The use of tincture of pine needles

Pine is a coniferous tree with about 120 species. In the wild, pine grows in all climatic zones of the Northern Hemisphere - both in the Arctic and in areas closer to the equator. Man has long understood that an evergreen tree with a unique aroma is endowed with extraordinary properties, and its various parts can be used both as medicinal raw materials and as pet food.

The chemical composition of pine needles

Pine needles are always the same color, it is always fresh and green. It does not need to be harvested for future use and dried for the preparation of tinctures and decoctions. Most of the nutrients are found in green needles, the main thing is to collect it away from large industrial enterprises and busy highways.

It is best to collect pine needles away from the city, in autumn or winter, when it accumulates the most ascorbic acid and essential oils.

Why is pine needles so valuable, and what useful properties does it have? Pine needles contain a lot of chlorophyll, carotene, phytohormones, phytoncides, bacteriostatic and anthelmintic substances.

There are vitamins C, E, B vitamins, vitamins P and PP, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, cobalt, calcium phosphorus.

Pine needles contain tannic and anthocyanin compounds, ascorbic acid, alkaloids, terpenes, pantothenic acid, polysaccharides, essential oils, resin.

Pine needles contain a lot of vitamin C, so it has always been considered an excellent anti-scorbutic agent. In addition, it has a bactericidal, expectorant, diuretic, disinfectant property, relieves pain, relieves inflammation and associated swelling. Thanks to pine, the body's defenses increase, the immune system strengthens, and pathogens die.

Substances derived from pine needles are included in the composition of the drug, which is used to treat bronchial asthma.

Preparations from young pine cones and needles are used to treat colds, heart and vascular diseases, skin diseases, respiratory diseases, kidney and bladder diseases, rheumatism, sciatica, arthritis, beriberi, neuroses, headaches.

Tinctures from pine needles help in the treatment of gastritis with high acidity, and stomach ulcers, they can also be used for external use - treating wounds, for compresses and rubbing on sore joints, bronchi and lungs.

Recipes for tinctures and decoctions

We offer you recipes by which you can easily make medicines from natural materials at home.

Recipe 1.

Alcoholic tincture of pine needles. Take 250 grams of needles, chop with scissors, pour 500 ml of vodka or alcohol, leave to infuse in a dark, cool place.

After 2 weeks, strain the drink and ingest under medical supervision, or use externally to treat abrasions, wounds, and ulcers as an antiseptic.

Recipe 2.

Water infusion from pine needles. Put chopped pine needles in a liter jar, pour in 2.5 cups of cold water and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Remove the jar in a dark, cold place for 3 days, and then strain through cheesecloth.

Application: water infusion is used in short courses (5 days), drinking 1 glass of infusion during the day. The break between courses should be 2-3 days. They take medicine for the prevention of beriberi, with pneumonia, bronchitis, after serious illnesses and operations, with nervous exhaustion, loss of strength and anemia.

Recipe 3.

Taiga tea with needles and herbs. Put 1 tablespoon of chopped pine or spruce needles, oregano, dry leaves of raspberries, fireweed, lingonberries into the teapot. Pour boiling water over everything and let it brew for 5-7 minutes. With neuroses, tea should be drunk hot with honey or sugar.

Recipe 4.

Alcoholic tincture of pine needles and green pine cones. Along with mature dark green needles, young shoots can be used - they have less bitterness. To prepare a tincture of needles and cones, take 1 cup of crushed medicinal raw materials, put in a liter jar and fill to the top with alcohol or purified vodka. Store the jar in the refrigerator for 14 days, then strain.

Application: 1 tsp. 3-4 times a day 30 minutes before meals for 3 weeks. Then take a break for 1 week and resume treatment. Alcohol tincture of pine needles and pine cones helps to strengthen the immune system, overcome colds. Tincture can be washed down with hot tea with honey, or infusion of herbs.

External use of alcohol tincture on pine needles is also possible - for this, wounds and ulcers are treated with the drug 1-2 times a day, depending on the degree of skin damage. In addition, alcohol tincture can be used for rubbing and compresses for joint pain.

Recipe 5.

Water infusion from pine needles. The needles are separated from the branches and ground in cold boiled water. Pour in cooled boiled water in a ratio of 3 parts of needles to 9 parts of water. Boil for 30 minutes on low heat, add a little citric acid, leave for 1-3 hours, then filter through gauze.

Application: with beriberi and nervous exhaustion, take 50-100 ml of infusion per day.

Recipe 6.

A decoction of pine needles for baths. Traditional medicine for the treatment and prevention of colds offers the following recipe: in the morning you need to make a strong brown decoction from pine branches. For this, 2-4 medium-sized branches per five-liter pan will be enough. Branches with needles boil for 15-20 minutes and insist all day.

In the evening, the broth should be filtered and added to a well-warm bath. In addition to colds, such baths help with arthritis, radiculitis, myositis. Resinous and essential substances have a beneficial effect on the body, warm up muscles and bones, calm the nervous system, cure colds, and restore mental and physical strength.

Recipe 7.

Infusion of pine needles on the water. Pour 100 grams of chopped pine needles with a liter of boiling water and bring to a boil. Insist 1-2 hours, strain. Drink to saturate the body with vitamin C, strengthen the immune system, improve and cleanse the liver.

Contraindications

Tinctures and decoctions of pine needles can not be used by everyone. They are contraindicated in acute kidney disease, hepatitis, during pregnancy and lactation.

Baths from the needles of hypertensive patients can be taken only with the simultaneous use of drugs that lower blood pressure.

You can not use tinctures of needles for the treatment of skin cancer, and for diseases of the heart and blood vessels with circulatory disorders. Skin cancer is the only contraindication for the external use of coniferous tinctures.

An overdose of drugs is also not allowed, this can cause irritation of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines.