Zhoster Laxative

Buckthorn - Rhamnaceae. Common names: Thrush berries, witch's thorn, laxative buckthorn. Parts used: ripe fruits. Pharmacy name: laxative fruits of joster - Rhamni cathartic! fructus (formerly: Fructus Rhamni cathartici).

Botanical description. This is a shrub about 3 meters in height, with protruding branches. The bark, while young, is silver-gray in color, but later becomes brownish-black. Zhoster is easily recognized by the straight spines into which the tops of the branches turn. Opposite leaves with petioles, ovate, glossy, with recessed veins, crenate-serrate along the edge. In the leaf axils there are four-membered, inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers collected in umbels. From them, rounded fruits the size of a pea develop - at first green, then they turn black. Blooms from May to June.

Zhoster is not a very common plant; it grows both in sunny, dry places and on moist soils in swampy forests. It is found in ditches and near fences, in thickets of bushes, in cemeteries, along forest edges and in swamps.

Collection and preparation. Ripe fruits are harvested from August to October. It is important to take only ripe (black) fruits, since unripe ones contain substances that, when consumed, cause pain in the stomach. The fruits are dried in the sun or under artificial heating, and the juice is squeezed out of fresh ones.

Active ingredients: laxative anthraquinone derivatives, as in buckthorn bark, cassia leaves and medicinal rhubarb, as well as tannins, flavonoids and pectins.

Healing action and application. The plant is characterized by a mild laxative effect. Tea is prepared from dried fruits, or they are crushed into powder and made into mousse, or several berries (10-20) are chewed in their pure form. Young children are often given joster syrup, in which the raw material is mixed with sugar, as a laxative.

Use in homeopathy. The homeopathic remedy Rhamnus cathartica is given for liver diseases and also as a laxative and diuretic. True, it should be noted that it is used very rarely (the same can be said about Frangula, a homeopathic remedy made from buckthorn bark).

Use in folk medicine. Gout, dropsy, stones, rheumatism, paralysis, jaundice, digestive disorders, constipation, loss of appetite and chronic skin rashes - all this in folk medicine serves as an indication for the use of zhoster. They prepare tea (as described above) from the fruits, make tart or sweet juice, tincture with wine or alcohol in different ways, eat the fruits fresh or dried, adding their powder to jam, and take them with milk or honey. Zhostera fruits are especially readily given to children for loss of appetite or skin rashes. Traditional medicine recommends juice from the fruits of joster and against acne.

Although the effect of joster fruits in comparison with other medicinal plants containing anthraglycosides, such as cassia, buckthorn, rhubarb or aloe, is recognized as very mild, the German National Health Service nevertheless recommends their use with great caution and cites numerous contraindications, unwanted combinations and side effects. We list the most important of these recommendations:

Areas of use. Constipation, all diseases in which a gentle release of the intestines is desirable, such as fissures in the anal (anal) area, hemorrhoids and after rectal-anal surgical interventions.

Contraindications. Joster fruit preparations should not be used in the presence of intestinal volvulus, as well as during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Action in combination with other means. Due to increased potassium loss, the effect of cardiac glycosides may be enhanced.

Duration of use. Tea made from the fruits of joster should only be taken for a few days. For longer use, consult your doctor.

Side effects with moderate use are unknown; with prolonged use or overdose, excessive loss is possible.