Flowers and fruits are the medicinal part of the plant. Fruits are gathered when they are well ripe, when they get an almost blackish colour since the reddish ones can be irritating.
Elder is believed to have diuretic, laxative, antinevralgic, antirheumatic and perspiratory properties.
In popular tradition, actually, elder is called “vegetable aspirin” for its perspiratory effect (flowers) and is used in hot teas to fight cold, flu and rheumatism.
Fruits are excellent anti-inflammatory remedies and are used for example to fight trigeminal neuralgia.
You must be careful not to confuse Sambucus Nigra with Sambucus Ebulus (Dwarf elder) since the latter has poisoning berries. It’s not difficult to distinguish them: dwarf elder has small leaves with two stipules at the base of the leaflets which are not present in Sambucus Nigra.
Elder flowers are also used in cooking to prepare fritters or a very delicate jam with its slightly laxative fruits, useful in case of constipation for elderly and babies.
Preparation
Perspiratory infusion (aspirin effect) for flu and cold: prepare an infusion using a spoon of dried elder flowers in a cup of boiling hot water. Drain and sweeten with honey. Drink it twice per day.
Laxative elder syrup: use the sieve to mash 1 kg of well ripe elderberries and let them stand one night in the fridge. Drain, weigh, add the same amount of sugar and boil for half an hour. Put into a bottle when it’s cold. It’s recommended as refreshing and laxative syrup, to take pure or diluted with water (one tbsp in a glass of water).
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