Turn: composition, benefits and properties, application in medicine

The turn is a small thorny bush. Refers to a family of pink, subfamily plum. It is also called thorns or prickly barks. Under ordinary conditions, a bush can grow up to 4.5 m in height. The branches of the plant are densely covered with spines. The leaves are elliptical in shape and have denticulate margins. Their length is about 5 cm. The flowers are small white, they blossom in early spring, until the moment when the first leaves appear.


The fruit of a thorn is rounded odnokostyanki. Outwardly they are like the fruit of a horse. They reach 12 mm in diameter and have a gray waxy touch on their surface.

The wild thorn grows in Asia Minor, Western Europe, the Mediterranean, the European part of Russia, Western Siberia, and also in the Caucasus. It occurs mainly on forest edges, along roads, along ravines and banks of rivers.

Collecting and preparing the turn

Blackthorn refers to medicinal plants. Its parts are collected for medical purposes. Picking flowers, leaves, fruits, the upper layer of the bark, roots.

The collection of turtle leaves begins after flowering. Flowers of this plant are harvested at a time when they are in buds. Shoots used as medicinal raw materials must be young, they are prepared in the period May-June, dried in the wind, in the shade, in the open air or in a well-ventilated room. The thorny roots are excavated in the autumn, pruned before the flowering of the tree in the spring. The roots of the plant, like the bark, are first well-bred in the open air, then dried in dryers or ovens. Fruits are harvested as they mature. It is recommended to do this after the first frosts have come.

Note that the roots and bark of thorns are stored for more than 3 years, and flowers, fruits, leaves - about a year.

Healing composition of the turn

Caloric content of this plant is estimated at 43.9 kcal per 100 g of fruit. In berries, the sugars contain such sugars as fructose and glucose. They are also rich in cellulose, organic acids, steroids, pectin, triterpenoids, nitrogen-containing compounds, group B vitamins, vitamin E and C, carotene, coumarins, tannins, higher alcohols, flavonoids, catechins, fatty oil.

The leaves of thorns also contain a large number of vitamins C and E, flavonoids, phenolcarboxylic acids, anthocyanins. In the roots there are tannic and coloring compounds. With the seeds should be careful, they contain a toxic glycoside, which secrete hydrocyanic acid.

Useful properties and its use in folk medicine

The thorn is used in the treatment of diseases of the stomach, intestines, kidney and liver diseases. Use the thorn also for metabolic disorders, neuralgia, beriberi. The plant has sweatshops and antipyretic properties. Drugs made on the basis of thorns are characterized by astringent, diuretic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, laxative and expectorant action. They are used to relax the smooth muscles of internal organs, as well as to reduce the permeability of blood vessels.

Berry berries are used in the treatment of dysentery, toxic infections, nonspecific colitis and food poisoning.

It is revealed that the juice squeezed from the berries of the turn has an antibacterial effect and is highly effective in treating lambliasis and other diseases caused by the multiplication of protozoa in the human body. They are applied in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, as well as in skin diseases. In the latter case, the juice is applied to the affected areas of the skin in the form of lotions and compresses.

Flowers of blackthorn have a favorable effect on metabolic processes in the body. They are also used in the treatment of skin diseases associated with metabolic disorders. In addition, the flowers of thorns have a mild laxative effect, they stimulate intestinal peristalsis. In hypertensive disease, the infusion of the flowers of the turn is widely used, since it has sweaty imio-chronic effects. It was revealed that the decoction from the flowers of this plant reduces the permeability of blood vessels, has an anti-inflammatory effect. In this regard, floral scorpion recommended to take with prostate adenoma, dyspnea, neuralgia, metabolic disorders, nausea. In addition, it is used as an expectorant and swine fever. Decoction of flowers is useful for constipation and liver disease, purulent diseases of the skin, furunculosis.

Leaves of thorns have a good diuretic and laxative effect, they are used in the treatment of chronic constipation. Infusion of leaves used to rinse with inflammation of the mouth. Decoction of thorn leaves is prescribed for chronic constipation, nephritis, cystitis and dermatological diseases. Brewing leaves, prepared with the addition of vinegar, is an excellent means of curing ulcers and old purulent wounds. Infusion on the leaves and flowers of thorn is prescribed for inflammatory processes in the bladder and kidneys, with dermatoses. Tea tea made from flowers and leaves has a laxative effect and is able to purify blood. It is prescribed for coughing, delay in urination, stomach diseases, prolonged menstruation, with dropsy of urolithiasis, with skin rashes in the child.

The juice, wrung out of thorny berries, uses to stop nosebleeds, to rinse the throat and mouth, it helps to remove the inflammation of the gums of the inoe. In the fight against infectious diseases, thorn wine is also used.

Roots, bark and young wood of thorns have a lowering and sweating effect. Decoction from the bark is effective against malaria and diarrhea, with high body temperature. Decoction is prescribed in erysipelas, as well as with whites as a solution for syringing. Erysipelous skin inflammations are also treated with an upper layer of bark of a thorn, applying as a lotion in fresh form or compresses of broth.