In folk medicine, various plants are used to help get rid of ailments. Quite often you can find information about the preparation of medicines from parts of conifers. In our article we will talk about the benefits pine bark and how it can be used for therapeutic purposes.
Chemical composition
Pine bark includes a huge amount of the following substances:
- tannins;
- D-hyaluronic acid;
- pycnogenol;
- resveratrol.
Check out the varieties of pine, such as: White, mountain, elfin, Siberian cedar and black.
Due to the successful combination of these components, the use of bark for medicinal purposes has become widespread today. 
Use: medicinal properties
Due to the content of nutrients in the cortex, preparations based on it have the following properties:
- allow you to eliminate chronic fatigue;
- help to improve the condition of patients with hypertension, diabetes, as well as after a stroke;
- help improve memory after head injuries;
- allow you to improve the work of the heart, strengthen blood vessels;
- contribute to the normalization of blood pressure;
- strengthen tooth enamel;
- reduce bleeding gums;
- reduce cholesterol;
- Pycnogenol is a part of many anti-aging creams that promote the production of hyaluronic acid, as a result of which an increase in skin elasticity is observed, elasticity improves, aging processes slow down, and wrinkles are smoothed.
Medical applications
Traditional medicine proposes to use raw materials to combat various ailments. For example, to reduce cholesterol in the blood, it is necessary to grind dried bark to a powder.
Take the powder in half a teaspoon before meals 1 time per day with a glass of water. The course of treatment is 3-4 weeks.
Important! For therapeutic use, dark-stained bark cannot be used, as they can be a sign of the presence of harmful fungi.
The powder can be used to improve the condition of the vessels. To do this, every day to use half a teaspoon means, stirring it with honey or lemon juice (1 teaspoon).
In the presence of a sore throat, resorption of dried pine resin is effective. 
If you mix the powder of pine bark and willow, you can get a unique tool that has anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and analgesic effect.
Thanks to him, you can eliminate the painful symptoms of arthritis, arthrosis and other diseases of the joints. To do this, the powders are mixed in a ratio of 1 to 1 and take half or one teaspoon before eating for 1 hour.
Pine bark can benefit men, because due to its composition it is possible to get rid of adenoma and prostatitis, to cure impotence. If you plan to collect raw materials for the preparation of "male" means, it should be done before March 15.
The structure includes not only pine bark - it is necessary to collect it from such trees as linden, aspen, juniper, willow, alder, fir, birch, poplar, oak, apple larch and spruce.
All ingredients should be thoroughly crushed to powder and take all 1 part (except for poplar and aspen - they need 0.5 parts), mix well. After that, 1 cup of the mixture is poured with 3 liters of water and put on a small fire, boil for 30 minutes.
You will be interested to read what is useful and how to use: the bark of aspen, viburnum, oak and white willow.
Then removed from heat and insist 12 hours. Be sure to wrap the pot. After that, the raw material is filtered, topped up with 0.5 liters of vodka, put in the refrigerator. Take a means of 0.5 cups three times a day for half an hour before meals.
Use in gardening
Since bark is an environmentally friendly natural material, it is often used as mulch. In the ground state, it is also used in decorating, decorating rose gardens, territories where coniferous trees and shrubs grow. For mulching should use bark finely ground. 
In addition, it can be used for composting. It is necessary to put the pieces up to 40 cm in one pile, moisten and add mineral fertilizers to them (ammonium nitrate or urea - 1 kg per 100 kg of raw materials, 2 kg of sodium nitrate and 200 grams of superphosphate).
After that, a handful of watered liquid manure. You need to shovel the compost a couple of times a season, and in six months it will be ready for use.
Harm and side effects
Like all drugs, pine bark should be used strictly for its intended purpose and according to the instructions. If you abuse drugs, you may receive such side effects:
- headache;
- inflammatory processes in the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract;
- allergic rhinitis;
- skin rashes.
However, most often the preparations based on the considered part of the pine are well tolerated and do not cause harm to the body.
Contraindications
The main contraindications to the use of funds from the bark of pine include:
- pregnancy;
- acute hepatitis;
- individual intolerance;
- kidney disease.
Important! If there are any tumors, even benign ones, it is necessary to use preparations of pine bark with extreme caution, since they can cause their growth.
If you plan to take drugs during lactation, you should always consult with your doctor before you start taking.
Harvesting and storage of raw materials
Only young trees have medicinal properties, so you should carefully examine their appearance. Preparation of raw materials includes the following steps:
- In the forest, you need to find a healthy tree - its bark will have a light brown color.
- With the help of a knife, you need to carefully cut the raw material from the bottom of the barrel. At the base it is thicker.
- Then the bark is thoroughly cleaned from insects and dirt. To do this, hold it under running water.
- Cut the raw materials into small pieces, put them on a pallet - they must be dried.
- After complete drying, grind (if necessary) the bark into a powder. This can be done with a coffee grinder.
For storing large pieces, it is better to use fabric bags that should be placed in a warm, dry place. Powder should be poured into a glass container, close it tightly and put in a dark place. Shelf life is 1 year.Read how pine pollen, essential oil and pine buds are used.
Cooking recipe: how to take
We offer you the most common medicinal recipes based on pine bark.
Alcohol tincture
To prepare you will need:
- crushed raw materials - 2 glasses;
- Vodka - 1 liter.
For preparation, it is necessary to pour vodka with raw materials and put them in a dark place for 3 weeks. Periodically, the tank should be shaken.
Then you need to strain the tincture and take 2 times a day for 1 tsp. before eating. Therapeutic course is 2 months. This tincture is used to combat hypertension.
Infusion
To prepare you will need:
- bark - 1 cup;
- water - 2 liters.
To prepare the raw materials need to pour boiling water. Infuse the mixture until it is completely cool. After that, it is filtered and poured into the bathroom. Bathing should last no more than 15 minutes. The therapeutic course includes 10-12 procedures. The use of such a decoction will help to work the heart.Decoction
To prepare you will need:
- bark powder - 20 g;
- 500 ml of water.
To cook the broth, you need to pour the water with water and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. After that, you need to wait until the broth is completely cool, strain it and take 50 g 4 times a day. The use of this tool will help get rid of urolithiasis, reduce the symptoms of rheumatism.
How to prepare a substrate for orchids
From pine bark, you can independently prepare a high-quality substrate for orchids. However, it is worth paying attention that the raw material is suitable only from dead or fallen trees.
This is due to the fact that in the dead bark is much less resin, which can harm the flower. You can find it, walking through the parks or forests, or remove it from the stumps, dried trees. 
When selecting the bark for the substrate should adhere to the following recommendations:
- give preference to the upper layers, which themselves break up into pieces;
- do not collect bark with dark spots - if they exist, be sure to remove them;
- if there is wood on the piece, it should be separated;
- when collecting, be sure to shake off insects and dirt.
Did you know? In nature, pine can be found only in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern it does not grow.
We offer you a step-by-step instruction on the preparation of the substrate:
- Prepared pieces should be placed on the balcony for the primary cleaning of insects and their larvae.
- Boil the pieces in a large container for 1 hour.
- Remove from heat and allow liquid to cool.
- Drain the water and fold the bark into a colander.
- Dry the material and chop it with a knife or pruner: for young flowers, pieces 1 by 1 cm in size are needed, for adults - 1.5 by 1.5 cm.
- To crush the crushed pieces hands, using mittens - it will allow to smooth sharp ledges.
- Then you need to dry the raw materials in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Further, carefully dried raw materials are laid out in paper bags.
To prepare the substrate, you must mix the following ingredients:- dried bark;
- Activated carbon;
- swamp moss;
- scales of pine cones, pre-boiled for 5 minutes.
Substrate for orchids - video
Did you know? The owner of the longest needles is the marsh pine: the length of the needles can reach 45 cm.
If you plan to store the substrate, then it must be decomposed into packages. When a plant is being transplanted, it is necessary to select large pieces from the old mixture and mix them with a new substrate. In this way, you will transfer the fungus, to which the orchid has become used, to the new soil.
Pine bark is a universal raw material that can be used both for medicinal purposes and for use in gardening. The main thing is to follow all the recommendations, then it will be possible to receive benefits from this material.
