Rose hips

Rose Hips: Who's this?

Rose hips grows wild and is much widespread. Despite of that, her beauty distinguishes her thanks to her attractive pink-to-red flower and the sturdy grace of her fruit, “harmoniously surrounded and covered with a glistening coral shell”, according to the description of Leclerc, a famous phytotherapist doctor. Rose hips is ready to use all her capabilities, that are hidden exactly inside that red shell. She is the wild cousin of the Rose and belongs to the family of the Rosaceae.

Superpowers

Since Rose hips’ active substances are altruistic and targeted, they enhance the bioavailability of the ingredients of other plants, by promoting their entry into the cell and increasing immune defenses. Rose hips protect the blood flow and the cardiovascular system and activate the body’s defensive powers. Rose hips also have a depurative and mild diuretic and laxative action. She also acts as an emollient on the intestinal mucosa. Rosehips –the fake fruits of rose – keep a wealth of vitamin C and polyphenols, important antioxidants, under their red armour. Dogs don't really need to get vitamins from external sources, since he synthesize them from glucose, but he can find a good friend in Rose hips in cases of fever, profuse diarrhea and acute inflammatory conditions. Just like Achilles’ heel and Superman’s kryptonite, even she has a weakness: the drying process. Indeed, this assault drastically lowers her content in vitamin C from 95% to 40%.

Feats

According to the Doctrine of Signatures, those herbs that look like a specific part of the body can be used to treat the disorders of that same organ. Therefore, since the scratches caused by Rose hips are similar to bite marks of dogs infected by rabies, she were considered as a cure for this disease. That is the reason for her name. Anyway, among commoners, Rose hips used to be called with different names. The funniest one is the French name “grattecul” (literally, "bum scratcher"), that comes from the shape of Rose hips, which are covered by a slight and stinging down, and from the fact that she has laxative effects. According to Persians, her extracts were able to treat kidney stones, reduce heavy menstrual bleeding and ultimately… raise the dead!