The Hawk is a medicinal and fodder plant with an old tradition, it grows both wild and cultivated. In the wild, the medicinal plant can mainly be found on river banks or in riparian forests. The goat's diamond is often seen in private gardens and urban gardens, but there is hardly any commercial cultivation in fields.
Occurrence & cultivation of the goat's rue
The botanical home of the Hawk is Europe and the entire Asian continent. Right up to the 19th century, goat's rue was often grown commercially, because as an ornamental, fodder and medicinal plant, the goat's rue played a far greater role than it does today. The wilderness set in early, so that the goat's rue can be found on the banks of rivers and streams, in meadows and increasingly in alluvial forests.
The medicinal and useful plant loves very loamy and moist soil, which must also be taken into account when growing in your own garden. The goat's rue, which grows up to one meter high, is strictly perennial and has thick roots that are reminiscent of that of beets. The horns and grooves of the hawkweed sprout out of this root in spring. The leaves are typically pinnate, unpaired, alternate on the stems.
The individual leaves of the plant can be up to four centimeters long and remain narrow. Hissweed blooms in the summer months, the flowers are in candle-like clusters and have a whitish to pink color.
Effect & application
The goat's rue is a legume and, like many others from this family of plants, has an asymmetrical shape of the flowers. The seeds of the plant develop from the flowers. During this process, the flowers first develop into pod-like pods and then into bean-shaped, brownish seeds. In the vernacular, the goat's diamond is also called Fenugreek, Patchwort, Goat clover or Smallpox diamond designated.
The mode of action and the particularly medicinal effects of the hawkweed are due to the numerous pharmacologically active ingredients. In addition to galegin, galuteolin, bitter substances and phytosterols, the flowers of the hawkweed also contain flavonoids, tannins, saponins and allantoin.In the past, goat's rue was often grown as a fodder for grazing cattle, but today there is hardly a farmer who feeds goat's rue to his livestock.
For a long time it was not known that goat's rue can also be toxic as food, but this toxicity does not apply to all types of farm animals. In extreme cases, livestock fatalities have also occurred due to excessive feeding of goat's-tail. This latent toxicity is the main reason why goat's-rue is no longer used as a forage crop these days. If goat's rue is used for medicinal purposes in human medicine, this is done almost exclusively as a tea preparation.
The drug can be used fresh or dried. With the dried, cool and dry stored drug, a loss of active ingredient is not to be expected. For use, two teaspoons of goat's rue are poured over a large cup of scalding hot water. The brewing time should be at least ten minutes so that all relevant active ingredients are contained in the tea brew. After straining, the tea can be sipped, up to three cups per day are allowed for an adult.
Importance for health, treatment & prevention
In traditional folk medicine, the effect of the goat's diamond is undisputed. Goat's rue promotes milk production and has an antibiotic, diuretic, sweat-inducing and blood sugar-lowering effect due to its ingredients. Other areas of application are fever and cystitis.
Due to its blood sugar-lowering effect, goat's rue tea can be used to support diabetes mellitus, but this should only be done in consultation with the attending physician. The main importance of the plant results from its milk-forming property, which is why the medicinal plant was often used in the past by nursing mothers. Geißrautentee should be used as a cure. After about 6 weeks, you should take a break of just as long before the drinking cycle starts again.
The drinking break lasting several weeks prevents undesirable long-term effects caused by latent toxic cell damage. Although it is rarely used today as a milk-producing tea, the milk-producing effect has also been confirmed by studies. The name of the plant, goat's rue, already indicates the medicinal properties of milk production. The Greek words "Gala" and "Agein" mean milk and drift.
The importance for health relates first and foremost to the promotion of milk production. The consumption of goat's cabbage tea is often helpful, especially when milk production is difficult. In the first few days after giving birth, the increase in the amount of milk is noticeable.
Another special focus regarding the importance of the goat's rue for health, prevention and treatment results from the blood sugar lowering effect. This specific property of honeysuckle is the subject of botanical research, the scientists hope that this will, among other things, provide approaches for the accompanying therapy of diabetes mellitus.
The blood sugar-lowering effect of goat's rue has not yet been conclusively medically confirmed, but the botanical study material available so far is very promising. Diabetics should therefore only view goat's rape tea as a supplement to conventional medical treatment. If the consumption of goat's rue is combined with other blood sugar-lowering measures such as a balanced diet and physical exercise, high blood sugar levels can also be lowered surprisingly well without additional insulin administration.
