
The chestnut is one of the most popular trees in urban landscaping. Together with poplars, Arces and Alamos tremons, it is planted along the streets to create a pleasant park shadow and enrich the areas with oxygen. But why was it called the horse tree? The first version is to distinguish the nuts from the edible Australian chestnuts of the legume family. The second is that the color of the chestnut peel is similar to that of the black horns horse.
Description and characteristics of the Indian chestnut
The homeland of this unusual ornamental plant is Constantinople, in some sources the Balkans. In 1812 it was introduced in Crimea and can now be found anywhere in temperate or warm climate. The tree has adapted very well to the urban environment, resisting the attacks of industrial fumes and providing shadow to people. Because of its flowering, the chestnut is highly appreciated by landscapers and urban. Its large leaves give off a lot of oxygen, so it is good for the environment.
The chestnut can reach 25 m high or form small bushes. Its flowers grow in clusters, such as con e-shaped arrows looking for the sun. The nuts, meanwhile, are locked in a tricuspid spiny peel, presenting a round and brown fruit. The Castaño blooms in May; The ripe fruit in October, when it emerges from the shell alone.
The chestnut of the Indies has more than 5 nearby relatives: the Japanese chestnut, the flesh of meat, the red chestnut, the bare brown, the small chestnut, the yellow chestnut and the brown of the forest. All trees differ in shape, flowering and fruit. The common brown is the leader in useful micronutrients. It is valued in popular medicine and traditional pharmacology. Inflorescences, nuts, cortex, peel and leaves are used.
These fruits are not edible for humans and animals do not collect them, but they are useful for cattle. Farmers grind nuts in flour and add them to feed. Its composition is rich in vitamins C, B, K, fatty acids and oils, which gives the chestnut of the Indies the properties that the human being needs.
| Chemical composition | |
| Saponins (Fraxina, sculpt, scine | 10% |
| Fatty oils | 6% |
| Starch | fifty% |
| Proteins | 10% |
| Flavonoids, vitamins and salts | 24% |
Useful and medicinal properties of the Indian chestnut
All parts of the plant (cortex, inflorescences, seeds) contain flavonoids of different groups, fatty oils and vitamins, so for decoctions and other therapeutic solutions the tree is used in its entirety. The more varied the recipe, the stronger the resulting mixture will be.
The final benefits and harms of horse chestnut tincture, ointment or extract will depend on the time of collection of the raw materials and ingredients. But the main useful property – blood thinning, restoration of capillary and vascular strength – appears due to aesculin, which stimulates the appearance of antithrombin.
Flowers
The most delicate part of the tree, which is harvested in early May, just after the start of flowering. At this time the inflorescences are rich in pectin and useful mucilage compounds and give off the greatest amount of flavonoids. The petals are used to extract the juice, the essence, and to infuse them into scrubs. Its combined use reduces joint pain, relieves radiation sickness, treats prostate adenoma, skin ulcers and hemorrhoids.
Leaves
They are collected during flowering, without cuttings. They are smoothed and dried in the sun, then crushed and stored in glass. This part of the plant is the richest in pectin, glycosides and carotenoids. Therefore, it is suitable as a raw material for anti-inflammatories, analgesics and sedatives. In ancient times it was believed that a miraculous sleeping pill was based on the leaves of the horse chestnut tree.
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The beneficial properties of horse chestnut seeds were known to our ancestors. In Europe, especially in Germany, chestnuts were used to make ointments and syrups. These chestnuts were used to treat colds and respiratory conditions. The infusions are also a strong diuretic, eliminate bladder stones and stabilize the liver, gallbladder and spleen.
For maximum benefit, it is worth harvesting the bark in early spring, when the tree’s vital sap is spreading through the stick. The best raw material is found in the young branches, but it is cut carefully so as not to traumatize the chestnut tree. The bark is divided into small portions, dried and stored in linen or cotton bags.
In the bark of the plant there is esculosoid, which seals the walls of blood vessels, prevents rupture of the tissues of internal organs, internal bleeding.
Features of the use of chestnut
The horse chestnut is an inedible fruit, which has found its place in traditional and popular medicine. For its ability to thin the blood, speed up the flow and get rid of swelling, the fruit is loved by manufacturers of drugs for varicose veins and thrombosis. But these are not all the diseases that can be cured with this plant.
It is recommended not to use infusions and medications that contain fruit in children, pregnant women and infant mothers (especially in the first quarter). Negative effects on the mother’s body have not been demonstrated, but content flavonoids can cause toxicosis. It is possible to use the ointment against edema in recent months, prior examination by a doctor.
Traditional medicine
Traditional healers resort to nature in search of raw materials rich in useful trace elements. Castaño is a universal ingredient in tincture and ointments recipes to treat skin dermatitis, gynecological problems, prostatitis in men, venous diseases, stomach and intestinal diseases, colds and infections.
Indian Castaño Infusion
Depending on the composition of tincture, it is used for the treatment of joints, hypertension, cardiovascular problems and gynecological diseases. The most common dye is made from the thorny bark of the chestnut. To prepare it, 50 grams of chopped peel are poured into 40% alcohol (500 ml). Infusion time – 2 weeks in a fresh and dark room. It is used 3 times a day before meals: 30 drops per glass of water. The course of 2-3 weeks. The dose is increased every 5-7 days by 2-3 drops. Externally, the solution is rubbed in the problematic areas (venous congestion, bruises, swelling). The recipe is used to treat varicose veins.
The infusion of immature nuts faces hemorrhoids and gynecological problems. The fruit, together with the skin, ground in a blender, pour 40% alcohol (400 ml) and insist in 14 days. 10 drops in a glass of water 2 times a day. Complete course – One month.
Respiratory diseases (colds and infections) are treated with water tincture. Immature chestnuts (2-3 pieces) are finely bite and pour a glass of boiling water. Leave for 3 hours in a thermos and take as a syrup 5 times a day, 1 tablespoon to recovery.
The ointment for joints is a recipe that requires a long seasoning. Fill a jar of a liter to the throat with quarters of mature fruits of chestnut from Indies, pour strong alcohol and leave the sun for three days, then insist on the dark for 40 days. The joints must rub every 10-12 hours.
Children’s broth of the Indies
The decoction, like tincture, is used for various purposes. The most common are the treatment of gynecological problems in women and cosmetic procedures:
- For irrigation in case of childbirth (the doctor’s advice is required): 1 cup of water + 1 tablespoon of crushed bark, boil for 5 minutes, infuse for 1. 5 hours, the gynecologist prescribes the frequency and intensity of the procedure;
- Treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, gout, rheumatism: 500 ml of water + 1 tablespoon of crushed chestnut leaves, stew the mixture over low heat for 15 minutes, take 100 ml before meals;
- Relief of gynecological symptoms of menopause: 15 grams of chopped peels pour a glass of water, boil for 20 minutes, infusion for 60-80 minutes, used as a medium of hygiene – washing once a day.
Indian chestnut extract
There are chestnut extracts of manufacturing Indies, but you can prepare it yourself, obtaining a greater volume at a minimum economic cost. Phytotherapists recommend using brownish darkened shells. You will need 50 g of crushed spiny peels and half a liter of vodka. The ingredients are mixed, 2 weeks are insisted (the extract will have to be stirred daily) and it sneaks.
30 drops for 30 ml of water 30 minutes before a meal for 3 weeks (it can be used up to 6 months). The extract decomposes the stagnation of cholesterol, relieves swelling, inflammation. Reduces the fat layer around the vital organs, strengthens the walls of the blood vessels.
To relieve thrombophlebitis pain Use compresses: a dye and water solution (1: 1) 2 times a day for 1. 5 hours.
Flower juice
The flowers are collected at the beginning of flowering (far from the boundaries of the city), additives for infusions, tinctures and juices are dried. To obtain a quality raw material, the flowers are ground in a chopper without the green columns. The resulting wet cake is poured into alcohol and rubs for the treatment of varicose veins.
The second version of the squeezed juice – Fine cake diluted with water 30: 1. The mixture does not infuse, use as an antiseptic for the treatment of wounds, acne, boil. To obtain a solution for the bathroom, add equal proportions of leaves, inflorescences and chestnut bark, pour boiling water and insist in 12 hours. It is poured into warm water and is soaked for 15 minutes in a row. This treatment tones and nourishes the skin, eliminates rashes, dermatitis and sweating.
Indian chestnut ointment
The chip ointment of the Indies is used to dilute the blood, accelerate the flow, get rid of the clots and seal the veins. A similar cream can be made alone and the therapeutic effect will vary depending on the ingredients:
- The fruit is cleaned and moves until a powder is obtained; 50 g are dissolved in vegetable oil and let stand a few days; It applies to inflammation or sore point 2-3 times a day;
- Alternative to Dolobene and Cyclovnen: pour chestnut powder in olive oil 1:10, in infusion for 10 days, boil twice in a water bath, strain and rub in the problem of the problem (varicose veins, thrombosis) daily;
- 100 g of chestnut dust mixed with lard until obtaining a pasty state, heated in a water bath for 40 minutes, it cools completely, the procedure is repeated three times, the mixture sneaks and used to rub the joints.
Indian chestnut oil
It is used more often for cosmetic purposes, since it tones, tense and rejuvenates the epidermis, strengthens the hair follicles. The pleasant fragrance of the essence allows it to use it as massage for cellulite and skin folds. Indian brown oil can be found in any pharmacy, it is sold in vials of 100-250 ml.
It is difficult to prepare the former ether, cold or hot pressed techniques are needed. The squeezed liquid is diluted with olive or sunflower fat so that it is ready. The resulting essence can be applied as a mask, lotion or lubricant for wrapping.
In official medicine
Since the 18th century, the tree bark is used to treat malaria, dysentery and fever. Europeans needed it during their trips to Africa and South America. In the nineteenth century, they began to appear in the tinct pharmacies of the fruit of the chestnut to restore the stomach and intestines. In the 50s of the twentieth century, the massive production of venotonic appeared in Germany.
Pharmacists have appreciated the properties of the plant in the creation of medicines for gastritis, pancreatitis, gout, kidney calculations, hemorrhoids, liver and spleen diseases, osteocondrosis, arthritis, rheumatitis and other problems.
Its use in cosmetology
The main medicinal property of the chestnut is antiseptic and tonic. Decoction or tincture lotions eliminate acne, disinfect and nourish the skin, reduce swelling. Washing or prolonged touches produce a lifting effect (tensor), reduce the depth of cracks and cure the scars.
Feet baths are good to treat fungi and foot sweating. The treatment rejuvenates the dermis, increases blood flow and improves muscle tone. Indian brown oil is popular in cosmetic procedures for weight loss: fat reduction, ant i-cellulite massages, wrapping, burning of subcutaneous fat.
Contraindications and precautions
The specific chemical composition of the Indian chestnut is not only beneficial, but also harmful. Chestnut tannins cause poisoning, poisoning and fever if they accumulate. Chestnuts are not edible, it is important to be careful with domestic children and animals and, in case of accidental ingestion, gastric lavage and hospitalization are required.
Fetal preparations also require caution in their use. It is preferable to perform a blood test to determine the prothrombin count before starting a treatment. A low value is a signal to interrupt the use of the medication. The dose is controlled by the doctor and should only be taken under the supervision of a general practitioner. The prescribed amount should not be exceeded.
Medications containing brown are not prescribed to people with bad blood coagulation, diabetes mellitus. The dry fruit is contraindicated to hypotensive people (patients with low blood pressure). The fruit treatment must be interrupted in case of internal bleeding.
Its use is prohibited in case of renal failure, inflammation of the urinary system. Pregnant women, women with menstrual disorders, during breastfeeding are not recommended.
There are also other restrictions on the use of chestnuts. The chestnuts collected near highways, factories and plants are dangerous. They accumulate toxins of the air and release them in infusion when cooked.
Raw material for medications or mixture of hazardous substances? Chestnuts can be described as mortals for human being, but if they are manipulated and used correctly they provide health benefits.








