What is the effect of elderberry?
The flowers of black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) are used as a traditional herbal medicine to relieve cold symptoms. Among other things, they contain flavonoids, essential oil, triterpenes, mucilage and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. Overall, elderflowers have a diaphoretic effect and increase mucus production in the bronchial tubes.
Folk medicine also uses the metabolism-promoting and slightly diuretic elderflowers in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. In addition, elderberry juice made from elderberries (botanically: drupes) is said to have an effect on colds. However, this has not yet been scientifically proven.
However, the berries do contain vitamin C and anthocyanins, among other things. Both have an antioxidant effect. This means that they can render cell-damaging aggressive oxygen compounds (free radicals) harmless. Vitamin C can also stimulate the immune system. The antioxidant properties of elderberry extracts and their possible significance for the immune system are the subject of research.
How is elderberry used?
You can use elderberry as a home remedy or you can buy a ready-made preparation from the pharmacy.
Elderberry as a home remedy
To do this, pour about 150 milliliters of boiling water over two to three teaspoons (three to four grams) of elderflowers, leave to infuse for five to ten minutes and then strain the flowers. Experts recommend drinking such a cup of elderflower tea several times a day, preferably hot (as a sweating cure). The daily dose is 10 to 15 grams of the dried flowers.
It makes sense to combine elderberry with other medicinal plants when preparing the tea. For example, lime blossom (also diaphoretic) and camomile (anti-inflammatory) are also suitable for a cold tea.
Home remedies based on medicinal plants have their limits. If your symptoms persist over a longer period of time and do not improve or even get worse despite treatment, you should always consult a doctor.
Ready-made preparations with elderberry
There are now also ready-made preparations containing elderberry. In addition to ready-made tea blends, these include, for example, coated tablets with powdered elderflowers and alcoholic extracts in the form of drops and juices. Please use such preparations as described in the package leaflet or as recommended by your doctor or pharmacist.
What side effects can elderberry cause?
What you should bear in mind when using elderberries
Never eat the raw berries because of the poisonous ingredients. The harmful substances are also contained in the leaves and twigs of elderberries.
How to obtain elderberry and its products
Ready-made preparations such as elderflower tea, lozenges or tinctures as well as juices made from the flowers or berries are available from your pharmacy or drugstore. For the use and dosage of such preparations, please read the relevant package leaflet and ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Interesting facts about elderberry
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is a shrub or small tree up to eight meters tall from the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae). It is native to Europe as well as parts of Asia and North Africa. Elderberry likes to grow in hedges, bushes, along roadsides and stream banks as well as on rubble heaps. The superstition that the elder bush was the abode of protective household gods prevented people from felling it near stables, granaries or farmhouses. This is why it is still often found in these places today.
The elderberry shrub has feathery leaves and, in summer, large, umbrella-shaped umbels with small, white, fragrant flowers. The latter develop into shiny black, berry-shaped drupes (“elderberries”) by the fall.
Red elderberry (also known as grape elderberry) is a related plant (Sambucus racemosa). Its “berries” are red when ripe, not black. However, they also cause symptoms of poisoning such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if eaten raw.
