Roses are associated by most people only as decoration. The plants have ingredients that give them healing properties. In contrast to medications from guilty medicine, side effects are usually not to be expected with the medicinal use of roses.
Occurrence & cultivation of the rose
Roses permeate all of human history. Due to their optical aesthetics, the scent and their healing properties, they were cultivated early on. The first planned cultivation of roses was discovered in China, where it originated about 5000 years ago. There are now around 30,000 types of roses that can be traced back to various breeds.
The wild rose originally only comes from the northern hemisphere. Fossils show that the flower has been present on the planet for about 25 million years. The plant gained more and more importance in the different epochs and has been a symbol of love for around 2000 years. Roses belong to the rose family. Botanists differentiate between wild roses and cultivated roses. The differentiated species are characterized by their flower color, spines and rose hips.
In most cases, roses are deciduous plants. Only very few species have evergreen properties. A generalization is difficult to achieve due to the great diversity of plants. There are no differences in terms of their medicinal effect.Most of the time, however, roses prefer chalky soils and have buds of five petals each. Roses reach a maximum size of about four meters.
Effect & application
Today roses can be found in almost every garden. If they are often only used for aesthetic purposes, their leaves can also be processed due to their medicinal properties. The plant is particularly often used for abdominal pain and menstrual cramps, but also for hay fever or pain in the region of the heart.
It can be used internally or externally, depending on the symptoms. The basis for the medicinal properties of the flower are its ingredients. Above all, essential oils, tannins, tannic acid, geraniol and saponins should be mentioned here. Only the flowers of the rose are suitable for medicinal use. The collection time is thus reduced to June, July and August at the same time. However, certain methods allow the leaves to be dried, which means they can be preserved and used at a later date.
In the case of headaches, dizziness or heavy menstruation, the use of the plant in the form of a tea is recommended. For this, a teaspoon of the dried leaves is scalded with a cup of hot water. The brewing time is five to ten minutes. After straining, the liquid can be sweetened and drunk several times a day. Externally, rose tea in the form of compresses, washes or partial baths helps with light burns or poorly healing wounds.
The tea can be used as a mouthwash in the event of mouth sores or gum discomfort. However, topical use requires a cooler temperature for the tea. To avoid scalding, the liquid should first have enough time to cool down. The active ingredients of the rose petals can also be found in numerous conventional creams and ointments. Some companies produce oils from the ingredients.
Because of the high effort and the large number of roses required, the oil is considered valuable. Facial rose can be softened by applying the fresh leaves. These should be used quickly after collecting. In summary, the effect of rose petals can be described as anti-inflammatory, astringent and nerve-strengthening. It is suitable for both physical and psychological complaints.
Importance for health, treatment & prevention
Rose petals are beneficial to health in a number of ways. In this way, the ingredients have a treating effect on numerous complaints. However, the plant is not suitable as a preventive agent. Instead, it can help reduce inflammation, for example. The tannins in the leaves combine with certain proteins on the surfaces of the organism.
This creates connections that act like a protective shield. Pathogens find it difficult to break through the protective layer, which means that inflammations subside more quickly. In this way, rose petals have an anti-inflammatory effect and they also reduce the growth of fungi and bacteria.
The effect is particularly interesting for gum disease, tonsillitis and other inflammatory complaints in the mouth. But external surfaces also benefit from the reduction in various pathogens. In this way, the plant succeeds in relieving skin diseases such as facial roses or wounds, which have a slow healing process.
Apart from the physical component, there is the use of the essential oil, which is extracted from the rose petals. However, this is only used in alternative medicine, such as aromatherapy. Here the scent should help in particular with psychological complaints such as anxiety, depressive mood, emotional disorders, permanent stress, fatigue and burnout.
In contrast to the use of the flower petals, however, the oil can be more closely related to folk medicine and empirical medicine; it is not an officially recognized drug. The effect of the rose petals is therefore limited to certain ailments, but here it contributes to an effective healing. Side effects are usually not to be expected. Accordingly, the medicinal plant can be perceived as an alternative to conventional medicine. In the case of children, a consultation with the attending physician should take place under certain circumstances before the therapy starts.
