps with mood swings, has a sedative effect. Abraham tree is used for pain in the heart. Outwardly, the plants treat the skin with dermatitis, hives, various wounds.

Procurement of raw materials

As a medicinal raw material, fruits, leaves, branches, flowers and sometimes bark are harvested. Depending on what part of the plant you need to harvest the billet produce at different times:

• flowers - in summer, during flowering;
• fruit - in autumn, when they reach full maturity;
• leaves and shoots - in spring and summer, during the appearance of buds and flowering;
• bark - in the beginning of spring, before the beginning of the sap flow.

When harvesting raw materials, the leaves and leafy shoots are cut with a pruner, the bark is carefully peeled off with a knife.

Fruits are dried in dryers at a temperature of no more than 40 ° C, and the remaining raw materials are outdoors, in the shade, in natural conditions. The finished raw material is placed in bags of cloth and stored in a dry place. Fruits can be folded into a glass jar and hermetically sealed with a lid.

Important: Vitex sacred in the territory of Russia is listed in the Red Book as a vulnerable species.

Ways of using

Broths, infusions and tinctures on alcohol are prepared from leaves, flowers and fruits of the common fry, which are used for ingestion or externally in the form of trays, lotions and compresses.

Infusion for insomnia and neurosis

Prepare a mixture of leaves of vinegar, 10 lemon balm, 10 cones of hops and 10 grams of peppermint leaves. To 3 tbsp.l.200 ml of boiling water are added to the resulting collection and the infusion agent is left to stand for 1 hour. Then filter the herb and take the drug 50 ml 4 - 5 times a day between meals.

Tincture for liver and spleen diseases

Mature fresh fruit( 50 g) pour ½ liter of vodka and insist 2 weeks. Take the remedy for 10 drops, diluted in 50 ml of water, 20 to 30 minutes before meals three times a day for 2 to 3 months a week after a week. When you take this tincture of the vinex sacred, you may feel bitter in your mouth.

Infusion of flowers for hives

To 1 tsp.of the flowers of the Abraham tree add 200 ml of boiling water and insist preferably in the thermos for 1 to 2 hours. From the received infusion do lotions on problematic places.

Tincture for menstrual disorders

A handful of dried leaves of vinegar are poured with 0.5 liters of vodka and insist, periodically shaking, one month in a closed container in a dark place. Take for half a year, diluting 15 drops of tincture in 20 ml of water, three times a day.

Precautions

Prior to the application of funds from the sacred suture, the medicinal properties and contraindications of the plant are taken into account. They are contraindicated in case of an allergy or individual intolerance to this plant. It is not recommended for use in childhood, women during pregnancy and breast-feeding, and also taking any hormonal medications, including birth control pills.

In the treatment of agents based on vitex, side reactions are possible, including overexcitation of the psyche, hallucinations, confusion, headaches, allergic reactions to the skin. In this case, their reception should be discontinued. With continuous use of funds from the root of Adam for more than 6 months, liver damage can occur.

Prutnyak normal normalizes the menstrual cycle, however in some women it can provoke increased menstruation or bleeding between menstruations

Important: Before using Avraam's products and any negative reactions during treatment, they need a doctor's consultation.

On the healing properties of sacred vinex: