Rosa canina

Kucab, Anna, 2024, Aloe arboresCens, Aronia melanoCarpa, Rosa Canina, SambUCUs nigra - immunostimulating properties and use in phytotherapy, Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis Studia Naturae 9, pp. 191-208 : 194-195

Rosa canina L.

R. canina is a shrub with arching shoots, belonging to the Rosaceae Juss family. It grows up to 3 m high and has thick, hooked or sickle-shaped curved thorns. The leaves of this plant are composed of 5–7 ovate or elliptical, pointed and serrated leaflets. The flowers are large, white or pale pink; they occur singly or are gathered in inflorescences. They have a characteristic rose scent and bloom from May to June. After this time, the flower base grows into a pseudo fruit – hypanthium ( Fig. 1D ), inside which there are fruits with hairs (achenes). This is the so-called apical fruit, it is red and ovoid, ripens at the end of September, at its top there are visible remnants of the calyx ( Bełdowska, Guzewska, 1987; Halarewicz, 2023; Mederska, 2023).

The herbal raw material is the false fruit of the rosehip ( Rosae Fructus ). The fruit is collected in August and September, before the hypanthia are fully ripe when it is red but still hard; it can be dried with or without the seeds. It should be crushed and kept for the first 10 minutes at a temperature of about 100°C to quickly destroy the enzymes that break down vitamin C, then dried at a temperature of about 50–60°C ( Mazerant, 1990). Examples of methods of preparation and use of the most commonly made remedies from rosehip fruit are presented in Tab. 1.

The form

Recipe and application

of the preparation infusion Pour 3 heaping tablespoons of dry and crushed rose hips with 2 cups of boiling water, set aside for 30 minutes and strain, you can sweeten it with honey. Drink 200 ml 2–4 times a day, children – 100–150 ml several times a day.

decoction Pour 1 tablespoon of dry and crushed rose hips with 2 cups of warm water,

cook covered for about 5 minutes, set aside for 15 minutes, strain. Drink

1 glass 3 times a day.

tincture Pour 0.5 cups of fruit with 300 ml of vodka or wine, digest for 14 days, filter.

Take 1 tablespoon 2–3 times a day or 30 ml once a day.

intract Pour 1 cup of fresh ground fruit with 500 ml of vodka (or wine) at 75°C,

digest for 10 days and filter. Take as a tincture.

Source: own study based on Różański, 2012; Senderski, 2017

Figures

Fig. 1. Aloe vera Mill.with yellow inflorescences – A, large-scale plantation of Aloe vera in Gran Canaria, Spain, 2022 r. – B, Aronia melanocarpa fruit, Germany, 2007 r. – C, false fruits of the Rosa canina (hypanthium) – D, ripe elderberries of Sambucus nigra – E (A–B, D–E – Photo. A.Kucab, C – Source: commons. wikimedia.org – public domain)