He picked leaves, brewed a potion, drank it three times and forgot everything, remembering only a single word - “rue”. Hannochka, even dead, wished her beloved happiness. Since then, people have called this plant rue.
Another legend tells that a long time ago there lived a girl in the world and she had a boyfriend whom she loved very much. But on the eve of the wedding, he said that he fell in love with someone else and would marry her. In despair, the girl ran away from the village, wherever her eyes looked. She ran to a steep cliff and began to climb the slope. The stones falling from under her feet woke up the owner of the rock, who was dozing in his cave. He got out of it to see who disturbed his peace. And then he saw the girl. The giant was so struck by her beauty that he was inflamed with love for her and rushed after her. Seeing him, the girl got scared, screamed, raised her hands to the sky and began to pray for salvation. The gods took pity and turned her into a yellow flower growing on a sunlit slope. And the giant turned to stone from grief on this rock and remained sitting near the yellow flower, which since then has helped all brides not to lose their groom.
And another beautiful and sad legend, where rue acts as a symbol of self-sacrifice for the well-being of others. A brother and sister lived in the Carpathians. Alenka enjoyed making wreaths, and Ivanko collected flowers for her, especially her favorite rue-mint. They lived well, but one day the father, returning from hunting, found himself in such a thick fog that he wandered into the rocks and crashed. They were left alone.
Ivan worked as a laborer for a rich gentleman, and Alenka was taken into her servant by the grandmother who lived next door. It was hard for her with that woman. Alenka got up at dawn and went to bed under the stars. Sometimes the woman wouldn’t give me anything to eat and would beat me. Rarely now did she manage to see her beloved brother, and then only secretly, so that the evil one would not swear. A bitter orphan's share.
One day Alenka saw that the old woman had opened a chest, took out an unusual pipe, all covered in strange carvings, and left the hut. The girl became curious and she, stealthily, followed her. An old woman came to the mountain and lit a pipe. Thick smoke came out of it and began to spread through the gorges in long streams like fingers. Alenka forgot to breathe out of fear. And then that fog, as if seeing the girl, began to reach out to her. Seized with horror, Alenka flew from that place like an arrow.
She realized that her father's death was not accidental. Baba is a real witch. With an enchanted fog, she led people into gorges, where they died. And Alenka swore to take revenge on the witch, so that she could no longer harm people. I decided that the evil power of the witch was in the strange pipe. Alenka waited until the old woman went into the field, instantly opened the chest, took out the pipe and almost, out of fright, did not let go of her hands: something alien and incomprehensible burst into her body. But she firmly decided to destroy the pipe and, gathering her strength, threw it into the oven. However, it did not burn, not even charred. The frightened girl scooped it out of the fire and wanted to put it back in the chest, but then the grandmother ran into the hut. In her eyes, Alenka saw not only anger, but despair and fear.
She furiously attacked Alenka: “How dare you take what is not yours. Well, just know! As soon as you look into the world or say even one word, your dear brother will immediately fall dead.” At the same moment, Alenka closed her eyes tightly in horror and no longer saw, but heard something hit the floor. This evil witch put all her strength into the curse and fell dead.
On the same day that the witch died, Alenka ran away into the wilderness where not every animal had wandered. The pipe helped her get used to hermit life, since the mists became her eyes, and she could see everything where they covered the ground. More than once Alenka saw how her brother searched for her in the forests, how every year, when the rue-mint bloomed, he brought it to where, once as children, they played together, and Alenka wove a wreath. But she firmly remembered the curse of the evil witch and took care of her beloved brother - she was silent and never opened her eyes.
Ivanko matured over the years and became a competent owner. And everyone thought about Alenka that she had died in the forests. And they also noticed that since she disappeared, evil fogs stopped falling on the mountains, cattle disappeared and people stopped committing fornication. Only a light haze enveloped the mountains and it smelled of rue and mint, but no one knew what was causing it. Who can tell where Alenka is now? But if you are in those parts, you find yourself in the morning fog, stop for a moment, inhale the smell of rue-mint and remember your sister, who loved her brother more than herself.
In Podolia (southwest of Ukraine) an ancient legend about rue as a symbol of the homeland is recorded. A long time ago, the Basurmans attacked the village and captured the men in galleys. One of them had a girlfriend. She shed many tears. She knew that they did not return from the galleys, because the slaves forgot from hard labor native land, all your loved ones. They weren’t even shackled - they still wouldn’t run away. But the girl could not forget her beloved. When the cranes gathered to fly to distant lands, she asked them to find the galley in the sea where her beloved was and give him a sprig of rue. When the young man saw the flower and inhaled its aroma, a miracle happened. He remembered both his homeland and his beloved. He conspired with his comrades, they attacked the guards, captured the ship and flew to their native shore as if on wings. And on the mast a sprig of saving rue fluttered.
Many folk beliefs and customs are associated with rue. It was often worn in a special bag on the chest as a talisman. They believed that it protected from evil forces, warded off the evil eye, and saved from witchcraft and black magic. They rubbed the floorboards with rue so that evil spells would return to the one who cast them, hung them from the door, and added them, along with other herbs, to the water in which babies were bathed. In general, it was believed that she protected all the children living in the house. Here is one of the spells when collecting it: “Oh, you, rue, I bow to you, I will pluck you, I will bring you to the house. And you, Mother Ruta, do not let my children be hurt: neither by the noble, nor by the beggar, neither by relatives nor by strangers. Key, lock, tongue. Amen. Amen. Amen".
By folk beliefs, it grows best when stolen, toads are afraid of it, snakes do not crawl near the places where rue grows. By folk tradition They collect it in late autumn, when the first frost hits, always early in the morning, since in the afternoon the “grass of grace” turns into the “grass of sorrow”, and is stored under the eaves on the roof.
It was also popular as a love potion. As soon as a woman prepared and drank such a potion, she became the most desirable for her chosen one. A wreath of rue and mint was worn by girls who wanted to win the heart of a guy who was indifferent to them; it helped get rid of the mental pain that unsuccessful love brings.
There was an old belief that the aroma of rue drives virgin young people crazy to such an extent that even ancient old women seem beautiful to them. Witches took advantage of this; they lured pure young men to where rue bloomed abundantly and deprived them of their virginity.
According to ancient legends, once every twenty years, on the night of Ivan Kupala, instead of the usual yellow, rue blooms red for several minutes. If a girl finds and picks (or is given) this flower when it turns red, she will be happy in love all her life. According to legend, a lover must find and give a rue flower to his loved one. Then, supposedly, the love will be mutual.
Rue has long been used to treat various diseases. It was most valued for its ability to improve vision and serve as an effective antidote. Rue decoction was also used in rural areas against seizures and convulsions. During epidemics of the 16th-17th centuries. It was believed that rue leaves scattered on the floor could ward off infection. It was also considered the best disinfectant. People rubbed rue on their bodies to protect themselves from the plague; they fumigated their rooms with its smoke, sprinkled it on their clothes and beds to get rid of fleas and lice. Rue was grown in pharmaceutical gardens, popular in the Middle Ages, especially in monasteries, due to its ability to relieve sexual arousal in men. The famous German physician Bock (16th century) wrote: “...All monks and religious people who want to preserve innocence and purity should constantly use rue in food and drinks.”
And currently it is used in folk medicine, the image of “ruta-mint” is one of the popular motifs in modern folklore (especially in Western Ukraine), poetry and songs.
Fragrant rue - Ruta graveolens L. - perennial herbaceous plant or subshrub from the rue family (Rutaceae). The stem is branched, up to 70 cm high, woody at the base. Every spring, several annual bluish-green shoots grow from this base. Leaves are alternate; lower and middle ones - with long petioles, twice or thrice pinnately dissected into oblong-lanceolate segments, equipped with petioles; upper leaves sessile, pinnately dissected into narrower segments. The leaves are dotted with numerous dots; when viewed through light, they appear punctured with needles. These puncture points are nothing more than containers for essential oil, which provides the rue with a strong, memorable smell. Inflorescences are apical, loose, corymbose. The flowers are greenish-yellow, with 4 green triangular sepals, 4 yellow petals 6 - 9 mm long, 8 stamens, 1 pistil with a superior ovary. The fruit is an almost spherical 4 - 5-locular capsule with a diameter of 5 - 7 mm. Seeds are black, angular.
How wild plant rue found throughout the Mediterranean - from the Canary Islands to Asia Minor, including in the southern Crimea. Grows in sparse communities of evergreen low-growing shrubs characteristic of the Mediterranean. Ancient peoples believed that this plant drove away evil spirits and helped against diseases and poisons. Even in the Middle Ages, rue began to be grown in Western Europe as a medicinal and aromatic plant. It is typical that most people do not like the smell of a fresh plant - it is unpleasant, but when it dries, the aroma of the plant material changes radically, becomes quite attractive, and the flowers in a dry state, according to many, smell like a rose. Currently, rue is widely cultivated in many subtropical and tropical regions of both the Old and New Worlds. In the south of Russia, it is bred by amateurs in individual gardens. In some places the plant grows wild.
Rue is cultivated in industrial scale for the sake of essential oil, which is used in the perfume and pharmaceutical industries. It was first received in pure form in the middle of the 16th century. At the beginning of the twentieth century. in Spain they received up to 2 tons of rue oil annually. Now interest in him has decreased. Annual leafy shoots are used as a spice. They are cut in early summer, before the plants bloom, dried, ground and the resulting powder is used to flavor meat, fish and vegetable dishes, as well as cheese and eggs. Rue leaves are sometimes used to prepare food vinegar infusions. To a lesser extent, the seeds serve as a spice. Young leaves from the tops of shoots are also eaten directly, adding a little to salads. It must be remembered that this spice can be eaten only in very small doses, as it can cause poisoning.
Use in folk medicine and treatment: Annual above-ground shoots and leaves of rue are used not only as a spice, but also for medicinal purposes. Rue was mentioned as a medicinal plant in the writings of Pliny and other scientists of the Ancient World. And it is still included in pharmacopoeias in many countries. Active ingredients are different connections: essential oil, the content of which ranges from 0.6 to 1.2%; flavonoid rutin, which has P-vitamin activity, i.e. reducing permeability and fragility blood vessels; furocoumarins bergapten, xanthotoxin and others, the content of which is 0.5 - 1%.
In folk medicine rue It is considered a tonic, antispasmodic, analgesic, anticonvulsant, hemostatic, antitoxic, calming nervous system, wound healing agent. A decoction and infusion of the herb or just the leaves of this plant is drunk for stomach cramps, kidney stones, and some diseases of the female genital organs. This infusion is also prescribed as an appetite stimulant and carminative. Especially often, medicines from rue are prescribed for diseases associated with the disorder. nervous system: for epilepsy, hysteria, increased irritability, fatigue, dizziness, headache. They are also prescribed for atherosclerosis and menopausal neurosis.
- Usually, for internal use, an infusion is prepared from one teaspoon of chopped herbs to 2 glasses of water at room temperature. Insist for 8 hours. and filter. The resulting infusion is drunk half a glass 3 times a day after meals.
- An alcohol tincture prepared with 40% alcohol in a ratio of 1:10 is used externally for chronic joint diseases, articular rheumatism, sciatica, neuralgia, lumbago and infectious neuritis.
It is used to make lotions for lesions of the periosteum, facial nerve paralysis and bedsores. Fresh juice mixed with honey is recommended for bruises, hemorrhages (hematomas), as a wound healing agent.
For severe rushes of blood to the head, lack of appetite and indigestion, as well as other types of gastric ailments, take 10 drops of alcoholic infusion of rue on a spoon of water or a lump of sugar 3 times a day. It is prepared as follows: 1 part of the juice from fresh mashed rue leaves is poured with 6 parts of alcohol, left for 10 days in dark place, after which they filter, squeeze out and filter again.
- In case of hysteria, the patient should drink sips of tea from a mixture of rue leaves and valerian root, taken in equal parts (pour boiling water over 1/4 cup of the mixture, leave for 1 hour). The patient should drink 1 glass of this tea per day.
- For weak periods “with pain in the lower abdomen,” take a decoction of rue leaves mixed with parsley seeds.Ruta 2 parts, parsley 1 part, water 2 glasses. Cook for 10 minutes. Drink no more than a glass in sips throughout the day.
- Use an infusion of rue herb (15 g of raw material per 400 ml of water) to rinse the gums with abscesses.
Infusion: 15 g of rue herb, collected before flowering, pour 400 ml of water, leave. Use internally instead of tea. This infusion has diaphoretic properties. Take 1 glass every 2 hours.
It must be remembered that rue is quite poisonous plant, therefore long-term use of drugs from it is undesirable.
Contraindicated
use of rue medicines during pregnancy. External use of rue sometimes causes skin burns.Externally, medicines from rue in the form of lotions, compresses, and washes are used for scabies and other skin diseases, as well as for various purulent ulcers, wounds, abscesses and bruises. Rue herb powder is applied to festering wounds and ulcers. Use rue infusion to wash eyes for conjunctivitis. Fresh leaves are applied to the site of bruises and bruises. It is known to use rue essential oil as an anthelmintic. Rue is quite widely used in homeopathy. An essence is prepared from the fresh aerial part of this plant, collected before flowering, which is the basis for the preparation of various homeopathic preparations. There is an opinion that where rue grows, snakes never appear. And most importantly, flies cannot tolerate rue: as soon as you put a sprig of rue in the water, the flies leave the room.
The Salerno Health Code states:
“Rue, and with her sage, they drive away the drunkenness of wine,
Add roses and the pain of love will subside.”
Blank: For medicinal purposes, the above-ground parts (grass) and separately the leaves are collected during the period of mass flowering of plants. When preparing raw materials dry hot weather Care must be taken - rue can cause burns if touched with bare skin for long enough. Rue juice, when it gets on the skin, also causes severe, long-lasting inflammation, so it is advisable to cut the shoots while wearing fairly thick gloves (preferably rubber ones). In persons predisposed to allergic reactions, the preparation of raw rue, preparation and use of potions from it can cause redness of the skin, the formation of a rash, and itching. Dry raw materials largely lose these unpleasant irritating properties.
Signs of poisoning: drooling, swollen tongue, acute gastrointestinal upset, slow pulse, difficulty breathing, low body temperature, convulsions and finally loss of consciousness. In order to quickly remove poison, it is recommended to give diaphoretics, do enemas, and take mild stimulants.
“Chervona Ruta” is really difficult to find in the evenings. But here is fragrant rue, or garden rue, blooming yellow, you've probably met. Especially if you have been to the countries of Western Europe and the Baltic countries - there they grow fragrant rue, roughly speaking, under every yard. Planting garden rue will give you the opportunity not only to decorate the area with a beautiful bluish shrub with yellow flowers, but also to diversify culinary experiments.
Thus, we propose to briefly talk about Garden rue - cultivation, propagation, planting and use this wonderful, but not very common plant.
Fragrant rue (garden): description
Ruta graveolens L. is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the Rutaceae family. In the wild it can be found in North Africa, in the Middle East, Mediterranean, Crimea, but fragrant rue is widely spread in culture in Western European countries. Rue is grown in small quantities in Moldova and Ukraine.
Garden rue has a straight stem 0.7-0.8 m high, woody at the bottom. The leaves are simple, alternate, shiny, bluish-green, covered with pinpoint glands that contain essential oil.
Fragrant rue blooms in the second year of life, in the middle of summer, for about two months. Rue flowers are yellow, collected in thyroid inflorescences, smell unpleasant when fresh, and when dried they emit a delicate aroma similar to pink. The fruit - a capsule - contains four seeds, which ripen no earlier than the end of August (in the south). Rue seeds are small, black with a bluish coating.
Using root is closely related to the presence in its aboveground organs of an essential oil with a strong odor, which includes the alkaloid rutin. Therefore, rue is used as an essential oil, medicinal and spice crop. In cooking, aromatic rue is used in dry and fresh form to flavor many dishes, as well as for marinades, pickles, etc.
Ruta fragrant: cultivation
Garden rue is unpretentious to soils - it grows quietly on poor soils. Ideal place For rue plantings – southern slopes protected from cold winds with light, moisture-rich soils.
Sow rue seeds in the Southern regions you can early spring, early April, or late autumn, at the end of December. When sown in winter, the seeds will germinate in the second half of April. In spring, seeds are buried to 2 cm, in autumn - by 0.5-1.5 cm. The row spacing should be 0.6-0.7 m.
Propagation of fragrant rue Possibly also by seedling method. To do this, at the end of May, the seeds are planted in a greenhouse, and the seedlings are transferred to permanent place in the second half of May, following a pattern of 0.6x0.5 m or 0.7x0.4 m.
Caring for rue garden consists of regularly destroying weeds, loosening the soil and watering if necessary. In the fall, you need to cover the plant with humus or hill up the plant to avoid freezing.
In the first year after sowing, the plants develop a rosette of leaves, and in the second year they form flower shoots that bloom and bear fruit.
Growing garden rue in one place is carried out no longer than 4-6 years.
For culinary purposes, rue leaves are collected throughout the growing season as needed, and for medicinal purposes, or for processing essential oil, they are cut in June and autumn, before the first frost.
A long time ago, in the fifth grade of school, I had an amazingly talented history teacher. In her History class Ancient World even the hooligan schoolchildren sat spellbound. And the amazing stories about the exploits of Hercules and Odysseus forced us to ask her to finish telling the story interrupted by the bell.
We loved and idolized her, and the day when we had history was colored by the agonizing anticipation of discovery. At the same time, she was not at all strict, but, like a confident tamer, she kept us in an invisible rein. At first, she was very generous with A's, generously distributing them to even the most inveterate poor students. Then, having drawn the young simpletons into her orbit, she began to increase her demands, treating the poor fellows like a boa constrictor with its victims. And we tried with all our might not to offend her by neglecting the subject. One day she told a legend about the Pontic king Mithridates IV, who in the 2nd century BC. e. fought long wars with Rome. The Roman Empire was strong and, being in the center of strife, Mithridates, for fear of being poisoned, constantly took an antidote. When, defeated, he decided to commit suicide, the poison had no effect on him. According to the main legend integral part the complex antidote was a plant called rue.
Many years passed, and that same rue grew in my garden, the herb that gave its name to the rutaceae family, which is very useful for humans ( Rutaceae). Useful, because in addition to rue, this family includes crops such as orange, lemon, tangerine and other citruses, as well as very well-known plants.
Ruta graveolens , and this is what we are talking about here, one of the very popular plants in ancient times. This is a low, up to 50-70 cm, evergreen perennial with a partially woody stem. The leaves of the rue are dissected twice or thrice into small obovate lobules. The leaves, and when young, the entire plant, have a bluish tint, which makes the plant stand out against the usual background. With age, the lower, woody part of the stem takes on a brownish-yellow color. The flowers of the plant are yellow or yellow-green, collected in loose corymbose inflorescences at the tops of the shoots. The fruits are four-locular capsules with small black seeds of uneven shape.
Rue once grew only in the Eastern Mediterranean, but later spread throughout almost all of Southern and Western Europe; it is also found in the Middle East, the Baltic States, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Moldova. So widespread rue contributed to the fame of rue as a medicinal plant. IN medieval Europe Rue was grown everywhere. It was used internally and externally for a variety of ailments. In those years when superstition was stronger than knowledge, rue was considered perhaps the best remedy for witchcraft. In England, rue was used as a disinfectant. In France, as part of the collection, they insisted on vinegar, which they rubbed on the body to protect against the plague.
Rue has an attractive and strong aroma, often used in perfumery and as an aromatic spice. Where rue grows in nature, it is customary to put rue leaves in salads, meat and fish dishes. In many European countries and America, rue is still included in pharmacopoeias.
In our country, rue is used only in folk medicine. The medicinal raw material is grass harvested during flowering. The tops are picked along with the flowers and dried under an iron roof or in the shade. Dry raw materials are stored for no more than a year.
Rue is used for chronic inflammation of the oral cavity and pharynx, bronchitis, pneumonia, stomach colic and inflammation of the gastric mucosa, hemorrhoids, neuroses, skin rashes, heart failure.
Rue tincture, prepared by infusing 10 g of herb per 100 g of vodka, is used externally for chronic joint diseases, rheumatism, sciatica, neuralgia, lumbago.
To prepare rue infusion: 1 tbsp. pour 0.5 liters of boiling water over a spoonful of herbs, cover with a warm blanket and allow to cool. Take 30-50g. 3 times a day after meals. Since rue is mildly poisonous, its preparations should not be taken by pregnant women and children.
My acquaintance with rue took place more than 20 years ago, and since then it has always been present in the garden. At first it seemed that the plant was about to die. In winter it froze, and in the spring the tops had to be constantly trimmed. Over time, the plants hardened and began to annually produce ripened seeds, and even self-sow, which may indicate complete adaptation of the plant. I even tried to make a low border out of rue. I once saw such an extremely impressive bluish-green border in a photo taken in Germany. The border for some time was even the highlight of the front garden, but since it was somewhat dissonant with general style, I had to reluctantly remove it. Let me briefly touch on the sequence of growing such a border.
To set it up, annual rue seedlings need to be planted in a checkerboard pattern with an interval of 15 cm. The first year the plants are allowed to grow freely. Starting from the second year, periodic pruning is used to form a border of an oval cross-section with a width and height of about 85 cm. The formation of the border ends in the fourth year, when it reaches its final size and high density. In the future, all that remains is to trim the shoots protruding beyond the contour 3-4 times per season, achieving a flat surface.
A rut border would be very appropriate as a path border, for example, at the entrance to an estate. But rut borders of a closed shape, rectangular or round, look especially impressive, inside of which it is customary to place miniature gardens. Rue is valued everywhere as an elegant ornamental foliage plant. It is planted as individual bushes or small clumps in mixborders, parterre compositions, and rock gardens. In the southern regions of Russia it can be grown in carpet flower beds as a spectacular ground cover plant. In this case, large tracts of rue formed by dense planting look beautiful.
In Europe, it is customary to grow rue in aromatic gardens. For this purpose, open, windproof places with light soils are allocated. Plants are planted in dense clumps or arrays close to each other according to the mixborder principle. In our communities you can add various medicinal plants, and to enhance the decorative effect, dilute the composition with perennials such as sedums, juveniles, antennaria, tenacious, primroses, mantles. In the background, lovage, mullein, valerian, monarda,
The herb fragrant rue has a wide range of uses - both as a medicine, and as a poison, and as a culinary seasoning. In this article you can learn everything about rue and its indications for use. We will also talk about the features of collecting this medicinal plant and its contraindications.
Ruta: description of a medicinal plant
Rue grass and its medicinal properties are familiar to almost everyone, just as the photo of this perennial plant. Find him out in wildlife possible according to the following characteristics:
straight bare stems with many branches;
- plant height – from 20 to 80 cm;
- elongated ovate leaves, each of which has several dissections; the leaves are fleshy and have veins with high content essential oils;
- flowers are formed at the very tops of the stems, where they are collected in shield-shaped panicles;
- flower color – greenish-yellow;
- the flowers have a very strong aroma;
- Flowering period: June-July. Rue has quite a lot different names– fragrant, fragrant, garden and even noble rue. Sometimes it is also called wintergreen. Besides medicinal use, it is also common as an ornamental flower.
- alkaloids (0.2%);
- essential rue oil (1.2%);
- flavocolrutin (less than 0.1%);
- furocoumarin (less than 0.1%);
- xanthoxin (less than 0.1%);
- rutin (vitamin P);
- coumarin (0.1%);
- umbelliferone (less than 0.1%);
- bergapten (less than 0.1%);
- quercetin (more than 2%).
Did you know? Many Slavic beliefs are associated with rue flowers. According to one of them, 4 times a century on the night of Ivan Kupala yellow flowers The roots turn red and help girls bewitch their loved one.
Chemical composition of the plant
Rue is a plant that is very rich in chemicals, some of which are poisonous. In particular, in this plant you can find:
What are the benefits of rue: pharmacological properties
Garden rue differs nearby beneficial properties, for which it is valued even in traditional medicine. In particular, the herb rue is used in the treatment various diseases as a product with the following properties:
It is also worth noting that long-term use of preparations and tinctures based on rue can significantly increase the skin's sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation, as a result of which a person may unexpectedly get a sunburn.
Did you know? Pharmacological preparations "Rutin" and "Akofit" ("Radiculin") are made on the basis of fragrant rue. Thanks to "Rutin", the balance of vitamin P is restored, and "Akofit" allows you to overcome radiculitis.
Medicinal properties of rue: how the plant is used in folk medicine
Rue is a plant with many healing properties, for which it has long been valued in folk medicine. Teas, infusions, and infusions are used to treat various diseases. The latter are used for both internal and external use. In folk medicine you can find many recipes from rue, but their use should be extremely careful. Do not forget that rue is one of the poisonous plants:
- Rue and its tincture have found their use as a disinfectant, which is used for conjunctivitis to wash the eyes from purulent discharge. Rue tincture is also used for varicose veins and many other diseases associated with blood incoagulability.
- Rue decoctions have proven to be effective remedy for inflammation of the eyelid, skin rashes, frostbite, fungal dermatitis and purulent abscesses. In such cases, compresses and lotions can be made from decoctions and herbal gruel.
- Rue oil also has many uses. It is obtained by water distillation of fresh (green oil) or dried rue (yellow oil). Rut oil is used in aromatherapy for head and ear pain. It has also found its use in rheumatism and dislocations. In some countries it is used in perfumery.
To prepare a hot infusion of rue, use only 1 teaspoon of dried herb per 200 ml of boiled water. After it has infused for 10 minutes, the infusion can be filtered and taken orally no more than 0.5 cups 2-3 times during the day. To obtain a cold infusion, a similar amount of herb is poured into 400 ml of boiled, but already cooled water, and infused for about 10 hours. The resulting infusion is taken no more than 4 times a day, 0.5 cups. Alcohol infusions are also prepared from rue, which can only be used externally. To prepare such a medicine, only 40% alcohol is suitable, to which a tenth of the herb is added from the total volume of alcohol (10 g of herb is given per 100 ml of alcohol).
Did you know? In alternative Indian medicine, rue is used as a remedy that can cause abortion.
How do cooks use spices?
Despite the presence of not only beneficial properties in rue, but also contraindications, it is also used in cooking, where it has earned love for its aroma. Only rue leaves are used in cooking, which are important to collect before flowering begins. It is noteworthy that fresh and dry leaves have different aroma and taste:
- when fresh, rue resembles a mixture of onion and garlic;
- when dried, its leaves are more suitable for making tea, as they have an aroma similar to rose petals.
Rue is added to vinegars, wines and even berry liqueurs. If you add rue to cheese, salad, sauce or even meat dishes, their taste will only improve. Rue is even used for pickling mushrooms, tomatoes and cucumbers. It goes well with spices such as sage, cumin, rosemary and garlic. Important! To avoid poisoning with rue, when adding it to food, you should not use more than 0.15 g of this herb in one serving. It is added to hot dishes 1 minute before turning off the stove.
Ruta: how to prepare and store medicinal raw materials
The beneficial properties of rue make necessary fee and the procurement of its raw materials, although rue is also used in its raw form. To prepare medicinal raw materials, it is necessary to wait until the rue is in flowering period, when it will be possible to collect the leafiest young branches on which several flowers have already bloomed. It is worth noting that the rue plant can have quite large sizes, so if necessary, you will have to use pruning shears to remove 20-centimeter branches from it.
Important! When collecting rue, you should wear rubber gloves. In direct contact with skin, rue can cause severe burns, watery blisters and swelling.
The right process drying rue involves placing plucked herbs thin layer in a well-ventilated area, where it cannot be exposed to direct sunlight. After this, it is collected in glass or metal containers and stored in a dry place. During storage, the grass should also not be exposed to sunlight, which can cause it to fade and lose its properties. The shelf life of such a medicinal preparation is no more than 2 years.Contraindications for rue
