Galega grass: medicinal properties and contraindications. Galega Galega officinalis goat's rue

Diabetes mellitus is an irreversible pathology. Comprehensive treatment is used to maintain a stable state of health. The composition of therapy includes not only medicines and diet. Wide use received traditional medicine with hypoglycemic properties.

Medicinal plants, vegetables, berries help stabilize sugar and keep it at a level as close to normal as possible. Galega for diabetes is one of the most popular herbs on the list of complementary treatments. The use of galega does not cancel the medical treatment prescribed by the endocrinologist.

General information about the plant

Galega has several names: goat's rue, goat's rue, rutovka. This is a branchy grass from the legume family, with bluish flowers in the form of bells (as in the photo). perennial herbaceous plant. Galega fruits are beans, each of which contains from 3 to 7 seeds. The plant is used as a source of honey, livestock feed, raw material for the preparation of medicinal decoctions and tinctures.

Composition and useful qualities

In traditional medicine recipes, stems, seeds, leaves and flowers of a plant are used, containing a large number of useful components:

  • organic compounds natural origin: triterpenoids, alkaloids (the main one is galegin);
  • bitter and tannins;
  • vegetable glycosides (saponins);
  • plant polyphenols (flavonoids);
  • carbohydrates;
  • antioxidants and immunostimulants (carotene, retinol, ascorbic acid);
  • tannin;
  • fatty acid: stearic, linolenic, linoleic, palmitic;
  • vitamin b.

The herb supports the performance of the pancreas and increases the susceptibility of cells and tissues of the body to insulin. In addition, galega helps to slow down the formation of glucose from the amino acids of the eaten protein products (gluconeogenesis), which favorably affects the partial restoration of carbohydrate metabolism. Given the content of antioxidants, folk remedies based on rue are the prevention of atherosclerosis, colds and cancer.

Rutovka increases the tone of smooth muscle fibers (an integral part of the vascular walls and a number of hollow internal organs), regulating blood flow, movement and permeability of fluids. This helps to establish fluid circulation and normalize homeostasis (the constancy of the internal environment of the body).

Medicinal decoctions based on goat's rue help to improve lactation, so their use is allowed in diabetic women when feeding a child. However, in the perinatal period, galega is contraindicated. Its active components can provoke spontaneous abortion.

Important! Galega is officially on the list poisonous plants. Its use requires caution and prior medical consultation.

Warnings and Side Effects

Like most medicinal plants, goat's rue has not only useful qualities. Its toxic properties are manifested when used incorrectly or for a long time. In diabetes, the most dangerous is the hypertensive effect of the herb.

Long-term or incorrect treatment can cause:

  • obstipation (constipation);
  • change in the size of the pupils (in the direction of decrease);
  • violation of the movement of food (peristalsis);
  • allergic reaction;
  • reflex ejection of stomach contents (vomiting).

Contraindications for use are the perinatal period, minor age and individual allergic intolerance. Non-compliance with the dosage rules of the drug from galega in diabetes mellitus can cause hypoglycemia (a sharp change in sugar levels to extremely low levels).

Starting to treat diabetes with rutovka is allowed only with the approval of the endocrinologist. The best option will pass Exploratory survey to identify possible inadequate reactions to the herbal medicine. Raw materials for the preparation of decoctions and tinctures can be purchased at the pharmacy. Pay attention to expiration dates. Self-harvesting of plants is carried out during their flowering period.

The most suitable for the preparation of medicines is top part stems and flowers. It is better to dry the goat's rue on outdoors(without direct sunlight). In this case, flowers, seeds and stems are best dried separately. Keep dry dark place. The shelf life of dried herbs is a year and a half. During course therapy with galega, blood sugar levels should be carefully monitored. In case of a change in the condition for the worse, it is necessary to adjust the dose together with the endocrinologist medicinal product.

The pharmacy has the opportunity to choose ready-made raw materials for brewing two types: in the form of filter bags or in bulk

Folk treatment of diabetes goat's rue

The greatest effect from the use of herbs is noted in the initial stage of the disease. In compensated diabetes, the combination of phytotherapy and proper nutrition allows to minimize drug treatment. Therapy with goat's rue, like others medicinal plants, is a lengthy process.

Instant stabilization of glycemia will not work. It is possible to normalize the condition of a diabetic only with regular treatment and compliance with the correct dosage of the herb. Galega for diabetes can be used as a single drug or in combination with other folk remedies.

Recipe #1

Dried rue leaves - 1 tbsp. l., seeds - 1 teaspoon. pour into a thermos, brew with boiling water (250 ml). It is recommended to do this in the evening. In the morning, filter the finished infusion into a jar. Drink before the main meals (approximately half an hour before). The dose is for one day.

Recipe #2

Crushed goat's rue grass seeds, in the amount of 1 teaspoon, pour into a container convenient for cooking, pour boiling water (250 ml). Boil for five minutes over low heat or a water bath. Pour into a thermos and leave for a couple of hours. Filter the received medicine. A single serving is a tablespoon before meals. Special instructions for taking this remedy include the fact that the seeds have a fairly strong diuretic effect.

Recipe #3

Fill a dark glass bottle with dried rutovka inflorescences, pour vodka or medical alcohol diluted in half with water. Keep in a dark place for a month. Use should be 15-20 drops per reception after meals. Course therapy with alcohol tincture lasts no more than a month. This product contains alcohol. This should be taken into account if there are contraindications to the use of alcohol-based drugs.

Recipe #4

Mix the dried stems and leaves of the herb in a 1:1 ratio. Next, they must be ground with a coffee grinder. The resulting powder is not brewed, but taken in a dry form. The medicine should be taken with plenty of warm water. If well tolerated, the powder can be used as a seasoning for diabetic dishes.

Recipe number 5

Rue and dry blueberry leaves are mixed in equal amounts. The mixture must be ground and add half of the resulting volume of dried nettle leaves to it. Brew a tablespoon of the collection with a glass of boiling water. Steam for 5 minutes in a water bath and insist. The volume is designed for two doses. Should be consumed before meals.


Galega seeds can be used in the treatment of diabetes

Recipe #6

Take a tablespoon of dandelion leaves, nettle, goat's rue, blueberries and lingonberries. The collection mixes well. To prepare a daily portion of the medicine, you need 1.5 tbsp. l. mixture and 300 ml of boiling water. Drink three times a day before meals.

Recipe number 7

Dried bean leaves and rue leaves, 50 gr. brew 400 ml of boiling water. The infusion is aged for an hour and taken 100 ml three times a day before meals. When purchasing ready-made fees, you should carefully read the composition, since there may be an individual intolerance to one or more components.

Therapy for diabetes mellitus is permanent. Diabetics are forced to take drugs and diet for life. Traditional medicines are worthy helpers for maintaining health and preventing severe diabetic complications. Patient reviews of the treatment of diabetes Galega indicate positive results. However, it should be remembered that each case of diabetes and the body is individual. Before using the product, a medical consultation is mandatory.

Any flower meadow in Russia it is not just a clearing. This is a real pharmacy with medicines for all diseases - from a mild cold to chronic diabetes. And also - a cosmetologist's office, summer cuisine and a pantry with the most unusual spices and sweets. Galega officinalis (which the people often call goat's rue) is just such a plant-universal. She is both pretty and unpretentious in everyday life, is valued in medicine and agriculture... And what a fragrant honey it turns out - no worse than linden! Where can you get this fabulous herb?

To whom is dessert, and to whom is lunch: areas of application for goat's rue

Galega has many names - goat's rue, goat's grass, and also rutovka and rue. Galega grass is modest, but thermophilic - you won’t find it in the north, but all of Ukraine, the Caucasus and European part She gladly took a fancy to Russia. It is impossible to confuse the beautiful rutovka with other flowers - its stem is powerful, up to a meter long, the flowers are collected in fluffy hanging brushes. Violet, gray-blue, lilac, bluish goat's rue inflorescences look like unusual bells.

The bees are very fond of these bells - the flower is open, it is convenient to climb in, the proboscis does not cling. The only business is to sit and collect tender nectar. That is why the beekeepers welcome the galega with love - especially the eastern one, it is the most powerful honey plant. But the drug is also very useful in honey business, although healers have always hunted for it even faster than bees: after all, goat's rue for diabetes is the number one herb!

By the way, other “doctors from Russian glades” that we wrote about earlier will also be useful for diabetes:,.

Livestock breeders are also not overjoyed at the galega - for several centuries horses, cows and goats have been happily chewing it (did you think why goat's rue?), And their owners are hard at work mowing it for the long winter. For dairy cattle, rutting is simply irreplaceable - it raises milk yield and helps the horned mother to easily feed her calves and kids.

And if you suddenly decide to grow a medicinal galega in your garden, the benefits will be double. This flower will not only decorate your garden and home first aid kit, it will also fertilize the soil. The land under the goat's rue is enriched with oxygen, becomes even more fertile, and no weeds from dangerous pests will not come out of the soil. Galega is an ideal predecessor for a variety of garden and garden "pets".

The healing power of goat's rue

We are used to the fact that almost every medicinal herb is necessarily written in some ancient Indian-Chinese treatise. But Galega officinalis (its use has been known for several centuries) is an exclusively European herb.

The name "galega" itself comes from the Greek. γάλα - "milk". The herb originally got its name from the white juice that flowed out when the heavy stalk of goat's rue was broken. But then it turned out that rutovka simultaneously enhances lactation in nursing mothers and increases milk yield in livestock, and the name acquired an even more symbolic connotation.

In Italy, young mothers used to be fed salad with young galega leaves - so that the kids would have enough milk in abundance. And now this recipe is held in high esteem in some parts of the old woman of Europe ...

Goat's Rue is a herb that is best used in combination with other medicinal plants. There are quite a few single recipes with galega (excluding "diabetic" recipes). The most popular are diuretic infusion and healing nectar for wounds.

Diuretic infusion of goat's rue

We take 10 g of dried rutovka seeds, pour a glass of boiling water (200 ml) and boil for exactly 5 minutes. Then - 2 hours we insist in a warm place (you can in a thermos). Drink a tablespoon of strained medicine three times a day.

Galega juice for the treatment of wounds and sores

First, squeeze the juice from fresh goat's rue grass, then mix with clean water in a ratio of 1:10. You can take such nectar inside (50 drops three times a day), and treat sore spots externally.

But the most popular "goat" recipes are herbal preparations.

Collection from cystitis with galega

We take herbs and spices in equal proportions: galega, motherwort, heather, black poplar buds, and mix well. For 10 g of this fragrant mixture - 400 ml of cold water. Pour, insist 4 hours, then on the stove. When it boils, wait three minutes. Then remove and insist another 2 hours. Drink half a glass three times a day before meals. Traditional course - no longer than a month!

Galega officinalis for diabetes

Galega is one of the few medicinal herbs that has a specific specialization - type 2 diabetes. This is a form of diabetes when the pancreas still produces the hormone insulin, but the body's sensitivity to it is sharply reduced. As a result, the body does not have time to process glucose, and the volume of sugar in the blood increases rapidly, which can lead to a sad outcome.

Thanks to the unique alkaloid galegin, goat's rue in diabetes mellitus has a complex effect:

  • increases the body's tolerance to glucose (that is, the ability to fully break it down);
  • increases the sensitivity of tissues to insulin;
  • helps to improve the work of the pancreas;
  • allows you to accumulate in tissues in case of lack of energy - the main form of storage of glucose in cells.

It is important to understand that diabetes is a serious disease that invariably requires the patient to have serious mental strength and impressive restrictions in food and lifestyle. One herb, even a very powerful one, cannot cope with such an ailment. Therefore, goat's rue herb for the treatment of diabetes is optimal in the early stages of the disease, when it is still possible to lower sugar (blood glucose levels) with the help of sparing traditional medicine recipes.

How to take goat's rue with diabetes

Galega officinalis for diabetes can be drunk in the most different options. Decoction, infusion, dry grass, herbal preparations; fragrant herb, dried bean seeds ... Traditionally, the most unpretentious recipe offers instructions for use.

Galega decoction for diabetes - a simple recipe

Pour one large spoonful of fragrant European grass with a glass of boiling water and insist for one hour. We stretch one glass for the whole day and 4 meals. Drink strictly after meals.

Classic goat's rue

Pour 2 tablespoons of dried antidiabetic herbs with boiling water (half a liter) and put on water bath in an enameled saucepan or plate. Be sure to cover with a lid! After 15 minutes, filter through a double cheesecloth and add boiling water to get half a liter again.

Herbal collection with galega and beans

There are quite a lot of herbal anti-diabetic preparations with galega, this recipe is one of the simplest.

We take 25 grams of rut and bean pods, dried nettles and. For one tablespoon, 200 ml of boiling water is required, to insist such a medicinal fresh juice for one hour. We divide the portion into 2 parts and drink before meals in the morning and in the evening.

Are there any contraindications?

If goat's rue grass for diabetes mellitus has settled in your first aid kit, you have probably already learned by heart the contraindications to this honey medicine. After all, with all its healing power, galega is quite poisonous (after all, galegin in the composition is a real alkaloid!), And the slightest excess of the dose can lead to sad consequences for your health.

General prohibitions for the treatment of blue-violet goat's rue read:

  • Grass greatly affects the muscle tone of the intestines, so you can’t drink it with intestinal diseases. You can easily earn an upset bowel, and its functions will be seriously affected.
  • With severe hypertension, goat's rue is also not recommended - even a small portion of herbal decoction increases pressure.
  • During pregnancy, rutovka should be completely hidden from sight. It belongs to the notorious abortive herbs and early dates capable of causing a miscarriage. It is better to get goat's rue from the bins only after childbirth, when you start breastfeeding your baby.

But it is best to take goat's rue under the strict supervision of a doctor. An experienced doctor will select the dosage, prescribe the necessary tests, and monitor your condition.

Goat's rue officinalis (pharmacy) is a representative of the legume family, a perennial plant.

It is also called:
  • galega officinalis;
  • rutovka;
  • goat rue.

Description

Goat's Rue is a very inappropriate name for this. beautiful plant. It is fixed, as goats and sheep are very fond of this fodder grass. This is a rhizomatous plant, that is, it has an impressive root size: the main tap root grows up to 90 cm, smaller roots extend from it. Branched stems grow up to 1 m in height. The leaves are oblong, elongated, arranged according to the rowan leaf pattern - 8 pairs and 1 leaf on top. Flowers of delicate shades (light lilac, grayish-violet) with a moth corolla, collected in large inflorescences. The fruit is a bean in a pod, up to 4 cm in length.

Galega is quite thermophilic: it grows in the Crimea, the Caucasus, on the Black Sea coast and in the lower reaches of the Volga. Chooses beech, subtropical forests. Occurs on forest edges, along roadsides, near rivers. Goat's rue is a valuable honey plant, its flowers are very convenient for bees. It is planted near apiaries. If the plant has been mowed, it gives a second flowering - the bees take off the second crop of nectar. In the Caucasus, goat's rue fruits are added to side dishes.

Compound

The plant is poisonous! The most interesting substance in goat's rue is the alkaloid galegin, which increases the body's tolerance to glucose, regulates glycogen in the liver, and inhibits renal insulinase. Also present is the alkaloid peganine, which tones smooth muscles. When instilled into the eye, it causes pupillary constriction. The grass contains saponin, tannins, quercetin, bitter and tannins, rutin. Triterpenoids have been found in goat's rue root.

Medicinal properties

The plant is used both in folk and official medicine. The hypoglycemic effect of Galega officinalis is highly valued: its preparations are prescribed for type II diabetes mellitus (at the initial stage). Galega alkaloids increase the body's sensitivity to glucose, that is, they act in the same way as the drugs "Siofor", "Glucophage", "Piolar" and analogues. At a more serious stage of the disease, doctors prescribe decoctions, infusions and galega tinctures as an additional remedy for insulin: this allows you to reduce the dosage of the latter. It is possible to achieve the effect of lowering sugar with the help of galega with long-term use of its preparations: it does not provide emergency assistance. In diabetes, goat's rue is also useful in that it improves the circulation of fluids, preventing the formation of edema, and also has a beneficial effect on blood vessels. It stimulates the creation of glycogen stores and removes bad cholesterol. Regular intake of galega reduces the likelihood of sugar surges. In general, this plant significantly improves the condition of diabetics.

Folk healers prescribe goat's rue to increase the volume of milk in nursing mothers, as a diuretic and diaphoretic. The plant increases pressure, is an anthelmintic.

Medicinal use

The green part of the galega is harvested at the time of the beginning of flowering, cutting off the top of the plant (no more than 25 cm from the top). Also, sometimes only flowers are collected. In any case, the secret of successful harvesting is fast drying, otherwise the raw material loses a significant share useful qualities. Some recipes are based on the use of galega beans, which ripen in late August - early September, or galega root (dug up in autumn). Store raw materials for no more than a year.

Recipes

The raw materials for drugs for diabetes are grass or beans. Recipes for diabetics:

  • Galega herb infusion:
  • 1 tbsp pour raw materials in a thermos glass hot water, leave overnight. Filter. Drink the infusion in three divided doses a day, before meals.
  • Decoction of goat's rue beans:
  • Boil 10 g of beans (possible in a pod) for 5 minutes in 250 ml of water, leave for at least 3 hours. Take 1 tbsp. half an hour before meals, 4 times a day. As a diuretic, 1 tablespoon is used. three times a day.
  • Tincture:
  • Dry grass is poured with medical alcohol in a ratio of 1 to 1. Infused for 10 days, filtered. The dose is 15-20 drops of tincture diluted in water. Take after meals, 3 times a day.
  • Herb powder:
  • grind in a coffee grinder or grind dry raw materials in a mortar. Take 0.5 g 3 times a day, half an hour before meals with 100 ml of water.

Fresh leaves for lactation: Breastfeeding women are recommended to eat young leaves of galega, it is possible as part of a green salad.

Juice for sore throat: fresh grass is crushed, squeezed through cheesecloth. Dilute with water 1 to 5, use as a rinse.

Contraindications

Long-term use of galega preparations disrupts the activity of the intestines, increases blood pressure. Galega is contraindicated in both hypotensive and hypertensive patients. Due to the content of alkaloids and lactogenic action, the use of the plant is not recommended for pregnant women.

Galega is a medicinal herb that belongs to the legume family. In the people it is called medicinal herb - goat's rue. This name was given to herbalists who grew the crop as feed for cattle. Her beneficial features can be used to treat many ailments, even against diabetes.

Medicinal properties

useful raw material is leaf, root and flower. The medicinal herb acts as a diaphoretic, diuretic, anthelmintic and antibacterial drug. Galegin decoction is able to reduce blood sugar. For this reason, it is used to treat diabetes. The plant contains:

1. carbohydrates;
2. vitamin C;
3. carotene;
4. tannin;
5. tannins and bitter substances.

The seed secretes an alkaloid. And this substance, in turn, narrows the pupil when applied topically, normalizes intravenous pressure and constricts blood vessels. Also, the alkaloid galegin contributes to the production of mother's milk. Despite these advantages, the medicinal herb has contraindications.

Contraindications to the use of Galega herb

It is important to know that it is impossible to use goat's rue in large quantities, it is poisonous! Contraindications medicinal herb collected in small quantities. Its use is prohibited in hypertension and hypotension, and even during pregnancy. However, doctors do not exclude individual intolerance. Any shrub-based remedy requires strict adherence to the dose.

Galega eastern goat's rue

This plant has been used as a fertilizer. This perennial herb, like other legumes, is sown as green manure for the soil. The fact is that the medicinal herb accumulates nitrogen in the ground and after it you can plant any crops that need this element. It is best to sow the plant in the spring, but you can also after harvesting the beds. Late sowing is fraught with freezing seeds. Galegavostochnaya as green manure is very valuable. Often entire fields are sown with it.

Galega grass: use in traditional medicine

Traditional medicine uses a medicinal shrub as an antihelminthic. Our raw materials are used for lactation, to increase the content of glycogen and to tone the smooth muscles. Galega has long been used against diabetes. Due to the fact that it has no significant contraindications, the medicinal herb is one of the best honey plants.

Galega tea

The aerial part of the plant is used to brew healthy tea. Dry grass is better, as raw is weakly brewed. 1 tsp pour a cup of boiling water over raw materials and leave for 3 minutes. For deliciousness, you can put honey or sugar. Use twice a day during a meal. Children are also allowed this folk tea only in smaller quantities. Tea with goat's rue is considered harmless, yet it has a contraindication. These are acute illnesses. gastrointestinal tract.

Galega herb extract for lactation

The medicinal herb galega is very good for milk production. Studies have shown that in all mothers participating in the experiment, the amount of milk increased several times. In 30% of women, milk increased by 100%.

Infusion recipe: 1 st. l. chopped herbs, brew a glass of boiling water and drink 1 tbsp. l. three times a day. Reviews about goat's rue are only good, it is recognized best grass to increase lactation. This medicinal preparation is sold in filter bags. 1 sachet is for one use.

Galega balm

Balm Galega is intended for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Its composition is completely natural. Reviews of patients who managed to get rid of diabetes say that both the general condition and the skin and sex life.

This balm restores damaged organs after diabetes, has a beneficial effect on the pancreas and acts as a prevention of obesity. Everyone is interested in how much galega balm costs. Its price ranges from 700 to 900 rubles.

Basically, patient reviews indicate that the treatment of diabetes mellitus is effective only at stages I and II. It cannot be said for sure that it was precisely one medicine based on goat's rue that overcame the disease. But from the first days of its use, people felt significant relief. It is worth noting that not a single review was limited to the use of an infusion from a plant only a month. Patients say that long-term therapy can cure diabetes.

Those who took medication for later dates did not see any positives. The medicinal herb had no effect on the disease. In cases of overdose, such side effects like severe vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and a few seconds of delirium. According to the reviews, we can conclude that the sooner treatment of diabetes mellitus with goat's rue is started, the more likely it is to be cured.

Galega for diabetes: how is it used?

The instruction says that you need to drink galega officinalis for 1 tsp. three times a day for 30 min. before the meal. The doctor may prescribe a different dosage, depending on the weight of the patient.

The use of medicinal herbs against this disease has been experimenting for a long time. Most of the time, diabetes is treatable. There are reviews about the cure of the disease in a child. The boy's mother writes that the disappointing diagnosis was made at the age of 9. The child spent 2 years of his life on expensive drugs. His condition neither improved nor worsened.

After using the goat's rue, the boy began to feel much better and after a week he stopped some pharmaceuticals. Within a year, the child managed to overcome the disease.

There are also reviews that indicate early treatment. In such cases, it was possible to cure diabetes mellitus in six months. Nevertheless, people say that the first time drinking the tincture was unpleasant, and a gag reflex appeared from the sugary taste. There was also a burning sensation in the trachea and stomach, but alcohol was to blame. There were cases where there were contraindications, such as pressure fluctuations. However, the established dosage did not have a detrimental effect.

Description

Galega officinalis (Galega officinalis L.) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the legume family up to 100 cm high with alternate unpaired pinnate leaves, it is also called goat's rue or goat's rue. The flowers are papilionaceous, light purple, collected in dense brushes. Distributed mainly in the southern regions of Europe and the Caucasus.



Compound

The aerial part of the plant contains alkaloids, incl. peganin, flavonoids (kaempferol and quercetin glycosides), tannins, phenolcarboxylic acids, saponins, pectins. It has been experimentally established that the presence of guanidine alkaloids in galega plants causes a prolonged hypoglycemic effect. In Bulgaria, Great Britain and the USA, galega is used in official medicine for the treatment of mild forms of diabetes mellitus. On the basis of guanidine compounds, preparations for the treatment of diabetes have been created, for example, Glucophage (Metformin).

Properties

IN traditional medicine galega has long been used as a diaphoretic, in mild forms of diabetes, to improve milk secretion in nursing mothers. Galega preparations are known to improve heart function, lower blood pressure, help in the treatment of hemorrhoids, laryngeal diseases and obesity.

Application

This plant has proven itself well in the treatment of the initial stages of type 2 diabetes mellitus, when insulin is not yet used, and you can normalize sugar levels with the help of diets and folk remedies. Galega grass is considered the best remedy prevention of cardiovascular complications of diabetes mellitus. This medicinal herb helps to improve the movement of fluids throughout the body. That is why it has a diuretic, diaphoretic action and increases lactation. Galega reduces the concentration of glucose in the blood by inhibiting the formation of glucose (gluconeogenesis) in the liver. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on insulin receptors, increasing their sensitivity to insulin, while improving the absorption of glucose by body cells. Galega also slows down the absorption of glucose from the intestines and, thereby, reduces hyperglycemia after a meal.

Biologically active ingredients galega also normalize impaired lipid metabolism and lower blood cholesterol levels, normalize metabolic processes in the body, fight inflammation and fever, and have mild laxative and diuretic effects. Galega works especially well in combination with other medicinal herbs. With diabetes, galega officinalis helps in one more important process. As you know, in the liver there are "stores" of glucose, in the form of glycogen. If there is a shortage of energy in the body, and there is nowhere to take it from, then hidden reserves are activated. It is these reserves that this herb helps to make in diabetes. It also strengthens and tones the smooth inner muscles. It helps to remove bad cholesterol and strengthen blood vessels. This is all very important in the treatment of a disease such as diabetes, because it affects many organs and disrupts their work.