Blueberry leaves

Description

It is a low shrub with sharp-ribbed green branches. The leaves are alternate, small, oblong-ovate, shiny, bright green, finely filiform. The flowers are spherical, white-pink, with a fused corolla. A pistil with inferior ovary, of the ten stamens, the fruits are black with a bluish tinge, rounded berries, with the remainder of the calyx. The flesh of the berries is reddish-purple. The taste is sour-sweet, pleasant, astringent. Height 15 – 40 cm.

The time of flowering. May-June. Fruits ripen in July and August.

Distribution. It is found in the forest and forest-steppe zones, especially in the zone of coniferous forests and in the tundra zone.

Habitat. It grows in pine and especially in spruce forests, where it forms the spruce-blueberry forest type. It grows less frequently in mixed forests and tundra.

The part used. Berries and leaves.

The time of collection. Berries are collected in July – August, leaves-in May-June.

Chemical composition

The berries contain glucoside, sugars (up to 30%), organic acids (up to 7%) — citric, malic, lactic, oxalic, amber, quinine, tannins (up to 12%), red-purple pigments of the anthocyanin group, pigment carotene (0.75 – 1.6 mg), vitamin C (6 mg), vitamin B (0.04 mg). The leaves contain tannins (up to 20 %), glucosides myrtillin (7%), neomyrtillin (2%), arbutin (up to 1.6%), hydroquinone (about 1%), the flavonoid quercetin and its various glucosides, vitamin C (up to 250 mg%), triterpene and ceryl alcohols, organic acids— oleanolic, resin, ursolic, quinine and essential oil.

Application

Berries and leaves are widely used in folk medicine in various countries. Berries, their water infusion and decoction regulate the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, stimulate metabolism and have astringent, fixing, diuretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and hemostatic effects. The infusion of berries is used for catarrhs of the stomach and intestines with low acidity of gastric juice, indigestion, diarrhea and chronic constipation, spasms and pain in the stomach and intestines, kidney stones and bladder, gout and rheumatism. For diarrhea is used water infusion of berries, blueberry jelly, less often fresh berries.

In folk medicine of Caucasus, an infusion of branches with leaves and roots is taken for colds. In German folk medicine, an infusion of leaves is used for chronic intestinal catarrh, colitis, vomiting, stomach and intestinal spasms, dropsy, bladder diseases and kidney stones. One of the French ophthalmological laboratories found that blueberries significantly improve vision at dusk and at night, helping the eyes adapt to poor visibility. The Blueberries enhance visual acuity, increase the field of vision and reduce eye fatigue as a result of prolonged work in artificial light. Long and numerous studies have shown that blueberries accelerate the renewal of the retina, which is sensitive to light. During the World War II, British pilots ate blueberries and used blueberry jam to improve their vision at night and at dusk. The Blueberries are included in the cosmonauts ' menu.

In scientific medicine, berry infusion is used as a gentle astringent and dietary remedy for acute and chronic stomach and intestinal disorders, especially for children's diarrhea and acute enterocolitis in adults. Blueberry leaves increase the acidity of gastric juice, have astringent, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and diuretic effects. Infusion of leaves reduces the sugar content in the blood and urine for diabetes and promotes the dissolution of stones in kidney stones. Clinical studies have shown that water infusion of leaves is a good remedy for diabetes. Enemas with the infusion of leaves are used for hemorrhoidal bleeding. Externally, the decoction and infusion of berries are used for rinsing with inflammatory processes of the mouth and throat. Boiled the crushed berries are used to make dressings for burns, skin diseases, especially in the treatment of psoriasis and eczema. Blueberries are part of the fixing gastric fees.

In the food industry, berries are widely used for making wines, syrups, juices, extracts and obtaining harmless food purple paint.

Method of application.

1. 2 teaspoons of dry leaves infuse in 2 cups of boiling water, strain. Drink daily in several doses, sips.

2. 1-2 teaspoons of blueberries brew in 1 cup of boiling water, insist for several hours, sweeten with sugar. Take 1/4 cup 5-8 times a day for diarrhea.