Cornel fruits cleanse the body and are among the leaders in the amount of vitamin C. When is it useful to use them? Our article will tell you about this. The dogwood shrub belongs to the Cornel family. In Russian, the name is borrowed from the Turkic "kyzyl", which means "red". Indeed, these fruits are of a rich scarlet color, which is explained by the high content of anthocyanins (P-active substances), pectin and vitamin C.
Dogwood has been cultivated since ancient times. Archaeologists have found fruit seeds in the lands of the current Swiss Confederation, which could have existed 5 thousand years ago.
Natural thickets can be found south of the East European Plain, but cultural forms are common on the Crimean Peninsula, Moldova, on the Lower Volga and in Central Asian countries. Berries can be of different sizes and types - round, oval, long and short-oval. Color - from scarlet to purple. On average, the fruit weighs from 2 to 6 g, the weight of the pulp is up to 88% of the total weight. Differs in sweet-sour or sweetish taste.
Related article: growing dogwood in the country
Fruit varieties of dogwood
The varieties differ in shape - pear-shaped, ellipsoidal or spherical. Another criterion of difference is color: white dogwood (Alba), blue-violet (Violacea) and with colored fruits.
Interesting Dogwood Facts:
- An ancient Roman legend says that after Romulus determined the location of the future Rome and stuck his spear into the ground, a dogwood tree grew out of it.
- Inhabitants of the Crimea and the Caucasus call the dogwood "shaitan's berry". There is a legend according to which Shaitan asked Allah for this plant. He decided that if the tree blooms the fastest, then it will begin to bear fruit first. However, the dogwood takes a long time to ripen, and this caused a storm of indignation among the evil spirit, so he spat in the bush, which made the fruits darken. From that time until autumn, people collect scarlet dogwood.
- In the Caucasus, cornelian lavash has long been prepared - small cakes of a dark red color from a gruel of fruits dried in the sun.
- The wood of the plant was previously used to make watch wheels, sword hilts, buttons, dogwood canes and musical instruments. In Turkey, the bones were used for the production of beads.
- By the amount of ascorbic acid, dogwood is ahead of rowan, lemon and gooseberry.
Cornel is eaten fresh, it is also dried, pickled, compotes, preserves are prepared, and used in the preparation of culinary products.
The composition of vitamins and calorie content of dogwood
- Water - 85 g
- Mono- and disaccharides - 9 g
- Organic acids (gallic, citric, malic, succinic, tartaric) - 2 g
- Fiber (dietary fiber) - 1, 6 g
- Ash - 0.8 g
Vitamins:
A, C and P - up to 160 mg
Minerals:
- Potassium - 363 mg
- Calcium - 58 mg
- Phosphorus - 34 mg
- Sodium - 32 mg
- Magnesium - 26 mg
- Iron - 4.1 mg
Calorie dogwood
for 100 g - 40, 4 kcal:
- Proteins - 1.0 g
- Fat - 0, 0 g
- Carbohydrates - 10.5 g
Useful properties of dogwood
For medicinal purposes, people have long learned to use the beneficial properties of dogwood. The presence of tannins in the chemical composition allows the berries to have an effective astringent effect, so they help with digestive ailments.
What is the use of dogwood in nutritional health?
- It has an antipyretic effect.
- Stops inflammation processes.
- Heals wounds, cuts.
- Effective in eliminating bacteria from the body.
- It has a diuretic effect.
- Shows antiscorbutic properties.
Include dogwood in the diet for anemia, stomach diseases, skin ailments, nervous system disorders, dysentery, typhoid, hemorrhoids.
The use of dogwood activates metabolic processes, increases appetite. Use the beneficial properties of fruits for diabetes mellitus: they improve the digestion of food, improve the enzymatic function of the pancreas and normalize the glucose content.
Watch a video about the benefits of dogwood:
The use of dogwood in traditional medicine
- Against diarrhea: prepare infusions, decoctions, as well as mixtures of crushed berries, honey and yolk. For indigestion in childhood, cornel jelly is effective (200 ml boiling water 3 tbsp. L. Fruits).
- By means of pectins, cornelian cherry eliminates excess oxalic and uric acids from the body.
- For ailments of the kidneys, liver, rheumatism, arthritis: drink an infusion prepared from the bark and roots of a bush (1 teaspoon per 250 ml of boiling water).
- Diuretic effect: drink 50 ml of infusion from the leaves and branches of the bush.
- Treatment of colds, measles, scarlet fever, rickets, inflammation in the oral cavity, bowel disorders, bleeding and ulcers: the use of fresh fruits, as well as compotes and dogwood jam.
Due to the low calorie content, the fruits are used in the dietary menu to reduce weight and normalize metabolic processes.
Dogwood harm
Cornel can be harmful when the pH of the gastric acid increases and chronic constipation. The berries are characterized by a tonic and invigorating effect, so they are not recommended to be consumed at night.
