ABOUT SOLOMON’S SEAL (POLYGONATUM ODORATUM)

This beautiful plant with greenish-white flowers grows in forests and shrub-lands. Its fruit are bluish-black berries. Solomon’s seal is a poisonous plant, so use it carefully.

HOW TO USE SOLOMON’S SEAL

In folk medicine Solomon’s seal is mainly used to reduce appetite. It prevents from obesity. It can be cultivated in the garden as an ornamental and medicinal plant. Rhizomes, leaves and sometimes berries are used in medicine.

Leaves. Collect leaves during the flowering period in dry weather. Dry in a well-ventilated room or in a warm oven at a temperature of 50-60 °C. Expand in a thin layer and invert leaves 1-2 times during the drying period. Remedies containing Solomon’s seal leaves has an enveloping, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and hemostatic effect. In folk medicine, they are used for rheumatism, back pain, hemorrhoids, gout, bruises and bleeding scratches. The leaves and are rich in vitamin C.

Rhizomes. The rhizome is harvested in the fall, after the death of aboveground parts of the plant, or in the spring. Dig it with a shovel, shake off the ground, cut rotten parts and wash it in the running water. Dry roots in the attic, porch or in an oven at a temperature of 50 °C. Store in a closed wooden or glass container for 2 years. Solomon’s seal roots contain large amounts of mucus, starch, ascorbic acid, fructose, glucose, arabinose and alkaloids.

Berries. Sometimes berries are harvested. Collect only ripe berries. Use them in fresh or dried form. Solomon’s seal berries are rich in cardiac glycosides.

TINCTURES, REMEDIES and RECIPES from SOLOMON’S SEAL

SOLOMON’S SEAL INFUSION

Pour 1 tablespoon of tops with a glass of boiling water then cool. Take 1/3 cup, 15-20 minutes before meals, 3 times a day. The plant is moderately toxic, so it is not recommended to exceed the dosage.