Flavonoids are another ingredient that places elderberries in the category of antioxidant-rich, capable of preventing cell damage. One study suggested that the elderberry extract called Sambucol could shorten flu duration by up to three days. Other traditional uses of elderberry flowers are as external antiseptic washes and poultices to treat wounds, and as an eye wash for conjunctivitis and eye inflammation.
JUNIPERO SERRA and the Sacred Expedition. Lived: 1713-1784. Explored California in: 1769-1784. Exploring for: Spain. Explored: by land from San Diego to San Francisco. Father Serra was the spiritual leader of the Sacred Expedition, the first Spanish attempt to found a settlement in Alta (Upper) California.
Father Serra then worked in the Sierra Gorda area of north central Mexico for the next 17 years. When the Franciscans took over the California missions from the Jesuits in 1767, Father Serra was put in charge. In 1769, at the age of 56, he made his first expedition to California with Gaspar de Portola.