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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7085-2212

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University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland, ul. Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin

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Róża (Rosa L.) w polskim ziołolecznictwie ludowym od drugiej połowy XIX do początków XXI wieku

Magdalena Walasek-Janusz

Modern medicine, Volume 30 (2024) Supplement I, 2024, pp. 367 - 383

https://doi.org/10.4467/12311960MN.24.024.20017

The rose is a versatile plant, it provides “jam and wine”, surrounds us with beauty and a pleasant scent, which in the form of essential oil is also a valuable cosmetic. The flowers, fruits, leaves, roots and galls, and even the soil in which it grew, were used in traditional herbal medicine in rural communities. These raw materials were used to prepare infusions, decoctions, jams, juices, water and alcohol extracts, ointments and smoke, which were used to fumigate the sick person or diseased places. They were used to treat eye diseases, dermatological diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, consumption, fever, cough, ulcers, wounds, bone, tooth, head and eye pain, and even to treat madness. Most often, however, rose was used to treat erysipelas, in Polish the name of the disease and the plant was identical, according to the principle “like cures like”. The multitude of obtained “medicines” and the variety of ways of preparing and using these raw materials indicate the ability of traditional communities to observe, draw conclusions, and also cope with situations when access to medical care was very limited. These observations, often supported by long practice, can inspire us to conduct further research on the medicinal properties of this valuable plant.

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Zastosowanie kapusty głowiastej białej w polskim lecznictwie ludowym

Magdalena Walasek-Janusz

Modern medicine, Volume 29 (2023) Issue 1, 2023, pp. 267 - 284

https://doi.org/10.4467/12311960MN.23.013.18454

White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) was one of the staple food plants in ancient rural communities. It was not only the main ingredient of many dishes, but even a symbol of abundance. The high availability of this plant, both fresh and pickled, throughout the year, created great opportunities to use it not only as food but also as a medicinal plant. The aim of the study was to present the medicinal uses of raw materials obtained from white cabbage in Polish folk medicine. The available studies show that traditional Polish folk medicine not only used fresh cabbage leaves, but also fermented leaves or sauerkraut juice. Sometimes the use of seed, stalks and fresh leaf juice were recommended. Unlike most medicinal plants, dried raw material was used very rarely. The most commonly used raw materials were fresh or lacto-fermented without prior preparation, rarely before use they were crushed, roasted, made into infusions, boiled or soaked in vinegar. It was believed that cabbage provides health and strengthens the body, and children who eat cabbage grow quickly. For medicinal purposes, this plant was used for numerous ailments and parasites of the digestive tract: abdominal pain, constipation, stomach and liver diseases, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and hemorrhoids. It has also been used in dermatological problems and as an analgesic, e.g. for headaches and rheumatic pains. The properties of cabbage were also used in the treatment of female ailments related to pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. The collected information indicates that white cabbage has been used in folk medicine in many ways, and its various applications should not escape the attention of modern medicine.

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