Mulberry (Moraceae) - plant belonging to the genus Mulberry (popularly called "mulberry tree", the tree reaches a height of 20 meters). This genus includes more than 17 subspecies of plants whose small home is Persia.
It is rather easy to recognize a mulberry: it has toothed leaves, resembling blades, and berries that look like blackberries. This plant, in our territory, will grow in two forms: with white berries and with almost black. Mulberry fruits are quite fleshy and large.
We will talk about mulberry and its properties in this article, but you need to start with the most pleasant - with the taste of the mulberry tree. Mulberry is moderately sweet and sour and not at all tart, as they often say about it. It is often used in the preparation of various jellies, syrups and impregnations for baking.
Also, the mulberry, due to its taste, is in perfect harmony with meat dishes (used as a sauce) and even used in cooking soups, but we'll talk about this later.
The health benefits of mulberry are mainly in berries, although the bark and leaves are also widely used in traditional medicine, pharmacology and cosmetology.
Mulberry fruits contain a lot of sugar, glucose, fructose, and therefore not only uplifting, but also contribute to better digestion of food and speed up metabolism.
Also, mulberry has properties that help strengthen bones, teeth, nails and hair, due to the presence of potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Did you know? Mulberry essential oil is one of the most expensive in the cosmetic industry.Many botanists insist that mulberry has not only useful properties, but also contraindications, which we will talk about later. But, despite the fact that opinions differ, the taste of mulberry pleases us and reminds of childhood.
What are the benefits of mulberry leaves
Mulberry, or rather the leaf of the mulberry and its healing properties, is quite popular among fans of traditional medicine. However, if you stumble upon a mulberry tea in a pharmacy, you should know not only about its benefits, but also about the harm it can do to your health.
Most herbalists know mulberry as a good remedy in the fight against diabetes, as well as in the treatment of problems of the liver and kidneys, cardiovascular insufficiency and to reduce pressure (heart).
But, it is worth noting that no herbalist recommends using these fruits as the only correct method in the treatment of the above diseases.
Mulberry also has beneficial properties for treating throat during sore throat and is used as an expectorant.
Some herbalists also talk about the fact that mulberry is a very strong antiseptic, and the treatment of wounds with decoction allows you to achieve better results than using alcohol tinctures.
Important!Sometimes, mulberry ophthalmologists advise eye wash, but you can only use this method after you are sure that you are not allergic to this plant.
The use of mulberry bark in traditional medicine
The benefits of tree bark are directly related to the roots of mulberry, their healing properties. Most often, herbalists and healers use the roots to make decoctions for shortness of breath, coughing, to reduce the temperature, remove toxins and excess fluid from the body.
The bark of the mulberry tree, in ancient times, was used to prepare a wound healing agent. Now, many cardiologists are turning to mulberry bark-based remedies for treating hypertension.
However, mulberry has not only healing properties. For example, in China, because of its resistance to temperature leaps, mulberry bark was used to make paper.
This tree also helped to "civilize" the human society of ancient China, becoming one of the most popular materials for making stringed musical instruments.
Did you know? Threads used to make strings for stringed instruments are mined from mulberry bark.
How to procure medical raw materials
To begin harvesting medicinal raw materials from berries, bark and leaves of mulberry should be in the period of flowering, or full ripening of fruits. Fresh berries and leaves contain much more useful elements and are processed better.
It is most difficult to dry mulberry berries, so this process should be given special attention. Dry berries better in the oven, or on the stove / fireplace, since a lot of yeast fungus dwells on the plant seedlings, which, on the natural way of drying the berries, appear on the second day and begin to ferment.
Important! If you still, fermented berries, you can use them as a tincture of cough and in the treatment of viral diseases. In Central Asia, mulberry vodka is made of such "tarnished" berries.
Treatment of the pancreas with mulberry is carried out with the help of leaves that can be harvested all year round.Harvesting raw materials from mulberry leaves is not dusty and does not require special conditions. You can dry the leaves in any way you like.
Mulberry Roots better retain their medicinal properties, if harvested in the fall, when the tree enters the phase of "sleep and rest." The root is usually dried, and also, like the mulberries, are placed in a vacuum package.
Mulberry recipes
An excellent reason to gather your household at the same table is tea with mulberry jam. Do not think that in the form of jam mulberry will lose its useful properties. The recipe for preparing mulberry jam is very simple and fast enough. All you need is:
- Rinse the berries and lay them on paper towels.
- Layers pour the berries and sugar in an enamel bowl or pan.
- Leave on for 4-8 hours until the juice is “released”.
- Boil over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved, constantly removing the foam from the jam.
- Remove from heat for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Add citric acid and boil again for an hour.
Did you know? To the berries in your jam retain their shape, stir it counterclockwise.
Very tasty, the mulberry turns out in sugar syrup. The cooking process is a little time consuming, but the result is worth it.
So, in order to cook mulberry in sugar syrup, we will need berries, washed and minced (a blender will not work, because you can overdo it), which we pour with sugar syrup (you can make yourself: 1.2 kilograms of sugar per 300 grams of water, or buy ready-made syrup in the store).
The hot mixture is laid out on cans, which are covered with parchment paper soaked in alcohol (the diameter of the circle of paper should be equal to the diameter of the can) and then tightly closed with a lid.
Well, we talked about the "delicious" recipes, and now we can discuss the "usefulness" of mulberry recipes, which will only enhance its properties.
So, the first and most common recipe for the preparation of a therapeutic drug from mulberry: Pour 2 teaspoons of leaves (dry!) Mulberry with a glass of water.
This tool will help you with colds (good for gargling), this tool is also a diuretic and will help remove all toxins from your body.
Mulberry tea is successfully used for hypertension, reducing pressure.
The most important recipe for girls: take 1 teaspoon of grated mulberry root, cover with a glass of boiled water and drink in the morning on an empty stomach. After regular use of this infusion, healthy, but weak weight loss will be observed.
Important! You can not eat mulberry with not boiled water, as this can lead to bloating and diarrhea.
Contraindications and harm to whom the mulberry is not recommended
The opinion that the mulberry berry bears in itself only benefit and no harm is wrong. First of all, you should always remember that Mulberry is a pretty strong allergen.
From this comes the first contraindication: mulberry can not be used for those who have an individual intolerance to this plant.
Particular attention to the use of mulberry should be given to those who suffer from diabetes, as in raspberry and dark purple berries the sugar level is 12% higher than in whites.
Another important property of mulberry is that, in case of overdose, it can cause diarrhea.
The main thing to pay attention to: the use of mulberry in the heat should be reduced by half, because, under the influence of the sun, it can cause a heart attack. This is especially true of recreation in resorts, where the mulberry is often sold on the beaches.
Eat only healthy food, do it correctly and with pleasure, then such a berry as a mulberry will delight you with its healthy and tasty properties.
