Herb of the month: KOKÉNYVÍRÁG

Latin name: Prunus Spinosa

Its Hungarian names are: harrow tree, thorn harrow tree, ploughshare tree, thorn tree, quinine tree, oat plum, and also kékenyssilva; Somogyi's form variant is könyé

The origin of the Hungarian name: " It appears early in Hungarian writing, in the form kuken (OklSz.) dating back to 1255. In the Beszterce Vocabulary (c. 1395) and then in the Schlägli Glossary (c. 1405: accastum – keken fa") you can also find the Among the entries in the Casanate codex, it appears on the border of the 15th and 16th centuries (CasGl.). In Gyöngyös Szótártöredék (c. 1560), in György Lencsés' manuscript work on medical botany (1570 c.: Ars Medica), in Péter Melius Juhász (1578), in Clusius' Pannonian flora work (1583: NomPann.), in Calepinus' dictionary (1585), in Balázs Fabricius Szikszai (1590) ) and at János Kájoni (1656). In József Benkő's (1783: NclB.) prunus spinosa, in József Kassai's dictionary (1833) bökény-fa, kény .

..... The Latin word spina 'thorn' is hidden in the scientific species name spinosa, which is usually the name of thorny plants.

György Csáthy: Hungarian Herbal Book

Kékén is very common in our folk songs. Its interesting feature is that its flowers usually appear before its leaves. The use of its flower was recommended where urination and metabolism had to be increased, and blood purification was to be achieved. The decoction of the flower has a mild laxative, fat-reducing and blood-cleansing effect. It lowers high blood pressure. The liquid made from its fruit is a remedy for gout. Its fruit was used to make a lemon salad for bladder and kidney ailments. Its leaves are an excellent substitute for tea." (János Rácz: Encyclopedia of plant names)

It belongs to the family of roses (Rosaceae) and occurs on the edge of forests and pastures. Thorny shrub. 

Part used: Flower, fruit

Collection time: from the end of March to the end of April, before the leaves fall

Active ingredients :

in fruit: sugars, tannins, organic acids, pectin, blue prunicyanin, flavonoids, traces of cyanogenic glycoside (amygdalin, prunasin)

in root bark: prunetin, prunitrin

in flowers: quercitrin, rutin, hyperoside

Application:

Turmeric has been used for centuries, primarily as a laxative, blood purifier, and diuretic tea.

In Péter Melius's Herbarium - which is the first natural science handbook in Hungarian (Cluj, 1578) - he also mentions kékény:

"...If you soak the nettle flower in strong wine, and let it stand there for a day and a night, then in the Balneum Mar(n), i.e. Alembicum, a water still containing water, you distil it, you will get rid of all the wine, flowers, sore throats, If you drink it often, this water will cure colic, stomach ache, and flatulence..."

Csáthy: Hungarian Herbal Book (Debrecen, 1807.)

Béla Aladár Varró in his book Medicinal Plants as Household Herbs (Budapest, 1931.) writes, among other things, the following about kekény:

"The decoction made from its flowers (5 gr. per quarter liter of water, boiled for 1 minute) is mildly laxative, fat-removing, fat-dissolving, blood-purifying, can be successfully used for women's stomach cramps and various skin rashes, but also for kidney and bladder disorders...

....A nervous stimulant fermented with must. Cooked with red wine, it is very good against diarrhea. A vinegar salad is made from its fruit for bladder and kidney problems. Its leaves are an excellent substitute for Russian tea"

It was traditionally used in a variety of medicinal tea mixtures, and is still used today, e.g. against high blood pressure, against anemia, as a laxative, or even in strengthening and roboring mixtures.

Among the Pharmacopoeias, it was last official in FoNo IV as a component of Species cynosbati composita.

Today, it is more likely to be obtained as a monodrug in herbal shops.

dr. János Zelenyák: Effects and use of medicinal plants

From the point of view of skin care, extracts made from sedge flower and sedge berry are also significant. Both versions are included in CosIng's database as skin conditioning active ingredients.

Based on literature data, it has intense antioxidant properties due to its flavonoid content. The extract of its flower has an official skin softening, moisturizing and general skin conditioning effect.

Among Balzsam Labor's preparations , Good night! The extract of nettle flower, together with nettle leaf, birch leaf and elder flower, was added to the facial care, specifically to support the skin's nighttime renewal processes.