Rowan is a tree that can reach a height of 20m, rarely a shrub, with a thin crown and smooth, grayish bark.

The plants are white, arranged in inflorescences 8-15 cm in diameter, the flowers are fragrant with the smell of bitter almonds. Fruits oval or round, juicy, orange or red, sour and bitter in taste. After the first frost, the bitterness disappears from the berries.

Fruits (Sobri fructus) are mainly used, which are harvested in August and September, before frost. It is important not to break the branches when collecting mountain ash. The berries are cleaned from the stalks, further prepared into syrups, jams, infusions or dried in well-ventilated rooms or ovens not exceeding 60-80C.

Rowan berries contain a rich complex of vitamins: C, E, B1, B2, P, PP, K, carotenoids and folic acid. In terms of the amount of flavonoids and free amino acids, rowan berry surpasses any other berry culture. 18 free amino acids are found in the fruit and 8 of them are irreplaceable. Rutin, quercetin, isoquercetin, etc. have been found

Rowan fruits also contain sugars - glucose up to 3.8%, fructose up to 4.3%, sucrose up to 1%, sorbitol alcohol up to 25% and others. There are also tannins up to 0.3%, anthocyanins, phospholipids, pectin substances up to 2%, organic acids, bitter substances, sorbic and parasorbic acid, essential oil, micro and macro elements.

Rowan leaves contain vitamin C, flavonoids; in seeds - fatty oil up to 22% and glycoside amygdalin; in the bark- tanning substances.

Medicinal significance

Thanks to the high concentration of vitamins in the fruit, its composition acts as a body tonic, as well as diuretic, hypertensive and choleretic. Medicine uses its fruits as a multivitamin.

Similarly, rowan fruits have a tonic, anti-scurvy, blood-restoring, diaphoretic and pain-relieving effect.

The biological activity of Rowan fruits neutralizes toxic elements in the body, increases the resistance of blood vessels, acts as an anti-inflammatory agent in the intestinal tract, increases the acidity of stomach acid, improves appetite, has a beneficial effect on fat metabolism (reduces fat content in the liver), regulates the menstrual cycle.

The flavonoid extract of rowan fruit increases the radioresistance of the organism when it is administered to the organism before and after radiation therapy.

It has also been established that sorbitol, sorbic acid and organic substances present in fruits have liver-protective properties.

For diabetics, rowan berries are an important source of vitamins, and they also contain sweet sorbitol, which is safe for diabetics. In many countries, sorbitol is used as a sugar substitute.

The pectin substances in the fruit are capable of forming a gel-like mass with natural sugars and acids. They act against the fermentation of carbohydrates, thus also suppressing the formation of gases in the intestines. Pectins promote the binding of endogenous and exogenous toxins and the removal of excess carbohydrates.

The choleretic properties are due to sorbitol and sorbic acid. Sorbitol reduces fat content in the liver and cholesterol content in the blood. It is also effective in cases of constipation followed by diseases of the bile ducts.

Vitamin C and P contained in ready fruits allows them to be used for the prevention of atherosclerosis, hypertensive disease, hemorrhoidal diathesis.

In folk medicine , rowan is used in the treatment of various liver and gall bladder diseases. Fresh rowan berries are recommended to be eaten to treat liver stones; berry juice, as a choleretic and to increase the amount of gastric juice; dried berries, in case of dysentery.

Use infusions, decoctions and juices in case of indigestion, hepatitis, hepatocholecystitis, difficult bile separation.

Rowan berries are used in cases of chronic constipation, atony of the large and small intestines, as well as to reduce kidney stones and stones in the urinary system, in cases of cystitis and ureteral diseases. Berries are used as a blood-regenerating, anti-dysentery and laxative agent. Bilaj berries are also given to the patient in case of burns.

Berries and flowers are used in cases of avitaminosis, metabolic disorders, rheumatism, colds (as diaphoretic); boiled bark, used in hypertension.

Similarly, rowan berries will be an excellent helper for strengthening the body and will help prevent heart diseases. Decoctions of flowers are used to treat liver diseases and women's diseases. Fresh leaves and berries are also used to treat scrofula. 

Not recommended for use

Rowan can harm people who have increased blood clotting. It is recommended to refuse the use of berries in case of some heart diseases, for example, in the case of ischemic heart disease. 

People with increased gastric juice should also be careful. And it is not even recommended to use berries for people with a tendency to blood clots and chronic gastritis.