HOLY THORNS, PAIN, PROPHET'S THORNS
CNICUS BENEDICTUS L.
(Compostae-fam.)
Where it is found: It grows among sparse bushes and in dry grassy places in hot regions.
Structure: Up to 1m high, the trunk is angular, straight, branches from the bottom, it is a one or two year old herbaceous plant. The root is long and spindle shaped. The lower leaves are lanceolate, pointed and equipped with fine hard hairs, they are in the form of a rosette. The leaves on the stem are adjacent (seated), the lower ones are smaller, wavy to pinnate veined, spider web-like pale green, the edges are spiny. The flower beds (ömeç) are at the end of the stems and are surrounded by the leaves. The flowers are yellow, grayish, the fruit is cylindrical and equipped with hard hairy wings.
Parts Used: The upper parts of the flowers of the plant are used. These are collected during flowering in June and July. They are dried in the shade or in ovens heated to 40 degrees. Humidity is % 14. They are packaged in paper bags and bales. The dry plant is odorless and bitter. It is stored in dry and airy buildings.
Chemical Composition: contains sexvierpen lactone, knisin, resinous substances, helme, traces of etheric oil, bitterness equivalent to meniantine, tannins, milk cheese enzyme, nicotylamine, salts, mainly magnesium.
In Which Diseases Is It Used: It is an appetite stimulant and strengthens the digestive system activities. It is used for those who have serious illnesses, for children who do not eat everything and who eat little, as an appetite stimulant, for indigestion regulator, for diseases such as liver pain, constipation, shortness of breath, hysteria, nigricans, weakness, and water retention (edema). It is also used externally against boils and skin cancer.
In folk medicine, it is recommended for use against liver inflammation, malaria, stomach and intestinal pain and ulcers, intestinal laziness, jaundice, sand in the bladder and kidneys, difficulty urinating, nervous weakness, hysterical fainting, anemia, atherosclerosis. Externally, it is used against wounds, boils, cancer and swellings. If the stems are kept in white alcohol (1/50 ratio) (10 days), it is used against scrofula. The fresh juice of the plant is used against insect bites; together with white wormwood, against worms.
Usage: 1 tablespoon of the plant is boiled with 400 gr. of boiling water and filtered after waiting for 1 hour. A tea glass is taken 4 times a day before meals. It is used in our folk medicine as follows: The fresh plant is pounded until it becomes a paste, mixed with the same amount of fresh wormwood and 1 coffee spoon of starch and applied to areas damaged by cancer.
