Borage
(Other name: Zembil flower) It is a sample plant of the Boraginaceae family. Its homeland is the Eastern Mediterranean basin and it grows wild in the Northern and Western Anatolian regions of our country. It is an annual herbaceous plant that can grow 30-75 cm in length. It has a round section, hollow and hard trunk covered with white hard hairs and a structure that branches.
Its dark gray-green and slightly wrinkled leaves are oval-shaped and alternately arranged, covered with hairs like its body. Its flowers, which have purple-blue (sometimes pink and rarely white) petals and black stamens that form a five-pointed star, hang down in clusters and bloom in spring and summer. Borage, which likes sandy, light soils and sunny places, reproduces by the seeds it sheds. However, it is grown as an ornamental plant in some places.
The borage plant contains saponin, sticky plant fluid, tannin, essences and various minerals. The tender leaves are added to salads, cheese and some other foods. In some places it is eaten as a vegetable. It is very useful for feeding honey bees.
Wild borage is more effective in terms of medicine than cultivated ones. We can list the diverse medical effects of the plant and the methods of using it as follows:
1. It is effective against colds and flu.
2. It is a diuretic and antipyretic.
3. It is good for respiratory tract diseases. It stops coughing. It removes phlegm. It reduces lung membrane inflammation (sautlıcan).
4. It is a diuretic and purifies the blood.
5. It increases milk flow in breastfeeding mothers.
6. It is a good strengthening tonic for the adrenal glands. Taking borage is especially good for the body after treatments with cortisone and steroids.
7. With its traditional use for many years, it increases courage. It minimizes nervous tension. It provides resistance to stress in the body.
For all such cases, the leaves and flowers of the borage are collected on a dry day when it is in bloom. The torn and damaged leaves are selected and thrown away. The remaining ones are dried in the shade by making a leaf-flower mixture. An infusion is prepared by taking 2 teaspoons of the mixture, pouring 1 glass of boiling water over it and letting it brew for 10-15 minutes. Drink one glass of this infusion three times a day.
1. Borage is good for wounds and burns. For this, its leaves are used as a poultice and applied externally.
2. It is good for dry and sensitive skin. It softens the skin. For this, the infusion described above is applied externally.
3. Borage, rich in minerals, supplements the body's salt deficiency with its tender leaves added to salads and meals in salt-free diets.
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