Note to the witch doctor: collecting and drying medicinal herbs

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

When to Collect Plants:

- March: birch (buds), lingonberry (buds).

- April: birch (buds), lingonberry (leaves), viburnum (bark).

- May: birch (leaves, buds), lingonberry (leaves), viburnum (bark), nettle (leaves), burdock (roots), dandelion (grass, roots), shepherd's purse (grass), plantain (grass), currants (leaves).

- June: nettle (leaves), burdock (roots), dandelion (grass, roots), shepherd's purse (grass), plantain (leaves), wormwood (leaves), motherwort (grass), celandine (grass).

- July: viburnum (bark, fruits), stinging nettle (leaves), burdock (roots), raspberries (fruits, leaves), carrots (seeds, roots), dandelion (grass, roots), shepherd's purse (grass), plantain (grass), wormwood (grass, leaves), motherwort (grass), celandine (grass).

- August: viburnum (bark, fruits), nettle (leaves), burdock (roots), dandelion (grass, roots), shepherd's purse (grass), plantain (leaves), wormwood (grass), celandine (grass).

- September: viburnum (fruits, bark), nettle (leaves), burdock (roots), dandelion (roots), shepherd's purse (grass), plantain (leaves), wormwood (grass).

- Take only those plants that you know well. Do not exterminate plants, think that after you other people will also collect them. Do not collect plants near roads or plants.

Fresh medicinal raw materials are rarely used. Fresh leaves of aloe, plantain and some other plants are used to obtain juices. They are processed immediately after collection. Basically, medicinal plants are dried; in dry form, they retain their physiological activity for a long time. Dry medicinal raw materials immediately after collection and quickly. When water is removed from the cells, enzymatic processes stop. If the healing substances of medicinal raw materials do not change when heated above 60-70 ° C, drying is performed at this temperature. The medicinal raw materials dried in this way usually do not lose their properties even with short-term damping during storage. If the medicinal raw material is dried at a lower temperature, then when it becomes damp, the enzymes resume their action, and its activity decreases. Sometimes they rely on the action of enzymes, if the primary substances of living plants are acting on the body, but the products of their cleavage. Then the medicinal raw material is not dried immediately, but after it has dried. This is done, for example, when harvesting valerian.

The optimum drying temperature is different and depends on the chemical composition of raw materials and some properties of biologically active substances. Raw materials containing essential oils are dried slowly, spreading it out in a thick layer, at a temperature of 25-30 ° C. At the same time, the formation of essential oil continues, and there will be more of it in the dried raw material than in the fresh plant. Birch buds collected from branches are dried in the open air or in well-ventilated cold rooms, as they can bloom in the warmth. Raw materials containing glycosides and alkaloids are dried at 50-60 ° C, parts of nightshade plants containing the alkaloid hyoscyamine (belladonna, henbane, datura, etc.) are dried at 40 ° C, since at a higher temperature this alkaloid turns into atropine, which acts twice as weak. Bearberry and lingonberry leaves can be dried at a higher temperature, because the glycoside arbutin they contain can withstand heating up to 150 ° C. Rapid high-temperature drying of this raw material prevents oxidation of tannins and, in connection with this, discoloration of the raw material. Raw materials containing vitamins, especially vitamin C, are dried quickly at 80-100 ° C to avoid oxidation of ascorbic acid. But this temperature regime is not always applicable. So, for example, in the fruits of black currant, in addition to vitamin C, there is an essential oil, therefore they are dried at 50-60 ° C.

Before drying, the raw material is sorted, removing accidentally parts of other plants or the same plant that are not intended for harvesting (for example, leaves in flower raw materials, parts damaged by insects, brown, etc.). Raw materials are dried using natural and artificial heat. Natural drying is done outdoors, in good weather, in the wind. At night, the raw materials are transferred indoors or under a shed. In closed rooms, it is better to dry in an attic under an iron roof or in a ventilated barn. The room should be equipped with shelving with pull-out frames, covered with gauze or mesh. You can dry the raw materials on gauze hammocks, hanging them between the rafters, making spacers from thin wooden slats or narrow strips of plywood, which are nailed on both sides at a distance of 80-100 centimeters. With this drying, the raw material is ventilated not only from the top and the side, but also from the bottom, which makes drying faster. Medicinal raw materials are laid out on shelves or hammocks in a thin layer and periodically turned over.

Raw materials that require high temperatures are dried in dryers, and in the absence of them, in a Russian oven or on it. The oven should not be very hot, otherwise the raw material will burn. When drying in the oven, the shutter must be slightly open. It is also possible to dry raw materials, especially berries, in the oven of a gas stove, and the flame of the gas burner should be minimal, and the door of the cabinet is slightly open. For larger workpieces, vegetable dryers are used.

Leaves, flowers and herbs are dried, protecting them from sunlight, so that the leaves do not turn yellow, the flowers do not fade, do not lose their natural color. However, in good sunny weather, you can dry cornflower flowers while maintaining their natural color. Slow drying in the shade leads to discoloration of many flowers. Fruits, seeds and many underground organs can be dried in the sun.

Plant buds are dried in a well-ventilated area, sprinkling them in a thin layer and often stirring or not removing them from the branches. In a warm room, they begin to bloom. The bark is dried in good weather outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. Correctly dried bark becomes brittle.

Leaves are dried in attics or in a ventilated area, laid out in 2-3 layers and often turned over. Leaves with thin leaf blades dry unevenly. Initially, the leaf blades become dry, but the veins and petioles are still soft. Dry them until they become brittle. After drying, the leaves are raked into a heap and left to stand for several days. Due to their hygroscopicity, they attract moisture from the air and crumble less when packed.

The flowers are laid out in a thinner layer so as not to turn over when drying. Baskets of Asteraceae can be agitated (tansy, chamomile, arnica, etc.). The herbs are dried in the same way as the leaves. In well-dried grass, not only the leaves, but also the stems should break, not bend. You can dry herbs by tying them in small bunches and hanging them from ropes. Dried fruits and seeds lose moisture even before threshing, so they do not have to be dried. If necessary, they are dried in the air or indoors. Juicy fruits are dried in the sun before drying and dried at a temperature of 70-90 ° C in ovens or dryers. Well-dried fruits do not stain the hands or clump together when squeezed.

Roots and rhizomes that do not contain essential oils can be dried in the sun. The fragrant rhizomes of calamus, valerian are dried in the shade or in a well-ventilated area. In bad weather, this raw material is dried at elevated temperatures or in ventilated rooms. Before drying, thick roots and rhizomes are cut into pieces along, and long ones across into pieces, very thick in circles. When drying whole roots, use a low temperature to allow the inner parts to dry. Dry roots and rhizomes should break.

Grass can also be used to fill mattresses and pillows for a great sleep.