When to dig burdock root to prepare medicinal raw materials?

So that medicinal raw materials do not lose their useful properties, it is necessary to prepare them in the correct lines. It is necessary to dig burdock root when the movement of juices in plant tissues is minimal.

The second name for burdock is burdock. It is used not only by folk, but also by official medicine. The rhizome is used for the preparation of medicinal and cosmetic products. Decoctions and infusions based on it are used to treat many diseases.

Terms of harvesting rhizomes

The healing properties of burdock are manifested as much as possible at a young age, so you should choose first-year specimens. The plant has a two-year development cycle. It is quite easy to determine the age of a burdock - there are no thorns on annual bushes.

There are two favorable periods for the procurement of raw materials:

1. The root can be dug up in September and October, after the burdock has dried up.
2. It is permissible to harvest after winter, at the beginning of the second year of the plant's life. In the spring, the root should be removed from the ground before the burdock leaves the leaves.

It is not recommended to dig the burdock rhizome at the end of the second year of life. By this time, the root has lost most of its beneficial properties.

You need to dig roots for treatment in ecologically clean places, away from busy roads and industrial enterprises.

How to dig up and prepare for drying?

Burdock is a powerful plant with a long root that grows up to 1 m in length. It is not always possible to completely extract the rhizome from the ground, and it is not necessary. It is important to dig out the thickened top of the root.

Dug out burdocks are laid out in the open air for preliminary drying. After that, the aboveground part is cut off, and particles of adhered earth are removed from the rhizome, inspected, and rotted areas are cut out.

You should not wash the root with water, otherwise the quality of the medicinal raw material will be worse.

Now you can proceed to the final drying, after which the rhizome can be stored for several years.

How to dry the root?

For long-term storage, the burdock root must be thoroughly dried. The raw material is pre-cut into slices up to 15 cm long. The pieces should be approximately the same thickness.

You can dry the burdock root in different ways:

• In conventional drying, the cut pieces of the rhizome are suspended from a rope in a dark, dry place with good ventilation, such as an attic.
• In an apartment, the raw material can be dried near the battery, having previously laid out on sheets of paper. It is permissible to use natural fabric as a substrate.
• You can dry the root in the oven. In this case, the process takes much less time. Slices of rhizomes are laid out on a baking sheet covered with parchment. The temperature should not exceed + 45 ° C - this is the main condition.
• An electric dryer is suitable for drying the rhizome, with the help of which summer residents harvest the harvested crop for the winter. This method is convenient in that the device allows you to set the desired temperature (+ 45 ° C) and maintains it automatically.

You can determine the readiness of raw materials by changing its weight and structure. A properly dried root loses up to 80% of its mass and becomes brittle.

You can store the rhizome for medicine in glass jars with sealed lids, paper bags, fabric bags made of natural material. The storage area must be dry and cool.

Burdock can be stored in jars for up to 3 years, paper and cloth containers allow storing the rhizome for 5 years.

Having dug up burdock root at the right time, it is important to properly dry the raw material.In the future, funds based on it are used internally and externally. Decoctions of burdock treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary system, diabetes mellitus, colds. When applied externally, the medicine helps with dermatitis, eczema, burns, acne. But do not forget that infusions and decoctions of burdock root cannot be taken by pregnant women, children under 12 years old and people with individual intolerance.