Fern male is considered a perennial medicinal plant. It has short thickened rhizomes with thin brown roots. The plant can be found in forests. It usually covers a large area. Fern in the forest prefers to grow in moist shaded areas. It grows in the form of continuous thickets. Fern is widely used in traditional medicine.
This plant has always been considered sacred. Infusions and decoctions of rhizomes are of particular benefit. In ancient times, it was the fern that helped fight various diseases. Signs indicated that its flowering can be seen once a year on
plant description
The fern is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Shchitovnikovye family. It has a horizontal rhizome covered with brown and soft scales. Leaves are at the top.
The shield bug reproduces with the help of spores. They are on reverse side sheet. But spores cannot be seen with the naked eye, they can only be seen under a microscope. They begin to ripen in mid-summer. Leaves live one season, and by autumn they fade.
plant habitat
The male fern grows in spruce and oak forests, in places rich in humus. It can be found in mountain beech forests in the Caucasus, in the spruce taiga of Siberia and cedar forests in the Far East.
The plant has spread throughout the territory of the CIS countries. It took vast areas in Ukraine, in the Moscow and Tver regions. You can also find ferns in the garden.
How is fern harvested?
The male fern is not used in medicine in its entirety - only its rhizome is needed. AT fresh it has bad smell and bitter taste. Cutting the rhizome, you can see that it is yellowish-green in color. Although it is poisonous, it has healing properties.
Harvesting of rhizomes is carried out in the middle of autumn or in early spring. You can find ferns in the garden. They need to be dug up, cut off young roots, cleaned from the ground and, if necessary, get rid of the rotten lower part. Then the rhizome must be cut lengthwise and across. It should be dried at a temperature of 40 degrees. You can store such raw materials for only a year. Since it is poisonous, it must be stored in glass jars with tightly closed lids.
Fern forest in some cases is used fresh. But then in medicinal purposes the leaves of the plant are required. They are collected in the summer and dried on fresh air. Then the raw materials are used to prepare medicinal infusions.
biologically active components
The forest fern has many biologically active components.
- The root of the plant contains filixic and flavaspidic acids.
- Also included are phloroglucinol, filmaron, albaspidin and aspidinol.
- The rhizome contains essential oil and starch.
The main active substances are fern acid and filmaron. They are classified as muscle poisons.
Pharmacological properties of the plant
It is known that the anthelmintic action is what the fern has in the first place. Beneficial features and contraindications - very important point, which you need to familiarize yourself with before using the plant.
Preparations made from fern rhizomes have a number of properties:
- they are able to fight worms;
- can anesthetize;
- cleanse;
- heal.
In medicine, preparations from the rhizomes of the plant are used to remove tapeworms. They are also necessary when bovine, porcine or tapeworm and other types of tapeworms are found in the body.
The tool can be sold in the form of an essential extract or tablets. It is necessary to take drugs only under the supervision of doctors. Fern extracts will be needed for rheumatism, cramps and hemorrhoids. They are also used for varicose veins and inflammation of the ovaries in women. Male fern can be used externally. Its properties help to treat skin diseases.
The use of male fern in folk medicine
Everyone knows that the shield is poisonous plant. But people have learned to use it for noble purposes. In folk medicine, preparations from its rhizomes are used orally for pain in the gastrointestinal tract. Male fern is also used parenterally for mental and nervous disorders, diarrhea, eczema.
The medicinal tincture can be used as an anesthetic for neuralgia, arthritis and rheumatism. You can also use baths with a decoction of the rhizomes of the plant. They are used for leg ulcers and nerve inflammation.
In addition, the male fern is able to heal festering wounds and ulcers. To do this, it is enough to prepare a decoction from its rhizome. Then they need to wash problem areas. Herbal remedies are also used as compresses.
But in any case, we must not forget that the fern is a poisonous plant, so it is necessary to monitor the dosage of medicines based on the thyroid gland. Basically, such funds are taken externally.
Medications and their doses
A decoction of the rhizomes of the shield is prepared from 10 g of dry raw materials and a glass of water. The ingredients should be combined and boiled until the liquid is reduced to half. Then the broth must be filtered.
- children from 2 to 6 years old should take 8 drops at a time;
- children from 6 to 10 years old should take the drug 10 drops once;
- from 10 to 16 years - 12 drops;
- adults - 15 drops.
The decoction can be taken for other diseases, but in this case it will be necessary to mix it with vodka at a ratio of 1:1. The finished product must be stored in the refrigerator.
A decoction for external use is prepared from 200 g of rhizomes and 2 liters of water. This remedy should be boiled over low heat for about 2 hours. Then the broth must be filtered.
Side effects
As a side effect, degenerative changes in the liver can occur. In addition, the following violations are observed:
- Sometimes there is nausea and vomiting.
- The use of drugs leads to diarrhea.
- Dizziness and headaches may occur.
- In some cases, there is a weakening of the work of the heart.
Contraindications of the drug based on the thyroid gland
- Fern-based preparations should not be taken by children under 2 years of age.
- Also, such a remedy is contraindicated in heart failure, diseases of the liver and kidneys.
- It is best not to take this drug to pregnant women.
- The drug is contraindicated in gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer.
- The drug is not prescribed for anemia and tuberculosis.
Folk recipes based on the shield
- In case of inflammation of the ovaries, it is necessary to purchase a dry or fresh fern leaf. You need to take a glass of boiling water and a large spoon with chopped leaves. Heat the product in a water bath for about 15 minutes. Then the medicine should be infused for 40 minutes. After that, the broth must be filtered. It is necessary to take it 50 ml 3 times a day before meals. The course of admission can be carried out up to 3 weeks.
- With varicose veins, a remedy is prepared from the fresh root of the plant. It needs to be crushed to the state of gruel. The resulting mass must be combined with sour milk in the calculation 1:1. A compress from the finished product should be applied in a thick layer to the problem area and wrapped with gauze for 5 hours.
- With oncology, you can prepare a remedy from a fresh root. To do this, it must be washed and crushed. The resulting slurry must be placed in glass jar. Then pour natural cognac there and close the product with a lid as tightly as possible. It should be infused for about 3 weeks, but every three days the liquid must be shaken. Take this remedy should be 15 ml 3 times a day between meals.
Fern is considered a poisonous plant, but healing. It is used to get rid of many various diseases. In addition to the usual decoctions and infusions, baths based on the shield tree are very popular. It is necessary to take the fern remedy with caution, as it has a number of contraindications and side effects. That is why it is very important to take into account the dose and in no case exceed it.
Dryopteris filix-mas (syn. Aspidium filix-mas, Nephrodium filix-mas)
Taxon: family Shchitovnikovye ( Dryopteridaceae)
Other names: male fern, helminth, spool, fleabane
English: Male Fern
generic Latin name plants Dryopteris derived from two Greek words - "drys" (oak) and "pteris" (fern). The word "pteris" comes from "pteron" - a wing, a feather: a fern leaf resembles a bird's feather. In literal translation, the name means "fern of oak forests", "oak forest".
Botanical description
To avoid possible side effects high doses of fern extract per organism, it can be injected directly into the intestine through a duodenal probe, which allows you to reduce the dose of the drug to 4 g and gives a good therapeutic effect. Comparatively less toxicity has a tablet preparation filiksan containing biologically active substances rhizomes of the male fern.
For external use, a male fern tincture is prepared (1 part of the crushed rhizome is poured for 14 days with 4 parts of alcohol), which is rubbed into sore spots several times a day. A decoction (1 kg of rhizomes is boiled in 5 liters of water for 2 hours) is used for baths that are taken for varicose dermatitis and leg ulcers (1 liter of decoction per bath), the course of treatment is 30 baths, the duration of the procedure is 30 minutes.
How antihelminthic in Korea, an essential extract of the rhizomes of the Sikhotinsky fern and the thick-rhizome fern is used. The latter showed therapeutic efficacy also in ascariasis of the biliary tract and amoebic dysentery.
It was reported about the use of preparations of rhizomes of fern thick-rhizome in uterine bleeding, but such treatment is recognized as quite dangerous.
Studies of thick-rhizome fernen isolated from a fern leaf have shown its effectiveness in. For the treatment of psoriasis and the prevention of parapsoriasis, the polar fraction of the extract of the leaf and rhizomes was also used. This fraction does not contain filicin and is therefore characterized by low toxicity.
In the USA, complex herbal preparations with antiviral and immunostimulating activity are patented, which contain polysaccharides and flavonoids extracted from the rhizomes of the thick-rhizome fern as active ingredients.
The male fern rhizome extract is part of the complex homeopathic preparations Anthelmin, Helminton.
In veterinary medicine, preparations of male fern in the form of powders from dried rhizomes, extracts and preparations of filixan and filmaron are used for helminthiasis in sheep, cattle, cats, dogs and chickens. These drugs are prescribed simultaneously with saline laxatives. give to animals Castor oil in the treatment of helminthiases with fern preparations, it is contraindicated ( Zharikov I. S. et al., 1986).
In Vietnam, the rhizomes of the male fern are used as an insecticide.
Male Fern Medicines
Filixan(Filixanum) - the sum of the active ingredients of the rhizomes of the male fern, is available in the form of tablets of 0.5 g.
It is prescribed for teniasis inside once for adults, 14-16 tablets (7-8 g), for children aged 2-5 years - 2-5 tablets (1-2.5 g), 6-10 years - 6-8 tablets (3-4 g), 11-15 years - 10-12 tablets (5-6 g). The highest single dose for adults (once) is 10 g. Patient preparation and method of application are similar to those for the application of male fern thick extract.
Digestodoron(Weleda, Austria) - tablets or oral solution containing extracts of male fern, common centipede, centipede leaf, common bracken, purple willow and Salix vitellina. Used as an anthelmintic, 1-2 tablets 15 minutes before meals with water.
An antihelminthic drug is produced abroad Rosapin"and drug" Toxifren».
Anthelmin(Antihelminum, NVFF Alkoy, Russia) is a complex homeopathic preparation in the form of granules containing Abrotanum C3, Cina C3, Sabadilla C3, Filix C6 and Nux vomica C6. It is used for infestations with round and tape worms. Assign adults 8 granules 3-5 times a day 30 minutes before meals or 1 hour after meals under the tongue, children under 10 years old - 5 granules 3-5 times a day.
Helminton(National Homeopathic Union, Ukraine) - a complex homeopathic preparation in the form of granules containing Cina 200, Spigelia 30, Sabadilla 30, Teucrium 30 and Filix mas 30. It is used for helminthic invasions. Assign 3 granules 3 times a day before meals, the course of treatment is 1-2 months.
R. V. Kutsik, B. M. Zuzuk
Ivano-Frankivsk State Medical Academy
Photos and illustrations
Shield or otherwise fern is the most common plant of the Shield family. The greatest territorial distribution of this herb is found in temperate climate zone Northern Hemisphere, and diversity in species of shield beetle is observed in the territory East Asia. Some of the species that make up the Shchitovnikovye are famous and even legendary. There is some belief that on the night of Ivan Kupala, the fern blooms its flowers, but if you follow the established botanical standards, this will not happen for one simple reason - the fern does not bloom.
In nature, there are about 150 species of this medicinal representative, but the most common is the male shield or male fern. In addition to this species, there are others suitable for urban gardening, landscape gardening and home gardening. In addition to the type of male shield, this includes the following types:
- needle shield;
- fragrant shield or St. John's wort stone;
- comb thyroid gland;
- red sorus shield;
- prostrate shield.
If you highlight some of the features certain types, then, for example, the comb forest tree endures even the most severe frosts, and the odoriferous forest tree is used in perfumery and for flavoring teas.
This fern is a perennial plant. One of the characteristics of grass is the absence of a stem. But at the same time, the shield tree has a rather powerful rhizome of an ascending or horizontal type, covered with scales and rising from the ground. Perennial leaves extend directly from the rhizome and are found in two types - double-pinnate lanceolate or triple-pinnate triangular. There are exceptional species where the leaves are of an uncharacteristic shape and are unpaired with large whole lobes. The sporangia of the plant are arranged either in rows or randomly scattered on the underside of the leaves.
The fern reproduces in a sporicidal way, and the breeding process itself can last until autumn. Medicinal properties are contained mainly in the root of the plant, therefore, this part of the perennial is used for harvesting. After collecting the roots, they are cleaned, dried and stored for no more than 1 year in a dry room.
Description of some types of plants
The comb shield has a height of 30-50 cm and grows on swampy forests and shrubs or near-trunk elevations. The odorous shield tree is a low plant, about 10-30 cm, has a pleasant smell, exudes the smell of fresh hay and grows mainly on rocks and stony placers. AT landscape design is used for decorative ornament Slides also have uses in cooking and medical practice. The male shield tree prefers shady coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests. The name comes from the presence of coarse leaves and it is this type of plant that is known in the legend about Ivan Kupala. The red-headed shield grows in closed ground, reaches a height of up to 60 cm and is an evergreen plant.
Useful properties of fern
The medicinal properties of the root are due to the content of medicinal substances in it. There are alkaloids, starch, essential oils, flavonoids, tannins, fat, hydrocyanic acid, riboflavin, carotene, tocopherol and nicotinic acid.
Fern is used in cooking and is included in the food of taiga residents Far East, Japan and Korea. The use of this plant forms the correct skeleton, improves nervous system, normalizes metabolism in the body and increases efficiency.
Use in medical and folk practice also gives its advantages. medicinal properties. Not all types of ferns have therapeutic effect. For example, the red-headed shield is suitable for decoration. garden areas, but the male fern or odorous shield has a medicinal effect. They have antispasmodic, antibacterial, disinfectant, tonic and soothing effect.
Fern cleanses the body of toxins and harmful substances and helps to strengthen the immune system. If a person has skin rashes, long-term non-healing skin lesions, eczema, rheumatism, frequent headaches and chronic constipation, then the use of this plant will give positive results and improve the patient's well-being. The thyroid gland also improves and normalizes the work of the cardiovascular system, but at the same time it has some contraindications in some cases of heart disease.
For what diseases is it used?
Through their amazing properties fern restores the body after prolonged illness and contributes to its full functioning. The use of this plant is possible with such diseases and pathological disorders:
- the presence of helminths in the body;
- rheumatism;
- chronic and acute constipation;
- ulcers and eczema;
- extensive damage to the skin;
- headache;
- angina;
- flu;
- dyspnea;
- stress and psycho-emotional disorders;
- haemorrhoids;
- poisoning;
- children's urinary incontinence.
Folk recipes for using ferns
The medicinal perennial is used not only as a raw material for pharmacy fees, but is also used with great pleasure in alternative medicine. In any case, before starting therapeutic popular action you need to consult your doctor to get necessary recommendations on the dosage and use of the plant.
- Fern decoction. For cooking, you need to take 10 gr. medicinal plant, pre-dried and finely chopped. Next, the root is poured with a glass of boiling water and put on a slow fire. Cook the mixture until medicinal composition will not evaporate by about half. Further use is possible 1 teaspoon 1 time per day with the addition of honey. It is also possible to mix such a decoction with flour and divide it into 10 doses. However, do not forget that all dosages must be strictly observed, because such a decoction is strong medicine from helminths. After medical procedures you need to conduct a course of cleansing salt microclysters. It is not recommended to use a laxative with a different composition, so that the absorption of the agent into the blood does not occur.
- For external use, it is possible to use baths and rubdowns. Such therapeutic actions help with skin diseases and extensive wounds. To prepare a medicinal plant, you need to take 100 g of fresh root or 50 g of dry root and boil it in two liters of water under a tight lid for 2-3 hours. After that, the resulting solution is added to a bath filled with water at a temperature of approximately 27-32 degrees.
- For treatment, a tincture is prepared based on 25 g of fern root and a bottle of vodka. To prepare, you need to mix these two components and let it brew with constant shaking in dark place for 2 weeks. After that, the tincture is filtered and taken 15-20 drops, previously diluted with water, 3 times a day for half an hour before meals.
- To improve and normalize sleep, fresh fern leaves are added to the mattress.
- The next fern recipe is to use fresh leaves. They are crushed to a mushy state and mixed in equal proportions with sour milk. The resulting mixture should be applied to areas of the body with varicose veins, treatment course is 3-4 days with some interruption, after which it resumes again.
Contraindications to the use of medicinal plants
Fern is a poisonous plant, so its use is possible only under the strict supervision of a doctor. It is considered poisonous due to the presence of chemical composition plants of the substance "crude filicin", which is contained, for example, in the form of odorous fern. If you do not follow the dosage medicinal product, Maybe acute poisoning. Symptoms and consequences of poisoning are expressed in:
- headaches;
- nausea and vomiting;
- feeling a sense of weakness;
- convulsions;
- a sharp decrease in blood pressure;
- respiratory depression;
- decrease in cardiac activity;
- dizziness;
- lethal outcome.
Strict contraindications for use are pregnancy, lactation and childhood up to 12 years old. It is necessary to be careful with people who have hypersensitivity to some components of the fern, as well as those prone to allergic reactions. The use of this medicinal plant is contraindicated in persons with kidney and liver disorders, gastric and duodenal ulcers. With tuberculosis and malaria.
In the temperate climate zone, the most common type of fern is the fern fern. From today's article, you will find out which varieties of the shield are the most popular and what their application is.
The description of the fern must begin with the fact that in modern world more than 150 species of this plant culture grow. Official scientific name of this group of plants - Dryopteris, which translates as "fern of an oak forest."
For the first time, a plant culture began to be grown in the Northern Hemisphere. But today different kinds found all over the globe. You can meet the plant both in tropical countries and in the countries of Eurasia. The fern grows in South America and fit well in climatic conditions Asian countries.
It grows mainly on mountain slopes. Unpretentious in care. Frost resistant.
Concerning appearance of these plant crops, the description of the fern fern is as follows: the leaves are collected in bunches correct form- such varieties are called nest-shaped or funnel-shaped. There are thyroid glands, on the lower part of the foliage of which the sporangia are arranged in even rows or in a chaotic manner. The rhizome of the fern is strong, rather short, and covered with scales or glands.
Such a plant blooms only once a year on the eve of the celebration of Ivan Kupala Day. It is believed that a person who managed to pick a flower that night will be able to learn all the secrets of the world and find treasures.
Video "How to care for a fern"
Main varieties
As mentioned above, there are many varieties of shield. However, the following five varieties are the most popular and common.
Male
The male fern grows mainly in the forest zone of Eurasia. This plant culture prefers deciduous forests with soil rich in useful substances. This plant thrives best in the shade.
The foliage of the male fern is rough. The shape of the leaves is oblong. This type it has a specific smell of leaves, which is not characteristic of other varieties of thyroid gland. The rhizome or bulb of the male fern is large.
The use of the male fern is basically the same: the plant is used to create a beautiful and unusual landscape design.
Needle
This variety is most common in the Caucasus, as well as in western Siberia. In addition, needle fern bulbs can be purchased in South America, since there given plant also fits well.
The rhizome is scaly. However main feature- a bare plate of leaves from below, characteristic only of this plant. In height, such a culture can reach about 80 cm.
Field
Prefers acidic soils. It is best to plant such a plant culture near swamps and wet fields. This type of thyroid gland does not tolerate dehydration.
The stems of the field fern are long. The leaves are large, pinnate. The root is also quite large. Feature and distinguishing feature this kind - complex structure foliage.
Comb
Grows in many areas European countries and also in Siberia. Prefers soils in areas of swampy forests and moss swamps. It is characterized by dark green foliage of a saturated shade. The leaves are comb-shaped, their length can reach 60 cm.
Odorous
This plant culture lives in Siberia, China and North America. It grows mainly in rocky areas. Leaves perfectly tolerate even severe frosts. The leaves smell very nice. The height of an adult plant is about 30 cm.
plant properties
Applications
This plant culture is used not only for medical and preventive purposes. It is also used in cooking. Young shoots are added to salads and various snacks. However, most often, all kinds of elixirs are prepared from the roots and foliage, which help to eliminate the above ailments.
Male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas).
Other names: male shield, shrike.
Description. perennial herbaceous plant family Shchitovnikovye (Dryopteridaceae). It has a thick horizontal or oblique rhizome, which is covered with brown or blackish, soft, wide scales and remnants of leaf petioles. At the top of the rhizome is a rosette of large leaves.
The leaves (fronds) are numerous, 50-100 cm long, collected at the rhizome in a funnel-shaped bunch. They go through a three-year development cycle: 1 year - year-old rudiments; 2 year - two-year-old snails; 3 years fully developed upright mature fronds.
When young, the leaves are snail-like and densely covered with scales. This position of young leaves and scales protect the delicate tissues of the growing upper part of the leaf from drying out and mechanical damage. Thus, in a cochlear form, a bunch of young leaves spends two years, and only in the third year, in spring, the leaves unfold into a rosette and reach full development.
The leaf petiole is short, with two longitudinal ribs, densely covered with lanceolate, serrated light brown, shiny scales along the edges and smaller narrow-lanceolate hairs, passing to the leaf stem. The leaf blade is pinnately compound, elongate-elliptical or oblong-lanceolate. It is slightly narrowed towards the base, and pointed at the top.
The male fern is a plant that reproduces not by seeds, but by spores. On the reverse side of the sheet, on the segments leaf blade, in places of branching of the supply veins, sori are located in two rows (a group of located spores or organs of asexual reproduction), covered from above with kidney-shaped bedspreads. Spores are kidney-shaped, visible only under a microscope. Spore maturation begins in mid-July.
Fully formed leaves live only one season, performing not only autonomic function, but also the function of reproduction. In autumn, the leaves disperse the spores and wither. The male shield grows in most of Europe and Central Asia. It grows in deciduous and mixed forests, among shrubs, in shady, damp places. Fern male prefers shady areas with moist, slightly acidic, humus-rich soil. The plant is poisonous!
Collection and preparation of raw materials. For medicinal purposes, the rhizomes of the male fern are harvested. Harvesting is carried out in the fall, after the plant wilts, or in early spring. The dug out rhizomes are cleaned of the earth, small horses, scales and dead tissues. Healthy tissues of rhizomes have a greenish color. Rhizomes are not washed, cut lengthwise and across into several parts. Dry in a room with normal ventilation, spread out in a thin layer on paper or cloth. Can be dried in dryers at t no more than 40 degrees. Shelf life of dried raw materials is not more than 1 year.
Plant composition. Male thyroid gland (rhizome) contains phloroglucinol derivatives, filiksonic, flavaspidic acids, filmoran, albaspidin, aspidinol, flavonoids, tannins and bitter substances, starch, essential oil.
Dosage forms and doses.
A decoction of the rhizomes of the male fern. 10 grams of dry crushed rhizomes per glass of water, boil over low heat until the liquid becomes 2 times less, remove from heat, filter after cooling.
Tincture of male fern rhizomes. The tincture is prepared on 70% alcohol or strong moonshine in the ratio of 1 part of dry crushed rhizomes to 4 parts of alcohol. Insist 14 days, periodically shaking, filter. Apply externally, rubbing into painful places.
Decoction of rhizomes for external use. 200 grams of rhizomes per 2 liters of water, boiled over low heat for 2 hours, filtered after cooling. Such a decoction is added to the bath or used in the form of washings and lotions. Bath take 25 - 30 minutes. Treatment course - 30 baths.
Contraindications. Fern preparations are contraindicated in children under two years of age, with heart failure, diseases of the liver, kidneys, during pregnancy, with acute gastrointestinal diseases, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, anemia, tuberculosis, severe exhaustion. Since the plant is poisonous, the dosage should be observed!
