Borage… Excellent food and Medicinal Plant

The Borage, in addition to being an excellent vegetable, also stands out for its rich in essential fatty acids (AGE). Those are essential in the metabolism because they are considered necessary for proper production of precursors of hormones capable of regulating many functions of our body and the proper functioning of the cells of the body or brain.

Borage oil contains essential omega-6. Among these, mainly between 36-38% of linoleic acid and 18-25% of gamma-linolenic acid (AGL). The first is easier to get since you can get a variety of plant sources like nuts, which are plant foods that have more, avocados, soybean oil, sunflower, corn, almonds, peanuts, etc. The second type of essential oil does not appear in significant amounts in any food except that it is in the borage oil, or seed of Onagra of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum).

The Borage is rich in vitamins, minerals, with little calories and zero cholesterol, is a plant with medicinal properties since ancient cited by multiple authors: Hippocrates, Galen, Dioscorides, and so on. Linnaeus named in the work of a plant shop. Among its traditional uses are cited as the laxative, diuretic, emollient, antispasmodic, sudorific, cleansing and stimulating.

Botany

• Scientific Name: Borago officinalis L .
• Family: Boragináceas
• Distribution: Mediterranean Region.
• Habitat: fields and edges of roads. Where abundant organic debris.
• Flowering Period (approx): February-June
• Description: gets annual up to a meter in height. The basal leaves are ovate and petiolated while the above auricles and are seated, that is shaped ear. The flowers are blue-violet and in them, the stamens are grouped to form a horn-shaped structure characteristic of this species.
• Collection and preservation of Borage: The leaves are collected when the plant begins to drop leaves in late winter or early spring. Flowers all summer long. Both should be dried in the shade and stored in a dry place.

Composition

• Mucilage (30%)
• Tannins (3%)
• Silicic acid (up 2.2%)
• Vitamin C (0.04%) Organic Acids
• Allantoin
• Sugars
• Essential oil or flavonoids (kaempferol and quercetol)
• Alkaloids (consuelda more)
• Nitrates (potassium nitrate)
• mineral substances (17%)

Traditional Uses

• Emollient (due to its mucilage content)
• Expectorant
• Astringent (on the skin)
• Anti-inflammatory
• anti-parasitic (borage juice)
• diuretic (discrete effect)
• general cleansing sudorific (flowers)

Medicinal use

• Infusion: bring to boil one to three cups of water. When it starts the boil, off and put three heaping spoonfuls, stir and cover. Let stand at least 5 minutes. Strain and drink with honey
• Mother tincture: take 30 drops three times daily
• Fluid extract: 3 g per day
• Borage oil: are in the form of beads, often in conjunction with Evening primrose oil and enriched with vitamin E. They are very wise to have a healthy skin and combat wrinkles. It is also recommended in cases of bronchitis. The dosage will depend on the amount of oil it contains, is preferable to consult the specialist and the indications of the manufacturer's leaflet.
• Trivia: Most specialists believe that borage is a native of northern Africa. This species, known from antiquity, was used by Greeks and Romans. The ancient medical phytotherapeutic doctors recommended flowers as depurative and sudorific. It is grown and is highly prized in France and Italy, while in Spain, is a very popular dish in Aragon and Navarra.

Among the most important constituent of this plant are a significant amount of provitamin A and Vitamin C (100 grams will cover more than half the recommended intake of vitamin), and mineral salts, potassium nitrate is the most abundant and the main activity of its diuretic, cardiac tonic and sudorific. It also contains mucilage that confers emollient properties, anti-inflammatory which is used to treat infections of the upper respiratory tract.

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