herbal in thailand

Safflower

2011-05-15T00:26:00.001-07:00

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual, usually with many long sharp spines on the leaves. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads (capitula) and commonly, brilliant yellow, orange or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads containing 15 to 20 seeds per head. Safflower has a strong taproot which enables it to thrive in dry climates, but the plant is very susceptible to frost injury from stem elongation to maturity.

Uses

Traditionally, the crop was grown for its seeds, and used for colouring and flavouring foods, in medicines, and making red (carthamin) and yellow dyes, especially before cheaper aniline dyes became available.For the last fifty years or so, the plant has been cultivated mainly for the vegetable oil extracted from its seeds. In April 2007 it was reported that genetically modified safflower has been bred to create insulin.
Worldwide safflower production
Carthamus tinctorius

Safflower oil is flavorless and colorless, and nutritionally similar to sunflower oil. It is used mainly in cosmetics and as a cooking oil, in salad dressing, and for the production of margarine. It may also be taken as a nutritional supplement. INCI nomenclature is Carthamus tinctorius.
Safflower purchased at a market in Turkey

Safflower flowers are occasionally used in cooking as a cheaper substitute for saffron, and are thus sometimes referred to as "bastard saffron." Safflower seed is also used quite commonly as an alternative to sunflower seed in birdfeeders, as squirrels do not like the taste of it.

The pharmaceutical company SemBioSys Genetics is currently using transgenic safflower plants to produce human insulin as the global demand for the hormone grows. Safflower-derived human insulin is currently in the PI/II trials on human test subjects.

There are two types of safflower that produce different kinds of oil: one high in monounsaturated fatty acid (oleic acid) and the other high in polyunsaturated fatty acid (linoleic acid). Currently the predominant edible oil market is for the former, which is lower in saturates than olive oil, for example.

The latter is also used in painting in the place of linseed oil, particularly with white, as it does not have the yellow tint which linseed oil possesses.

Lana is a strain of Safflower that grows in the southwestern United States, most notably Arizona and New Mexico.

In colouring textiles, safflower's dried flowers are used as a natural textile dye. Natural dyes derived from plants are not widely used in industry but it is getting more important world wide because of naturality and fashion trends. The colourful matter in safflower is benzoquinone-based Carthamin, so it is one of the quinone type natural dyes. It is a direct dye (CI Natural Red 26) and soluble. Yellow, mustard, khaki, olive green or even red colours can be obtained on textiles, but it is mostly used for yellow colours. All hydrophilic fibres (all natural fibres, such as cotton, wool, etc.) can be dyed with this plant since it can be classified as a direct dye. Polyamide can also be dyed without a mordant agent because of its wool-like chemical structure. Polyester, polyacrylnitryl and others which are hydrophobic synthetic fibres can be dyed only in the existence of a mordant.

Safflower concentrate is an ingredient of the carbonated soft drinks Tizer and some types of Sunkist.

Herbal Salads - Uncover How To Make Your Own Herbal Salads (Part 3) By Arta Marta

2010-11-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Follow the guidelines described below to make your own delicious herbal salads.

1. Mix equal quantities (50 grams) of new leaves of common dandelion, common nettle, yarrow, sorrel, wild garlic and parsley, and wash them under running water. Dry the leaves and cut to small pieces. Mix granulated onion and one clove of garlic with 1-2 glasses of Greek yoghurt to get salad dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad.
2. Infuse 150 grams of lady's mantle leaves with boiling water and leave them for a minute. Dry the leaves and cut to small pieces. Cut 25 grams of spring onions, grate 15 grams of horseradish and mix them with lady's mantle leaves. Pour sour cream over the salad.
3. Wash 300 grams of lettuce, 50 grams of chive tops, 150 grams of garden radishes, 50 grams of dill tops and 50 grams of leaf mustard, and dry them. Cut the ingredients to small pieces and pour sour cream over them.
4. Wash 100 grams of common chickweed leaves, 50 grams of spring onions and 50 grams of dill tops under running water, and dry them. Reduce the ingredients to small pieces. Whip 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil with a teaspoon of lemon juice and salt to get salad dressing. You can use either rhubarb juice or quince juice instead of the lemon juice. Pour the dressing over the salad.
5. Wash 250 grams of strawberry leaves, 50 grams of peppermint leaves and 150 grams of spring onions under running water, and dry them. Reduce them to small pieces. Whip 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil with a teaspoon of lemon juice and salt to get salad dressing. You can use either rhubarb juice or quince juice instead of the lemon juice. Pour the dressing over the salad.

Herbal Salads - Uncover How To Make Your Own Herbal Salads (Part 2) By Arta Marta

2010-11-12T09:00:00.001-08:00

The article deals with various recipes on how to make herbal salads on your own. These salads are proven not only to taste great, but also treat various diseases.

1. Wash lettuce, 3 tablespoons of ground-elder leaves and 50 grams of wild garlic tops under running water, and dry them. Cut the ingredients to small pieces and mix with a teaspoon of honey. Mix 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and a tablespoon of apple vinegar (you can add sour cream if you wish) to get salad dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad.
2. Infuse 100 grams of common dandelion leaves with salt water and leave them for half an hour. Afterwards, dry the leaves and cut to small pieces. Cut 25 grams of parsley leaves and 50 grams of spring onions, and mix them with dandelion leaves. Mix 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and a tablespoon of apple vinegar (you can add sour cream if you wish) to get salad dressing. You can use either Pour the dressing over the salad and decorate with chopped egg. You can use either rhubarb juice or quince juice instead of the vinegar.
3. Wash 2-2.5 glasses of rowan tree fruits under running water and dry them. Squeeze the berries or grind them with a meat-chopper. Grate boiled beet, boiled celery and boiled carrot, and mix the vegetables with berries. Add sugar or half a glass of honey to the mixture. Leave the salad to brew in a cool place for an hour and eat it with baked toasts.

Herbal Salads - Uncover How To Make Your Own Herbal Salads (Part 1) By Arta Marta

2010-11-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

There is a great variety of plants you can use to make salads, such as, vegetables, culinary plants, fresh and dried fruits, eggs, meat, fish, cheese and many more. But did you know you can use various herbs to make salads? Actually, not only you can use herbs, but also you should use them when making salads. You can use new leaves of dandelion, goosefoot, plantain, ground-elder and cowslip; blossoms of lady's mantle and dandelion; and many more. These valuable herbs not only enhance the taste of the food, but also help you with the treatment of various diseases. In order to retain the nutritive value of the food and vitamin C, you should make your salad right before eating.

1. Wash 50 grams of ribbed melilot leaves, 50 grams of spring onions and one cucumber under running water, and dry them. Reduce the ingredients to small pieces and mix them with mayonnaise. Decorate the salad with chopped egg. Add spices as you wish.
2. Wash 100 grams of fat-hen leaves, 50 grams of sorrel, 25 grams of spring onions and 25 grams of dill tops under running water, and dry them. Reduce the ingredients to small pieces and pour sour cream over them. Add spices as you wish.
3. Infuse 120 grams of new leaves of greater plantain and 50 grams of new leaves of common nettle with boiling water and leave them for a minute. Afterwards, dry the leaves and cut to small pieces. Grate 50 grams of horseradish, cut 80 grams of onion to small pieces and mix the vegetables with the leaves. Mix sour cream, salt and table vinegar at 3 percent concentration to get salad dressing. You can use either quince juice or rhubarb juice instead of table vinegar. Pout the salad dressing over the ingredients and decorate with chopped egg.
4. Wash half a glass of cranberries under running water and squeeze them. Add a tablespoon of honey. Grate boiled peeled beet and mix with the squeezed berries. Take a tablespoon of the salad before eating or as an accent to poultry dish.
5. Wash 100 grams of new leaves of ground-elder and 100 grams of new sorrel leaves under running water, and dry them. Cut the leaves to small pieces. Roast granulated nuts and mix them with the leaves. Mix 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to get salad dressing. You can use either quince juice or rhubarb juice instead of lemon juice. Pour the salad dressing over the salad.

Some Varieties of Herbal Tea For Your Healthy Drinking

2010-07-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

There are several types of tea that commonly drunk by people, such as black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and so on. I do really sure you know well about those varieties. However, do you know much about herbal tea and its different varieties? You have to notice that herbal tea not only has delicious taste, but also has great influence to keep your body system healthy. Are you interested to gain benefits from this healthy drinking?

Although people call it as tea, herbal tea actually does not contain any tea leaves. It has been used throughout the world since long time ago related with its great healing power. There are many varieties that you can take in order to get different advantages. Here you can find out more about some varieties of this drinking with their different advantages.

Olive leaf tea is the first effective herbal tea that commonly had by many people in the world. This certain drinking offers great advantages in fighting cancer even in higher level than green tea and grape extracts. It is also very effective to lower the blood pressure. You can get it in some drugs stores near your home. Simply pour hot water to few leaves and drink it while it is warm.

Chamomile is the next effective herb that often had by a lot of people. There are a lot beneficial things that you can get by drinking this tea. It will be great to reduce the pain of any digestive problems especially menstrual cramps. However, you should be really careful in consuming this certain herb. It has sedative effects so you should really consume it in minimal amount.

Then, you can also have peppermint tea as the next effective herb. This is a very effective drinking for people who have upset stomachs or indigestion. It contains menthol as a great and active ingredient to treat sinus. Therefore, people who have influenza or sinus problem should also take this drinking.

Ginseng is the next option. This kind of herbal tea is made from the root of ginseng plant. This drink is popular with its great performance to fight off any stress and depression feeling. Besides, it is also great to be taken to help you strengthen your body.

Surely, you can find many more varieties of effective herbal tea that gives many different advantages for your body. You can have Rooibos tea that is very rich of antioxidants and has sweet taste. You can also find dandelion tea that is made from the extract of leaf extracts of dandelion leaves. This certain drinking is very popular with its skin care effects. You can still find many other options such as Mormon tea, Kombucha tea, chrysanthemum tea, and many more.

By providing herbal tea in your home, you can cope with a lot of health problems in more natural way. Surely, something natural will have less bad effects than something chemical, right?

Ocimum tenuiflorum

2010-07-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

Scientific Name : Ocimum tenuiflorum
Family: Lamiaceae
Common Name: Ocimum sanctum, Tulasi
Part Used: Leaves

Uses : Tulasi’s extracts are used in ayurvedic remedies for common colds, headaches, stomach disorders, inflammation, heart disease, various forms of poisoning, and malaria. The dried leaves of Tulasi have been mixed with stored grains to repel insects. Traditionally, tulasi is taken in many forms: as an herbal tea, dried powder, fresh leaf, or mixed with ghee. Essential oil extracted from Tulsi is mostly used for medicinal purposes and in herbal cosmetics.Widly used in skin preparations for its anti-bacterial activity.

In thai cusine
The leaves of holy basil, known as kaphrao in the Thai language (กะเพรา), are commonly used in Thai food. Thai holy basil (Thai: kaphrao / กะเพรา) should not be confused with horapha (Thai: โหระพา), which is normally known as Thai basil,or with Thai lemon basil (Thai: แมงลัก).

The best-known dish made with this herb is Phat kraphao (Thai: ผัดกะเพรา)—beef, pork or chicken stir fried with Thai holy basil.

Plumbago

2010-07-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

Plumbago is a genus of 10-20 species of flowering plants in the family Plumbaginaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. Common names include plumbago and leadwort (names which are also shared by the genus Ceratostigma). The generic name, derived from the Latin words plumbum ("lead") and agere ("to resemble"), was first used by Pliny the Elder (23-79) for a plant known as μολυβδαινα (molybdaina) to Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40-90). This may have referred to its lead-blue flower colour (OED), the ability of the sap to create lead-colored stains on skin, or Pliny's belief that the plant was a cure for lead poisoning.

The species include herbaceous plants and shrubs growing to 0.5–2 m (1.6–6.6 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, simple, entire, 0.5–12 cm (0.20–4.7 in) long, with a tapered base and often with a hairy margin. The flowers are white, blue, purple, red, or pink, with a tubular corolla with five petal-like lobes; they are produced in racemes.

The flower calyx has glandular trichomes (hairs), which secrete a sticky mucilage that is capable of trapping and killing insects; it is unclear what the purpose of these trichomes is; protection from pollination by way of "crawlers" (ants and other insects that typically do not transfer pollen between individual plants), or possible protocarnivory

Artemisia annua

2010-06-23T02:36:00.000-07:00

Artemisia annua, also known as Sweet Wormwood, Sweet Annie, Sweet Sagewort or Annual Wormwood (Chinese: 青蒿; pinyin: qīnghāo), is a common type of wormwood that is native to temperate Asia, but naturalized throughout the world

Characteristics
It has fern-like leaves, bright yellow flowers, and a camphor-like scent. Its height averages about 2 m tall, and the plant has a single stem, alternating branches, and alternating leaves which range 2.5–5 cm in length. It is cross-pollinated by wind or insects. It is a diploid plant with chromosome number, 2n=18

Medicinal uses
Sweet Wormwood was used by Chinese herbalists in ancient times to treat fever, but had fallen out of common use, but was rediscovered in 1970 when the Chinese Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency Treatments (340 AD) was found. This pharmacopeia contained recipes for a tea from dried leaves, prescribed for fevers (not specifically malaria).

Extractions
In 1971, scientists demonstrated that the plant extracts had antimalarial activity in primate models, and in 1972 the active ingredient, artemisinin (formerly referred to as arteannuin), was isolated and its chemical structure described. Artemisinin may be extracted using a low boiling point solvent such as diethylether and is found in the glandular trichomes of the leaves, stems, and inflorescences, and it is concentrated in the upper portions of plant within new growth.

Parasite treatment
It is commonly used in tropical nations which can afford it, preferentially as part of a combination-cocktail with other antimalarials in order to prevent the development of parasite resistance.

Malaria treatment
Artemisinin itself is a sesquiterpene lactone with an endoperoxide bridge and has been produced semi-synthetically as an antimalarial drug. The efficacy of tea made from A. annua in the treatment of malaria is contentious. According to some authors, artemesinin is not soluble in water and the concentrations in these infusions are considered insufficient to treatment malaria.Other researchers have claimed that Artemisia annua contains a cocktail of anti-malarial substances, and insist that clinical trials be conducted to demonstrate scientifically that artemisia tea is effective in treating malaria.This simpler use may be a cheaper alternative to commercial pharmaceuticals, and may enable health dispensaries in the tropics to be more self-reliant in their malaria treatment.In 2004, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health changed Ethiopia’s first line anti-malaria drug from Fansidar, a Sulfadoxine agent which has an average 36% treatment failure rate, to CoArtem, an agent created from A. annua and which is 100% effective when used correctly, despite a worldwide shortage at the time of the needed derivative from A. annua

Cancer treatment
The plant has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties. It is said to have the ability to be selectively toxic to some breast cancer cells [Cancer Research 65:(23).Dec 1, 2005] and some form of prostate cancer, there have been exciting preclinical results against leukemia,and other cancer cells

Mechanism
The proposed mechanism of action of artemisinin involves cleavage of endoperoxide bridges by iron producing free radicals (hypervalent iron-oxo species, epoxides, aldehydes, and dicarbonyl compounds) which damage biological macromolecules causing oxidative stress in the cells of the parasite.[citation needed] Malaria is caused by the Apicomplexan, Plasmodium falciparum, which largely resides in red blood cells and itself contains iron-rich heme-groups (in the from of hemozoin).

Savory (genus)

2010-05-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

Satureja is a genus of aromatic plants of the family Lamiaceae, related to rosemary and thyme. There are about 30 species called savories, of which Summer savory and Winter savory are the most important in cultivation

Description

Satureja species are native to warm temperate regions and may be annual or perennial. They are low-growing herbs and subshrubs, reaching heights of 15–50 cm.

The leaves are 1 to 3 cm long, with flowers forming in whorls on the stem, white to pale pink-violet

Ecology and cultivation

Satureja species are food plants for the larva of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Caterpillars of the moth Coleophora bifrondella feed exclusively on Winter savory (S. montana).

Savory may be grown purely for ornamental purposes; members of the genus need sun and well-drained soil

Uses

Both summer savory and winter savory are used to flavor food. The former is preferred by cooks but as an annual is only available in summer; winter savory is an evergreen perennial.

Savory plays an important part in Italian cuisine, particularly when cooking beans. It is also used to season the traditional Acadian stew known as fricot. Savory is also a key ingredient in sarmale, a stuffed cabbage dish in traditional Transylvanian cuisine.

Yerba Buena (Spanish: "good herb"; S. douglasii) is used to make a herbal tea in the western United States.

Crocus

2010-05-01T02:38:00.000-07:00

Crocus (plural: crocuses, croci) is a genus of perennial flowering plants, native to a large area from coastal and subalpine areas of central and southern Europe (including the islands of the Aegean), North Africa and the Middle East, across Central Asia to western China.

The genus Crocus is placed botanically in the iris family (Iridaceae). The plants grow from corms and are mainly hardy perennials, and are found in a wide range of habitats, including woodland, scrub and meadows.

There are about eighty species of crocus (of which approximately 30 are cultivated). Their cup-shaped, solitary, salverform flowers taper off into a narrow tube. Their color varies enormously, although lilac, mauve, yellow and white are predominant. The grass-like, ensiform leaf shows generally a white central stripe along the leaf axis. The leaf margin is entire. Crocuses typically have three stamens. The spice saffron is obtained from the stigmas of Crocus sativus, an autumn/fall-blooming species.

The name of the genus is derived from the Greek krokos (κρόκος). This in turn is probably a loan word from a Semitic language, related to Hebrew karkōm, Aramaic kurkama, Persian and Arabic kurkum, which mean saffron or saffron yellow.

True autumn crocuses

Most true autumn crocus flower in September to November in the northern hemisphere. Some flower before their leaves appear. Autumn/fall flowering species include: Crocus banaticus (syn. C. iridiflorus), C.cancellatus, C. goulimyi, C. hadriaticus, C. kotschyanus (syn. C. zonatus), C. laevigatus, C. ligusticus (syn. C. medius ), C. niveus, C. nudiflorus, C. ochroleucus, C. pulchellus, C. sativus (saffron crocus), C. serotinus, C. speciosus, C. tournefortii. Crocus laevigatus has a long flowering-period which starts in late autumn or early winter and may continue into February.

In cultivation

Cultivated varieties mainly represent five species, C. vernus, C. chrysanthus, C. flavus, C. sieberi and C. tommasinianus. As one of the first flowers to bloom in spring, crocuses are popular with gardeners. Their flowering time varies from the late winter C. tommasinianus to the later large hybridized and selected Giant "Dutch crocuses" (C. vernus). Crocus flowers and leaves are protected from frost by a waxy cuticle; in areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring it is not uncommon to see early-flowering crocus blooming through a light late snowfall (right).

Most crocus species and hybrids should be planted in a sunny position, in gritty, well-drained soil, although a few prefer shadier sites in moist soil. Some are suitable for naturalising in grass. The corms should be planted about 3–4 cm deep; in heavy soils a quantity of sharp grit should be dug in to improve drainage.

Some crocuses, especially C. tommasinianus and its selected forms and hybrids (such as 'Whitewell Purple' and 'Ruby Giant') seed prolifically and are ideal for naturalising. They can, however, become weeds in rock gardens, where they will often appear in the middle of choice, mat-forming alpine plants and can be difficult to remove.

History

Cultivation and harvesting of crocus was first documented in the Mediterranean, notably on the island of Crete. Frescos are extant at the Knossos site on Crete as well as from a comparably aged site on Santorini.

The first crocus seen in the Netherlands, where Crocus species are not native, were from corms brought back from Constantinople by the Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to the Sublime Porte, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, in the 1560s. A few corms were forwarded to Carolus Clusius at the botanical garden in Leiden. By 1620, the approximate date of Ambrosius Bosschaert's painting (illustration, below), new garden varieties had been developed, such as the cream-colored crocus feathered with bronze at the base of the bouquet, similar to varieties still in the market. Bosschaert, working from a preparatory drawing to paint his composed piece, which spans the whole of Spring, exaggerated the crocus so that it passes for a tulip, but its narrow, grasslike leaves give it away.

Bouea macrophylla

2010-04-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Bouea macrophylla (Bouea macrophylla Griff) is a tropical fruit tree native to Southeast Asia. The tree belongs to the family Anacardiaceae, and is related to the mango

Description

The evergreen tree grows to height of 25 meters. Its leaves are lanceolate to elliptic in shape (see: Leaf shape), and range from 13 to 45 cm (5 to 17 inches) long and from 5 to 7cm (2 to 3 inches) wide.

The fruit (resembling a mango) are green in colour and mature to an orange/yellow. They grow to roughly 2 to 5 cm (0.7 to 1.9 inches) in diameter. The entire fruit, including its single seed, is edible. The fruit range from sweet to sour in flavour, and have a light smell of turpentine.

Flowering and fruiting times differ for Thailand and Indonesia.

* Thailand : flowers in November to December, and fruit appears from April to May.
* Indonesia : flowers in June to November, and fruit appears from March to June

Distribution

The tree is native to Malaysia, West Java, Burma and North Sumatra. It is also found in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, where it is commercially grown.

It is not usually found above an altitude of 305 meters (1000 ft), but has been cultivated at altitudes of about 850 meters (2789 ft).[citation needed]

Uses

Consumption
Both the leaves and fruit from the tree can be eaten. The leaves can be eaten raw when they are still young, and can be used in salads. While the seed is edible, the endosperm is generally bitter. Fruit can be eaten raw, or made into dishes such as pickle, compote, or sambal. Unripened fruit can be used to make rojak and asinan.

Functional
The entire tree can be used as an ornamental fruit bearing shade tree due to its dense foliage.

Other name
Bouea macrophylla is commonly known in English as the marian plum, gandaria, and plum mango. It is also known as ma-praang and ma-yong (Thailand), ramania and gandaria (Indonesia), mayun-thee (Burma), and kundang, rembunia, and setar (Malaysia).

Croton (genus)

2010-04-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

Croton is an extensive flowering plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, established by Carl Linnaeus in 1737. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also refers to Codiaeum variegatum. The generic name comes from the Greek κροτον (kroton), which means "tick" and refers to the shape of the seeds of certain species.[1] The genus has 625 species.

Characteristics

The best known member of this genus is probably Croton tiglium, commonly called croton, a tree or shrub native to Southeast Asia. It was first mentioned in European literature by Cristóvão da Costa in 1578 as lignum pavanae. Croton oil, used in herbal medicine as a violent purgative, is extracted from its seeds. Nowadays, it is considered unsafe and it is no longer listed in the pharmacopeias of many countries.

Medicinal uses

Croton oil has been used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is a source of the organic compound phorbol and its esters, and found recent usage as the active ingredient in facial-rejuvenating chemical peels when used in a phenol-based solution, thanks to its caustic exfoliating effect on the dermal layer of the skin.

Food uses

Cascarilla (C. eluteria) bark is used to flavour the liqueurs Campari and Vermouth

Biofuel uses

It has recently been shown in Kenya that Croton nuts, such as those from C. megalocarpus,[3] are a more economical source of biofuel than Jatropha. In Kenya, Jatropha requires as much as 20,000 litres of water to make a litre of biofuel, while Croton trees grow wild and yield about .35 litres of oil per kilo of nuts. Croton trees are planted as a windbreak in Kenya and its use as a source of biofuel may benefit rural economies there. As arable land is under population pressure, people have been cutting down the windbreaks to expand farmland. This new use may save the windbreaks which should help fight desertification.

Ecology

Croton species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Schinia citrinellus, which feeds exclusively on the plant.

Alpinia galanga

2010-02-25T05:29:00.000-08:00

Alpinia galanga, a plant in the ginger family, is an herb used in cooking, especially in Indonesian cuisine and Thai cuisine. It is one of four plants known as galangal, and is differentiated from the others with the common name greater galangal (or simply Thai galangal). The galangals are also called blue ginger or Thai ginger.

A. galanga is called Laos in Indonesian and is the most common form of galangal used in cooking. It is also known as Langkwas and galanga root.

Nomenclature and Taxonomy

In Manipuri, it is known as Kanghu. The rhizome is an abortifacient. It has arminative, anti-tuberculosis and stimulant property. Ground rhizome is also used in the treatment of skin infections like eczema, ringworm, etc.

Description

The plant grows from rhizomes in clumps of stiff stalks up to two meters in height with abundant long leaves which bears red fruit. It is native to South Asia and Indonesia. It is cultivated in Malaysia, Laos, and Thailand. A. galanga is the galangal used most often in cookery. The robust rhizome has a sharp, sweet taste and smells like a blend of black pepper and pine needles. The red fruit is used in traditional Chinese medicine and has a flavor similar to cardamom.

Known as Chittarattai in Tamil, this form of ginger is used with another root called Athi-Mathuram (Glycyrrhizoc Glabra) as folk cure to cold and sore throat.

Culinary uses

The rhizome is a common ingredient in Thai soups and curries, where is used fresh in chunks or thin slices, mashed and mixed into curry paste, or dried and powdered[citation needed]. Indonesian rendang is usually spiced with galangal[citation needed]. Greater galangal is used in Russia as a flavoring for beverages, including a liqueur called nastoika

Medicinal uses

Under the names Chewing John, Little John to Chew, and Court Case Root it is used in African-American folk medicine and hoodoo folk magic

Dill

2010-01-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a short-lived perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens (L.) C.B.Clarke.

Growth

It grows to 40–60 cm (16–24 in), with slender stems and alternate, finely divided, softly delicate leaves 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) long. The ultimate leaf divisions are 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) broad, slightly broader than the similar leaves of fennel, which are threadlike, less than 1 mm (0.039 in) broad, but harder in texture. The flowers are white to yellow, in small umbels 2–9 cm (0.79–3.5 in) diameter. The seeds are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 1 mm (0.039 in) thick, and straight to slightly curved with a longitudinally ridged surface.

Origins and history

Dill originated in Eastern Europe[citation needed]. Zohary and Hopf remark that "wild and weedy types of dill are widespread in the Mediterranean basin and in West Asia."

Although several twigs of dill were found in the tomb of Amenhotep II, they report that the earliest archeological evidence for its cultivation comes from late Neolithic lake shore settlements in Switzerland.Traces have been found in Roman ruins in Great Britain.

In Semitic languages it is known by the name of Shubit. The Talmud requires that tithes shall be paid on the seeds, leaves, and stem of dill. The Bible states that the Pharisees were in the habit of paying dill as tithe. Jesus rebuked them for tithing dill but omitting justice, mercy and faithfulness.

Folklore

To the Greeks the presence of dill was an indication of prosperity. In the 8th century, Charlemagne used it at banquets to relieve hiccups and in the Middle Ages it was used in a love potion and was believed to keep witches away.

Nomenclature and taxonomy

The name dill comes from Old English dile, thought to have originated from a Norse or Anglo-Saxon word dylle meaning to soothe or lull[citation needed], the plant having the carminative property of relieving gas. In Sanskrit, this herb is termed as Shatapushpa. The seeds of this herb is also termed as Shatakuppi sompa, Shatapushpi, Sabasige, Badda sompu, Sabasiga, Surva, Soyi, Sowa, Soya in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannanda, Gujarathi, Hindi, Punjabi etc. It is also used as slang, calling someone a "dill weed" implies they are slow or have limited mental capacity.

Uses

Fresh and dried dill leaves (sometimes called "dill weed" to distinguish it from dill seed) are used as herbs.

Like caraway, its fernlike leaves are aromatic, and are used to flavor many foods, such as gravlax (cured salmon), borscht and other soups, and pickles (where the dill flower is sometimes used). Dill is said to be best when used fresh, as it loses its flavor rapidly if dried; however, freeze-dried dill leaves preserve their flavor relatively well for a few months.

Dill seed is used as a spice, with a flavor somewhat similar to caraway, but also resembling that of fresh or dried dill weed. Dill seeds were traditionally used to soothe the stomach after meals.[5] And, dill oil can be extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant.

In Lao cuisine and parts of northern Thailand and Vietnam dill is known in English as Laotian coriander[6] and Lao cilantro (Lao: ຜັກຊີ, Thai: ผักชีลาว, Vietnamese: Thì là). In the Lao language it is called Phak See and in Thai it is known as Phak Chee Lao.[7] In Lao cuisine, the herb is typically used in mok pa (steamed fish in banana leaf) and several coconut milk-based curries that contain fish or prawns. Lao coriander is also an essential ingredient in Vietnamese dishes like chả cá and canh cá thì là.

In Iran, dill is known as "Shevid" and is sometimes used with rice and called "Shevid-Polo".

Cultivation

Successful cultivation requires warm to hot summers with high sunshine levels; even partial shade will reduce the yield substantially. It also prefers rich, well drained soil. The seeds are viable for 3–10 years. Plants intended for seed for further planting should not be grown near fennel, as the two species can hybridise[citation needed].

The seed is harvested by cutting the flower heads off the stalks when the seed is beginning to ripen. The seed heads are placed upside down in a paper bag and left in a warm dry place for a week. The seeds then separate from the stems easily for storage in an airtight container.

Bergamot orange

2010-01-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

The bergamot Citrus aurantium subsp. bergamia (Risso & Poit.) synonym (Citrus bergamia Risso) is the size of an orange, with a yellow color similar to a lemon, and has a pleasant fragrance. The juice tastes less sour than lemon, but more bitter than grapefruit. Citrus bergamot is native to Asia and is commercially grown in Calabria (Italy), in France,and in Ivory Coast.Bergamot grows on small trees which blossom during the winter. The distinctive aroma of the bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea,though the juice of the fruit has also been used in Calabrian indigenous medicine as an herbal remedy for malaria[4] and its essential oil is popular in aromatherapy applications.

The bergamot orange is unrelated to the herbs of the same name, Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa, which are in the mint family.

Etymology

Production mostly is limited to the Ionian coastal region of the province of Calabria in Italy, to such an extent that it is a symbol of the entire region. Most of the bergamot comes from a short stretch of land there where the temperature is favourable. It is also cultivated in Argentina, Brazil and the US state of Georgia, but the quality of the obtained essence is not comparable with the essence produced from the bergamots of Reggio Calabria due to the argillite, limestone and alluvial deposits found there.[citation needed]. High quality production is also found on the Southern coast of Turkey, mainly around the town of Antalya

Uses : In food

An essence extracted from the aromatic skin of this sour fruit is used to flavour Earl Grey and Lady Grey teas, and confectionery. An Italian food manufacturer, Caffé Sicilia in Noto, Syracuse, Sicily, produces a commercial marmalade using the fruit as its principal ingredient. It is also popular in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus as a preserve, made with bergamot peel boiled in sugar syrup.

As a fragrance

Bergamot peel is used in perfumery for its ability to combine with an array of scents to form a bouquet of aromas which complement each other. Approximately one third of all men's and about half of women’s perfumes contain bergamot essential oil[citation needed]. Bergamot was a component of the original Eau de Cologne developed in 17th century Germany — in 1704 the bergamot was first used to make the now famous "Eau de toilette" from the bergamot fruit by scooping out the pulp and squeezing the peel into sponges. One hundred bergamot oranges will yield about 3 ounces of bergamot oil.

Bergamot peel is also used in aromatherapy to treat depression and as a digestive ai

Companion plant

Bergamot's aromatic roots are thought to mask other nearby plants from pests that attack their roots, and so are sometimes grown as a companion in vegetable gardens.

Toxicology

In one study, oil of bergamot has been linked to certain phototoxic effects (due to the chemical bergapten) and blocking the absorption of potassium in the intestines.

Bergamot is also a source of bergamottin which, along with the chemically related compound 6’,7’-dihydroxybergamottin, is believed to be responsible for the grapefruit juice effect in which the consumption of the juice affects the metabolism of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.

In sunscreens

In the past psoralen — extracted from bergamot oil — has been used in tanning accelerators and sunscreens. Psoralens penetrate the skin where they increase the amount of direct DNA damage. This damage is responsible for sunburn and for an increased melanin production.

These substances were known to be photocarcinogenic since 1959,but they were only banned from sunscreens in 1995.These photocarcinogenic substances were banned years after they had caused many cases of malignant melanoma and deaths.Psoralen is now used only in the treatment of certain skin disorders, as part of PUVA therapy.

Neuroprotective effects

Recently, bergamot essential oil has been found to reduce excitotoxic damage to cultured human neuronal cells in vitro and may therefore have neuroprotective properties.

herbal massage

2009-12-26T04:14:00.002-08:00

Thai Herbal Compress Massage

2009-12-26T04:14:00.001-08:00

Squash

2009-11-29T02:23:00.000-08:00

Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita native to Mexico and Central America, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. It is also natively grown in other parts of North America, and in Europe, India, and Australia. In North America, squash is loosely grouped into summer squash or winter squash, as well as autumn squash (another name is cheese squash) depending on whether they are harvested as immature vegetables (summer squash) or mature vegetables (autumn squash or winter squash). Gourds are from the same family as squashes. Well known types of squash include the pumpkin and zucchini. Giant squash are derived from Cucurbita maxima and are routinely grown to weights nearing those of giant pumpkins.

Cultivation

Archaeological evidence suggests that squash may have been first cultivated in Mesoamerica some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago,[1][2] but may have been independently cultivated elsewhere, albeit later.[3] Squash was one of the "Three Sisters" planted by Native Americans. The Three Sisters were the three main indigenous plants used for agriculture: maize (corn), beans, and squash. These were usually planted together, with the cornstalk providing support for the climbing beans, and shade for the squash. The squash vines provided ground cover to limit weeds. The beans provided nitrogen fixing for all three crops.

Summer squashes, including young vegetable marrows (such as zucchini [also known as courgette], pattypan and yellow crookneck) are harvested during the growing season, while the skin is still soft and the fruit rather small; they are eaten almost immediately and require little to no cooking.

Winter squashes (such as butternut, Hubbard, buttercup, ambercup, acorn, spaghetti squash and pumpkin) are harvested at maturity, generally the end of summer, cured to further harden the skin, and stored in a cool place for eating later. They generally require longer cooking time than summer squashes. (Note: Although the term winter squash is used here to differentiate from summer squash, it is also commonly used as a synonym for Cucurbita maxima.) The squash fruit is classified as a pepo by botanists, which is a special type of berry with a thick outer wall or rind formed from hypanthium tissue fused to the exocarp; the fleshy interior is composed of mesocarp and endocarp. The pepo, derived from an inferior ovary, is characteristic of the Squash Family (Cucurbitaceae). In culinary terms, both summer and winter squashes are generally considered as vegetables, even though pumpkin may be used for pies.

In addition to the fruit, other parts of the plant are edible. Squash seeds can be eaten directly, ground into paste, meal, "nut" butter, even a fine flour, or (particularly for hulless pumpkins) pressed for vegetable oil (e.g. bottle gourd, buffalo gourd, pumpkin seed and watermelon seed oils). The shoots, leaves, and tendrils can be eaten as greens. The blossoms are an important part of native American cooking and are also used in many other parts of the world. Both the male and female blossoms can be harvested pre or mid-flower.

Pollination

As with all other members of the family, the flowers come in pollen-bearing male form, and the ovary-bearing female form, with both forms being present on the plant. Squash has historically been pollinated by the native North American squash bee Peponapis pruinosa, and related species, but this bee and its relatives have declined, probably due to pesticide sensitivity, and most commercial plantings are pollinated by European honey bees today. One hive per acre (4,000 m² per hive) is recommended by the US Department of Agriculture. Gardeners with a shortage of bees often have to hand pollinate. Giant squash grown competitively are usually hand pollinated. Flowers are kept closed before and after pollination to prevent cross pollination. Inadequately pollinated female squash flowers will usually start growing but abort before full development. Many gardeners blame various fungal diseases for the aborted fruit, but the fix proves to be[citation needed] better pollination not fungicide.

In cooking
Though considered a vegetable in cooking, botanically speaking, squash is a fruit (being the receptacle for the plant's seeds).

Squash can be served fresh (in salads) and cooked (squash stuffed with meat, fried squash, baked squash). Small pattypans are good for pickling.

Etymology

The English word "squash" derives from askutasquash (a green thing eaten raw), a word from the Narragansett language, which was documented by Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, in his 1643 publication A Key Into the Language of America. Similar words for squash exist in related languages of the Algonquian family such as Massachusett.

Mango

2009-11-14T03:41:00.000-08:00

Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is indigenous to India. Cultivated in many tropical regions and distributed widely in the world, mango is one of the most extensively exploited fruits for food, juice, flavor, fragrance and color, making it a common ingredient in new functional foods often called superfruits. Its leaves are ritually used as floral decorations at Hindu weddings and religious ceremonies.

Description

Mango trees (Mangifera indica L.) reach 35–40 m in height, with a crown radius of 10 m. The tree is long-lived with some specimens known to be over 300 years old and still fruiting. In deep soil the taproot descends to a depth of 6 metres (20 feet), and the profuse, wide-spreading feeder roots also send down many anchor roots which penetrate for several feet. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 15–35 cm long and 6–16 cm broad; when the leaves are young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark glossy red, then dark green as they mature. The flowers are produced in terminal panicles 10–40 cm long; each flower is small and white with five petals 5–10 mm long, with a mild sweet odor suggestive of lily of the valley. The fruit takes from three to six months to ripen.

The ripe fruit is variable in size and color, and may be yellow, orange, red or green when ripe, depending on the cultivar.When ripe, the unpeeled fruit gives off a distinctive resinous sweet smell. In its center is a single flat oblong seed that can be fibrous or hairy on the surface, depending on the cultivar. Inside the seed coat 1–2 mm thick is a thin lining covering a single embryo, 4–7 cm long, 3–4 cm wide, and 1 cm thick.

Cultivation and uses
Mango tree with flowers.

Mangoes have been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years and reached East Asia between the 5th-4th century BC. By the 10th century AD, they were transported to East Africa and subsequently introduced to Brazil, West Indies and Mexico, where climate allows its appropriate growth. The 14th century Muslim traveler, Ibn Battuta, reported it at Mogadishu.Mango is now cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free tropical and warmer subtropical climates like that of the Indian subcontinent; nearly half of the world's mangoes are cultivated in India alone.

Other regions where mango is cultivated include North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, south, west and central Africa, Australia, China, Pakistan and Southeast Asia. It is easily cultivated yielding more than 1,000 cultivars, ranging from the "turpentine mango" (named for its strong taste of turpentine, which according to the Oxford Companion to Food some varieties actually contain) to the huevos de toro ("eggs of the bull", a euphemism for "bull's testicles", referring to the shape and size).
Ripe Banganpalli mangoes from Guntur, India.

Though India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world, it accounts for less than one percent of the global mango trade.

Dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties serve as ornamental plants and can be grown in containers.

A wide variety of diseases can afflict mangoes; see List of mango diseases.

Nutrient and antioxidant properties
Mango, raw Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 70 kcal 270 kJ
Carbohydrates 17.00 g
- Sugars 14.8 g
- Dietary fiber 1.8 g
Fat 0.27 g
Protein .51 g
Vitamin A equiv. 38 μg 4%
- beta-carotene 445 μg 4%
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.058 mg 4%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.057 mg 4%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.584 mg 4%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.160 mg 3%
Vitamin B6 0.134 mg 10%
Folate (Vit. B9) 14 μg 4%
Vitamin C 27.7 mg 46%
Calcium 10 mg 1%
Iron 0.13 mg 1%
Magnesium 9 mg 2%
Phosphorus 11 mg 2%
Potassium 156 mg 3%
Zinc 0.04 mg 0%
Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient database

Mango is rich in a variety of phytochemicals and nutrients that qualify it as a model "superfruit", a term used to highlight potential health value of certain edible fruits. The fruit is high in prebiotic dietary fiber, vitamin C, polyphenols and provitamin A carotenoids.

Mango contains essential vitamins and dietary minerals. The antioxidant vitamins A, C and E comprise 25%, 76% and 9% of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) in a 165 g serving. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, 11% DRI), vitamin K (9% DRI), other B vitamins and essential nutrients such as potassium, copper and 17 amino acids are at good levels. Mango peel and pulp contain other phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants - carotenoids and polyphenols - and omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Mango peel contains pigments that may have antioxidant properties, including carotenoids, such as the provitamin A compound, beta-carotene, lutein and alpha-carotene, polyphenols such as quercetin, kaempferol, gallic acid, caffeic acid, catechins, tannins, and the unique mango xanthone, mangiferin, any of which may counteract free radicals in various disease mechanisms as revealed in preliminary research. Contents of these phytochemicals and nutrients appear to vary across different mango species. Up to 25 different carotenoids have been isolated from mango pulp, the densest content for which was beta-carotene accounting for the yellow-orange pigmentation of most mango species.Peel and leaves also have significant content of polyphenols, including xanthones, mangiferin and gallic acid.

The mango triterpene, lupeol is an effective inhibitor in laboratory models of prostate and skin cancers. An extract of mango branch bark called Vimang, isolated by Cuban scientists, contains numerous polyphenols with antioxidant properties in vitro and on blood parameters of elderly humans.

The pigment euxanthin, known as Indian yellow, is often thought to be produced from the urine of cows fed mango leaves; the practice is described as having been outlawed in 1908 due to malnutrition of the cows and possible urushiol poisoning. One author claims these descriptions of the pigment's origin rely on a single anecdotal source and Indian legal records do not mention such a practice being outlawed.

Carambola

2009-11-11T06:36:00.000-08:00

Carambola or starfruit is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. The tree and its fruit are popular throughout Southeast Asia, Malaysia, the South Pacific and other parts of East Asia. The tree is cultivated also throughout the tropics such as in Trinidad, Guyana, and Brazil, and, in the United States, in south Florida, and Hawaii.

The carambola is closely related to the bilimbi. The fruit in cross section is a five-pointed star, hence its name.

Origins and distribution

The carambola has been grown in parts of Asia for hundreds of years – some claim that it originated in Sri Lanka and Moluccas. Malaysia is the global leader in starfruit production by volume, and ships the product all over Asia and Europe.

Due to concerns on pests and pathogens, however, whole starfruits cannot yet be imported to the US from Malaysia, under current FDA/USDA regulation. In the United States, starfruits are grown in tropical and semi tropical areas, including Florida, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

Carambolas are best consumed when ripe, when they are yellow with a light shade of green. It will also have brown ridges at the five edges and feel firm. An overripe fruit will be yellow with brown spots.

The fruit is entirely edible, including the slightly waxy skin. It is sweet without being overwhelming and extremely juicy. The taste is difficult to compare, but it has been likened to a mix of papaya, orange and grapefruit all at once

Health benefits

Carambola is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, and low in sugar, sodium and acid. It is also is a potent source of both primary and secondary polyphenolic antioxidants

Health risks

Carambola is a fairly complex fruit with many benefits like strawberries, but a small percent of the human population should be cautious of the fruit for health reasons. Like the grapefruit, carambola contains oxalic acid which can be harmful to individuals suffering from kidney failure or under kidney dialysis treatment. Consumption by those with kidney failure can produce hiccups, vomiting, nausea, and mental confusion. Fatal outcomes have been documented in some patients

Drug interactions

Like the grapefruit, carambola is considered to be a potent inhibitor of seven cytochrome P450 isoforms.These enzymes are significant in the first pass elimination of many medicines, and thus the consumption of carambola or its juice in combination with certain medications can significantly increase their effective dosage within the body. Research into grapefruit juice has identified a number of common medications affected, including statins which are commonly used to treat cardiovascular illness, benzodiazepines (a tranquilizer family including diazepam) as well as other medicines

Cultivation

The carambola is a tropical and subtropical fruit. In India, it grows in up to 4,000 feet in elevation. It prefers a total exposition to the sun, but requires enough humidity and a total of 70 inches or more of rainfall a year. It does not have a preference in grounds but it requires a good drainage.

Carambola trees are planted at least 20 feet from each other, and fertilized three times a year. The tree grows fast and produces food at 4 or 5 years of age, sometimes even before that. The large amount of rain during spring actually reduces the amount of fruit, but in ideal conditions carambola can produce from 200 to 400 pounds of fruit a year. The fruit is cultivated mainly during the months of June, July, and August, but sometimes year-round.

Major pests are fruit flies, ants, and birds. Crops are also susceptible to frosts, especially in the United States

Change Player Size Watch this video in a new windowGardening Plant Care : Pineapple Plant Care

2009-11-10T04:27:00.000-08:00

Boiled peanuts

2009-11-07T23:09:00.000-08:00

Boiled peanuts are popular in some places where peanuts are common. Fully mature peanuts do not make good quality boiled peanuts; rather raw or "green" ones are used. "Raw" denotes peanuts in a semi-mature state, having achieved full size, but not being fully dried, as would be needed for roasting or peanut butter use. After boiling they take on a strong salty taste and become softer with the length of cooking, somewhat resembling a pea or bean, to which they are related. The most flavorful peanuts for boiling are the Valencia type. These are preferred in the United States, being grown in gardens and small patches throughout the South. Green Virginia type peanuts are also sometimes used.
South Carolina Boiled Peanut in Shell

Boiling peanuts has been a folk cultural practice in the south of the US since the 19th century, where they were originally called goober peas. In late August, when the peanut crops would come in, unsold and surplus peanuts would be prepared in a boiling, and extended families and neighbors would gather to share conversation and food. Like a fish fry, peanut boils have been organizing principles for social gatherings. Like okra, black-eyed peas, collard greens and pork barbecue, boiled peanuts are symbols of southern culture and cuisine.

Cooking

Raw peanuts in the shell are put in a large pot of very heavily salted water and boiled. This can be done inside on the stove or outside on a propane burner for a larger volume. Depending on the locality, some cooks use rock salt or standard table salt, or both. The boil can go on from four to seven hours or more, depending on quantity and the age of the peanut (green "raw" peanuts cook faster and tend to be better tasting), and the boilings will most often be of several gallons of water. Flavorings such as ham hocks, hot sauce, Cajun seasonings or beer can be added to the boil.

The resulting food is a very soft peanut in the shell, invariably quite salty. The softened peanuts are easy to open. Often small, immature peanuts (called "pops") are included, which have even softer shells and can be eaten in entirety. These tend to absorb more salt than the larger ones.

Uneaten peanuts should be stored in a refrigerator, as they can become slimy or moldy quite quickly without refrigeration. Boiled peanuts can be frozen, and later reheated in a microwave for out of season consumption.

Boiled peanuts can also be canned. Put boiled peanuts into canning jars, do not over fill. Cover with hot brine to 1/2 inch below rim of jar. Submerge containers to 1/2 their depth in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Install seals and rings while hot and process for 45 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. Cool jars in water, date, and store in a cool, dry place.

Given high protein content and ease of storage, boiled peanuts are an excellent food for very hot weather and outdoor work.

Thai Herbal Compress Massage

2009-10-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

Harrisonia perforata (Blanco) Merr.

2009-10-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

Family :Simaroubaceae

Synonyms :Harrisonia paucijuga Olivo, Harrisonia bennettii Benn.

Vernacular Names

Malaysia : Kait-kait (Murut, Sabah)

Indonesia : Sesepang (Lam-pung), garut (Sundanese), ri kengkeng

(Javanese)

Philippines : Asimau, mamikil (Tagalog), muntani (Bisaya)

Laos : Dok kin ta

Thailand : Khonthaa (Central), naam chee (Northem)

Vietnam : S[aa]n, da da, h[ar]i s[ow]n

Geographical Distributions

H. perforata is found in the drier parts from Burma (Myanmar) eastward through Thailand to Indo-China and the Philippines, southward to Peninsular Malaysia (Perlis), South Sumatra, Borneo (Sabah), Sulawesi, Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Description

It is a climbing to erect prickly shrub up to 4(-6) m tall.

The leaves pinnate with unpaired terminal leaflet up to 20 cm long, with 1-15 pairs of leaflets supported by a 5-30 mm long stalk. The stipulate thorns are slightly curved backward or downward, increasing in size to 7 mm. Its leaflets are rhomboid to ovate-lance-shaped, 10-20 mm x 5-15 mm, nearly entire to lobed with narrowly winged rachis.

Flowers are with a pedicel, small sepal, triangular lobes, petals are lance-shaped, 6-9 mm x 2-4 mm which are red outside and pale red to white inside. The stamens are (8-)10 with anthers 1.5-4.5 mm long, filaments are 7-10 mm long, at the base with an elongated flattened strap-shaped structure which is densely woolly at the margin, disk is cup-shaped, ovary is slightly lobed, styles 5-8 mm long and pubescent.

The fruit is a berry, 4-9 mm x 11-15 mm, exocarp of leathery texture, at least 1 mm thick, endocarp hard, without suture.

Ecology / Cultivation

H. perforata prefers dry, open localities such as light secondary forest, thickets and forest edges, often on limestone rocks; less common in monsoon forest. It prefers distinctly seasonal conditions from sea-level up to 700(-900) m altitude

Ajwain

2009-09-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Ammi majus is known as bishop's weed.
Ground-elder is also known as bishop's weed.
Ajwain (botanical name of Trachyspermum copticum as from the ITIS Standard Report Page) (also known as Ajowan caraway, carom seeds or mistakenly as bishop's weed), is an uncommon spice except in certain areas of Asia.

Characteristics
It is the small seed-like fruit similar to that of the Bishop's Weed (Ammi majus) plant, egg-shaped and grayish in colour. The plant has a similarity to parsley. Because of their seed-like appearance, the fruit pods are sometimes called ajwain seeds or mistakenly as bishop's weed (Ammi majus) seeds (Botanical Synonyms for Ajwain, which are no longer accepted by ITIS are, Ammi copticum, Carum copticum, Trachyspermum ammi).

Etymology
Ajwain is often confused with lovage seed; even some dictionaries mistakenly state that ajwain comes from the lovage plant. In Hindi it is called as Ajwain (अजवायन). Ajwain is also called 'Owa (ओवा)' in Marathi, "vaamu" or Oma in Telugu, "omam" (ஓமம்) in Tamil, "ajwana" in Kannada, "ajmo" (અજમો) in Gujarati, "jowan" in Bengali, "jwanno" in Nepali, "asamodagam" in Singhalese and "xiang zhu la jiao" (香著辣椒) in Chinese

Flavour and aroma
Raw ajwain smells almost exactly like thyme because it also contains thymol, but is more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as slightly bitter and pungent. It tastes like thyme or caraway, only stronger. Even a small amount of raw ajwain will completely dominate the flavor of a dish.

In Indian cuisine, ajwain is almost never used raw, but either dry-roasted or fried in ghee or oil. This develops a much more subtle and complex aroma, somewhat similar to caraway but "brighter". Among other things, it is used for making a type of paratha, called 'ajwain ka paratha

History
Ajwain originated in the Middle East, possibly in Egypt. It is now primarily grown and used in the Indian Subcontinent, but also in Iran, Egypt and Afghanistan. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in berbere, a spice mixture favored in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

In India, the major Ajwain producing states are Rajasthan and Gujarat, where Rajasthan produces about 90% of India's total production.

Omam (Ajwain) is used to make a special food called the 'omapodi'. It is also mixed in several snacks of north and south India. Omam is used to cure digestive problems in children and adults. Omam is also mentioned in ancient Tamil literatures

Medicinal uses
It is also traditionally known as a digestive aid and an antiseptic

ajwain more

Zingiberaceae

2009-09-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca. 52 genera and more than 1300 species, distributed throughout tropical Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Many species are important ornamental plants, spices, or medicinal plants. Ornamental genera include the shell gingers (Alpinia), Siam or summer tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia), Globba, ginger lily (Hedychium), Kaempferia, torch-ginger Nicolaia, Renealmia, and ginger (Zingiber). Spices include ginger (Zingiber), galangal or Thai ginger (Alpinia galanga and others), melegueta pepper (Aframomum melegueta), myoga (Zingiber mioga), turmeric (Curcuma), cardamom (Amomum, Elettaria).

Characteristics
Members of the family are small to large herbaceous plants with distichous leaves with basal sheaths that overlap to form a pseudostem. The plants are either self-supporting or epiphytic. Flowers are hermaphroditic, usually strongly zygomorphic, in determinate cymose inflorescences, and subtended by conspicuous, spirally arranged bracts. The perianth is comprised of two whorls, a fused tubular calyx, and a tubular corolla with one lobe larger than the other two. Flowers typically have two of their stamenoids (sterile stamens) fused to form a petaloid lip, and have only one fertile stamen. The ovary is inferior and topped by two nectaries, the stigma is funnel-shaped.

Some genera yield essential oils used in the perfume industry (Alpinia, Hedychium).

Artemisia annua

2009-09-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

Artemisia annua, also known as Sweet Wormwood, Sweet Annie, Sweet Sagewort or Annual Wormwood (Chinese: 青蒿; pinyin: qīnghāo), is a common type of wormwood that is native to temperate Asia, but naturalized throughout the world.

Characteristics
It has fern-like leaves, bright yellow flowers, and a camphor-like scent. Its height averages about 2 m tall, and the plant has a single stem, alternating branches, and alternating leaves which range 2.5-5 cm in length. It is cross-pollinated by wind or insects. It is a diploid plant with chromosome number, 2n=18

Medicinal uses
Sweet Wormwood was used by Chinese herbalists in ancient times to treat fever, but had fallen out of common use, but was rediscovered in 1970 when the Chinese Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency Treatments (340 AD) was found. This pharmacopeia contained recipes for a tea from dried leaves, prescribed for fevers (not specifically malaria).

Extractions
In 1971, scientists demonstrated that the plant extracts had antimalarial activity in primate models, and in 1972 the active ingredient, artemisinin (formerly referred to as arteannuin), was isolated and its chemical structure described. Artemisinin may be extracted using a low boiling point solvent such as diethylether and is found in the glandular trichomes of the leaves, stems, and inflorescences, and it is concentrated in the upper portions of plant within new growth

Parasite treatment
It is commonly used in tropical nations which can afford it, preferentially as part of a combination-cocktail with other antimalarials in order to prevent the development of parasite resistance.

Malaria treatment
Artemisinin itself is a sesquiterpene lactone with an endoperoxide bridge and has been produced semi-synthetically as an antimalarial drug. The efficacy of tea made from A. annua in the treatment of malaria is contentious. According to some authors, artemesinin is not soluble in water and the concentrations in these infusions are considered insufficient to treatment malaria.[4][5][6] Other researchers have claimed that Artemisia annua contains a cocktail of anti-malarial substances, and insist that clinical trials be conducted to demonstrate scientifically that artemisia tea is effective in treating malaria.[7] This simpler use may be a cheaper alternative to commercial pharmaceuticals, and may enable health dispensaries in the tropics to be more self-reliant in their malaria treatment.[8] In In 2004, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health changed Ethiopia’s first line anti-malaria drug from Fansidar, a Sulfadoxine agent which has an average 36% treatment failure rate, to CoArtem, an agent created from A. annua and which is 100% effective when used correctly, despite a world-wide shortage at the time of the needed derivative from A. annua.

Cancer treatment
The plant has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties. It is said to have the ability to be selectively toxic to some breast cancer cells [Cancer Research 65:(23).Dec 1, 2005] and some form of prostate cancer, there have been exciting preclinical results against leukemia,and other cancer cells

Mechanism
The proposed mechanism of action of artemisinin involves cleavage of endoperoxide bridges by iron producing free radicals (hypervalent iron-oxo species, epoxides, aldehydes, and dicarbonyl compounds) which damage biological macromolecules causing oxidative stress in the cells of the parasite.[citation needed] Malaria is caused by the Apicomplexan, Plasmodium falciparum, which largely resides in red blood cells and itself contains iron-rich heme-groups (in the from of hemozoin).

Other uses
In modern-day central China, specifically Hubei Province, the stems of this wormwood are used as food in a salad-like form. The final product, literally termed "cold-mixed wormwood" is a slightly bitter salad with strong acid overtones from the spiced rice vinegar used as a marinade. It is considered a delicacy and is typically more expensive to buy than meat.

Patchouli

2009-09-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth; also patchouly or pachouli) is a species from the genus Pogostemon and a bushy herb of the mint family, with erect stems, reaching two or three feet (about 0.75 metre) in height and bearing small pale pink-white flowers. The plant is native to tropical regions of Asia and is now extensively cultivated in Caribbean countries, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines, West Africa and Vietnam

Etymology
The scent of patchouli is heavy and strong. It has been used for centuries in perfumes and continues to be so today. The word derives from the Tamil patchai (Tamil: பச்சை) (green), ellai (Tamil: இலை) (leaf). In Assamese it is known as xukloti.

Pogostemon cablin, P. commosum, P. hortensis, P. heyneasus and P. plectranthoides are all cultivated for their oils and all are known as 'patchouli' oil, but P. cablin is considered superior

Extraction of the essential oil
Extraction of the essential oil is by steam distillation, requiring the cell walls of the leaves to be first ruptured. This can be achieved by steam scalding, light fermentation, or by drying.

Leaves are harvested several times a year, and where dried may be exported for distillation of the oil. Sources disagree over how to obtain the best quality oil. Some claim the highest quality oil is usually produced from fresh leaves, distilled close to the plantation,while others claim baling the dried leaves and allowing them to ferment a little is best

Uses
In Europe and the US, patchouli oil and incense underwent a surge in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly among devotees of the free love and hippie lifestyles

Conditioner and repellent
It has also been used as a hair conditioner for dreadlocks. One study suggests Patchouli oil may serve as an all-purpose insect repellent.[3]

Medicinal uses
In several Asian countries, such as Japan and Malaysia, Patchouli is also used as an antidote for venomous snakebites. The plant and oil have a number of claimed health benefits in herbal folk-lore, and its scent is used with the aim of inducing relaxation. Chinese medicine uses the herb to treat headaches, colds, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Patchouli oil can be purchased from mainstream Western pharmacies and alternative therapy sources as an aromatherapy oil.

Perfume uses
Patchouli is also in widespread use in modern industry. It is a popular component in perfumes, including more than half of perfumes for men.[citation needed] Patchouli is also an important ingredient in East Asian incense. It is also used as a scent in products like paper towels, laundry detergents, and air fresheners. Two important components of the essential oil are patchoulol and norpatchoulenol.

During the 18th and 19th century silk traders from China travelling to the Middle East packed their silk cloth with dried patchouli leaves to prevent moths from laying their eggs on the cloth.[citation needed] Many historians speculate that this association with opulent eastern goods is why patchouli was considered by Europeans of that era to be a luxurious scent. It is said that Patchouli was used in the linen chests of Queen Victoria in this way.[citation needed].

Cultivation
Patchouli grows well in warm to tropical climates. It thrives in hot weather but not direct sunlight. If the plant withers due to lack of watering it will recover well and quickly once it has been watered. The seed-bearing flowers are very fragrant and bloom in late fall. The tiny seeds may be harvested for planting, but they are very delicate and easily crushed. Cuttings from the mother plant can also be rooted in water to produce further plants.

Pandanus tectorius

2009-09-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine), occurring from near Port Macquarie in New South Wales to northern Queensland, Australia and Indonesia east through the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean to Hawaiʻi (where it is known locally as the hala tree). Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation; it may be an early Polynesian introduction to many of the more isolated Pacific islands on which it occurs.

Description

Pandanus tectorius fruit showing phalanges.P. tectorius is a tree that to grows to 4–14 metres (13–46 ft) tall. The single trunk is spiny and forks at a height of 4–8 metres (13–26 ft).[1] It is supported by prop roots that firmly anchor the tree to the ground. Its leaves are usually 90–150 centimetres (3.0–4.9 ft) long and 5–7 centimetres (2.0–2.8 in) wide with saw-like margins.

Flowers
P. tectorius is dioecious, with very different male and female flowers. Male flowers are small, fragrant, form clusters or racemes, and short lived, lasting only a single day. Female flowers resemble pineapples.

Fruit
The screwpine tree's fruit is either ovoid, ellipsoid, subglobose or globose with a diameter of 4–20 centimetres (1.6–7.9 in) and a length of 8–30 centimetres (3.1–12 in). The fruit is made up of 38–200 wedge-like phalanges, which have an outer fibrous husk. Phalanges contain two seeds on average, with a maximum of eight reported. The phalanges are buoyant, and the seeds within them can remain viable for many months while being transported by ocean currents.

Habitat
P. tectorius naturally grows in coastal regions, such as on mangrove margins and beaches,[1] at elevations from sea level to 610 metres (2,000 ft). It requires 1,500–4,000 millimetres (59–160 in) of annual rainfall. Screwpine is well adapted to grow in the many soil types present on coasts, including quartz sand, coral sand, and peat, as well as in limestone and basalt. P. tectorius is salt and wind tolerant and favors slightly acidic to basic soil (pH of 6-10). It prefers to grow in full sunlight, but grows well with 30-50% shade.

Uses
The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and is a major source of food in Micronesia, especially in the atolls. The fibrous nature of the fruit also serves as a natural dental floss. The tree's leaves are often used as flavoring for sweet dishes such as kaya jam, and are also said to have medicinal properties. Leaves were used by the Polynesians to make baskets, mats, outrigger canoe sails, thatch roofs,[3] and grass skirts.

Culture
The seal of Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi features the hala tree, in part because lauhala, the art of weaving with the leaves of that tree, is pivotal to the history of the island, with everything from houses to pillows being made in this fashion. Local legend tells of an aged Hawaiian couple who lived long ago above the present Punahou campus, and had to travel far for water. They prayed each night for a spring, but to no avail. Finally one night, in a dream answering their prayers, they were told to uproot the stump of an old hala tree. They did as they were told and found a spring of clear, sweet water, which they named Ka Punahou, the New Spring. According to legend, Punahou School's lily pond is fed by this same spring.

Ecology
The stick insect Megacrania batesii lives and feeds only on this species

Screw Pine

2009-09-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

ชื่อวิทยาศาสตร์ : Pandanus tectorius Blume

ชื่อสามัญ : Screw Pine

วงศ์ : PANDANACEAE

ชื่ออื่น : การะเกดด่าง ลำเจียกหนู เตยดง เตยด่าง

ลักษณะทางพฤกษศาสตร์ : ไม้พุ่มกึ่งไม้ต้น สูง 3-7 ม. ลำต้นมักแตกกิ่งก้านสาขา มีรากอากาศค่อนข้างยาว และใหญ่ ใบเดี่ยวเรียงเวียนสลับกันเป็น 3 เกลียวที่ปลายกิ่ง รูปรางน้ำ กว้าง 0.7-2.5 ซม.ยาว 3-9 ซม. ค่อยๆ เรียวแหลมไปหาปลาย ขอบมีหนามแข็งยาว 0.2-1 ซม. แผ่นใบด้านล่างมีนวล ดอกแยกเพศ อยู่ต่างต้นกัน ออกตามปลายยอด มีจำนวนมาก ติดบนแกนของช่อ ไม่มีกลีบเลี้ยงและกลีบดอก ช่อดอกเพศผู้ตั้งตรง ยาว 25-60 ซม. มีกาบสีนวลหุ้ม กลิ่นหอม เกสรเพศผู้ติดรวมอยู่บนก้านซึ่งยาว 0.8-2 ซม. ช่อดอกเพศเมียค่อนข้างกลม ประกอบด้วยเกสรเพศเมียเชื่อมติดกัน 3-5 อัน เป็นกลุ่ม 5-12 กลุ่ม แต่ละกลุ่มกว้าง 2-5 ซม. ยาว 3-7 ซม. ปลายหยักตื้นเป็นร่องระหว่างยอดเกสรเพศเมีย ยอดเกสรเพศเมียเรียงเป็นวง ผลเบียดกันแน่นเป็นก้อนกลม เส้นผ่านศูนย์กลาง 10-20 ซม. แต่ละผลกว้าง 2-6.5 ซม. ยาว 4-7.5 ซม. เมื่อสุกหอม โคนสีเหลือง ตรงกลางสีแสด ตรงปลายยอดสีน้ำตาลอมเหลือง ผลที่สุกแล้วมีโพรงอากาศจำนวนมาก

สรรพคุณ :

ดอก
- ปรุงยาหอม ทำให้ชุ่มชื่นหัวใจ ดอกหอม รับประทาน มีรสขมเล็กน้อย
- แก้โรคในอก เช่น เจ็บคอ แก้เสมหะ บำรุงธาตุ
- อบกลิ่นเสื้อผ้าให้หอม

วิธีใช้ - นำดอกไปเคี่ยวกับน้ำมันมะพร้าว หรือมันหมู ปรุงเป็นน้ำมันใส่ผม นำดอกเข้ายาหอมบำรุงหัวใจ

Acacia catechu

2009-09-10T06:43:00.000-07:00

Acacia catechu also commonly called mimosa catechu, is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to 15 m (50 ft) in height.Common names for it include Catechu, Cachou and Black Cutch. It is found in Asia, China, India and the Indian Ocean area.

The species has lent its name to the important catechins, catechols and catecholamines of chemistry and biology.

Food
The tree's seeds are a good source of protein.

Fodder
Branches of the tree are quite often cut for goat fodder and are sometimes fed to cattle.

Medicinal uses
More specifically, the extract, called catechu is used to treat sore throats and diarrhoea.

Wood
The tree is often planted for use as firewood and its wood is highly valued for furniture and tools.The wood has a density of about 0.88 g/cm³.

Other uses
Its heartwood extract is used in dyeing, leather tanning, as a preservative for fishing nets, for medicine and as a viscosity regulator for oil drilling.

Cultivation
The tree can be propagated by planting its seeds, which are soaked in hot water first. After about six months in a nursery, the seedlings can be planted in the field

Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) KURZ

2009-09-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) KURZ (Acanthaceae) is a shrub widely distributed in South China and India. In this study, the antiproliferative activity of the ethanol extract of root and aqueous extract of leaves of R. nasutus, and the supposed active moiety rhinacanthin C was assessed in vitro using the human cervical carcinoma cell line HeLa, its MDR1-overexpressing subline Hvr100-6, human prostate carcinoma PC-3 cells and human bladder carcinoma T24 cells. Rhinacanthin C was chemically synthesized and its content in the R. nasutus extracts was determined by HPLC with a photodiode array detector. The antiproliferative activity of the R. nasutus extracts was also assessed in vivo using sarcoma 180-bearing mice. It was suggested that 1) the in vitro antiproliferative activity of rhinacanthin C was comparable with or slightly weaker than that of 5-FU, 2) rhinacanthin C showed antiproliferative activity for MDR1-overexpressing Hvr100-6 cells, similarly to parent HeLa cells, 3) the in vitro antiproliferative activity of the ethanol extract of root R. nasutus was due to rhinacanthin C, whereas that of the aqueous extract of leaves of R. nasutus was due to constituents other than rhinacanthin C, and 4) both of the R. nasutus extracts showed in vivo antiproliferative activity after oral administration once daily for 14 d.

Salvia lyrata

2009-09-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

Salvia lyrata (Lyre-leaf sage, Lyreleaf sage, Wild sage, Cancerweed), is a herbaceous perennial in the family Lamiaceae that is native to the United States, from Connecticut west to Missouri, and in the south from Florida east to Texas.It was described and named by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753

Description

Salvia lyrata forms a basal rosette of leaves that are up to 8 inches (20 cm) long, broadening toward the tip. The leaves have irregular margins and are typically pinnately lobed or cut, looking somewhat like a lyre. The center vein is sometimes dark wine-purple. A hairy stem up to 2 feet (0.61 m) long grows from the rosette, with uneven whorls of two-lipped lavender to blue flowers. Flowering is heaviest between April and June, though sparse flowering can happen throughout the year. The leaves were once thought to be an external cure for cancer, thus one of the common names "Cancerweed".Salvia lyrata grows in full sun or light to medium shade, with native stands found on roadsides, fields, and open woodlands

Cultivation and uses

Salvia lyrata is sometimes grown in gardens for its attractive foliage and flowers, though it can prolifically seed, easily becoming a lawn weed. Several cultivars have been developed with purple leaves. 'Burgundy Bliss' and 'Purple Knockout' are two cultivars with burgundy leaves that are deeper in color than the species. Native Americans used the root as a salve for sores, and used the whole plant as a tea for colds and coughs

Onion

2009-08-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the "garden onion" or "bulb" onion. It is grown underground by the plant as a vertical shoot that is used for food storage, leading to the possibility of confusion with a tuber, which it is not.

Allium Cepa is known only in cultivation,but related wild species occur in Central Asia. The most closely-related species include Allium vavilovii Popov & Vved. and Allium asarense R.M. Fritsch & Matin from Iran.However Zohary and Hopf warn that "there are doubts whether the vavilovii collections tested represent genuine wild material or only feral derivatives of the crop.

Uses

Onions, one of the oldest vegetables known to mankind, are found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures. They are nowadays available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, powdered, chopped, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food including cooked foods and fresh salads and as a spicy garnish. They are rarely eaten on their own but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.

Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack. These are often served as a side serving in fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom and are referred to simply as "Pickled Onions". Onions are widely-used in India and Pakistan and are fundamental in the local cuisine. They are commonly used as a base for curries or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish. Onion is called "Pyaaz" (प्याज़) in Hindi, "Erulli/Ulla gaddi" in Kannada , "ulli paya" (ఉల్లిపాయ) or "Ulli gadda" (ఎర్ర గడ్డ) in Telugu , "Sawala" or "Ulli" in Malayalam , "Kanda" in Marathi and "vengayam" in Tamil.

Tissue from onions is frequently used in science education to demonstrate microscope usage, because they have particularly large cells which are readily observed even at low magnifications

Historical uses

It is thought that bulbs from the onion family have been used as a food source for millennia. In Bronze Age settlements, traces of onion remains were found alongside fig and date stones dating back to 5000 BC.

However, it is not clear if these were cultivated onions. Archaeological and literary evidence such as the Book of Numbers 11:5 suggests cultivation probably took place around two thousand years later in ancient Egypt, at the same time that leeks and garlic were cultivated. Workers who built the Egyptian pyramids may have been fed radishes and onions.

The onion is easily propagated, transported and stored. The Ancient Egyptians worshipped it,believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life. Onions were even used in Egyptian burials as evidenced by onion traces being found in the eye sockets of Ramesses IV.

In ancient Greece, athletes ate large quantities of onion because it was believed that it would lighten the balance of blood. Roman gladiators were rubbed down with onion to firm up their muscles. In the Middle Ages onions were such an important food that people would pay their rent with onions and even give them as gifts. Doctors were known to prescribe onions to facilitate bowel movements and erection, and also to relieve headaches, coughs, snakebite and hair loss. The onion was introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his 1492 expedition to Hispaniola. Onions were also prescribed by doctors in the early 1500s to help with infertility in women, and even dogs and cattle and many other household pets. However, recent evidence has shown that dogs, cats, and other animals should not be given onions in any form, due to toxicity during digestion

Medicinal properties and health effects

Wide-ranging claims have been made for the effectiveness of onions against conditions ranging from the common cold to heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other diseases.They contain chemical compounds believed to have anti-inflammatory, anticholesterol, anticancer, and antioxidant properties such as quercetin. However, it has not been conclusively demonstrated that increased consumption of onions is directly linked to health benefits. Some studies have shown that increased consumption of onions reduces the risk of head and neck cancers.In India some sects do not eat onion due to its alleged aphrodisiac properties.

In many parts of the world, onions are used to heal blisters and boils. A traditional Maltese remedy for sea urchin wounds is to tie half a baked onion to the afflicted area overnight. In the United States, products that contain onion extract are used in the treatment of topical scars; some studies have found their action to be ineffective,while others found that they may act as an anti-inflammatory or bacteriostatic and can improve collagen organization in rabbits.

Onions may be especially beneficial for women,who are at increased risk for osteoporosis as they go through menopause, by destroying osteoclasts so that they do not break down bone.

An American chemist has stated that the pleiomeric chemicals in onions have the potential to alleviate or prevent sore throat. However onion in combination with jaggery has been widely used as a traditional household remedy for sore throat in India.

Shallots have the most phenols, six times the amount found in Vidalia onion, the variety with the lowest phenolic content. Shallots also have the most antioxidant activity, followed by Western Yellow, pungent yellow (New York Bold[18]), Northern Red, Mexico, Empire Sweet, Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia. Western Yellow onions have the most flavonoids, eleven times the amount found in Western White, the variety with the lowest flavonoid content.

For all varieties of onions, the more phenols and flavonoids they contain, the more antioxidant and anti-cancer activity they provide. When tested against liver and colon cancer cells, Western Yellow, pungent yellow (New York Bold[18]) and shallots were most effective in inhibiting their growth. The milder-tasting varieties—Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Empire Sweet, Mexico, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia—showed little cancer-fighting ability.[18]

Shallots and ten other onion (Allium cepa L.) varieties commonly available in the United States were evaluated: Western Yellow, Northern Red, pungent yellow (New York Bold), Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Empire Sweet, Mexico, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia. In general, the most pungent onions delivered many times the benefits of their milder cousins

Onions and eye irritation

As onions are sliced or eaten, cells are broken, allowing enzymes called alliinases to break down amino acid sulphoxides and generate sulphenic acids. Sulphenic acids are unstable and spontaneously rearrange into a volatile gas called syn-propanethial-S-oxide. The gas diffuses through the air and eventually reaches the eye, where it binds to sensory neurons, creating a stinging sensation. Tear glands produce tears to dilute and flush out the irritant.

Supplying ample water to the reaction while peeling onions prevents the gas from reaching the eyes. Eye irritation can, therefore, be avoided by cutting onions under running water or submerged in a basin of water.Rinsing the onion and leaving it wet while chopping may also be effective. Another way to reduce irritation is by chilling, or by not cutting off the root of the onion (or by doing it last), as the root of the onion has a higher concentration of enzymes.Using a sharp blade to chop onions will limit the cell damage and the release of enzymes that drive the irritation response. Chilling or freezing onions prevents the enzymes from activating, limiting the amount of gas generated. Eye irritation may be avoided by having a fan blow the gas away from the eyes as the onion is being cut.

It is also possible to avoid eye irritation by wearing goggles or any eye protection that creates a seal around the eye. Contact lens wearers can experience less immediate irritation as a result of the slight protection afforded by the lenses themselves. It may also be that lens wearers are familiar with controlling the more reflexive actions of their eyes with regards to irritation; as this is an ability they require when manipulating the lenses to prevent blinking.

The volume of sulfenic acids released, and the irritation effect, differs among Allium species. On January 31, 2008, the New Zealand Crop and Food institute created a strain of "no tears" onions by using gene-silencing biotechnology

Propagation

Onion and shallot output in 2005
Onion growing shootsOnions may be grown from seed or, more commonly today, from sets started from seed the previous year. Onion sets are produced by sowing seed very thickly one year, resulting in stunted plants which produce very small bulbs. These bulbs are very easy to set out and grow into mature bulbs the following year, but they have the reputation of producing a less durable bulb than onions grown directly from seed and thinned.

Seed-bearing onions are day-length sensitive; their bulbs begin growing only after the number of daylight hours has surpassed some minimal quantity. Most traditional European onions are what is referred to as "long-day" onions, producing bulbs only after 15+ hours of daylight occur. Southern European and North African varieties are often known as "intermediate day" types, requiring only 12–13 hours of daylight to stimulate bulb formation. Finally, "short-day" onions, which have been developed in more recent times, are planted in mild-winter areas in the fall and form bulbs in the early spring, and require only 9–10 hours of sunlight to stimulate bulb formation.

Either planting method may be used to produce spring onions or green onions, which are the leaves and/or immature plants. Green onion is a name also used to refer to another species, Allium fistulosum, the Welsh onion, which is said not to produce dry bulbs.

The Tree onion produces bulbs instead of flowers and seeds, which can be planted directly in the ground

Raw Onions
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 40 kcal 170 kJ
Carbohydrates 9.34 g
- Sugars 4.24 g
- Dietary fiber 1.7 g
Fat 0.1 g
- saturated 0.042 g
- monounsaturated 0.013 g
- polyunsaturated 0.017 g
Protein 1.1 g
Water 89.11 g
Vitamin A equiv. 0 μg 0%
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.046 mg 4%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.027 mg 2%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.116 mg 1%
Vitamin B6 0.12 mg 9%
Folate (Vit. B9) 19 μg 5%
Vitamin B12 0 μg 0%
Vitamin C 7.4 mg 12%
Vitamin E 0.02 mg 0%
Vitamin K 0.4 μg 0%
Calcium 23 mg 2%
Iron 0.21 mg 2%
Magnesium 0.129 mg 0%
Phosphorus 29 mg 4%
Potassium 146 mg 3%
Sodium 4 mg 0%
Zinc 0.17 mg 2%

Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient database

Zingiber zerumbet

2009-08-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Zingiber zerumbet (Awapuhi), also known as the Shampoo Ginger, is a vigorous ginger with leafy stems growing to about 1.2 m tall.

Description

Awapuhi is a perennial, so from autumn until spring it goes dormant above ground as the leafy stems shrivel and die away, leaving the pale brown, creeping stems (rhizomes) at ground level. In the spring the plant springs up anew. The 10-12 blade-shaped leaves 15-20 cm long grow in an alternate arrangement on thin, upright stem to 1.2 m tall. Among the leafy stems the conical or club-shaped flower heads burst forth on separate and shorter stalks. These appear in the summer, after the leafy stems have been growing for awile. The flower heads are reddish-green 3-10 cm long with overlapping scales, enclosing small yellowish-white flowers that poke out a few at a time. As the flower heads mature, they gradually fill with an aromatic, slimy liquid and turn a brighter red color. The flower stalks usually remain hidden beneath the leaf stalks.

Distribution
This plant, originating in India, was distributed eastward through Polynesia and introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the canoes of early Polynesian settlers

Uses
The juice can be used to quench thirst when out walking in the forest and can be combined with Mountain Apples as a meal.

Medicinal Uses
In Hawaii the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes were pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. The rhizomes can be stored in a cool, dark place to keep for use when needed. In traditional use, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle, was mixed with a ripe Noni fruit and then used to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area.

For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened 'Awapuhi rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed.

To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material is mixed with water and drunk. Similarly, 'Awapuhi Pake or Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is widely cultivated and eaten, or made into a tea for indigestion as well as increased circulation of the blood and an increased sense of well-being.

An extract,"Zerumbone", from Zingiber zerumbet smith, has been found to induce apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in human liver cancer cells, in an in vitro study. (Cancer Cell International, April 3, 2007).

Mythology
The 'Awapuhi is said to be one of the Kinolau, multiple forms, of the Hawaii deity Kane

Indigenous Practices
The leaves and leaf stalks, which are also fragrant, were used in baking in the imu, underground oven, to enhance the flavor of pork and fish as they cooked. Traditionally, the aromatic underground rhizomes were sliced, dried and pounded to a powder, then added to the folds of stored Kapa (Tapa) cloth.

Perhaps the most common use of 'Awapuhi is as a shampoo and conditioner for the hair. The clear slimy juice present in the mature flower heads is excellent for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out. Hawaiian women often pick or cut the flowerheads of this plant in the forest, as they approach a pool or waterfall for a refreshing summer bath, leave the flowers atop a nearby rock, and then squeeze the sweet juices into their hair and over their bodies when the swim is completed. The sudsy juice is excellent for massage also.

Moringa oleifera Lam

2009-08-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Uses
Almost every part of plant is of value for food. Seed is said to be eaten like a peanut in Malaya. Thickened root used as substitute for horseradish. Foliage eaten as greens, in salads, in vegetable curries, as pickles and for seasoning. Leaves pounded up and used for scrubbing utensils and for cleaning walls. Seeds yield 38–40% of a non-drying oil, known as Ben Oil, used in arts and for lubricating watches and other delicate machinery. Oil is clear, sweet and odorless, never becoming rancid; consequently it is edible and useful in the manufacture of perfumes and hairdressings. Wood yields blue dye. Leaves and young branches are relished by livestock. Commonly planted in Africa as a living fence (Hausa) tree. Trees planted on graves are believed to keep away hyenas and its branches are used as charms against witchcraft. Bark can serve for tanning; it also yields a coarse fiber.

Folk Medicine
According to Hartwell (1967–1971), the flowers, leaves, and roots are used in folk remedies for tumors, the seed for abdominal tumors. The root decoction is used in Nicaragua for dropsy. Root juice is applied externally as rubefacient or counter-irritant. Leaves applied as poultice to sores, rubbed on the temples for headaches, and said to have purgative properties. Bark, leaves and roots are acrid and pungent, and are taken to promote digestion. Oil is somewhat dangerous if taken internally, but is applied externally for skin diseases. Bark regarded as antiscorbic, and exudes a reddish gum with properties of tragacanth; sometimes used for diarrhea. Roots are bitter, act as a tonic to the body and lungs, and are emmenagogue, expectorant, mild diuretic and stimulant in paralytic afflictions, epilepsy and hysteria.

Chemistry
Per 100 g, the pod is reported to contain 86.9 g H2O, 2.5 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 8.5 g total carbohydrate, 4.8 g fiber, 2.0 g ash, 30 mg Ca, 110 mg P, 5.3 mg Fe, 184 IU vit. A, 0.2 mg niacin, and 120 mg ascorbic acid, 310 mg Cu, 1.8 mg I. Leaves contain 7.5 g H2O, 6.7 g protein, 1.7 g fat, 14.3 g total carbohydrate, 0.9 g fiber, 2.3 g ash, 440 mg Ca, 70 mg P, 7 mg Fe, 110 mg Cu, 5.1 mg I, 11,300 IU vit. A, 120 mg vit. B, 0.8 mg nicotinic acid, 220 mg ascorbic acid, and 7.4 mg tocopherol per 100 g. Estrogenic substances, including the anti-tumor compound, b-sitosterol, and a pectinesterase are also reported. Leaf amino acids include 6.0 g arginine/16 g N, 2.1 histidine, 4.3 lysine, 1.9 tryptophane, 6.4 phenylalanine, 2.0 methionine, 4.9 threonine, 9.3 lucine, 6.3 isoleucine, and 7.1 valine. Pod amino acids enclue 3.6 g arginine/16 g N, 1.1 g histidine, 1.5 g lysine, 0.8 g tryptophane, 4.3 g phenylalanine, 1.4 g methionine, 3.9 g threonine, 6.5 g leucine, 4.4 g isoleucine, and 5.4 valine. Seed kernel (70–74% of seed) contains 4.08 H2O, 38.4 g crude protein, 34.7% fatty oil, 16.4 g N free extract, 3.5 g fiber, and 3.2 g ash. The seed oil contains 9.3% palmitic, 7.4% stearic, 8.6% behenic, and 65.7% oleic acids among the fatty acids. Myristic and lignoceric acids have also been reported. The cake left after oil extraction contains 58.9% crude protein, 0.4% Cao, 1.1% P2O5 and 0.8% K2O. Pterygospermin, a bactericidal and fungicidal compound, isolated from Moringa has an LD50 subcutaneously injected in mice and rats of 350 to 400 mg/kg body weight. Root-bark yields two alkaloids: moringine and moringinine. Moringinine acts as cardiac stimulant, produces rise of blood-pressure, acts on sympathetic nerve-endings as well as smooth muscles all over the body, and depresses the sympathetic motor fibers of vessels in large doses only.

Description
Short, slender, deciduous, perennial tree, to about 10 m tall; rather slender with drooping branches; branches and stems brittle, with corky bark; leaves feathery, pale green, compound, tripinnate, 30–60 cm long, with many small leaflets, 1.3–2 cm long, 0.6–0.3 cm wide, lateral ones somewhat elliptic, terminal one obovate and slightly larger than the lateral ones; flowers fragrant, white or creamy-white, 2.5 cm in diameter, borne in sprays, with 5 at the top of the flower; stamens yellow; pods pendulous, brown, triangular, splitting lengthwise into 3 parts when dry, 30–120 cm long, 1.8 cm wide, containing about 20 seeds embedded in the pith, pod tapering at both ends, 9-ribbed; seeds dark brown, with 3 papery wings. Main root thick. Fruit production in March and April in Sri Lanka.

Germplasm
Reported from the African and Hindustani Centers of Diversity, Moringa or cvs thereof is reported to tolerate bacteria, drought, fungus, laterite, mycobacteria, and sand (Duke, 1978). Several cvs are grown: 'Bombay' is considered one of the best, with curly fruits. Others have the fruits 3-angled or about round in cross-section. In India, 'Jaffna' is noted for having fruits 60–90 cm, 'Chavakacheri murunga' 90–120 cm long. (2n = 28)
Distribution
Native to India, Arabia, and possibly Africa and the East Indies; widely cultivated and naturalized in tropical Africa, tropical America, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Malabar, Malaysia and the Philippine Islands.

Ecology
Ranging from Subtropical Dry to Moist through Tropical Very Dry to Moist Forest Life Zones, Moringa is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 4.8 to 40.3 dm (mean of 53 cases = 14.1) annual temperature of 18.7 to 28.5°C (mean of 48 cases = 25.4) and pH of 4.5 to 8. (mean of 12 cases = 6.5). Thrives in subtropical and tropical climates, flowering and fruiting freely and continuously. Grows best on a dry sandy soil. Drought resistant.

Cultivation
In India, the plant is propagated by planting limb cuttings 1–2 m long, from June to August, preferably. The plant starts bearing pods 6–8 months after planting but regular bearing commenced after the second year. The tree bears for several years.
Harvesting
Fruit or other parts of plant usually harvested as desired according to some authors, but in India, fruiting may peak between March and April and again in September and October. Seed gathered in March and April and oil expressed.
Yields and Economics
While I have not located specific yield figures for Moringa, I feel, from personal observations, that its biomass and pod production should approach that of Prosopis growing in the same habitat. Hence, I would suggest a target yield of about 10 MT pods per hectare. Horseradish-tree is grown locally in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, and is consumed as a local product, either ripe or unripe. No commercial data are available.

Energy
According to Verma et al. (1976), "saijan" is a fast growing tree being planted in India on a large scale as a potential source of wood for the paper industry. It seems doubtful that the wood and seed oil could both be viewed as fountains of energy. According to Burkill (1966), "The seeds yield a clear inodorous oil to the extent of 22 to 38.5 percent. It burns with a clear light and without smoke. It is an excellent salad oil, and gives a good soap... It can be used for oiling machinery, and indeed has a reputation for this purpose as watch oil, but is now superseded by sperm oil." Sharing rather similar habitat requirements with the jojoba under certain circumstances, it might be investigated as a substitute for sperm whale oil like jojoba. Growing readily from cuttings, the ben oil could be readily produced where jojoba grows. Coming into bearing within two years, it could easily be compared to jojoba in head-on trials. I recommend such.

Biotic Factors
Fruitflies (Gitona spp.) have infested the fruits which then dried out at the tip and rotted. Leaves of young plants and freshly planted stumps are attacked by several species of weevils (Myllocerus discolor var. variegatus, M. 11-pustulatus, M. tenuiclavis, M. viridanus and Ptochus ovulum). Also parasitized by the flowering plant, Dendrophthoe flacata. Fungi which attack the horseradish-tree include: Cercospora moringicola (Leaf-spot), Sphaceloma morindae (Spot anthracnose), Puccinia moringae (rust), Oidium sp., Polyporus gilvus

Crassulaceae

2009-08-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

The Crassulaceae, or orpine family, is a family of dicotyledons. They store water in their succulent leaves. They are found worldwide, but mostly occur in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Africa, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce. The family includes about 1,400 species in 33 genera.

No member of this family is an important crop plant, but many are popular for horticulture; many members have a bizarre intriguing appearance, and are quite hardy, typically needing only minimal care. Familiar species include the Jade plant or "friendship tree", Crassula ovata and "Florists' Kalanchoe", Kalanchoe blossfeldia.

Classification within the family is difficult because many of the species hybridize readily, both in the wild and in cultivation. Some older classifications included the Crassulaceae in the Rosales, but newer schemes treat them in the order Saxifragales.

CAM photosynthesis (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) is named after the family, because the pathway was first discovered in crassulacean plants.

Cabbage

2009-08-26T01:04:00.000-07:00

The cabbage is a popular cultivar of a the species Brassica oleracea Linne (Capitata Group) of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae), and is used as a leafy green vegetable. It is a herbaceous, biennial, dicotyledonous flowering plant distinguished by a short stem upon which is crowded a mass of leaves, usually green but in some varieties red or purplish, which while immature form a characteristic compact, globular cluster (cabbagehead).

The plant is also called head cabbage or heading cabbage, and in Scotland a bowkail, from its rounded shape. The Scots call its stalk a castock,and the English call its head a loaf[citation needed]. It is in the same genus as the turnip - Brassica rapa L.

Cabbage leaves often display a delicate, powdery, waxy coating called bloom. The sharp or bitter taste sometimes present in cabbage is due to glucosinolate(s). Cabbages are also a good source of Riboflavin.

History

Cabbage farmer in Gardena, California, 1951The cultivated cabbage is derived from a leafy plant called the wild mustard plant, native to the Mediterranean region, where it is common along the seacoast. Also called sea cabbage and wild cabbage, it was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans; Cato the Elder praised this vegetable for its medicinal properties, declaring that "It is the cabbage which surpasses all other vegetables." The English name derives from the Normanno-Picard caboche (head), perhaps from boche (swelling, bump). Cabbage was developed by ongoing artificial selection for suppression of the internode length.

Uses
The only part of the plant that is normally eaten is the leafy head; more precisely, the spherical cluster of immature leaves, excluding the partially unfolded outer leaves. Cabbage is used in a variety of dishes for its naturally spicy flavor. The so-called 'cabbage head' is widely consumed raw, cooked, or preserved in a great variety of dishes.[citation needed] It is the principle ingredient in coleslaw

Cooked
Cabbage is often added to soups or stews. Cabbage soup is popular in Central and eastern Europe, and cabbage is an ingredient in some kinds of borscht. Garbure (from Provençal garburo) is a thick soup of cabbage or other vegetables with bacon. Cabbage may be an ingredient in kugel, a baked pudding served as a side dish or dessert. Cabbage is also used in many popular dishes in India.

Boiling tenderizes the leaves and releases sugars, which leads to the characteristic "cabbage" aroma. Boiled cabbage has become stigmatized because of its strong cooking odor and the belief that it causes flatulence. Boiled cabbage as an accompaniment to meats and other dishes can be an excellent source of vitamins and dietary fiber. It is often prepared and served with boiled meat and other vegetables as part of a boiled dinner. Harold McGee has studied the development of unpleasant smells when cooking brassicas and reports that they develop with prolonged cooking. According to Corriher's Compendium smell doubles when prolonging cooking from 5 to 7 minutes; for best results cabbage should be sliced thinly and cooked for 4 minutes.

Cabbage rolls, a type of dolma, are an East European and Middle Eastern delicacy. The leaves are softened by parboiling or by placing the whole head of cabbage in the freezer, and then stuffed with a mixture of chopped meat and/or rice. Stuffed cabbage is called holishkes in Yiddish. A vegetable stuffed with shredded cabbage and then pickled is called mango.

Bulgarian CabbageThe largest cabbage dish is made in Macedonian city of Prilep, with 80,191 sarmas (cabbage rolls).

Bubble and squeak consists of potatoes and cabbage or, especially formerly, potatoes, cabbage and meat fried together. Potatoes and cabbage or other greens boiled and mashed together make up a dish called colcannon, an Irish Gaelic word meaning white-headed cabbage, grounded in Old Irish terms for cabbage or kale (cāl), head (cend or cenn) and white (find). In the American South and Midland, corn dodgers were boiled as dumplings with cabbage and ham.

Fermented and preserved

Cabbage is the basis for the German sauerkraut, Chinese suan cai and Korean kimchi. To pickle cabbage it is cut fine, placed in a jar, covered with a brine made of its own juice with salt, and left in a warm place for several weeks to ferment. Sauerkraut (colloquially referred to simply "kraut") was historically prepared at home in large batches, as a way of storing food for the winter. The word comes from German sauer (sour) and kraut (plant or cabbage) (Old High German sūr and krūt). Cabbage can also be pickled in vinegar with various spices, alone or in combination with other vegetables. (Turnips can be cured in the same way.) Korean baechu kimchi is usually sliced thicker than its European counterpart, and the addition of onions, chillies, papaya, gin, minced garlic and ginger is common.

Medicinal properties

Cabbage is an excellent source of Vitamin C. It also contains significant amounts of glutamine, an amino acid which has anti-inflammatory properties. Cabbage can also be included in dieting programs, as it is a negative calorie food (citation needed).

It is a source of indole-3-carbinol, or I3C, a compound used as an adjuvent therapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a disease of the head and neck caused by human papillomavirus (usually types 6 and 11) that causes growths in the airway that can lead to death.

In European folk medicine, cabbage leaves are used to treat acute inflammation. A paste of raw cabbage may be placed in a cabbage leaf and wrapped around the affected area to reduce discomfort. Some claim it is effective in relieving painfully engorged breasts in breastfeeding women.

Fresh cabbage juice has been shown to promote rapid healing of peptic ulcers

Varieties

Cultivar UnknownThere are many varieties of cabbage based on shape and time of maturity. Cabbages grown late in autumn and in the beginning of winter are called coleworts; their leaves do not form a compact head."Colewort" may also refer to a young cabbage. The word comes from Latin caulis (stalk of a plant, cabbage) and Old English wyrt (herb, plant, root). A drumhead cabbage has a rounded, flattened head. An oxheart cabbage has an oval or conical head. A pickling cabbage, such as the red-leafed cabbage, is especially suitable for pickling; krautman is the most common variety for commercial production of sauerkraut. Red cabbage is a small, round-headed type with dark red leaves. Savoy cabbage has a round, compact head with crinkled and curled leaves.Winter cabbage will survive the winter in the open in mild regions such as the southern United States; the name is also used for Savoy cabbage.Other traditional varieties include "Late Flat Dutch", "Early Jersey Wakefield" (a conical variety) and "Danish Ballhead" (late, round-headed).

Cabbage, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 20 kcal 100 kJ
Carbohydrates 5.8 g
- Sugars 3.2 g
- Dietary fiber 2.5 g
Fat 0.1 g
Protein 1.28 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.061 mg 5%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.040 mg 3%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.234 mg 2%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.212 mg 4%
Vitamin B6 0.124 mg 10%
Folate (Vit. B9) 53 μg 13%
Vitamin C 36.6 mg 61%
Calcium 40 mg 4%
Iron 0.47 mg 4%
Magnesium 12 mg 3%
Phosphorus 26 mg 4%
Potassium 170 mg 4%
Zinc 0.18 mg 2%

Percentages are relative to US

Acanthus ebracteatus

2009-08-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

Acanthus ebracteatus is a species of shrubby herb that grows in the undergrowth of mangroves of south-east Asia. Common names include sea holly and holly mangrove.

Description
It grows as an erect, spreading or scrambling shrubby herb, up to 1.5 metres tall, usually with a great many stems. Its leaves are are dark green, stiff, with sharp spines at the end of each deep lobe: very much like those of holly (Ilex). Flowers are blue, purple or white, and occur in spikes terminal on the branches. The fruit is a square-shaped capsule, which explodes when ripe, projecting the seeds up to two metres from the plant. Seeds are off-white, and flat.

Taxonomy
This species was first described by Martin Vahl in his 1791 Symbolae Botanicae. In 1806 Christiaan Persoon transferred it into Dilivaria, but this was not accepted.

Two subspecies are recognised, the autonym A. ebracteatus subsp. ebracteatus, and A. ebracteatus subsp. ebarbatus, described in 1986.

Distribution and habitat
It occurs in the undergrowth of mangroves in south-east Asia, including northern Australia.

Acanthus ebracteatus

MALLOW, MARSH

2009-08-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

Botanical: Althaea officinalis (LINN.)

---Synonyms---Mallards. Mauls. Schloss Tea. Cheeses. Mortification Koot.
(French) Guimauve.
---Parts Used---Leaves, root, flowers.
---Habitat---Marsh Mallow is a native of most countries of Europe, from Denmark southward. It grows in salt marshes, in damp meadows, by the sides of ditches, by the sea and on the banks of tidal rivers.
In this country it is local, but occurs in most of the maritime counties in the south of England, ranging as far north as Lincolnshire. In Scotland it has been introduced.

---Description---The stems, which die down in the autumn, are erect, 3 to 4 feet high, simple, or putting out only a few lateral branches. The leaves, shortly petioled, are roundish, ovate-cordate, 2 to 3 inches long, and about 1 1/4 inch broad, entire or three to five lobed, irregularly toothed at the margin, and thick. They are soft and velvety on both sides, due to a dense covering of stellate hairs. The flowers are shaped like those of the common Mallow, but are smaller and of a pale colour, and are either axillary, or in panicles, more often the latter.

The stamens are united into a tube, the anthers, kidney-shaped and one-celled. The flowers are in bloom during August and September, and are followed, as in other species of this order, by the flat, round fruit called popularly 'cheeses.'

The common Mallow is frequently called by country people, 'Marsh Mallow,' but the true Marsh Mallow is distinguished from all the other Mallows growing in Britain, by the numerous divisions of the outer calyx (six to nine cleft), by the hoary down which thickly clothes the stems, and foliage, and by the numerous panicles of blush-coloured flowers, paler than the Common Mallow.

The roots are perennial, thick, long and tapering, very tough and pliant, whitishyellow outside, white and fibrous within.

The whole plant, particularly the root, abounds with a mild mucilage, which is emollient to a much greater degree than the common Mallow. The generic name, Althaea, is derived from the Greek, altho (to cure), from its healing properties. The name of the order, Malvaceae, is derived from the Greek, malake (soft), from the special qualities of the Mallows in softening and healing.

Most of the Mallows have been used as food, and are mentioned by early classic writers in this connexion. Mallow was an esculent vegetable among the Romans, a dish of Marsh Mallow was one of their delicacies.

The Chinese use some sort of Mallow in their food, and Prosper Alpinus stated (in 1592) that a plant of the Mallow kind was eaten by the Egyptians. Many of the poorer inhabitants of Syria, especially the Fellahs, Greeks and Armenians, subsist for weeks on herbs, of which Marsh Mallow is one of the most common. When boiled first and fried with onions and butter, the roots are said to form a palatable dish, and in times of scarcity consequent upon the failure of the crops, this plant, which fortunately grows there in great abundance, is much collected for food.

In Job XXX. 4 we read of Mallow being eaten in time of famine, but it is doubtful whether this was really a true mallow. Canon Tristram thinks it was some saline plant; perhaps the Orache, or Sea-Purslane.

Horace and Martial mention the laxative properties of the Marsh Mallow leaves and root, and Virgil tells us of the fondness of goats for the foliage of the Mallow.

Dioscorides extols it as a remedy, and in ancient days it was not only valued as a medicine, but was used, especially the Musk Mallow, to decorate the graves of friends.

Pliny said: 'Whosoever shall take a spoonful of the Mallows shall that day be free from all diseases that may come to him.' All Mallows contain abundant mucilage, and the Arab physicians in early times used the leaves as a poultice to suppress inflammation.

Preparations of Marsh Mallow, on account of their soothing qualities, are still much used by country people for inflammation, outwardly and inwardly, and are used for lozenge-making. French druggists and English sweetmeat-makers prepare a confectionary paste (Pâét de Guimauve) from the roots of Marsh Mallow, which is emollient and soothing to a sore chest, and valuable in coughs and hoarseness. The 'Marsh Mallows' usually sold by confectioners here are a mixture of flour, gum, egg-albumin, etc., and contain no mallow.

In France, the young tops and tender leaves of Marsh Mallow are eaten uncooked, in spring salads, for their property in stimulating the kidneys, a syrup being made from the roots for the same purpose.

---Cultivation---Marsh Mallow used always to be cultivated in gardens on account of its medicinal qualities. It is said to have been introduced by the Romans.

It can be raised from seed, sown in spring, but cuttings will do well, and offsets of the root, carefully divided in autumn, when the stalks decay, are satisfactory, and will grow of their own accord.

Plant about 2 feet apart. It will thrive in any soil or situation, but grows larger in moist than in dry land, and could well be cultivated on unused ground in damp localities near ditches or streams.

---Parts Used---Leaves, root and flowers. The leaves are picked in August, when the flowers are just coming into bloom. They should be stripped off singly and gathered only on a fine day, in the morning, after the dew has been dried off by the sun.

---Constituents---Marsh Mallow contains starch, mucilage, pectin, oil, sugar, asparagin, phosphate of lime, glutinous matter and cellulose.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---The great demulcent and emollient properties of Marsh Mallow make it useful in inflammation and irritation of the alimentary canal, and of the urinary and respiratory organs. The dry roots boiled in water give out half their weight of a gummy matter like starch. Decoctions of the plant, especially of the root, are very useful where the natural mucus has been abraded from the coats of the intestines, The decoction can be made by adding 5 pints of water to 1/4 lb. of dried root, boiling down to 3 pints and straining: it should not be made too thick and viscid. It is excellent in painful complaints of the urinary organs, exerting a relaxing effect upon the passages, as well as acting curatively. This decoction is also effective in curing bruises, sprains or any ache in the muscles or sinews. In haemorrhage from the urinary organs and in dysentery, it has been recommended to use the powdered root boiled in milk. The action of Marsh Mallow root upon the bowels is unaccompanied by any astringency.

Boiled in wine or milk, Marsh Mallow will relieve diseases of the chest, constituting a popular remedy for coughs, bronchitis, whooping-cough, etc., generally in combination with other remedies. It is frequently given in the form of a syrup, which is best adapted to infants and children

Butea monosperma

2009-08-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

Butea monosperma (syn. Butea frondosa, Erythrina monosperma, Plaso monosperma; Kingshuk, Palash, Dhak, Flame of the Forest, Bastard Teak or Parrot Tree), is a species of Butea native to tropical southern Asia, from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia.Also known as kesudo in Gujurati.

It is a medium sized dry season-deciduous tree, growing to 15 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, with an 8-16 cm petiole and three leaflets, each leaflet 10-20 cm long. The flowers are 2.5 cm long, bright orange-red, and produced in racemes up to 15 cm long. The fruit is a pod 15-20 cm long and 4-5 cm broad.

It is used for timber, resin, fodder, medicine, and dye. The gum from the tree, called kamarkas in Hindi, is used in certain food dishes. The gum is also known as Bengal Kino, and is considered valuable by druggists because of its astringent qualities, and by leather workers because of its tannin.The wood is dirty white and soft and, being durable under water, is used for well-curbs and water scoops. Good charcoal can be made from it.

In West Bengal it is associated with Spring (season), especially through the poems and songs of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who likened its bright orange flame-like flower to fire. In Santiniketan, where Tagore lived, this flower has become an indispensable part of the celebration of spring. The plant has lent its name to the town of Palashi, famous for the historic Battle of Plassey fought there.

It is said that the tree is a form of Agnidev, God of Fire. It was a punishment given to Him by Goddess Parvati for disturbing Her and Lord Shiva's privacy.

In the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh these flowers are specially used in the worship of Lord Shiva on occasion of Shivratri. In Telugu this tree is called Modugu chettu.

In Kerala this is called 'plasu' and 'chamata'. Chamata is the vernacular version of Sanskrit word 'Samidha', small piece of wood that use for 'agnihotra' or fire ritual. In most of the old namboodiri (Kerala brahmin)houses one can find this tree because this is widely use for their fire ritual.

Other names
Flame of the Forest | Bastard Teak, Parrot Tree (Eng.), Chichra tesu, desuka jhad, dhak, palas, chalcha, kankrei (Hindi), Palashpapra (Urdu), Muthuga (Can.), Kingshuk, Polash, Polashi (Beng.), Pauk (Burmese), Polash (Polax) in Assamese, Porasum, Parasu (Tam.), Muriku, Shamata (Mal.), Modugu (Telugu), Khakda (Guj.), Kela (Sinh.)

Butea monosperma

Milletti Kityana, Craib

2009-08-22T00:53:00.000-07:00

Scientist name : Milletti Kityana, Craib
Family : LEGUMINOSAE
Common name : ทั่วไปภาคกลางเรียก รางจืด ทางพายัพเรียก ฮางจืดเคลือเข้าเย็น
Feature : ต้นรางจืด เป็นไม้เถาเนื้อแข็ง เลื้อยพาดพันไปตามต้นไม้อื่นๆตามปกติ
จะถือว่าเป็นได้ทั้งไม้ดอกและไม้ใบหรือไม้ร่มก็ได้ ใบสดหนาแข็ง สีเขียวแก่
คล้ายใบหญ้านางหรือใบสะค้าน ดอกใหญ่เขื่องเป็นช่อสีม่วง อ่อนๆ มีตาเหลือง
กลางกลีบมนออกเป็นช่อดอก และในระหว่างใบที่เขียวแก่ กลางกลีบมน
สวยงาม เป็นช่อดี
Growth : มีเกิดตามป่าชื้น ป่าราบทางภาคเหนือและภาคกลาง ขึ้นได้ในดินธรรมดา
ใบมีรสเย็น ใช้ปรุงเป็นยาเขียว ทำเป็นยาถอนพิษและยาเบื่อเมาทำให้ลดความ
ร้อนในร่างกาย แก้ไข้พิษสำแดง กระทุ้งพิษไข้หัว รากและเถา
รับประทานเป็นยาแก้ร้อนในกระหายน้ำ แก้พิษทั้งปวง

Minosa Pudica

2009-08-22T00:48:00.000-07:00

ชื่อทางพฤกษศาสตร์ : Minosa Pudica
วงศ์ : LEGUMINOSAE
ชื่อที่เรียก : ทั่วไปเรียก ไมยราพ, ไวยราพ, ระงับ ทางพายัพเรียก หญ้าจิยอบ
จันทบุรีเรียก หนามหญ้าราบ
ลักษณะ : ต้นไมยราพ เป็นต้นไม้ล้มลุกต้นเล็กๆ เนื้ออ่อนจำพวกหญ้า ใบเล็กๆ
เป็นฝอยคล้ายกับใบผักกระเฉด ต้นและกิ่งมีสีแดงเป็นขนและมีหนาม
แหลมคมทั้งต้น จะสูงประมาณ 1 ฟุตเศษดอกมีลักษณะเหมือนดอก
ของผักกระเฉด แต่มีสีแดงออ่นชมพู
การเจริญเติบโต เป็นไม้ที่เจริญงอกงามตามรกร้างทั่วไป ตามพื้นดิน ตามถนนเล็กๆ
ขยายพันธุ์เร็ว
สรรพคุณ ใช้ได้ทั้งต้นนำมาปรุงยาขับปัสสาวะ

Garlic

2009-08-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Medicinal use and health benefits

In test tube studies garlic has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. However, these actions are less clear in humans and do not suggest that garlic is a substitute for antibiotics or antifungal medications. Garlic is also claimed to help prevent heart disease (including atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure) and cancer.Animal studies, and some early investigational studies in humans, have suggested possible cardiovascular benefits of garlic. A Czech study found that garlic supplementation reduced accumulation of cholesterol on the vascular walls of animals.Another study had similar results, with garlic supplementation significantly reducing aortic plaque deposits of cholesterol-fed rabbits. Another study showed that supplementation with garlic extract inhibited vascular calcification in human patients with high blood cholesterol.The known vasodilative effect of garlic is possibly caused by catabolism of garlic-derived polysulfides to hydrogen sulfide in red blood cells, a reaction that is dependent on reduced thiols in or on the RBC membrane. Hydrogen sulfide is an endogenous cardioprotective vascular cell-signaling molecule.

Although these studies showed protective vascular changes in garlic-fed subjects, a randomized clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2007 found that the consumption of garlic in any form did not reduce blood cholesterol levels in patients with moderately high baseline cholesterol levels.

“ Despite decades of research suggesting that garlic can improve cholesterol profiles, a new NIH-funded trial found absolutely no effects of raw garlic or garlic supplements on LDL, HDL, or triglycerides… The findings underscore the hazards of meta-analyses made up of small, flawed studies and the value of rigorously studying popular herbal remedies.

There are critics of the NIH, and its pharmaceutical lobby, who believe their study intended to confuse those prior findings that had shown protective vascular changes for withstanding high cholesterol levels (and not, as in the NIH study, the cholesterol levels themselves).

In 2007, the BBC reported that Allium sativum may have other beneficial properties, such as preventing and fighting the common cold.This assertion has the backing of long tradition in herbal medicine, which has used garlic for hoarseness and coughs.The Cherokee also used it as an expectorant for coughs and croup.

Allium sativum has been found to reduce platelet aggregation and hyperlipidemia.

Garlic is also alleged to help regulate blood sugar levels. Regular and prolonged use of therapeutic amounts of aged garlic extracts lower blood homocysteine levels and has shown to prevent some complications of diabetes mellitus. People taking insulin should not consume medicinal amounts of garlic without consulting a physician.

In 1858, Louis Pasteur observed garlic's antibacterial activity, and it was used as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene during World War I and World War II. More recently, it has been found from a clinical trial that a mouthwash containing 2.5% fresh garlic shows good antimicrobial activity, although the majority of the participants reported an unpleasant taste and halitosis.

In modern naturopathy, garlic is used as a treatment for intestinal worms and other intestinal parasites, both orally and as an anal suppository. Garlic cloves are used as a remedy for infections (especially chest problems), digestive disorders, and fungal infections such as thrush.

Garlic has been used reasonably successfully in AIDS patients to treat cryptosporidium in an uncontrolled study in China.[38] It has also been used by at least one AIDS patient to treat toxoplasmosis, another protozoal disease.

Garlic supplementation in rats, along with a high protein diet, has been shown to boost testosterone levels

Side effects
Garlic is known for causing halitosis as well as causing sweat to have a pungent 'garlicky' smell which is caused by Allyl methyl sulfide (AMS). AMS is a gas which is absorbed into the blood during the metabolism of garlic; from the blood it travels to the lungs (and from there to the mouth causing bad breath) and skin where it is exuded through skin pores. Washing the skin with soap is only a partial and imperfect solution to the smell.

Raw garlic is more potent and therefore cooking garlic reduces the effect. The green dry 'folds' in the center of the garlic clove are especially pungent. The sulfur compound allicin, produced by crushing or chewing fresh garlic produces other sulfur compounds: ajoene, allyl sulfides, and vinyldithiins. Aged garlic lack allicin, but may have some activity due to the presence of S-allylcysteine.

Garlic, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 150 kcal 620 kJ
Carbohydrates 33.06 g
- Sugars 1.00g
- Dietary fiber 2.1 g
Fat 0.5 g
Protein 6.39 g
- beta-carotene 5 μg 0%
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.2 mg 15%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.11 mg 7%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.7 mg 5%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.596 mg 12%
Vitamin B6 1.235 mg 95%
Folate (Vit. B9) 3 μg 1%
Vitamin C 31.2 mg 52%
Calcium 181 mg 18%
Iron 1.7 mg 14%
Magnesium 25 mg 7%
Phosphorus 153 mg 22%
Potassium 401 mg 9%
Sodium 17 mg 1%
Zinc 1.16 mg 12%
Manganese 1.672 mg
Selenium 14.2 mcg

Percentages are relative to US
recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient database

Cymbopogon

2009-08-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

names include lemon grass, lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, citronella grass, fever grass or Hierba Luisa amongst many others.

Uses:

Lemon grass is native to India. It is widely used as a herb in Asian cuisine. It has a citrus flavor and can be dried and powderedCymbopogon (lemongrass) is a genus of about 55 species of grasses, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Old World and Oceania. It is a tall perennial grass. Common , or used fresh.

Lemon grass is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries. It is also suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood. It is often used as a tea in African and Latin American countries (e.g., Togo, Mexico, DR Congo).

Research also shows that lemon grass oil has anti-fungal properties.

Citronella Grass (Cymbopogon nardus and Cymbopogon winterianus) is similar to the species above but grows to 2 m and has red base stems. These species are used for the production of citronella oil, which is used in soaps, as a insect repellent in insect sprays and candles, and also in aromatherapy, which is famous in Bintan, Indonesia. The principal chemical constituents of citronella, geraniol and citronellol, are antiseptics, hence their use in household disinfectants and soaps. Besides oil production, citronella grass is also used for culinary purposes, in tea and as a flavoring.

Lemon Grass Oil, used as a pesticide and preservative, is put on the ancient manuscripts found in India in Oriental Research Institute Mysore. The lemon grass oil also injects natural fluidity into the brittle palm leaves and the hydrophobic nature of the oil keeps the manuscripts dry so that the text is not lost to decay due to humidity.

East-Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), also called Cochin Grass or Malabar Grass (Malayalam: ഇഞ്ചിപ്പുല്ല്ല്ല്‌(inchippull), is native to Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Burma,and Thailand while the West-Indian lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), also known as serai in Malay, is assumed to have its origins in Malaysia. Indonesian people used to called it serai too or sereh. While both can be used interchangeably, C. citratus is more suited for cooking. In India C. citratus is used both as a medical herb and in perfumes. Cymbopogon citratus is consumed as a tea for anxiety in Brazilian folk medicine,but a study in humans found no effect.The tea caused a recurrence of contact dermatitis in one case.

Lemon grass is also known as "Gavati Chaha" in the Marathi language(Gavat-grass; chaha-tea), and is used as an addition to tea,and in preparations like 'kadha' which is a traditional herbal 'soup' against cough,cold etc. It has medicinal properties and is used extensively in ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicines. It is supposed to help with relieving cough and nasal congestion

Anti-cancer properties
In 2006 a research team from the Ben Gurion University in Israel found that Lemon grass (cymbopogon citratus) caused apoptosis (programmed cell death) in malignant cancer cells. According to the research team citral is the substance that causes the cancer cells to kill themselves. The influence of citral on normal cells and malignant cancer cells that were grown on a petri dish. The quantity added in the concentrate was equivalent to the amount in a cup of regular tea using one gram of lemon grass in hot water. While the citral killed the cancer cells, it left the normal cells unharmed. This selective toxicity amazed the researchers.

Imperata cylindrica

2009-08-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

Imperata cylindrica, or cogongrass, is a species of grass in the genus Imperata. It is placed in the subfamily Panicoideae, supertribe Andropogonodae, tribe Andropogoneae.

It is a perennial rhizomatous grass native to east and southeast Asia, India, Micronesia, Australia and eastern and southern Africa. It grows from 0.6-3 m (2-10 feet) tall. The leaves are about 2 cm wide near the base of the plant and narrow to a sharp point at the top; the margins are finely toothed and are embedded with sharp silica crystals. The main vein is a lighter colour than the rest of the leaf and tends to be nearer to one side of the leaf. The upper surface is hairy near the base of the plant while the underside is usually hairless. Roots are up to 1.2 meters deep, but 0.4 m is typical in sandy soil.

Cultivation and uses

It is used for thatching the roofs of traditional homes in Papua New Guinea.

It is planted extensively for ground cover and soil stabilization near beach areas and other areas subject to erosion. Other uses include paper-making, thatching and weaving into mats and bags. However, its most common usefulness may be seen in its medicinal properties which include astringent, febrifuge, diuretic, tonic and styptic action. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

A number of cultivars have been selected for garden use as ornamental plants, including the red-leaved 'Red Baron' (also known as Japanese blood grass).

Young inflorescences and shoots may be eaten cooked, and the roots contain starch and sugars and are therefore easy to chew.

Weed problems

The plant has become naturalized in the Americas, Northern Asia, Europe and Africa in addition to many islands and is listed as an invasive weed in some areas. In the U.S. it survives best in the southeast (and, according to a 2003 survey, has overtaken more acreage in that region than the notorious kudzu), but has been reported to exist as far north as West Virginia and Oregon. Worldwide it has been observed from 45°N to 45°S. It grows on wet lands, dry lands, areas of high salinity, organic soils, clay soils and sandy soils of pH from 4.0 to 7.5. It prefers full sun but will tolerate some shade.

It spread both through small seeds, which are easily carried by the wind, and rhizomes which can be transported by tilling equipment and in soil transport.

In the Southeastern United States, state governments have various eradication efforts in place, and deliberate propagation is prohibited by some authorities. Control is typically by the use of herbicides. Burnoff is seldom successful since the grass burns quite hot causing heat damage to trees which would ordinarily be undamaged by a controlled burn and recovers from a burn quickly.

The legume vine Mucuna pruriens is used in the countries of Benin and Vietnam as a biological control for Imperata cylindrica

Flammability

Green kunai grass on fire in Papua New GuineaAnecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that types of this grass are quite flammable even when apparently green - particularly in Papua New Guinea climates. It is not uncommon to see hillsides of "Kunai" on fire.

Local English names:

Australia: blady grass
Nigeria: speargrass
USA: cogongrass, cogon
Southern Africa: silver spike
Names in other languages:

French: paillote, impérata cylindrique, paille de dys
German: Blutgras
Indonesian: alang-alang
Khmer:(sbəv)
Laotian:(ɲȁː kʰáː)
Malay: lalang
Sinhala: illuk
Spanish: cisca
Tagalog: kugon
Thai: (หญ้า)คา (yâa ˈkʰaa)
Vietnamese: cỏ tranh.

Imperata cylindrica more

Sapindus

2009-08-18T02:01:00.000-07:00

Sapindus is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the maple family, Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions in both the Old World and New World. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Common names include soapberry and soapnut, both names referring to the use of the crushed seeds to make soap.

Sapindus emarginatus leaves in Hyderabad, India.The leaves are alternate, 15–40 centimetres (5.9–16 in) long, pinnate, with 14-30 leaflets, the terminal leaflet often absent. The flowers form in large panicles, each flower small, creamy white. The fruit, called a soap nut, is a small leathery-skinned drupe 1–2 centimetres (0.39–0.79 in) diameter, yellow ripening blackish, containing one to three seeds.

Soap nuts contain saponins, a natural surfactant. They have been used for washing for thousands of year by various peoples, such as the Native Americans.Today, soapberries are being considered for commercial use in cosmetics and detergents, among many other products.Soap nuts have historically been used in folk remedies as an expectorant, emetic, contraceptive, and for treatment of excessive salivation, epilepsy, and to treat chlorosis. The effectiveness of some of these folk-remedy treatments have not been subject to extensive scientific scrutiny. However, modern scientific medical research has investigated the use of soap nuts in treating migraines. Investigation of the contraceptive capability of plant saponins have shown some spermicidal capacity for certain extracts.While the Sapindus saponins cause less irritation, they are less potent bactericidal agents than modern chemical alternatives. The medical implications of these findings are not clear.

Sapindus emarginatus soap nut in Hyderabad, India.Soap nuts are among the list of herbs and minerals in Ayurveda. They are a popular ingredient in Ayurvedic shampoos and cleansers. They are used in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for eczema, psoriasis, and for removing freckles. Soap nuts have gentle insecticidal properties and are traditionally used for removing lice from the scalp.

Soap nuts are antimicrobial and are beneficial for septic systems and greywater[citation needed]. Soap nuts are used in the remediation of contaminated soil[citation needed]. They are used by jewelers, especially in India and Indonesia, to remove the tarnish from silver and other precious metals[citation needed].

Sapindus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) species including Endoclita malabaricus.

Clinacanthus nutans (Burm.f.) Lindauis

2009-08-17T01:04:00.000-07:00

Clinacanthus nutans (Burm.f.) Lindauis an often cultivated small shrub, native to tropicalAsia. Fresh leaves of C. nutans has longbeen used in Thailand by traditional doctors totreat skin rashes, insect and snake bite as well asherpes simplex virus (HSV), and varicella-zostervirus (VZV) lesions. Extracts from the leaves
were reported to possess analgesic and antiinflammatoryactivities (Satayavivad, et al.,1996), antiviral activities against varicella-zostervirus (Thawaranantha, et al., 1992) and herpes simplex virus type-2 (Jayavasu, et al., 1992a).Clinical trials in patients with genital herpes arealso reported (Jayavasu, et al., 1992b) and
(Sangkitjaporn, et al., 1995). Clinical trials haveshown the successful use of a C. nutans preparation(cream or lotion) for the relief of minor skininflammation, insect bites, treatment of genitalherpes and varicella-zoster lesions in patien(Charuwichitratana, et al., 1996), however,negative results have also been reported
(Yoosook, et al., 1999).

C. nutans has been phytochemically andchemically investigated previously for stigmasterol(Dampawan, 1976), lupeol, β-sitosterol(Dampawan, et al., 1977), belutin (Lin, et al.,1983). Six known C-glycosyl flavones, vitaxin,isovitexin, shaftoside, isomollupentin-7-O-β-glucopyranoside, orientin, isoorientin (Teshima,et al., 1997), five sulfur-containing glycosides(Teshima, et al., 1998), two glycoglycerolipids
(Satakhun, et al., 2001), a mixture of nine cerebrosideand a monoacylmonogalatosylglycerol(Tuntiwachwuttikul, et al., 2004), have
been isolated. However, only the two glycoglycerolipids have been shown to exhibit antiviralactivity.This present article deals with the preliminary study at the Medicinal Plant Research Institute, Department of Medical Science,
Ministry of Public Health on antiviral compoundsisolated from this plant using bioassay-guidedfractionation. The most antiviral active fractions
were selected for further antiviral-guidedfractionation by means of chromatographic
techniques. This led to the isolation of eight purecompounds which were identified as chlorophylla and chlorophyll b related compounds byspectroscopic methods. Chlorophyll relatedcompounds isolated from plants and marineorganisms have been shown to possess antioxidativeactivity (Sakata, et al., 1990; Watanabe,et al., 1993). Further studies on the antiviralactivity of the isolated compounds are in progress.

Catharanthus

2009-08-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

Catharanthus (Madagascar Periwinkle) is a genus of eight species of herbaceous perennial plants, seven endemic to the island of Madagascar, the eighth native to the Indian subcontinent in southern Asia.Jordan [1][2] C. roseus goes by its common name "sadaphuli" (perennially flowering) in parts of Western India.

Species
Catharanthus coriaceus Markgr. Madagascar.
Catharanthus lanceus (Bojer ex A.DC.) Pichon. Madagascar.
Catharanthus longifolius (Pichon) Pichon. Madagascar.
Catharanthus ovalis Markgr. Madagascar.
Catharanthus pusillus (Murray) G.Don. Indian subcontinent.
Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don. Madagascar.
Catharanthus scitulus (Pichon) Pichon. Madagascar.
Catharanthus trichophyllus (Baker) Pichon. Madagascar

Uses and cultivation
The species are self-propagating from seed; the seeds require a period of total darkness to germinate. Cuttings from mature plants will also root readily.

One species, C. roseus, has been widely cultivated and introduced, becoming an invasive species in some areas

Pharmacological uses

Illustration of C. roseus foliage and flowersC. roseus has gained interest from the pharmaceutical industry; the alkaloids vincristine and vinblastine from its sap have been shown to be an effective treatment for leukaemia and lymphoma. Although the sap is poisonous if ingested, some 70 useful alkaloids have been identified from it. In Madagascar, extracts have been used for hundreds of years in herbal medicine for the treatment of diabetes, as hemostatics and tranquilizers, to lower blood pressure, and as disinfectants. The extracts are not without their side effects, however, which include hair loss

Vinca alkaloids
Vinca alkaloids are anti-mitotic and anti-microtubule agents. They are now produced synthetically and used as drugs in cancer therapy[3] and as immunosuppressive drugs. These compounds are vinblastine, vincristine, vindesine and vinorelbine. Periwinkle extracts and derivatives, such as vinpocetine, are also used as nootropic drugs.[4]

Catharanthus lanceus contains up to 6% yohimbine in its leaves

Catharanthus

Sweet pea or sugar snap pea

2009-08-15T03:57:00.000-07:00

pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to the eastern Mediterranean region from Sicily east to Crete.

It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 1-2 m where suitable support is available. The leaves are pinnate with two leaflets and a terminal tendril, which twines around supporting plants and structures helping the sweet pea to climb. The flowers are purple, 2-3.5 cm broad, in the wild plant, larger and very variable in colour in the many cultivars.

Sweet peas have been cultivated since the 17th century and a vast number of cultivars are commercially available. They are often grown by gardeners for their bright colours and the sweet fragrance that gives them their name

Horticultural development
Henry Eckford (died 1906), a nurseryman of Scottish descent, cross-bred and developed the sweet pea, turning it from a rather insignificant, if sweetly scented flower, into the floral sensation of the late Victorian era.

His initial success and recognition came while serving as head gardener for the Earl of Radnor, raising new cultivars of pelargoniums and dahlias. In 1870 he went to work for one Dr Sankey of Sandywell near Gloucester. A member of the Royal Horticultural Society, he was awarded a First Class Certificate (the top award) in 1882 for introducing the sweet pea cultivar 'Bronze Prince', marking the start of association with the flower.

In 1888 he set up his development and trial fields for sweet peas in the Shropshire market town of Wem. By 1901, he had introduced a total of 115 cultivars, out of total 264 cultivars grown at the time [1]. Eckford was presented with the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal of Honour for his work. He died in 1906 but his work was continued, for a time at least, by his son John Eckford.

More lately, the association between the sweet pea, the Eckfords and Wem has been highlighted again. In the late 1980s, the Sweet Pea Society of Wem started an annual Sweet Pea show and the town has again taken the flower to its heart. Many of the street signs now carry a sweet pea motif and an area of the town is known as Eckford Park.

Toxicity
Unlike the edible pea, there is evidence that seeds of members of the genus Lathyrus, including sweet pea, are toxic if ingested in quantity. A related species, Lathyrus sativus, is grown for human consumption but when it forms a major part of the diet it causes symptoms of toxicity called lathyrism. However, as Lathyrus odoratus seeds are rarely ingested by humans in any quantity, there is little information on their toxicity to humans. However, sweet pea ingestion is thought to lead to similar symptoms, which have been called "odoratism", or "sweet pea lathyrism".

In studies of rats, animals fed a diet of 50% sweet pea seeds developed enlarged adrenals relative to control animals fed on edible peas. The main effect is thought to be on the formation of collagen. Symptoms are similar to those of scurvy and copper deficiency, which share the common feature of inhibiting proper formation of collagen fibrils. Seeds of the sweet pea contain beta-aminopropionitrile that prevents the cross-linking of collagen by inhibiting lysyl oxidase, leading to loose skin. Recent experiments have attempted to develop this chemical as a treatment to avoid disfiguring skin contractions after skin grafting

Genetics
Gregor Mendel is today recognized as the "Father of Modern Genetics" for his work with the cross breeding of pea plants (Pisum sativum) with different characteristics, and sweet pea has been used in a similar way. The sweet pea is thus a model organism being used in early experimentations in genetics, particularly by the pioneer geneticist Reginald Punnett. It is highly suitable as a genetic subject because of its ability to self-pollinate and its easily observed Mendelian traits such as colour, height and petal form. Many genetical principles were discovered or confirmed in sweet pea. It was used by Punnett in early studies of genetic linkage [5]. Complementary factor inheritance was also elucidated in sweet pea, from the cross of two pure-breeding white strains which gave rise to a blue hybrid, the blue colour requiring two genes, derived independently from the two white parents [6]. Like the blue rose, the yellow sweet pea remains elusive, and a true yellow is unlikely ever to be achieved without genetic engineering.

Caper Spinosa

2009-08-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

The caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is a perennial spiny bush that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and big white to pinkish-white flowers. A caper is also the pickled bud of this plant. The bush is native to the Mediterranean region, growing wild on walls or in rocky coastal areas throughout. The plant is best known for the edible bud and fruit (caper berry) which are usually consumed pickled. Other species of Capparis are also picked along with C. spinosa for their buds or fruits

The plant

A ripe caper fruit.Capparis spinosa is highly variable in nature in its native habitats and is found growing near the closely related species C. sicula, C. orientalis, and C. aegyptia. Scientists can use the known distributions of each species to identify the origin of commercially prepared capers.[1][2]

The shrubby plant is many-branched, with alternate leaves, thick and shiny, round to ovate in shape. The flowers are complete, sweetly fragrant, showy, with four sepals, and four white to pinkish-white petals, many long violet-colored stamens, and a single stigma usually rising well above the stamens

Cultivation
Capers can be grown easily from fresh seed, gathered from ripe fruit and planted into well drained seed-raising mix. Seedlings will appear in 2-4 weeks. Old, stored seeds enter a state of dormancy and require cold stratification in order to germinate. Cuttings from semi-hardwood shoots taken in Autumn may root, but this is not a reliable means of propagation. Caper plants prefer full sun in warm/temperate climates and should be treated much like cacti. They require regular watering in summer and very little during winter and are deciduous, though in warmer climates they may simply stop growing. Capers have a curious reaction to sudden increases in humidity - they form wart-like pock marks across the leaf surface. This appears to be harmless as the plant quickly adjusts to the new conditions and produce unaffected leaves. Seedling capers can be expected to flower from the second to third year and live for at least decades, and probably much longer.

Culinary uses

Salted capers
Pickled capers in a jarThe salted and pickled caper bud (also called caper and gabbar for Cyprus Turks) is often used as a seasoning or garnish. Capers are a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, especially Cypriot. The mature fruit of the caper shrub is also prepared similarly, and marketed as caper berries.

The buds, when ready to pick, are a dark olive green and about the size of a kernel of corn. They are picked, then pickled in salt, or a salt and vinegar solution, or drained. Intense flavor is developed, as mustard oil (glucocapparin) is released from each caper bud. This enzymatic reaction also leads to the formation of rutin often seen as crystallized white spots on the surfaces of individual caper buds.

Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine, especially in Sicilian and southern Italian cooking. They are commonly used in salads, pasta salads, pizzas, meat dishes and pasta sauces. Examples of uses in Italian cuisine are chicken piccata and salsa puttanesca.

Capers are also known for being one of the ingredients of tartar sauce. They are also often served with cold smoked salmon or cured salmon dishes (especially lox and cream cheese). Capers are also sometimes substituted for olives to garnish a martini.

Capers are categorized and sold by their size, defined as follows, with the smallest sizes being the most desirable: Non-pareil (up to 7 mm), surfines (7-8 mm), capucines (8-9 mm), capotes (9-11 mm), fines (11-13 mm), and grusas (14+ mm).

Unripe nasturtium seeds can be substituted for capers; they have a very similar texture and flavour when pickled.

If the caper bud is not picked, it flowers and produces a fruit called a caperberry. The fruit can be pickled and then served as a Greek mezze.

In addition, the Greeks make good use of the caper’s leaves, which are especially desirable and hard to find outside of Greece. They are pickled or boiled and preserved in jars with brine cf. caper buds. Caper leaves are excellent in salads and in fish dishes. Dried caper leaves are also used as a substitute for rennet in the manufacturing of high quality cheese[4]. Capers grown on the island of Santorini are reputed to be of a very high quality, presumably because of the volcanic ash subsoil.

Sacred Barnar

2009-08-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

ชื่อวิทยาศาสตร์ : Crateva adansonii DC. subsp. trifoliata (Roxb.) Jacobs

ชื่อสามัญ : Sacred Barnar, Caper Tree

วงศ์ : Capparaceae

ชื่ออื่น : ผักกุ่ม

ลักษณะทางพฤกษศาสตร์ : ไม้ต้นขนาดกลาง สูง 6-10 ม. ใบประกอบแบบนิ้วมือ มีใบย่อย 3 ใบ ก้านใบประกอบยาว 7-9 ซม. ใบย่อยรูปรีหรือรูปไข่ กว้าง 4-6 ซม. ยาว 7.5-11 ซม. ปลายแหลมหรือเรียวแหลม โคนแหลมหรือสอบแคบ ขอบเรียบ ใบย่อยที่อยู่ด้านข้างโคนใบเบี้ยว แผ่นใบค่อนข้างหนา เส้นแขนงใบข้างละ 4-5 เส้น ก้านใบย่อยยาว 4-5 มม. ช่อดอกแบบช่อกระจะ ออกตามง่ามใบใกล้ปลายยอด ก้านดอกยาว 3-7 ซม. กลีบเลี้ยงรูปรี กว้าง 2-3 มม. ยาว 4-5 มม. เมื่อแห้งมักเป็นสีส้ม กลีบดอกสีขาวอมเขียวแล้วค่อยๆ เปลี่ยนเป็นสีเหลืองหรือชมพูอ่อน รูปรี กว้าง 0.8-1.5 ซม. ยาว 1.2-1.8 ซม. โคนกลีบเป็นเส้นคล้ายก้าน ยาว 3-7 มม. เกสรเพศผู้สีม่วง มี 15-22 อัน ก้านชูอับเรณูยาวประมาณ 4 ซม. ก้านชูเกสรเพศเมียยาวประมาณ 5 ซม. รังไข่ค่อนข้างกลมหรือรี มี 1 ช่อง ผลกลม เส้นผ่านศูนย์กลาง 2-3.5 ซม. เปลือกมีจุดแต้มสีน้ำตาลอมแดง เมื่อแก่เปลือกเรียบ ก้านผลกว้าง 2-4 มม. ยาว 5-13 ซม. เมล็ดรูปคล้ายเกือกม้าหรือรูปไต กว้างประมาณ 2 มม. ยาวประมาณ 6 มม. ผิวเรียบ

สรรพคุณ :

ใบ - ขับลม ฆ่าแม่พยาธิ เช่น พวกตะมอย และทาแก้เกลื้อนกลาก

เปลือก - ร้อน ขับลม แก้นิ่ง แก้ปวดท้อง ลงท้อง คุมธาตุ

กระพี้ - ทำให้ขี้หูแห้งออกมา

แก่น - แก้ริดสีดวง ผอม เหลือง

ราก - แก้มานกษัย อันเกิดแต่กองลม

เปลือก - ใช้ทาภายนอก แก้โรคผิวหนัง

Chinese cabbage

2009-08-12T03:13:00.000-07:00

Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subspecies, see below), also known as snow cabbage, is a Chinese leaf vegetable often used in Chinese cuisine. The vegetable is related to the Western cabbage, and is of the same species as the common turnip. There are many variations on its name, spelling, and scientific classification.

History
The Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen studied the Chinese cabbage for its medicinal qualities. Before this time the Chinese cabbage was largely confined to the Yangtze River Delta region.[citation needed] The Chinese cabbage as it is known today is very similar to a variant bred in Zhejiang around the 14th century. During the following centuries, it became popular in northern China and the northern harvest soon exceeded the southern one. Northern cabbages were exported along the Grand Canal to Zhejiang and as far south as Guangdong.

They were introduced to Korea, where it became the staple vegetable for making kimchi. In the early 20th century, it was taken to Japan by returning soldiers who had fought in China during the Russo-Japanese War. At present, the Chinese cabbage is quite commonly found in markets throughout the world

Varieties

There are two distinctly different groups of Brassica rapa used as leaf vegetables in China, and a wide range of varieties within these two groups. The binomial name B. campestris is also used.

Pekinensis
This group is the more common of the two, especially outside Asia; names such as da baicai (lit. "large white vegetable"); Baguio pechay or pechay wombok (Tagalog); Chinese white cabbage; baechu (Korean), wongbok, nappa, or napa cabbage; and hakusai (Japanese: 白菜) usually refer to members of this group. Pekinensis cabbages have broad green leaves with white petioles, tightly wrapped in a cylindrical formation and usually forming a compact head. As the group name indicates, this is particularly popular in northern China around Beijing (Peking).

Chinensis
This group was originally classified as its own species under the name B. chinensis by Linnaeus. When used in English, the name bok choy (from Cantonese; also spelled pak choi) typically refers to Chinensis. Smaller in size, the Mandarin term xiao baicai ("small white vegetable") as well as the descriptive English names Chinese chard, Chinese mustard, celery mustard, and spoon cabbage are also employed. Chinensis varieties do not form heads; instead, they have smooth, dark green leaf blades forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard or celery. Chinensis varieties are popular in southern China and Southeast Asia. Being winter-hardy, they are increasingly grown in Northern Europe.

Commercial variants of Chinensis include:

Bok Choy (白菜, literally white vegetable); succulent, white stems with dark green leaves and Baby Bok Choy; succulent, pale green stems with leaves the same color; both quite common in US West Coast oriental markets.
Choy Sum (Chinese: 菜心; pinyin: càixīn; literally "vegetable heart"; Hokkien chai sim), this brassica refers to a small, delicate version of pak choi. In appearance it is more similar to rapini or broccoli rabe, than the typical pak choi. In English, it can also be called "Flowering Chinese Cabbage" due to the yellow flowers that comes with this particular vegetable. "Choy sum" is sometimes used to describe the stem of any Chinese cabbage or the heart of Shanghai pak choi.
Shanghai Pak Choi (Chinese: 上海白菜; pinyin: Shànghǎi báicài; Japanese: 青梗菜, chingensai) refers to dark green varieties where the varioles are also green. It is probably the most common vegetable in Shanghai, where it is simply called qingcai (青菜; literally "blue/green vegetable") or qingjiangcai (青江菜; literally "blue/green river vegetable").

Chinese cabbage

Basil

2009-08-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Botanical: Ocymum minumum
Family: N.O. Labiatae

Part Used---Leafy tops.

Bush Basil (Ocymum minumum) is a low, bushy plant, seldom above 6 inches in height, much smaller than Sweet Basil.
The leaves are ovate, quite entire, the white flowers in whorls towards the top of the branches, smaller than those of Sweet Basil, and seldom succeeded by ripe seeds in England.

There are two varieties, one with black-purple leaves and the other with variable leaves.

Both Bush and Garden Basil are natives of India, from whence it was introduced in 1573. Bush Basil may occasionally live through the winter in this country, though Sweet Basil never does.

Both varieties flower in July and August.

The leafy tops of Bush Basil are used in the same manner as the Sweet Basil for seasoning and in salads. t

The leaves of O. viride, a native of Western Africa, possess febrifugal properties; and at Sierra Leone, where it bears the name of 'Fever-plant,' a decoction of them, drunk as tea, is used as a remedy for the fevers so prevalent there.

The leaves of O. canum, and O. gratissimum in India, and of O. crispum in Japan, all sweet-scented varieties, are prescribed as a remedy for colds.

O. teniflorum is regarded as an aromatic stimulant in Java; and 0. guineense is much employed by the negroes as a medicine in cases of bilious fever.

These plants are all free of any deleterious secretions; for the most part they are fragrant and aromatic, and hence they have not only been used as tonics, but are also valuable as kitchen herbs.

In Persia and Malaysia Basil is planted on graves, and in Egypt women scatter the flowers on the resting-places of those belonging to them.

These observances are entirely at variance with the idea prevailing among the ancient Greeks that it represented hate and misfortune. They painted poverty as a ragged woman with a Basil at her side, and thought the plant would not grow unless railing and abuse were poured forth at the time of sowing. The Romans, in like manner, believed that the more it was abused, the better it would prosper.

The physicians of old were quite unable to agree as to its medicinal value, some declaring that it was a poison, and others a precious simple. Culpepper tells us:
'Galen and Dioscorides hold it is not fitting to be taken inwardly and Chrysippusrails at it. Pliny and the Arabians defend it. Something is the matter, this herb and rue will not grow together, no, nor near one another, and we know rue is as great an enemy to poison as any that grows.'
But it was said to cause sympathy between human beings and a tradition in Moldavia still exists that a youth will love any maiden from whose hand he accepts a sprig of this plant. In Crete it symbolizes 'love washed with tears,' and in some parts of Italy it is a love-token.

Boccaccio's story of Isabella and the Pot of Basil, immortalized by Keats, keeps the plant in our memory, though it is now rarely cultivated in this country. It was formerly grown in English herb gardens. Tusser includes it among the Strewing herbs and Drayton places it first in his poem Polyolbion.
'With Basil then I will begin
Whose scent is wondrous pleasing.'
In Tudor days, little pots of Basil were often given as graceful compliments by farmers' wives to visitors. Parkinson says:
'The ordinary Basill is in a manner wholly spent to make sweete or washing waters among other sweet herbs, yet sometimes it is put into nosegays. The Physicall properties are to procure a cheerfull and merry hearte whereunto the seeds is chiefly used in powder.'

Cultivation---Basil dies down every year in this country, so that the seeds have to be sown annually. If in a very warm sheltered spot, seeds may be sown in the open, about the last week in April, but they are a long time coming up, and it is preferable to sow in a hot bed, about the end of March, and remove to a warm border in May, planting 10 inches to a foot apart.

Basil flourishes best in a rich soil.

---Part Used Medicinally---The whole herb, both fresh and dried, gathered in July.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---Aromatic and carminative. Though generally employed in cooking as a flavouring, Basil has been occasionally used for mild nervous disorders and for the alleviation of wandering rheumatic pains- the dried leaves, in the form of snuff, are said to be a cure for nervous headaches.

An infusion of the green herb in boiling water is good for all obstructions of the internal organs, arrests vomiting and allays nausea.

The seeds have been reckoned efficacious against the poison of serpents, both taken internally and laid upon the wound. They are also said to cure warts.

In common with other labiates, Basil, both the wild and the sweet, furnishes an aromatic, volatile, camphoraceous oil, and on this account is much employed in France for flavouring soups, especially turtle soup. They also use it in ragoûts and sauces. The leafy tops are a great improvement to salads and cups.

Although it is now comparatively little used in England for culinary purposes, this herb was one of our favourite pot-herbs in older days, and gave the distinctive flavour that once made Fetter Lane sausages famous.

RECIPES
---A Recipe for Aromatic Seasoning---
'Take of nutmegs and mace one ounce each, of cloves and peppercorns two ounces of each, one ounce of dried bay-leaves, three ounces of basil, the same of marjoram, two ounces of winter savory, and three ounces of thyme, half an ounce of cayenne-pepper, the same of grated lemon-peel, and two cloves of garlic; all these ingredients must be well pulverized in a mortar and sifted through a fine wire sieve, and put away in dry corked bottles for use.' (Francatelli's Cook's Guide.)
O. Americanum. First recorded in 1789 as found in the West Indies.

The name 'Ocymum' is said by Mathiolus to be derived from the Greek word 'To smell,' because of the powerful aromatic and pungent scent characterizing most of the plants of this genus. Decoctions made from 0. Americanum are used in cases of chest trouble and dysentery; and an essential oil is also extracted from the plant.

Closely akin to the above-named is the O. gratissimum cultivated in China as a culinary herb.

O. canum is used as a tincture made from the leaves in homoeopathy

Basil

Carrot

2009-08-11T03:21:00.000-07:00

Botanical: Daucus carota (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Umbelliferae
Part Used---Whole herb.

---Habitat---A native wild plant common everywhere in the British Islands.
Both the Carrot and Parsnip are striking examples of the effect of cultivation on wild plants. The roots of the wild variety are small and woody, while those of the cultivated kind are fleshy and succulent and grow to a considerable size.

---History---The Carrot was well known to the ancients, and is mentioned by Greek and Latin writers under various names, being, however, not always distinguished from the Parsnip and Skirret, closely allied to it. The Greeks - Professor Henslow tells us - had three words: Sisaron, first occurring in the writings of Epicharmus, a comic poet (500 B.C.); Staphylinos, used by Hippocrates (430 B.C.) and Elaphoboscum, used by Dioscorides (first century A.D.), whose description of the plant applies accurately to the modern Carrot. Pliny says:
'There is one kind of wild pastinaca which grows spontaneously; by the Greeks it is known as staphylinos. Another kind is grown either from the root transplanted or else from seed, the ground being dug to a very considerable depth for the purpose. It begins to be fit for eating at the end of the year, but it is still better at the end of two; even then, however, it preserves its strong pungent flavour, which it is found impossible to get rid of.'
In speaking of the medical virtue of the first species (which is evidently the Carrot, the second variety presumably the Parsnip), he adds, 'the cultivated has the same as the wild kind, though the latter is more powerful, especially when growing in stony places.'

The name Carota for the garden Carrot is found first in the writings of Athenaeus (A.D. 200), and in a book on cookery by Apicius Czclius (A.D. 230). It was Galen (second century A.D.) who added the name Daucus to distinguish the Carrot from the Parsnip, calling it D. pastinaca, and Daucus came to be the official name in the sixteenth century, and was adopted by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century.

From the time of Dioscorides and Pliny to the present day, the Carrot has been in constant use by all nations. It was long cultivated on the Continent before it became known in this country, where it was first generally cultivated in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, being introduced by the Flemings, who took refuge here from the persecutions of Philip II of Spain, and who, finding the soil about Sandwich peculiarly favourable for it, grew it there largely. As vegetables were at that time rather scarce in England, the Carrot was warmly welcomed and became a general favourite, its cultivation spreading over the country. It is mentioned appreciatively by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor. In the reign of James I, it became the fashion for ladies to use its feathery leaves in their head-dresses. A very charming, fern-like decoration may be obtained if the thick end of a large carrot be cut off and placed in a saucer of water in a warm place, when the young and delicate leaves soon begin to sprout and form a pretty tuft of verdant green, well worth the slight trouble entailed.

Its root is small and spindle-shaped whitish, slender and hard, with a strong aromatic smell and an acrid, disagreeable taste, very different to the reddish, thick, fleshy, cultivated form, with its pleasant odour and peculiar, sweet, mucilaginous flavour. It penetrates some distance into the ground, having only a few lateral rootlets.

---Description---The stems are erect and branched, generally about 2, feet high, tough and furrowed. Both stems and leaves are more or less clothed with stout, coarse hairs. The leaves are very finely divided, the lowest leaves considerably larger than the upper; their arrangement on the stem is alternate, and all the leaves embrace the stem with the sheathing base, which is so characteristic of this group of plants, the Umbelliferae, to which the Carrot belongs. The blossoms are densely clustered together in terminal umbels, or flattened heads, in which the flower-bearing stalks of the head all arise from one point in rays, like the ribs of an umbrella, each ray again dividing in the case of the Carrot, to form a secondary umbel, or umbellule of white flowers, the outer ones of which are irregular and larger than the others. The wild Carrot is in bloom from June to August, but often continues flowering much longer. The flowers themselves are very small, but from their whiteness and number, they form a conspicuous head, nearly flat while in bloom, or slightly convex, but as the seeds ripen, the umbels contract, the outer rays, which are to begin with 1 to 2 inches long, lengthening and curving inwards, so that the head forms a hollow cup hence one of the old popular names for the plant: Bird's Nest. The fruit is slightly flattened, with numerous bristles arranged in five rows. The ring of finely-divided and leaf-like bracts at the point where the umbel springs is a noticeable feature.

The Carrot is well distinguished from other plants of the same order by having the central flower of the umbel, or sometimes a tiny umbellule, of a bright red or deep purple colour, though there is a variety, D. maritimus, frequent on many parts of the sea coast in the south of England, which differs in having somewhat fleshy leaves and in being destitute of the central purple flower. In this case, all the flowers of the head have often a somewhat pinkish tinge. There was a curious superstition that this small purple flower of the Carrot was of benefit in epilepsy.

---Parts Used Medicinally---The whole herb, collected in July; the seeds and root. The whole herb is the part now more generally in use.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---Diuretic, Stimulant, Deobstruent. An infusion of the whole herb is considered an active and valuable remedy in the treatment of dropsy, chronic kidney diseases and affections of the bladder. The infusion of tea, made from one ounce of the herb in a pint of boiling water, is taken in wineglassful doses. Carrot tea, taken night and morning, and brewed in this manner from the whole plant, is considered excellent for lithic acid or gouty disposition. A strong decoction is very useful in gravel and stone, and is good against flatulence. A fluid extract is also prepared, the dose being from 1/2 to 1 drachm.

The seeds are carminative, stimulant and very useful in flatulence, windy colic, hiccough, dysentery, chronic coughs, etc. The dose of the seeds, bruised, is from one-third to one teaspoonful, repeated as necessary. They were at one time considered a valuable remedy for calculus complaints. They are excellent in obstructions of the viscera, in jaundice (for which they were formerly considered a specific), and in the beginnings of dropsies, and are also of service as an emmenagogue. They have a slight aromatic smell and a warm, pungent taste. They communicate an agreeable flavour to malt liquor, if infused in it while in the vat, and render it a useful drink in scorbutic disorders.

Old writers tell us that a poultice made of the roots has been found to mitigate the pain of cancerous ulcers, and that the leaves, applied with honey, cleanse running sores and ulcers. An infusion of the root was also used as an aperient.

---Cultivation---The root of the Carrot consists of Bark and Wood: the bark of theGarden Carrot is the outer red layer, dark and pulpy and sweet to the taste; the wood forms the yellow core, gradually becoming hard, stringy and fibrous. The aim of cultivation, therefore, is to obtain a fleshy root, with the smallest part of wood. This depends on soil and the quality and kind of the seed.

For its successful cultivation, Carrot needs a light, warm soil, which has been well manured in the previous season. The most suitable soil is a light one inclining to sand, a somewhat sandy loam or dry, peaty land being the best, but even heavy ground, properly prepared, may be made to produce good Carrots. Formerly the cultivation of the Carrot was almost entirely confined to the light lands of Norfolk and Suffolk.

The ground should be well prepared some months in advance; heavy ground should be lightened by the addition of wood ash, road scrapings, old potting soil and similar materials. It is essential that the soil be in such a state as to allow the roots to penetrate to their full length without interruption. Previous to sowing the seed, the soil should be lightly forked over, and, if possible, be given a dressing of leaf soil or well decayed vegetable matter, but no fresh manure must be dug into the top spit of ground intended for Carrots and Parsnips, as it may cause the roots to become forked. The crops will, however, benefit by about an ounce of superphosphate to the square yard, raked in before sowing, or by a light dressing of soot.

Sowing of the main crop should be done in calm weather about the middle of March or early in April. The seeds frequently adhere to one another by means of the forked hairs which surround them. These hairs can be removed by rubbing through the hands or a fine chaff sieve. The seeds should then be mixed with about twice the bulk of dry earth, sand or sifted ashes (about one bushel of seeds to 4 or 5 lb. of sand). When the ground is thoroughly prepared and has been firmly trodden, draw flat-bottomed drills from north to south, 1/2 inch deep and 3 inches wide. Distribute the seed along the row evenly and thinly and cover lightly. Carrots can hardly be covered too lightly, 1 inch of fine soil is quite enough, and for ordinary use they may be sown in drills one foot apart, but if extra large roots are desired, more room must be given between the rows. As soon as the young plants are large enough to handle they may be thinned to 6 inches or 8 inches apart. The thinning may be at first to a distance of 3 inches, and then a final thinning later, the second thinnings being used as young Carrots for culinary purposes. Frequent dustings of soot will greatly benefit the crop. Light hoeings between the rows to keep the crop free from weeds is all that is necessary during the period of growth. Partial shade from other crops is often found beneficial.

Scarlet Immediate is the best sort for general purposes.

Main-crop Carrots are generally taken up about the last week in October, or early in November, by three-pronged forks, and stored in sand in a dry place, where they can be kept till the following March or April Some of the roots dug in the autumn can be replanted in February, about 2 feet apart, with the crown or head a few inches below the surface. Leaves and flowers will spring from them, and the seeds produced will ripen in the autumn.

By making successional sowings, good crops of small roots will be always available. In gardens, Carrots are grown in succession of crops from the latter part of February to the beginning of August. For early Carrots sow on a warm border in February: such a sowing, if made as soon as the state of ground allows, will assure early Carrots just when fresh and quickly-grown vegetables are most highly prized. They will be off in time to leave the ground ready for other crops.

After a good dressing of soot has been given, Carrots may be sown again, and even then it leaves the room vacant for winter greens or cabbage for use next spring. Sowing as late as July is generally successful in most districts. Main crops are often sown too early, especially on cold soils. Carrots are liable to attacks of grubs and insects, the upper part of the root being also attacked by the grub of a kind of fly, the best remedy being late sowing, to avoid the period at which these insects are evolved from the egg. Dusting with ashes and a little soot or lime wards off both birds and slugs from the young tender growths.

Carrots are a valuable product for the farmer in feeding his cattle, and for this purpose are raised in large quantities. The produce of an acre of Carrots in Suffolk is on an average 350 bushels per acre, but sometimes much more. In the Channel Islands and Brittany, much larger crops of Carrots and Parsnips are obtained than are yielded in England, the soil being deeply trenched by a spade or specially-constructed plough. Far more Carrots are grown in France, Germany and Belgium for fodder than here. Horses are remarkably fond of Carrots, and when mixed with oats, Carrots form a very good food for them; with a small quantity of oats or other corn, a horse may be supported on from 20 to 30 lb. of Carrots daily. In Suffolk, Carrots were formerly given as a specific for preserving and restoring the wind of horses, but they are not considered good for cattle if fed too long on them. They may also with advantage be given both to pigs and poultry, and rabbits are especially fond of them. The kinds grown for farm purposes are generally larger than those in the kitchen garden and are known as Red Carrots, the more delicate Orange Carrot being the variety used in cooking. Some farmers sow the seeds on the top of the drills, which is said to be an improvement over the gardener, who makes his Carrot-bed on the flat in the ordinary way. This ridge system gives good results the Carrots being clean and well-shaped and free from grubs. The farmers reckon about 2 lb. of seed for an acre for drills, and 5 or 6 lb. if sown broadcast. For ordinary garden purposes, one ounce of seed is reckoned to be sufficient for about 600 feet sown in drills.

---Chemical Constituents---The juice of the Carrot when expressed contains crystallizable and uncrystallizable sugar, a little starch, extractine gluten, albumen, volatile oil (on which the medicinal properties of the root depend and which is fragrant, aromatic and stimulating), vegetable jelly or pectin, saline matter, malic acid and a peculiar crystallizable, ruby-red neutral principle, without odour or taste, called Carotin.

Carrots contain no less than 89 per cent of water; their most distinguishing dietical substance is sugar, of which they contain about 4.5 per cent.

Owing to the large percentage of carbohydrate material contained by Carrots, rabbits fed for some days on Carrots alone, are found to have an increased amount of glycogen stored in the liver, carbohydrate being converted into glycogen in the body.

Sir Humphry Davy ascertained the nutritive matter of Carrots to amount to 98 parts in 1,000, of which 95 are sugar, and three are starch. Weight for weight, they stand third in nourishing value on the list of roots and tubers, potatoes and parsnips taking first and second places. Carrots containing less water and more nourlshing material than green vegetables, have higher nutritive qualities than turnips, swedes, cabbage, sprouts, cauliflower, onions and leeks. Moreover, the fair proportion of sugar contained in their composition adds to their nourishing value.

In the interesting collection of the Food Collection at Bethnal Green Museum, prepared by Dr. Lankester, we learn that the maximum amount of work produceable by a pound of Carrots is that it will enable a man to raise 64 tons one foot high, so that it would appear to be a very efficient forceproducer. From 1 lb. of Carrots we can obtain 1 OZ. and 11 grains of sugar, while out of the 16 oz. fourteen are water. When we consider that in an average man of 11 stone or 154 lb. weight, about 111 of these are water, we see what a large supply is needful to repair waste and wear and tear.

---Medicinal and General Uses---The chief virtues of the Carrot lie in the strong antiseptic qualities they possess, which prevent all putrescent changes within the body.

Carrots were formerly of some medicinal repute as a laxative, vermifuge, poultice, etc., and the seeds have been employed as a substitute for caraways.

At Vichy, where derangements of the liver are specially treated, Carrots in one form or the other are served at every meal whether in soup or as vegetables, and considerable efficacy of cure is attributed to them.

In country districts, raw Carrots are still sometimes given to children for expelling worms, and the boiled roots, mashed to a pulp, are sometimes used as a cataplasm for application to ulcers and cancerous sores.

Carrot sugar, got from the inspissated juice of the roots, may be used at table, and is good for the coughs of consumptive children.

A good British wine may be brewed from the root of the Carrot, and a very tolerable bread prepared from the roots, dried and powdered. The pectic acid contained can be extracted from the root and solidifies into a wholesome, appetizing jelly.

In Germany, a substitute and adulteration for coffee has been made of Carrots chopped into small pieces, partially carbonized by roasting and then ground.

In France and Germany a spirit is distilled from the Carrot, which yields more spirit than the potato. The refuse after making the spirit is good for feeding pigs.

Attempts have also been made to extract sugar from Carrots, but the resulting thick syrup refuses to crystallize, and in competition with either cane sugar or that obtained from the beetroot, it has not proved commercially successful.

Carrots are also used in winter and spring in the dairy, to give colour and flavour to butter, and a dye similar to woad has been obtained from the leaves.

RECIPES
---Carrot Jam---
Wash and grate some carrots; boil until reduced to a thick pulp. To 1 Ib. of this pulp add 9 oz. sugar, the juice and grated rind of 2 lemons, and 3 oz. margarine. Boil the mixture well for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The result is a useful and inexpensive jam, which can be made for 6d. to 8d. a lb. (according to the price of the lemons), if all materials have to be bought, and for considerably less by those who have home-grown carrots available.
---Preserved Young Carrots---
Turn the carrots in their own shape, and as you do so, them turn into hot water; when all are ready, put them in a stewpan with water enough to cover them; add fresh butter in the proportion of an ounce to the pound of carrots, and salt to season; boil the carrots in this till half done, and then arrange them neatly in tin boxes; fill up with their own liquor, solder down, boil for hour, and put them away in the cool.

Eucalyptus

2009-08-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Botanical: Eucalyptus globulus (LABILLE.)
Family: N.O. Myrtaceae

---Synonyms---Blue Gum Tree. Stringy Bark Tree.
---Part Used---The oil of the leaves.
---Habitat---Australia. Now North and South Africa, India, and Southern Europe.
The tree is indigenous with a few exceptions to Australia and Tasmania. The genus contains about 300 species and is one of the most characteristic genera of the Australian flora.

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---Description---The leaves are leathery in texture, hang obliquely or vertically, and are studded with glands containing a fragrant volatile oil. The flowers in bud are covered with a cup-like membrane (whence the name of the genus, derived from the Greek eucalyptos well-covered), which is thrown off as a lid when the flower expands. The fruit is surrounded by a woody, cupshaped receptacle and contains numerous minute seeds.
Eucalyptus trees are quick growers and many species reach a great height. Eucalyptus amygdalin (Labille ) is the tallest known tree, specimens attaining as much as 480 feet, exceeding in height even the Californian Big Tree (Sequoia gigantea). Many species yield valuable timber, others oils, kino, etc.

There are a great number of species of Eucalyptus trees yielding essential oils, the foliage of some being more odorous than that of others, and the oils from the various species differing widely in character. It necessarily follows that the term Eucalyptus oil is meaningless from a scientific point of view unless the species from which it is derived is stated.

The Eucalyptus industry is becoming of economic importance to Australia, especially in New South Wales and Victoria. Many of the old species which give the oil of commerce have given way to other species which have been found to gave larger yields or better oils. About twenty-five species are at the present time being utilized for their oil.

The oils may be roughly divided into three classes of commercial importance: (1) the medicinal oils, which contain substantial amounts of eucalyptol (also known as cineol); (2) the industrial oils, containing terpenes, which are used for flotation purposes in mining operations; (3) the aromatic oils, such as E. citriodora, which are characterized by their aroma.

The British Pharmacopoeia describes Eucalyptus Oil as the oil distilled from the fresh leaves of E. globulus and other species.

E. globulus, the best-known variety (its name bestowed, it is said, by the French botanist De Labillardière, on account of the resemblance of its waxy fruit to a kind of button at that time worn in France), is the Blue Gum Tree of Victoria and Tasmania, where it attains a height of 375 feet, ranking as one of the largest trees in the world. It is also called the Fever Tree, being largely cultivated in unhealthy, low-lying or swampy districts for its antiseptic qualities.

The first leaves are broad, without stalks, of a shining whitish-green and are opposite and horizontal, but after four or five years these are succeeded by others of a more ensiform or sword-shaped form, 6 to 12 inches long, bluish-green in hue, which are alternate and vertical, i.e. with the edges turned towards the sky and earth, an arrangement more suited to the climate and productive of peculiar effects of light and shade. The flowers are single or in clusters, almost stalkless.

The Eucalyptus, especially E. globulus, has been successfully introduced into the south of Europe, Algeria, Egypt, Tahiti, South Africa and India, and has been extensively planted in California and also, with the object of lessening liability to droughts, along the line of the Central Pacific Railway.

It thrives in any situation, having a mean annual temperature not below 60 degrees F., but will not endure a temperature of less than 27 degrees F., and although many species of Eucalyptus will flourish out-of-doors in the south of England, they are generally grown, in this country, in pots as greenhouse plants.

It was Baron Ferdinand von Müller, the German botanist and explorer (from 1857 to 1873 Director of the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne), who made the qualities of this Eucalyptus known all over the world, and so led to its introduction into Europe, North and South Africa, California and the non-tropical districts of South America. He was the first to suggest that the perfume of the leaves resembling that of Cajaput oil, might be of use as a disinfectant in fever districts, a suggestion which has been justified by the results of the careful examination to which the Eucalyptus has been subjected since its employment in medicine. Some seeds, having been sent to France in 1857, were planted in Algiers and thrived exceedingly well. Trottoir, the botanical superintendent, found that the value of the fragrant antiseptic exhalations of the leaves in fever or marshy districts was far exceeded by the amazingly powerful drying action of the roots on the soil. Five years after planting the Eucalyptus, one of the most marshy and unhealthy districts of Algiers was converted into one of the healthiest and driest. As a result, the rapidly growing Eucalyptus trees are now largely cultivated in many temperate regions with the view of preventing malarial fevers. A noteworthy instance of this is the monastery of St. Paolo à la tre Fontana, situated in one of the most fever-stricken districts of the Roman Campagna. Since about 1870, when the tree was planted in its cloisters, it has become habitable throughout the year. To the remarkable drainage afforded by its roots is also ascribed the gradual disappearance of mosquitoes in the neighbourhood of plantations of this tree, as at Lake Fezara in Algeria.

In Sicily, also, it is being extensively planted to combat malaria, on account of its property of absorbing large quantities of water from the soil. Recent investigations have shown that Sicilian Eucalyptus oil obtained from leaves during the flowering period can compete favourably with the Australian oil in regard to its industrial and therapeutic applications. Oil has also been distilled in Spain from the leaves of E. globulus, grown there.

In India, considerable plantations of E. globulus were made in 1863 in the Nilgiris at Ootacamund, but though a certain amount of oil is distilled there locally, under simple conditions, little attempt has hitherto been made to develop the industry on a commercial scale, Australia remaining the source of supply.

A great increase in Euealyptus cultivation has recently taken place in Brazil as a result of a decree published in 1919 awarding premiums and free grants of land to planters of Eucalyptus and other trees of recognized value for essence cultivation.

---Constituents---The essential Oil of Eucalyptus used in medicine is obtained by aqueous distillation of the fresh leaves. It is a colourless or straw-coloured fluid when properly prepared, with a characteristic odour and taste, soluble in its own weight of alcohol. The most important constituent is Eucalyptol, present in E. globulus up to 70 per cent of its volume. It consists chiefly of a terpene and a cymene. Eucalyptus Oil contains also, after exposure to the air, a crystallizable resin, derived from Eucalyptol.

The British Pharmacopoeia requires Eucalyptus Oil to contain not less than 55 per cent, by volume, of Eucalyptol, to have a specific gravity 0.910 to 0.930 and optical rotation -10 degrees to 10 degrees. The official method for the determination of the Eucalptol depends on the conversion of this body into a crystalline phosphate, but numerous other methods have been suggested (see Parry, Essential Oils,

A small amount of medicinal oil is still distilled from E. globulus, but Its odour is less agreeable than those of many others. Today, E. polybractea (Silver Malee Scrub which is cultivated and the oil distilled near Bendigo in Victoria), containing 85 per cent of Eucalyptol, and E. Smithii (Gully Ash) are favourites for distillation. Among others frequently employed, E. Australiana yields a valuable medicinal oil and also E. Bakeri, a large shrub or pendulous willow-like tree, about 30 to 50 feet high, with very narrow leaves, found from northern New South Wales to central Queensland, known locally as the 'Malee Box.' The oil from this species is of a bright reddish-yellow and contains 70 to 77 per cent of Eucalyptol and other aromatic substances identical with those found in E. polybractea.

The oil used for flotation purposes in the extraction of ores is known as that of E. amygdalina, and is probably derived from this tree as well as from E. dives. It is an oil containing little Eucalyptol and having a specific gravity from 0.866 to 0.885, and an optical rotation -59 to -75 degrees, its chief constituent is phellandrene, which forms a crystalline nitrate and is very irritating when inhaled. There is a considerable demand in New South Wales for the cheap phellandrene Eucalyptus oils for use in the mining industry in the separation of metallic sulphides from ores.

Of the perfume-bearing oils, that of E. citriodora, the CITRON-SCENTED GUM, whose leaves emit a delightful lemon scent, contains up to 98 per cent of citronellol and is much used in perfumery, fetching four times as much as the medicinal oils. E. Macarthurii ('Paddy River Box') contains up to 75 per cent of geranyl acetate, and as a source of geraniol this tree would probably repay cultivation: it is now receiving special attention in Australia, as it is a very rapid grower. E. odorata yields also an odorous oil used by soapmakers in Australia. E. Staigeriana, the Lemon-scented Iron Bark, has also a very pleasing scent, and the fragrance of the leaves of E. Sturtiana is similar to that of ripe apples.

There are a number of Eucalypts which contain a ketone known as piperitone, such as E. piperita. This body can be used in the synthesis of menthol, but it remains to be seen whether the process can be made a commercial success. E. dives (Peppermint Gum) and E. radiata (White Top Peppermint) yield oils with a strong peppermint flavour.

Details of an enormous number of the oils of Eucalyptus can be found in A Research on the Eucalypts, by Baker and Smith.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---Stimulant, antiseptic, aromatic.

The medicinal Eucalyptus Oil is probably the most powerful antiseptic of its class, especially when it is old, as ozone is formed in it on exposure to the air. It has decided disinfectant action, destroying the lower forms of life. Internally, it has the typical actions of a volatile oil in a marked degree.

Eucalyptus Oil is used as a stimulant and antiseptic gargle. Locally applied, it impairs sensibility. It increases cardiac action.

Its antiseptic properties confer some antimalarial action, though it cannot take the place of Cinchona.

An emulsion made by shaking up equal parts of the oil and powdered gum-arabic with water has been used as a urethral injection, and has also been given internally in drachm doses in pulmonary tuberculosis and other microbic diseases of the lungs and bronchitis.

In croup and spasmodic throat troubles, the oil may be freely applied externally.

The oil is an ingredient of 'catheder oil,' used for sterilizing and lubricating urethral catheters.

In large doses, it acts as an irritant to the kidneys, by which it is largely excreted, and as a marked nervous depressant ultimately arresting respiration by its action on the medullary centre.

For some years Eucalyptus-chloroform was employed as one of the remedies in the tropics for hookworm, but it has now been almost universally abandoned as an inefficient anthelmintic, Chenopodium Oil having become the recognized remedy.

In veterinary practice, Eucalyptus Oil is administered to horses in influenza, to dogs in distemper, to all animals in septicaemia. It is also used for parasitic skin affections.

---Preparations---The dose of the oil is 1/2 to 3 minims. Eucalyptol may be given in similar doses and is preferable for purposes of inhalation, for asthma, diphtheria, sore throat, etc.

As a local application for ulcers and sores, 1 OZ. of the oil is added to 1 pint of lukewarm water. For local injections, 1/2 OZ. to the pint is taken.

The Fluid Extract is used internally, the dose 1/2 to 1 drachm, in scarlet fever, typhoid and intermittent fever.

Eucalyptol, U.S.P.: dose, 5 drops. Ointment, B.P.

---Other Species---
EUCALYPTUS GUM or KINO
E. nostrata and some other species ofEucalyptus yield Eucalyptus or Red Gum, a ruby-coloured exudation from the bark (to be distinguished from Botany Bay Kino).

Red Gum is a very powerful astringent and is given internally in doses of 2 to 5 grains in cases of diarrhoea and pharyngeal inflammations. It is prepared in the form of tinctures, syrups, lozenges, etc.

Red Gum is official in Great Britain, being imported from Australia, though the Kino generally employed here as the official drug is derived from Pterocarpus Marsupium, a member of the order Leguminosae, East Indian, or Malabar Kino, and is administered in doses of 5 to 20 grains powdered, or 1/2 to 1 drachm of the tincture.

In veterinary practice, Red Gum is occasionally prescribed for diarrhoea in dogs and is used for superficial wounds.

E. globulus, E. resinifera and other species yield what is known as Botany Bay Kino, an astringent, dark-reddish, amorphous resin, which is obtained in a semi-fluid state by making incisions in the trunk of the tree and is used for similar purposes

J. H. Maiden (Useful Native Plants of Australia, 1889) enumerates more than thirty species as Kino-yielding.

MANNA
From the leaves and young bark of E. mannifera, E. viminalis, E. Gunnii, var. rubida, E. pulverulenta, etc., a hard, opaque sweet substance is procured, containing melitose. The Lerp Manna of Australia is, however, of animal origin. See KINOS.

---TWO EUCALYPTUS OINTMENTS---
Compound Resin Ointment, B.P.C. Resin 20; Oil of Eucalyptus by weight, 15; Hard paraffin, 10; Soft paraffin, 55.

Eucalyptus Ointment (Benn's Botanic Doctor's Adviser). Elder Oil, 12 OZ.; White Wax, 2 OZ.; Spermaceti, 1 1/2 oz.; Eucalyptus Oil, 2 drachms; Wintergreen Oil, 20 drops.

A good ointment for the skin, containing antiseptic and healing properties. It produces very satisfactory results in scurf, chapped hands, chafes, dandruff, tender feet, enlargements of the glands, spots on the chest, arms, back and legs, pains in the joints and muscles.

Apply a piece of clean cotton or lint to wounds after all dirt is washed away. For aches and pains rub the part affected well and then cover with lint. Repeat two or three times, taking a blood-purifying mixture at the same time.

Cassumunar ginger

2009-08-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

Generalities Cassumunar ginger
The Cassumunar ginger develops like a perennial herb. This plant in the summer assumes a pinkwhite colouring; it is large in size and can reach 3 m high. It keeps its leaves in the winter. The development of the The Cassumunar ginger is

Fertilization Cassumunar ginger
In the spring let’s use a fertilizer every 15-20 days, melting it in the water which we use to irrigate; we can choose a fertilizer for flowering plants or green plants, rich with nitrogen and potassium to favour a balanced development of the new vegetation. Otherwise we can, if we want to, use a slow release fertilizer, to add to the soil, every 3-4 months.

Watering Cassumunar ginger
To avoid that a scarce drainage could favour the development of fungal diseases, let's remember to avoid leaving water in the saucer. We suggest watering these plants only from time to time, but we must remember to wet the soil deeply using 2-3 glasses of water every 1-2 weeks .

Treatments Cassumunar ginger
The spring weather, with a high temperature swing between the day and night hours, and pretty frequent rains, can favour the development of fungus diseases, which should be treated pre-emptively with a systemic fungicide, to use before the gems grow excessively; at the end of the winter we also suggest a wide range insecticide to prevent the attack of aphids and cochineals. We should always remember to do these treatments when there aren't flowerings in the garden.

Soil Cassumunar ginger
These apartment plants favour very well drained soils.

Guava

2009-08-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) genus Psidium, which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. Native to Mexico and Central America, northern South America. Most likely naturally spreading (by means of ocean drifting) to parts of the Caribbean and some parts of North Africa, guavas are now cultivated and naturalized throughout the tropics, and due to growing demand they are also grown in some subtropical regions.

Facts on the fruit

The most frequently-encountered species, and the one often simply referred to as "the guava", is the Apple Guava (Psidium guajava).

Guavas are typical Myrtoideae, with tough dark leaves that are opposite, simple, elliptic to ovate and 5-15 cm long. The flowers are white, with five petals and numerous stamens.

The genera Accara and Feijoa (= Acca, Pineapple Guava) were formerly included in Psidium.

Common names
The term "guava" appears to derive from Arawak guayabo "guava tree", via the Spanish guayaba. It has been adapted in many European languages: guava (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, also Greek Γκουάβα and Russian Гуава), Guave (Dutch and German), goyave (French), gujawa (Polish), goiaba (Portuguese).

Outside of Europe, the Arabic jwafa,the Punjabi "amrood", the Japanese guaba (グアバ),Bengali "piyara/peyara", the Tamil koiyaa, the Tongan kuava and probably also the Tagalog bayabas are ultimately derived from the Arawak term.

Another term for guavas is pera or variants thereof. It is common around the western Indian Ocean and probably derives from Portuguese, which means "pear", or from some language of southern India, though it is so widespread in the region that its origin cannot be clearly discerned anymore. Pera itself is used in Malayalam, Sinhala and Swahili. In Marathi it is peru, in Bengali pearah, and in Dhivehi feyru.

In northern India and Southeast Asia, there are some other names for guavas which have a more limited use. These include jaam (used in Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu). Jaama is used in Telugu, jaamba (in addition to peru) in Marathi, jambu or jambu batu in Indonesian and Malay, and jhamruk or jaamfal in Gujarati. Note that jambu or jumbu may also refer to Syzygium fruit (rose apples or water apples).

The more widespread name for guavas in Northern India is amrood (used in Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu as an alternative to jaam), bihi (used in some Central Indian dialects of Hindi), da-bike (Khmer), ổi (Vietnamese, pa̍t-á (Min Nan), peguulli (Oriya), pha-rang (Thai) and seebe kayi (Kannada). In Assam (India), it is known as "Modhuri Aam" in Assamese & the fruit is very popular.

Additional terms for guavas from their native range are, for example, sawintu (Quechua) and xālxocotl (Nāhuatl)

Ecology and uses

Apple Guava (Psidium guajaba) flowerPsidium species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, mainly moths like the Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello), Eupseudosoma aberrans, Snowy Eupseudosoma (E. involutum) and Hypercompe icasia. Mites like Pronematus pruni and Tydeus munsteri are known to parasitize the Apple Guava (P. guabaya) and perhaps other species. The bacterium Erwinia psidii causes rot diseases of the Apple Guava.

The fruit are not only relished by humans, but by many mammals and birds as well. The spread of introduced guavas owes much to this fact, as animals will eat the fruit and disperse the seeds in their droppings.

In several tropical regions, including Hawaii, some species (namely Strawberry guava, P. littorale) have become invasive species. On the other hand, several species have become very rare due to habitat destruction and at least one (Jamaican Guava, P. dumetorum), is already extinct.

Guava wood is used for meat smoking in Hawaiʻi and is being used at barbecue competitions across the United States. In Cuba the leaves are also used in barbecues, providing a nice smoked flavor and scent to the meat.

Cultivation for fruit
Guavas are cultivated in many tropical and subtropical countries for their edible fruit. Several species are grown commercially; Apple Guava (P. guajava) and its cultivars are those most commonly traded internationally.

Mature trees of most species are fairly cold-hardy and can survive as low as 5 °C (41 °F) for short periods of time, but younger plants will not survive. They are known to survive in Northern Pakistan where they can get down to 5°C or lower during the night. Guavas are also of interest to home growers in temperate areas, being one of the very few tropical fruits that can be grown to fruiting size in pots indoors.

Culinary uses

Ripe apple guavas for saleGuava fruit, usually 4 to 12 cm long, are round or oval depending on the species. The outer skin may be rough, often with a bitter taste, or soft and sweet. Varying between species, the skin can be any thickness, is usually green before maturity, but becomes yellow, maroon, or green when ripe. Guava fruit generally have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less sharp. Guava pulp may be sweet or sour, off-white to deep pink, with the seeds in the central pulp of variable number and hardness, again depending on species.

Guavas in Larkana, PakistanThe fruit is also often prepared as a dessert. In Asia, fresh raw guava is often dipped in preserved prune powder or salt. Because of the skin's high level of pectin, boiled guava is also extensively used to make candies, preserves, jellies, jams, marmalades (goiabada), and also for juices and aguas frescas. Guava juice is very popular in Cuba, Puerto Rico,Colombia, Egypt,Mexico and South Africa. Red guavas can be used as the base of salted products such as sauces, constituting a substitute for tomatoes, especially for those sensitive to the latter's acidity. In Asia, a tea is made from guava fruits and leaves.

Nutritional value
Guavas are often marketed as "superfruits", being rich in vitamins A and C, and if the seeds are eaten too, omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and especially high levels of dietary fiber. A single Apple Guava (P. guajava) fruit contains over four times the amount of vitamin C as a single orange (over 200 mg per 100 g serving) and also has good levels of the dietary minerals, potassium, magnesium, and generally a broad, low-calorie profile of essential nutrients.

However, nutritional value is greatly dependent on species, the Strawberry Guava (P. littorale var. cattleianum) notably containing only 30–40 mg of vitamin C per 100g serving, practically a tenth of the vitamin C found in more common varieties. Vitamin C content in the Strawberry Guava is still a high percentage (62%) of the Dietary Reference Intake however.

'Thai Maroon' guavas, a red Apple Guava cultivar extremely rich in antioxidants
Green apple guavas are less rich in antioxidantsGuavas contain both carotenoids and polyphenols – the major classes of antioxidant pigments –, giving them relatively high dietary antioxidant value among plant foods. As these pigments produce the fruits' color, guavas that are red or orange in color have more potential value as antioxidants sources than yelllowish-green ones

Medical uses
Since the 1950s, guavas – particularly the leaves – have been a subject for diverse research in chemical identity of their constituents, pharmacological properties and history in folk medicine[5]; most research has been restricted to the Apple Guava (P. guajava) however, and any additional beneficial properties of other species remain essentially unstudied. From preliminary medical research in laboratory models, extracts from Apple Guava leaves or bark are implicated in therapeutic mechanisms against cancer, bacterial infections, inflammation and pain[6]. Essential oils from guava leaves have shown strong anti-cancer activity in vitro[7].

Guava leaves are used in folk medicine as a remedy for diarrhea[8] and, as well as the bark, for their supposed antimicrobial properties and as an astringent. Guava leaves or bark are used in traditional treatments against diabetes[

Santol (fruit)

2009-08-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

The santol (also: wild mangosteen, sandorica) (Sandoricum koetjape, syn. S. indicum and S. nervosum) is a tropical fruit grown in southeast Asia.

Origin and distribution
The Santol is believed native to former Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia, and to have been introduced into India, Borneo, Indonesia, the Moluccas, Mauritius, and the Philippines where it has become naturalized. It is commonly cultivated throughout these regions and the fruits are seasonally abundant in the local markets

Botanical description
There are two varieties of santol fruit, previously considered two different species, the yellow variety and the red. Both types have a skin that may be a thin peel to a thicker rind. It is edible and contains a milky juice. The pulp may be sweet or sour and contains inedible brown seeds.

Harvesting. (Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines). Photo by Bisaya Ka'day
Gathering plucked ripe fruits at the foot of the tree. (Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines). Photo by Bisaya BabyThe fruit grows on a fast-growing tree that may reach 150 feet in height. It bears ribbed leaves and pink or yellow-green flowers about 1 centimeter long.

Uses
The ripe fruits are harvested by climbing the tree and plucking by hand, alternatively a long stick with a forked end may be used to twist the fruits off. It is eaten raw and plain or with spices added. It is also cooked and candied or made into marmalade. Santol seeds are inedible and may cause complications such as intestinal perforation if swallowed.

The wood of the tree is useful for construction, being plentiful and usually easy to work and polish. It makes a good shade tree. The leaves and bark have been used medicinally as a poultice. Several parts of the plant may have anti-inflammatory effects,and some chemical extracts from santol stems have shown anti-cancer properties in vitro.Extracts from santol seeds have insecticidal properties.

Cultivation
It is a tree of humid tropical regions and it grows from sea level of elevation to a height of 3,000 feet above sea level. It grows better in deep and organic grounds, and with great distribution of rainfall throughout the year. Although, it tolerates long periods of dry season. The distance of planting from each other is 20 to 25 feet. It requires fertilization two times a year so it can grow better.Normally, seed trees produce fruit after 5 or 7 years of age, while this on produces in 3 or 4. The santol is a very productive tree. A mature tree can produce between 18,000 and 24,000 fruits per year. In Puerto Rico it produces in the months of August and September

Wheatgrass

2009-08-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Wheatgrass refers to the young grass of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum, that is freshly juiced or dried into powder for animal and human consumption. Both provide chlorophyll, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. Claims about wheatgrass' health benefits range from providing supplemental nutrition to having unique curative properties. Some consumers grow and juice wheatgrass in their homes. It is often available in juice bars, alone or in mixed fruit and/or vegetable drinks. It is also available in many health food stores as fresh produce, tablets, frozen juice and powder

History
The consumption of wheatgrass in the Western world began in the 1930s as a result of experiments by Charles F. Schnabel and his attempts to popularize the plant.

Schnabel, an agricultural chemist, conducted his first experiments with young grasses in 1930, when he used fresh cut grass in an attempt to nurse dying hens back to health. The hens not only recovered, but they produced eggs at a higher rate than healthy hens. Encouraged by his results, he began drying and powdering grass for his family and neighbors to supplement their diets. The following year, Schnabel reproduced his experiment and achieved the same results. Hens consuming rations supplemented with grass doubled their egg production. Schnabel started promoting his discovery to feed mills, chemists and the food industry. Two large corporations, Quaker Oats and American Dairies Inc., invested millions of dollars in further research, development and production of products for animals and humans. By 1940, cans of Schnabel's powdered grass were on sale in major drug stores throughout the United States and Canada

Cultivation

Outdoor grown wheat grass grows slowly through the winter in a climate like that of Kansas in the United States.Schnabel's research was conducted with wheatgrass grown outdoors in Kansas. His wheatgrass required 200 days of slow growth, through the winter and early spring, when it was harvested at the jointing or reproductive stage. It was at this stage that the plant reached its peak nutritional potential; after jointing, concentrations of chlorophyll, protein, and vitamin decline sharply. Harvested grass was dehydrated and made into powders and tablets for human and animal consumption. Wheatgrass grown indoors in trays for ten days contains similar nutritional content. Wheatgrass grown outdoors is harvested, dehydrated at a low temperature and sold in tablet and powdered forms. Wheat grass juice powder (fresh squeezed with the water removed) is also available either spray-dried or freeze-dried.

Usage
The average dosage taken by consumers of wheatgrass is 3.5 grams (powder or tablets). Some also have a fresh-squeezed 30 ml shot once daily or for more therapeutic benefits a higher dose up to 2–4 oz taken 1-3 times per day on an empty stomach and before meals. For detoxification, some users may increase their intake to 3–4 times per day. It should be noted that consumers with a poor diet may experience nausea on high dosages of wheatgrass. Outdoor wheatgrass is harvested for a few days each year from plants grown in the "bread basket" regions of the US and Canada. Winter wheat requires more than 200 days of slow growth in cold temperatures to reach the peak nutritional content. Even after that length of time, the plant is only 7 to 10 inches high

Wheatgrass vs. common vegetables
Wheatgrass proponent Schnabel claimed in the 1940's that "fifteen pounds of wheatgrass is equal in overall nutritional value to 350 pounds of ordinary garden vegetables",a ratio of 1:23. Despite claims of vitamin and mineral content disproportional to other vegetables, the nutrient content of wheatgrass juice is roughly equivalent to that of fresh vegetables.

Wheatgrass is thought to be superior to other vegetables is in its content of Vitamin B12, a vital nutrient, though the vitamin is not contained within wheatgrass but is a byproduct of the microorganisms living on it.

Detoxification
Another common claim for wheatgrass is that it promotes detoxification. The limited data in support of that claim applies to most green vegetables.

Chlorophyll
As the chlorophyll molecule is structurally similar to hemoglobin, it has been argued that wheatgrass helps blood flow, digestion and general detoxification of the body. These claims have not been substantiated. However, some research exists that relates diets high in chlorophyll, present in higher concentrations in green leafy vegetables, with lower rates of colon cancer

Euphorbia

2009-08-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Euphorbia is a genus of plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. Consisting of about 2160 species, Euphorbia is one of the most diverse genera in the plant kingdom. Members of the family and genus are sometimes referred to as Spurges. The genus is primarily found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and the Americas, but also in temperate zones worldwide. Succulent species originate mostly from Africa, the Americas and Madagascar. There exists a wide range of insular species: on the Hawaiian Islands where spurges are collectively known as "akoko", and on the Canary Islands as

The common name "spurge" derives from the Middle English/Old French espurge ("to purge"), due to the use of the plant's sap as a purgative.

The botanical name Euphorbia derives from Euphorbus, the Greek physician of king Juba II of Numidia (52-50 BC - 23 AD). He is reported to have used a certain plant, possibly Resin Spurge (E. resinifera), as a herbal remedy when the king suffered from a swollen belly[verification needed]. Carolus Linnaeus assigned the name Euphorbia to the entire genus in the physician's honor.

Juba II himself was a noted patron of the arts and sciences and sponsored several expeditions and biological research. He also was a notable author, writing several scholarly and popular scientific works such as treatises on natural history or a best-selling traveller's guide to Arabia. Euphorbia regisjubae (King Juba's Euphorbia) was named to honor the king's contributions to natural history and his role in bringing the genus to notice.

Description
The plants are annual or perennial herbs, woody shrubs or trees with a caustic, poisonous milky sap (latex). The roots are fine or thick and fleshy or tuberous. Many species are more or less succulent, thorny or unarmed. The main stem and mostly also the side arms of the succulent species are thick and fleshy, 15-91 cm (6-36 inches) tall. The deciduous leaves are opposite, alternate or in whorls. In succulent species the leaves are mostly small and short-lived. The stipules are mostly small, partly transformed into spines or glands, or missing.

Like all members of the family Euphorbiaceae, all spurges have unisexual flowers. In Euphorbia these are greatly reduced and grouped into pseudanthia called cyathia. The majority of species are monoecious (bearing male and female flowers on the same plant), although some are dioecious with male and female flowers occurring on different plants. It is not unusual for the central cyathia of a cyme to be purely male, and for lateral cyathia to carry both sexes. Sometimes young plants or those growing under unfavourable conditions are male only, and only produce female flowers in the cyathia with maturity or as growing conditions improve. The bracts are often leaf-like, sometimes brightly coloured and attractive, sometimes reduced to tiny scales. The fruits are three (rarely two) compartment capsules, sometimes fleshy but almost always ripening to a woody container that then splits open (explosively, see explosive dehiscence). The seeds are 4-angled, oval or spherical, and in some species have a caruncle

Xerophytes and succulents
In the genus Euphorbia, succulence in the species has often evolved divergently and to differing degrees. Sometimes it is difficult to decide, and it is a question of interpretation, whether or not a species is really succulent or "only" xerophytic. In some cases, especially with geophytes, plants closely related to the succulents are normal herbs. About 850 species are succulent in the strictest sense. If one includes slightly succulent and xerophytic species, this figure rises to about 1000, representing about 45% of all Euphorbia species

Toxicity
The latex (milky sap) of spurges acts as a deterrent for herbivores as well as a wound healer. Usually it is white, but in rare cases (e.g. E. abdelkuri) yellow. As it is under pressure, it runs out from the slightest wound and congeals within a few minutes of contact with the air. Among the component parts are many di- or tri-terpen esters, which can vary in composition according to species, and in some cases the variant may be typical of that species. The terpen ester composition determines how caustic and irritating to the skin it is. In contact with mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) the latex can produce extremely painful inflammation. In experiments with animals it was found that the terpen ester resiniferatoxin had an irritating effect 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than capsaicin, the "hot" substance found in chillies. Several terpen esters are also known to be carcinogenic.

Therefore spurges should be handled with caution. Latex coming in contact with the skin should be washed off immediately and thoroughly. Partially or completely congealed latex is often no longer soluble in water, but can be removed with an emulsion (milk, hand-cream). A physician should be consulted regarding any inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially the eyes, as severe eye damage including possible permanent blindness may result from acute exposure to the sap. It has been noticed, when cutting large succulent spurges in a greenhouse, that vapours from the latex spread and can cause severe irritation to the eyes and air passages several metres away. Precautions, including sufficient ventilation, are required. Small children and domestic pets should be kept from contact with spurges.

Uses

Detail of Pointsetta flowers and immature fruitsSeveral spurges are grown as garden plants, among them Poinsettia (E. pulcherrima) and the succulent E. trigona. E. pekinensis (Chinese: 大戟; pinyin: dàjǐ) is used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is regarded as one of the 50 fundamental herbs. Several Euphorbia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), like the Spurge Hawk-moths (Hyles euphorbiae and Hyles tithymali), as well as the Giant Leopard Moth.

Systematics and taxonomy
According to recent studies of DNA sequence data most of the smaller "satellite genera" around the huge genus Euphorbia nest deep within the latter. Consequently these taxa, namely the never generally accepted genus Chamaesyce as well as the smaller genera Cubanthus, Elaeophorbia, Endadenium, Monadenium, Synadenium and Pedilanthus were transferred to Euphorbia. The entire subtribe Euphorbiinae now consists solely of the genus Euphorbia.

Euphorbia milii

2009-08-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Euphorbia milii (Crown-of-thorns or Christ Plant) is a species of Euphorbia native to Madagascar.

It is a succulent climbing shrub growing to 1.8 m tall, with densely spiny stems, the straight, slender spines up to 3 cm long, which help it scramble over other plants. The leaves are obovate, up to 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm broad. The flowers are small, subtended by a pair of conspicuous petal-like bracts, variably red, pink or white, up to 12 mm broad.Wat Phrik in the Phitsanulok District of Phitsanulok Province, Thailand claims to be the home of the world's tallest Christ plant.

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Celandine, Lesser

2009-08-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

---Synonyms---Small Celandine. Figwort. Smallwort. Pilewort.
---Part Used---Herb.
---Habitat---The Lesser Celandine, one of the very earliest of spring flowers, its cheery, starlike blossoms lighting up our hedges even before winter is quite spent, is distributed throughout Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, in these islands, growing up the hillsides in Wales to a height of 2,400 feet. It grows in moist corners of fields and places near watersides, but is found also on drier ground, if shady, being one of the few plants that thrive beneath the shade of trees, where its glossy foliage frequently forms a dense carpet.

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Wordsworth, whose favourite flower this was (in recognition of which the blossoms are carved on his tomb), fancifully suggests that the painter who first tried to picture the rising sun, must have taken the idea of the spreading pointed rays from the Celandine's 'glittering countenance.' The burnishing of the golden petals gives a brilliant effect to the flowers, which burst into bloom about the middle of February, a few days only after their bright, shining leaves. The leaves are on long stalks, arising from a short, prostrate stem, and are very variable, the first being heart-shaped, the later ones bluntly cut into, somewhat like the ivy. They often have dark markings.
The blossoms shut up before rain, and even in fine weather do not open before nine o'clock, and by 5 p.m. have already closed for the night. The Celtic name of the plant, Grian (i.e. the sun), refers to this habit. The petals are green on the underside, and directly the flowers close they become inconspicuous.

Throughout March and April, this cheerful little plant is in full bloom, but as the spring passes into summer, the flowers pale somewhat, and the whole plant looks rather sickly, the warmth of the lengthening days withdrawing from it the needed moisture. By the end of May, no flowers are to be seen, and all the plant above ground withers and dies, the virtue being stored up in the fibres of the root, which swell into the form of tubers. If the plant is dug up, late in the summer or autumn, these tubers are seen hanging in a bunch, a dozen or more together, looking like figs, hence the plant's specific Latin name ficaria, from ficus (a fig). By these tubers, the plant is increased, as they break off readily, each tuber, like a potato, producing a new plant. To eradicate this plant from any ground, it is necessary to remove the roots bodily, for if the plants are dug into the soil, they work their way up to the surface again, the stems branching as they grow upward from the tubers, and at every branch producing fresh tubers.

The early awakening of the plant is due to these fully-stored tubers, which lie quiescent all the summer and autumn, but all necessary materials being at hand, leaves and flowers are quickly pushed upwards directly the depth of the winter has passed.

Although the Lesser Celandine has been placed by some botanists in a distinct genus, when it is called Ficaria verna, it is more generally assigned to the Buttercup or Crowfoot genus, Ranunculus. The name of this genus, first employed by Pliny, alludes to the damp and marshy localities preferred by the plants of the family, Rana, being the Latin for a frog, whose native haunts are those of the majority of this group of plants. The Lesser Celandine is distinguished from the Buttercup by having nine or ten, even sometimes a dozen narrow petals, instead of five, and only three sepals (the outer, generally green leaves of the flower), which fall off on opening, instead of the usual five, which remain after the flower has expanded, in the other species of Ranunculus. The flowers rise singly from the root, on long, slender, leafless stalks and are about 1 inch in diameter. There are a number of stamens. The fruits are not unlike those of the Buttercups being dry and distinct, set together in a globular head, somewhat like a grain of corn and whitish in colour, but comparatively few fertile seeds are produced.

The flowers would originally appear to have been designed with the object of attracting insects for their fertilization, the bright coloured, burnished petals having honey sacs at their base, but the flowers can face colder days than the insects can, for whom the honey has been provided, blooming when few of the insects have emerged, with the result that comparatively few become fertilized in this country and not many seeds are produced. The plant, therefore, has recourse to another method of reproduction, independent of all external aid. At the point where the upper leaves join the stem are to be seen little objects like minute round tumours, which grow about the size of a grain of wheat. In the early summer, when the leaves and stems are dying down, these grains become loose and drop to the ground. Each is capable of producing a new plant. A heavy rain will sometimes wash them from the plants in every direction. Kerner, in his Natural History of Plants, tells us that:
'a sudden downpour of rain in a region abundantly overgrown with Lesser Celandine is sufficient to float away numbers of the tubers, and heap them up on the borders of irrigation channels when the rain disperses. In such places the quantity of tubers which have floated together is often so large that one can hardly gather them in one's hands. In this way arose the idea that the tubers had fallen from heaven with the rain and the myth of a rain of potatoes.'
This fact probably accounts, also, for the 'rains of wheat' sometimes vouched for by country people in various parts. These bulbils (i.e. Iittle bulbs) are only produced on those plants whose fruits have failed to set.
The root of the Lesser Celandine is perennial.

Seedlings do not flower in their first year, but collect and store up material to start their accustomed course at the end of the ensuing winter.

The whole plant is glabrous.

It is called the Lesser Celandine to distinguish it from the Greater Celandine, to which it has neither relationship nor similarity, except in the colour of its flowers, though the older herbalists applied the name to both plants indiscriminately. The confusion of names existed in Gerard's time, for he published a list of all the plants in cultivation in his garden on Holborn Hill - to wards the close of the sixteenth century and introduced in it, under the same name, both this and the Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus) which certainly is in bloom when the swallows arrive, and continues to flower the whole summer, and so would have more right to the name Celandine than this species, which blossoms long before they come, and dies down months before they leave our shores.

A figure of the Lesser Celandine - under the name of Erdöpffel - appears in an old German Herbal of 1533, Rhodion's Kreutterbuch, evidence that this plant was well known to the herbalists of the Middle Ages.

It is also called 'Small-wort.'

The old English name of Pilewort is due to the fact that it has long been considered a cure for piles, one of the reasons assigned for this resting on the strange doctrine of signatures. We are told by an old writer: 'If you dig up the root of it you will perceive the perfect image of the disease commonly called the piles.' Gerard writes of it:
'It presently, as Galen and Dioscorides affirm (though this perhaps refers to the Greater Celandine) exulcerateth or blistereth the skin: it maketh rough and corrupt nails to fall away. The juice of the roots mixed with honie and drawn up into the nosthrils purgeth the head of foul and filthy humours. The later age use the roots and graines for the piles . . . there be also who think that if the berbe be but carried about one that hath the piles, the pain forthwith ceaseth.'
Culpepper, writing fifty years later, tells us:
'It is certain by good experience that the decoction of the leaves and roots doth wonderfully help piles and haemorrhoids; also kernels by the ears and throat called the King's Evil, or any other hard wens or tumours.'
He had such faith in the virtues of this little plant that he further tells us, with more definite belief than Gerard: 'The very herb borne about one's body next the skin helps in such diseases though it never touch the place grieved.'
The young leaves, the substance of which is soft and mucilaginous, have sometimes been boiled and eaten as a vegetable in Sweden, but have not the reputation of being very palatable, either thus treated or raw as a salad.

Linnaeus advised farmers to eradicate the plant from their land on account of it being disliked by cattle (though wood-pigeons eat it with avidity), also for its injurious effect on other herbs in the meadow, but there seems little ground for this assumption, as although the tissues of most plants in this order contain acrid juices to a high degree, the acrimony of the Lesser Celandine is of a very mild character. A dressing of coal or wood ash is said to effectually destroy the whole plant.

---Part Used---The whole herb is collected in the wild state, while in flower in March and April, and dried.

---Constituents---Nothing is known definitely concerning the constituents of Pilewort the fresh plant, however, probably contains traces of an acrid principle resembling or identical with Anemonin.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---Astringent This herb is an old remedy for piles, for which it has recently been re-introduced into the British Pharmacopoeia, and is considered almost a specific.

Internally, the infusion of 1 OZ. in a pint of boiling water is taken in wineglassful doses, and will in most cases be sufficient to effect a cure.

It is also used externally as an ointment, made from the bruised herb with fresh lard, applied locally night and morning, or in the form of poultices, fomentations, or in suppositories.

A most excellent ointment has been recommended for external abscesses, etc., made from Pilewort, Elder-buds, House-leek, and leaves of the Broad Plantain, prepared in the early spring, when the Pilewort is in flower.

The roots are highly valued as a medicine in Cochin-China.

---For a Sore Throat---
'Take a pinte of whitewine, A good handful of Sallendine, and boile them well together; put to it A piece of the best Roach Allome, sweeten it with English honey, and use it.'

---A Marvellous Precious Water---
'Take Gallingall (Galingale), Cloves, Cubibs, Ginger, Mellilote, Cardamonia, Maces, Nutmegs, one dram- of the juice of Salendine, 8 drams; mingle all these made in powder with the said juice and a pint of Aquavitae, and 3 pints of Whitewine; putt itt into A Stillitory of Glass; and the next day still it with An easy fire.

'This water is of an excellent Virtue Agst A Consumption or any other Disease that proceeds from Rheume Choller or Fleagnie.'

All the species of Ranunculus, except the Water Crowfoot, are acrid, and before the introduction of Cantharides (Spanish Fly), many, especially R. sceleratus, were used as vesicatories. They are said to act with less pain and without any action on the urinary passages, but their action is supposed to be uncertain, and they are accused of frequently leaving ill-conditioned ulcers. Since the introduction of Cantharides, their employment has therefore fallen into disuse. Formerly it was not at all uncommon for beggars to produce sores about their bodies by the medium of various species of Ranunculus, for the sake of getting alms, afterwards curing these sores by applying fresh Mullein leaves to heal them.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Herbal Prescriptions

2009-08-06T05:25:00.001-07:00

Cardamom

2009-08-05T04:54:00.000-07:00

The name cardamom is used for herbs within two genera of the ginger family Zingiberaceae, namely Elettaria and Amomum. Both varieties take the form of a small seedpod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds. Elettaria pods are light green in color, while Amomum pods are larger and dark brown.

Types and distribution
The two main genera of the ginger family that are named as forms of cardamom are distributed as follows:

Elettaria (commonly called cardamom, green cardamom, or true cardamom) is distributed from India to Malaysia.
Amomum (commonly known as black cardamom(沙仁), brown cardamom, Kravan, Java cardamom, Bengal cardamom, Siamese cardamom, white or red cardamom) is distributed mainly in Asia and Australia.
The Sanskrit name for cardamom is "elā" or "truṭī." In Urdu/Hindi/Gujarati and some Southern Indian languages, it is called "elaichi" or "elchi." In Malayalam, language of Kerala, it is "Aelam", in [Telugu & Tamil] it is "elakkai", in Kannada it is "yelakki"

Varieties
There were initially three natural varieties of cardamom plants.

Malabar (Nadan/Native) - As the name suggests, this is the native variety of Kerala. These plants have pannicles which grow horizontally along the ground.
Mysore - As the name suggests, this is a native variety of Karnataka. These plants have pannicles which grow vertically upwards.
Vazhuka - This is a naturally occurring hybrid between Malabar and Mysore varieties, and the pannicles grow neither vertically nor horizontally, but in between.
Recently a few planters isolated high yielding plants and started multiplying them on a large scale.

The most popular high yielding variety is Njallani. Njallani, also known as "rup-ree-t" is a unique high-yielding cardamom variety developed by an Indian farmer Sebastian Joseph at Kattappana in the South Indian state of Kerala. Sebastian Joseph and his son Regimon let bees cross-pollinate the cardamom plants and came up with a new high-yielding variety that he named Njallani, after his ancestral home. This variety yields 1500 kg/hectare as compared to the conventional 200 kg/ha. The increased yield revolutionised cardamom cultivation in the state of Kerala

Uses

Green and black cardamomBoth forms of cardamom are used as flavorings in both food and drink, as cooking spices and as a medicine. Elettaria cardamomum (the usual type of cardamom) is used as a spice, a masticatory, and in medicine; it is also smoked sometimes; it is used as a food plant by the larva of the moth Endoclita hosei.

Food and drink

Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic fragrance. Black cardamom has a distinctly more astringent aroma, though not bitter, with a coolness similar to mint, though with a different aroma. It is a common ingredient in Indian cooking, and is often used in baking in Nordic countries, such as in the Finnish sweet bread pulla or in the Scandinavian bread Julekake. Green cardamom is one of the most expensive spices by weight but little is needed to impart the flavor. Cardamom is best stored in pod form because once the seeds are exposed or ground they quickly lose their flavor. However, high-quality ground cardamom is often more readily (and cheaply) available and is an acceptable substitute. For recipes requiring whole cardamom pods, a generally accepted equivalent is 10 pods equals 1½ teaspoons of ground cardamom.

In the Middle East, green cardamom powder is used as a spice for sweet dishes as well as traditional flavouring in coffee and tea. Cardamom pods are ground together with coffee beans to produce a powdered mixture of the two, which is boiled with water to make coffee. Cardamom is also used in some extent in savoury dishes. In Arabic, cardamom is called al-Hayl. In Persian, it is called hel. In Hebrew, it is also called hel (הל). In Gujarati (a derivative of Sanskrit), it is "Ē-lī-chē". In some Middle Eastern countries, coffee and cardamom are often ground in a wooden mortar and cooked together in a mihbaz, an oven using wood or gas, to produce mixtures that are as much as forty percent cardamom.

In South Asia, green cardamom is often used in traditional Indian sweets and in Masala chai (spiced tea).

Black cardamom is sometimes used in garam masala for curries. It is occasionally used as a garnish in basmati rice and other dishes. It is often referred to as fat cardamom due its size ('Moti Elaichi'). Individual seeds are sometimes chewed, in much the same way as chewing-gum. It has also been known to be used for gin making

In traditional medicine
Green cardamom in South Asia is broadly used to treat infections in teeth and gums, to prevent and treat throat troubles, congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of eyelids and also digestive disorders. It also is used to break up kidney stones and gall stones, and was reportedly used as an antidote for both snake and scorpion venom. Amomum is used as a spice and as an ingredient in traditional medicine in systems of the traditional Chinese medicine in China, in Ayurveda in India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

Species in the genus Amomum are also used in traditional Indian medicine. Among other species, varieties and cultivars, Amomum villosum cultivated in China, Laos and Vietnam is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat stomach-aches, constipation, dysentery, and other digestion problems. "Tsaoko" cardamom Amomum tsao-ko is cultivated in Yunnan, China and northwest Vietnam, both for medicinal purposes and as a spice. Increased demand since the 1980s, principally from China, for both Amomum villosum and Amomum tsao-ko has provided a key source of income for poor farmers living at higher altitudes in localized areas of China, Laos and Vietnam, people typically isolated from many other markets. Until recently, Nepal has been the world's largest producer of large cardamom. Guatemala has become the world's largest producer and exporter of cardamom, with an export total of US$137.2 million for 2007.

Names in different languages
In Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati cardamom is called elaichi, and "yelakki" (ಏಲಕ್ಕಿ) in Kannada and other South Indian languages. It is called Elakka in Malayalam, which is the language of Kerala an Indian province that accounts for 70% of Indian cardamom.[5] In South Asia green cardamom, called "Elaichi" in Marathi, Hindi and Urdu. It is called "Yalakulu"(యాలకులు) in Telugu, "Aelam" (ஏலம்) in Tamil. In Nepali, cardamom is called "Alainchi". In Hebrew, it is known as Hel (הל). In Persian it is also known as Hel (هل). In Arabic, it is called Hayl (هیل). In Malay/Bahasa Melayu, it is called "buah pelaga".

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Piper sarmentosum

2009-08-04T05:47:00.000-07:00

Piper sarmentosum is a plant in the Piperaceae family used in many Southeast Asian cuisines. The leaves are often confused with betel,but they lack the intense taste of the betel leaves and are significantly smaller.

Names
There is no "official" English name for it, but it is sometimes called "wild betel". It is known as cha plu (ช้าพลู) in Thai, phak i leut in Lao, pokok kadok in Malay, and bo la lot in Vietnamese.

Geographic distribution
P. sarmentosum is found from the tropical areas of Southeast Asia, Northeast India and South China, and as far as the Andaman Islands.

In cuisine
P. sarmentosum leaves are sold in bunches and are usually eaten raw.

In Thai cuisine, it is used to wrap miang kam, a tasty snack.
In Laotian cuisine, it is eaten as part of a salad.
In Malay cuisine it is shredded for ulam, a type of Malay salad

In medicine
P. sarmentosum leaves are used in traditional Asian medicines. Chemical analysis has shown that the leaves contain high amounts of the antioxidant naringenin.Amides from P. sarmentosum fruit have been shown to have anti-tuberculosis and anti-plasmodial activities

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Monstera deliciosa

2009-08-03T04:53:00.000-07:00

Monstera deliciosa (also called Ceriman, Swiss Cheese Plant (or just Cheese Plant), Fruit Salad Plant, Monster fruit, Monsterio Delicio, Monstereo, Mexican Breadfruit, Monstera, split-leaf philodendron, Locust and Wild Honey, Windowleaf and Delicious Monster) is a creeping vine native to tropical rainforests from southern Mexico south to Panama

Characteristics
It has a thick stem growing up to 20 m height and large, leathery, glossy, heart-shaped leaves 25-90 cm long by 25-75 cm broad. On young plants the leaves start out smaller and entire with no lobes or holes, but older plants soon produce lobed and holed leaves. The fruit is up to 25 cm long and 3-4 cm diameter, looking like a green ear of maize lined with hexagonal scales. When it first flowers, the fruit contains so much oxalic acid that it is poisonous, causing immediate and painful blistering and irritation, swelling, itching, and loss of voice. It takes a year for the fruit to ripen, at which point it is safe to eat.

The seedlings grow towards the darkest area they can find until they find a tree to latch onto, at which point they start to grow up towards the light, creeping up the tree

Cultivation
The fruit may be ripened by cutting the fruit when the first scales begin to lift up and the fruit begins to exude a pungent odor, then wrapping in a paper bag and setting aside until the kernels begin popping off. The kernels are then brushed off; they fall away to reveal the edible flesh underneath. The flesh, which is approximately like that of pineapple in texture, is then cut away from the core and eaten. It has a fruity taste similar to jackfruit and pineapple. Eating the immature fruit which has not matured and still has the kernels firmly attached, exposes the throat to the oxalic acid and is dangerous

Uses
Monstera deliciosa is commonly grown as a houseplant for decoration, typically in hotels, restaurants and offices, as well as in private homes. It grows best at a temperatures of 20 °C to 30 °C, requires high humidity, and needs shade. Growth ceases below 10 °C and frost will kill it. It flowers around 3 years after it is planted in ideal conditions, and takes 1 year longer for the fruit to ripen. Flowering is rare when grown indoors. The plant can be transplanted by taking cuttings of a mature plant or by air layering.

The rhizome is used in the treatment of colds and rheumatism.

Zingiber zerumbet

2009-08-02T02:11:00.000-07:00

Zingiber zerumbet (Awapuhi), also known as the Shampoo Ginger, is a vigorous ginger with leafy stems growing to about 1.2 m tall.

Description

Awapuhi is a perennial, so from autumn until spring it goes dormant above ground as the leafy stems shrivel and die away, leaving the pale brown, creeping stems (rhizomes) at ground level. In the spring the plant springs up anew. The 10-12 blade-shaped leaves 15-20 cm long grow in an alternate arrangement on thin, upright stem to 1.2 m tall. Among the leafy stems the conical or club-shaped flower heads burst forth on separate and shorter stalks. These appear in the summer, after the leafy stems have been growing for awile. The flower heads are reddish-green 3-10 cm long with overlapping scales, enclosing small yellowish-white flowers that poke out a few at a time. As the flower heads mature, they gradually fill with an aromatic, slimy liquid and turn a brighter red color. The flower stalks usually remain hidden beneath the leaf stalks.

Uses:
The juice can be used to quench thirst when out walking in the forest and can be combined with Mountain Apples as a meal.

Medicinal Uses

In Hawaii the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes were pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. The rhizomes can be stored in a cool, dark place to keep for use when needed. In traditional use, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle, was mixed with a ripe Noni fruit and then used to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area.

For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened 'Awapuhi rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed.

To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material is mixed with water and drunk. Similarly, 'Awapuhi Pake or Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is widely cultivated and eaten, or made into a tea for indigestion as well as increased circulation of the blood and an increased sense of well-being.

An extract,"Zerumbone", from Zingiber zerumbet smith, has been found to induce apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in human liver cancer cells, in an in vitro study.(Cancer Cell International, April 3, 2007).

The leaves and leaf stalks, which are also fragrant, were used in baking in the imu, underground oven, to enhance the flavor of pork and fish as they cooked. Traditionally, the aromatic underground rhizomes were sliced, dried and pounded to a powder, then added to the folds of stored Kapa (Tapa) cloth.

Indigenous Practices

Perhaps the most common use of 'Awapuhi is as a shampoo and conditioner for the hair. The clear slimy juice present in the mature flower heads is excellent for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out. Hawaiian women often pick or cut the flowerheads of this plant in the forest, as they approach a pool or waterfall for a refreshing summer bath, leave the flowers atop a nearby rock, and then squeeze the sweet juices into their hair and over their bodies when the swim is completed. The sudsy juice is excellent for massage also.

Thai pepper

2009-07-30T05:13:00.000-07:00

Thai pepper (Thai: พริกขี้หนู, phrik khi nu(lit. mouse dropping chili)) refers to any of three cultivars of chili pepper, found commonly in Thailand, as well as in neighbouring countries, such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. It can also be found in India, mainly Kerala, where it is used in traditional dishes of the Kerala cuisine (pronounced in Malayalam as kanthari mulagu).

Non-pungent "Thai Pepper"
"Thai pepper" can also refer to black pepper, as it is a literal translation of the Thai word for it, พริกไทย phrik thai. This term refers to the peppercorns used in many Thai dishes, as well as ground black or white pepper and derives from the distinction between peppercorns being traditionally Thai versus chili peppers, which only arrived in Thailand in the sixteenth century.

Bird's eye chili pepper

The main Thai pepper seen in South-East Asian cuisine. These tiny fiery chilis characteristically point upward from the main plant, and can be found with colors maturing from green to red. They can commonly be found in many South-East Asian countries, but are more frequently seen in Thailand and Cambodia.

Although small in size compared to other types of chili, the chili padi is relatively strong at 50,000 to 100,000 on the Scoville pungency scale.

Proverb
Bird's eye chili can be found in South-East Asian markets alongside larger chilies, often times surprising people who are unaware that such a small pepper can be much hotter than the larger ones. This is the source of a proverb heard in many South-East Asian countries that roughly translates to "small like the bird's eye chili," which can best be described by the English equivalent, "Big things come in small packages."

Common Names

The chilies may also be referred to as chili padi in Malay because their small size reminds people of the small grained rice eaten as a staple in the region.

As well as the Malay word, Thai chilies can also be referred to as cabe rawit (Indonesian), phrik khii nuu (พริกขี้หนู, Thai), Thai hot, Thai dragon (due to its resemblance to claws), Siling Labuyo (Filipino), Ladâ, and boonie pepper (the Anglicized name).

Thai Ornamental

Thai Ornanmental hot peppers growing wild on Saipan.The more decorative, but slightly less pungent variety, sometimes known as Thai Ornamental, has peppers that point upward on the plant, and go from green to yellow, orange, and then red. It is the basis for the hybrid Numex twilight, essentially the same but less pungent and starting with purple fruit, creating a rainbow effect, and among the group of capsicum annuum. These peppers can grow wild in places like Saipan and Guam. The Chinese in SE Asia call this pepper 'the chili that points to the sky'.

Sansevieria

2009-07-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

Sansevieria, whose common names include: mother-in-law's tongue, devil's tongue, and snake plant, is a genus of about 70 species of flowering plants in the family Ruscaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World.

They are xerophytic herbaceous to shrubby succulent perennial plants with evergreen strap-shaped leaves, growing to 20 cm to 3 m tall, often forming dense clumps from a spreading rhizome or stolons. The flowers are greenish-white, produced on a simple or branched raceme 40-90 cm long. The fruit is a red or orange berry.

The genus was named in honor of Raimondo di Sangro (1710-1771), prince of San Severo in Italy. Spellings "Sanseveria" and "Sanseviera" are commonly seen as well, the confusion deriving from alternate spellings of the Italian place name.

Use:

In Africa, the leaves are used for fibre production;in some species, e.g. Sansevieria ehrenbergii, the plant's sap has antiseptic qualities, and the leaves are used for bandages in traditional first aid.

Sansevieria more

Several species are popular houseplants in temperate regions, with Sansevieria trifasciata the most widely sold; numerous cultivars are available. Growth is comparatively slow and the plant will last for many years. The tall-growing plants have stiff, erect, lance-shaped leaves while the dwarf plants grow in rosettes. As houseplants, Sansevieria thrive on warmth and bright light, but will also tolerate shade

Cinchona

2009-07-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

Cinchona is a genus of about 25 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing to 5-15 metres tall with evergreen foliage.

Cinchona pubescens - fruitThe leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate, 10-40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink or red, produced in terminal panicles. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous seeds.

The name of the genus is due to Carolus "Carl" Linnaeus, who named the tree in 1742 after a Countess of Chinchon, the wife of a viceroy of Peru, who, in 1638, was introduced by natives to the medicinal properties of the bark. Stories of the medicinal properties of this bark, however, are perhaps noted in journals as far back as the 1560s-1570s (see the Ortiz link below).

Cinchona species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including The Engrailed, The Commander, and members of the genus Endoclita including E. damor, E. purpurescens and E. sericeus.

Cinchona alkaloids
The bark of trees in this genus is the source of a variety of alkaloids, the most familiar of which is quinine, an anti-fever agent especially useful in treating malaria.

Cinchona alkaloids include:

cinchonine and cinchonidine (stereoisomers with R = vinyl, R' = hydrogen)
quinine and quinidine (stereoisomers with R = vinyl, R' = methoxy)
dihydroquinidine & dihydroquinine (stereoisomers with R = ethyl, R' = methoxy)
They find use in organic chemistry as organocatalysts in asymmetric synthesis.

Medicinal use

The medicinally active bark, which is stripped from the tree, dried and powdered, includes other alkaloids that are closely related to quinine but react differently in treating malaria. As a medicinal herb, cinchona bark is also known as Jesuit's bark or Peruvian bark.

The plants are cultivated in their native South America, and also in other tropical regions, notably in India and Java.

The Italian botanist Pietro Castelli wrote a pamphlet noteworthy as being the first Italian publication that mentions the cinchona. By the 1630s (or 1640s, depending on the reference), the bark was being exported to Europe. In the late 1640s, the method of use of the bark was noted in the Schedula Romana, and in 1677 the use of the bark was noted in the London Pharmacopoeia.

According to legend, the first European ever to be cured from malaria fever was the wife of the Spanish Viceroy, the countess of Chinchon. The court physician was summoned and urged to save the countess from the waves of fever and chill that were threatening her life, but every effort failed to relieve her. At last the physician administered some medicine which he had obtained from the local Indians, who had been using it for similar syndromes. The countess survived the malarial attack and reportedly brought the cinchona bark back with her when she returned to Europe in the 1640s.

In 1753 Carolus Linnaeus named the bark Cinchona after the countess of Chinchon. The story of the cure of the countess, however, is doubtful.

Charles II called upon Mr Robert Talbor, who had become famous for his miraculous malaria cure. Because at that time the bark was in religious controversy, Talbor gave the king the bitter bark decoction in great secrecy. The treatment gave the king complete relief from the malaria fever. In return, he was offered membership of the prestigious Royal College of Physicians.

In 1679 Talbor was called by the King of France, Louis XIV, whose son was suffering from malaria fever. After a successful treatment, Talbor was rewarded by the king with 3,000 gold crowns. At the same time he was given a lifetime pension for this prescription. Talbor, however, was asked to keep the entire episode secret.

After Talbor's death, the French king found this formula: six drams of rose leaves, two ounces of lemon juice and a strong decoction of the chinchona bark served with wine. Wine was used because some alkaloids of the cinchona bark are not soluble in water, but are soluble in wine.

The birth of homeopathy was based on quinine testing. The founder of homeopathy, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, when translating the Cullen's Materia medica, noticed that Dr. Cullen wrote that quinine cures malaria and can also produce malaria. Dr. Hahnemann took daily a large non-homeopathic dose of quinine bark. After two weeks, he said he felt malaria-like symptoms. This idea of "like cures like" was the starting point of his writings on "Homeopathy".

In 1738, Sur l'arbre du quinquina, a paper written by Charles Marie de La Condamine, a member of the expedition that was sent to Peru to determine the length of a degree of the meridian in the neighbourhood of the equator, was published by the French Academy of Sciences. In it he identified three separate species.

In 1742, on the basis of a specimen received from La Condamine, Linnaeus named the tree Quinquina condaminiae and established a new genus, which he termed Cinchona quinquina condaminiae. In 1753 he described Cinchona officinalis as a separate species.

History of cultivation

The bark was very valuable to Europeans in expanding their access to and exploitation of resources in far off colonies, and at home. Bark gathering was often environmentally destructive, destroying huge expanses of trees for their bark, with difficult conditions for low wages that did not allow the indigenous bark gatherers to settle debts even upon death.[citation needed]

In 1860, a British expedition to South America led by Clements Markham brought back Cinchona seeds and plants, which were planted in the Hakgala Botanical Garden in Sri Lanka in January 1861.[3] James Taylor, the pioneer of tea planting in Sri Lanka, was one of the pioneers of Cinchona cultivation.[4] By 1883 about 64,000 acres (260 km2) were in cultivation in Sri Lanka, with exports reaching a peak of 15 million pounds in 1886.

In 1865, the "Carlota Colony" was founded in Mexico. Wealthy American post-war confederate leaders were enticed there by the Emperor Maximillian, Archduke of Habsburg. The colony was situated on the direct Mexico-Vera Cruz Highway, and within 50 km of the railway, which was due to arrive in Cordoba at the end of that year. ... "All that survives today of the ill-fated Carlota Colony are the flourishing groves of cinchonas, the quinine-producing tree which ... at [Empress] Charlotte's instigation, [were] first introduced into the country."

Treatments

Cinchona has been used for a number of medical reasons such as:

-Treats malaria
-Kills parasites
-Reduces fever
-Regulates heartbeat
-Calms nerves
-Stimulates digestion
-Kills germs
-Reduces spasms
-Kills insects
-Relieves pain
-Kills bacteria and fungi
-Dries secretions

The main reason for its use is to treat malaria, but it is rarely used today as many people think it is dangerous, as it can kill if taken in large amounts.

Cinchona info more at:
1.Cinchona bark
2.Use bark to kill bite
3.Cinchona Alkaloids

Ageratum conyzoides

2009-07-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ageratum conyzoides (Billygoat-weed, Chick weed, Goatweed, Whiteweed; Ageratum conycoides L., Ageratum obtusifolium Lam., Cacalia mentrasto Vell.) is native to Tropical America, especially Brazil. Herb 0.5-1 m. high, with ovate leaves 2-6 cm long, and flowers are white to mauve.

In Vietnamese, the plant is called cứt lợn (Pig Feces) due to its growth in dirty areas

Uses
It has medicinal plant properties. However, it's limited for internal use due to toxicity issues. It is also an insecticide and nematicide.

Toxicity
Ingesting A. conyzoides can cause liver lesions and tumors.The plant contains the pyrrolizidine alkaloids lycopsamine and echinatine.

Weed risk
A. conyzoides is prone to becoming a rampant environmental weed when grown outside of its natural range. It is an invasive weed in Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia and USA

Ageratum conyzoides info more.

Phyllanthus niruri

2009-07-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

The annual herb Phyllanthus niruri is best known by the common names Stonebreaker(Eng.), Chanca Piedra(Sp.) and Quebra Pedra(Port.), Seed-Under-Leaf(Eng.) but has many other common names in assorted languages, including dukong anak, dukong-dukong anak, amin buah, rami buah, turi hutan, and bhuiaonla. It is a widespread tropical plant commonly found in coastal areas. It is a relative of the spurges, belonging to the leafflower genus of Family Phyllanthaceae

Growth
It grows 50 to 70 centimeters tall and bears ascending herbaceous branches. The bark is smooth and light green. It bears numerous pale green flowers which are often flushed with red. The fruits are tiny, smooth capsules containing seeds

Medicinal uses
Extracts of this herb have shown promise in treating a wide range of human diseases. Some of the medicinal properties suggested by numerous preclinical trials are anti-hepatotoxic, anti-lithic, anti-hypertensive, anti-HIV and anti-hepatitis B.However, human trials are yet to show efficacy against Hepatitis B virus.

The plant has long been used in Brazil as an herbal remedy for Kidney stones. Reseach among sufferers of Kidney stones has shown that, while intake of Phyllanthus niruri didn't lead to a significant difference in either stone voiding or pain levels, it may reduce urinary calcium, a contributing factor to stone growth.In addition, one study conducted on rats showed that an aqueous solution of Phyllanthus niruri may inhibit kidney stone growth and formation in animals who already have stones.

Phyllanthus niruri info more

ANDROGRAPHIS PANICULATA CAPSULES

2009-07-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

Andrographis paniculata Capsul for curing fever, influenza, sore throat, assisting in cough and other infection of the windpipe. Helps to anti allergy, diabetes and reduce blood pressure. For increased appetite. Direction: Take 2 capsules after meal 2 time morning & evening.

Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) Mansf

2009-07-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) Mansf., or Krachai, is a member of family Zingiberaceae. Thai traditional medicine records
recommended the use of underground tissue of B. rotunda for the treatment of dermatophyte. Later report showed that alcohol and
chloroform extract of B. rotunda had antifungal activity. Pinostrobin, a flavonoid compound, is a major antidermatophytic compound
from B. rotundra root extract from chloroform fraction. Dry B. rotunda roots from obtained from different locations in Thailand were
macerated with chloroform. High Performance Liquid Chromatography solvent system for the identification of pinostrobin was
developed using SB-C18. Pinostrobin was identified using UV detector at 290 nm. It had Rt of 32.16 where acetonitrile/ MeOH: water:
Acetic acid was 46:54. The above system was then used to quantified pinostrobin from collected sample. Result showed the presence of
pinostrobin between 0.01 to 0.15 % w/w in all 13 sample investigated. B. rotunda from Chumphon, Nakhonpathom, and Chonburi had
the most amount of 0.15, 0.11, and 0.10 % respectively. Young root had half less pinostrobin compared to mature root from the same
source

Methodology: Thirteen samples of Boesenbergia rotunda roots were were purchased as Krachai from local market in Bangkok and
upcountry for the investigation between November 2001-November 2002. The cultivation sources (provinces) were verified by
vendors. Fascicled roots of fresh B. rotunda were separated from the rhizomes, cleaned in running water, cut into 1 cm slice and dried
in 45°C hot air oven for 72 hours. B. rotunda root was then ground, extracted in chloroform at 25°C and eluent concentrated under
vacuum. Two and a half milligram of crude from each sample was dissolved in 1 ml chloroform. The solutions were then filtered
through a 0.45-μm reduced cellulose filter and let stand in sealed vials at room temp up to 18 h prior to use. The analytical work was
performed on HP 1100 system equipped with a solvent dynamic mixing chamber and a UV detector using ZORBAC SB-C18 column
150 × 4.6 mm. A stock solution of pinostrobin was prepared in CHCl3. Solvent systems from Krauze-Baranowska and Cisowski 1994
for flavonoid detection was investigated and modified to find the system best for both separation of crude B. rotunda extract and
pinostrobin identification. Twenty μl of each sample was injected

Hyssop

2009-07-22T04:25:00.000-07:00

Botanical: Hyssopus officinalis (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Labiatae

Hyssop is a name of Greek origin. The Hyssopos of Dioscorides was named from azob (a holy herb), because it was used for cleaning sacred places. It is alluded to in the Scriptures: 'Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean.'
---Cultivation---It is an evergreen, bushy herb, growing 1 to 2 feet high, with square stem, linear leaves and flowers in whorls, six- to fifteen-flowered. Is a native of Southern Europe not indigenous to Britain, though stated to be naturalized on the ruins of Beaulieu Abbey in the New Forest.

Hyssop is cultivated for the use of its flower-tops, which are steeped in water to make an infusion, which is sometimes employed as an expectorant. There are three varieties, known respectively by their blue, red and white flowers, which are in bloom from June to October, and are sometimes employed as edging plants. Grown with catmint, it makes a lovely border, backed with Lavender and Rosemary. As a kitchen herb, it is mostly used for broths and decoctions, occasionally for salad. For medicinal use the flower-tops should be cut in August.

It may be propagated by seeds, sown in April, or by dividing the plants in spring and autumn, or by cuttings, made in spring and inserted in a shady situation. Plants raised from seeds or cuttings, should, when large enough, be planted out about 1 foot apart each way, and kept watered till established. They succeed best in a warm aspect and in a light, rather dry soil. The plants require cutting in, occasionally, but do not need much further attention.

---Medicinal Action and Uses---Expectorant, diaphoretic, stimulant, pectoral, carminative. The healing virtues of the plant are due to a particular volatile oil, which is stimulative, carminative and sudorific. It admirably promotes expectoration, and in chronic catarrh its diaphoretic and stimulant properties combine to render it of especial value. It is usually given as a warm infusion, taken frequently and mixed with Horehound. Hyssop Tea is also a grateful drink, well adapted to improve the tone of a feeble stomach, being brewed with the green tops of the herb, which are sometimes boiled in soup to be given for asthma. In America, an infusion of the leaves is used externally for the relief of muscular rheumatism, and also for bruises and discoloured contusions, and the green herb, bruised and applied, will heal cuts promptly.

The infusion has an agreeable flavour and is used by herbalists in pulmonary diseases.

It was once much employed as a carminative in flatulence and hysterical complaints, but is now seldom employed.

A tea made with the fresh green tops, and drunk several times daily, is one of the oldfashioned country remedies for rheumatism that is still employed. Hyssop baths have also been recommended as part of the cure, but the quantity used would need to be considerable.

Chinese Star Anise:anti-influenza

2009-07-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

Star anise, star aniseed, badiane or Chinese star anise, (Chinese: 八角, pinyin: bājiǎo, lit. "eight-horn"; Malayalam: തക്കോലം) is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a small native evergreen tree of southwest China. The star shaped fruits are harvested just before ripening. It is widely used in Chinese cuisine, in Indian cuisine where it is a major component of garam masala, and in Malay–Indonesian cuisine. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking. It is also a major ingredient in the making of phở, a Vietnamese noodle soup. It is used as a spice in preparation of Biryani in Andhra Pradesh, a state of southern India.

Culinary uses
Star anise contains anethole, the same ingredient which gives the unrelated anise its flavor. Recently, star anise has come into use in the West as a less expensive substitute for anise in baking as well as in liquor production, most distinctively in the production of the liquor Galliano. It is also used in the production of Sambuca, pastis, and many types of absinthe.

Medicinal uses
Star anise has been used in a tea as a remedy for rheumatism, and the seeds are sometimes chewed after meals to aid digestion. As a warm and moving herb, Ba Jiao is used to assist in relieving cold-stagnation in the middle jiao, according to TCM.

Shikimic acid, a primary feedstock used to create the anti-flu drug Tamiflu, is produced by most autotrophic organisms, but star anise is the industrial source. In 2005, there was a temporary shortage of star anise due to its use in making Tamiflu. Late in that year, a way was found of making shikimic acid artificially. Roche now derives some of the raw material it needs from fermenting E. coli bacteria. The 2009 swine flu outbreak led to another series of shortages as stocks of Tamiflu were built up around the world, sending prices soaring.

Star anise is grown in four provinces in China and harvested between March and May. Its also found in the south of New South Wales. The shikimic acid is extracted from the seeds in a ten-stage manufacturing process which takes a year. Reports say 90% of the harvest is already used by the Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer Roche in making Tamiflu, but other reports say there is an abundance of the spice in the main regions - Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan.

Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum), a similar tree, is not edible because it is highly toxic (due to containing sikimitoxin); instead, it has been burned as incense in Japan. Cases of illness, including "serious neurological effects, such as seizures", reported after using star anise tea may be a result of using this species. Japanese star anise contains anisatin, which causes severe inflammation of the kidneys, urinary tract and digestive organs.

Andrographis paniculata

2009-07-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

ชื่อวิทยาศาสตร์ : Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall.ex Nees

ชื่อสามัญ : Kariyat , The Creat

วงศ์ : ACANTHACEAE

ชื่ออื่น : หญ้ากันงู (สงขลา) น้ำลายพังพอน ฟ้าละลายโจร (กรุงเทพฯ) ฟ้าสาง (พนัสนิคม) เขยตายยายคลุม สามสิบดี (ร้อยเอ็ด) เมฆทะลาย (ยะลา) ฟ้าสะท้าน (พัทลุง)

ลักษณะทางพฤกษศาสตร์ : ไม้ล้มลุก สูง 30-70 ซม. ทุกส่วนมีรสขม กิ่งเป็นใบสี่เหลี่ยม ใบ เดี่ยว แผ่นใบสีเขียวเข้มเป็นมัน ดอก ช่อ ออกที่ปลายกิ่งและซอกใบ ดอกย่อย กลีบดอกสีขาว โคนกลีบติดกัน ปลายแยก 2 ปาก ปากบนมี 3 กลีบ มีเส้นสีม่วงแดงพาดอยู่ ปากล่างมี 2 กลีบ ผล เป็นฝัก เมื่อแก่เป็นสีน้ำตาล แตกได้ ภายในมีเมล็ดจำนวนมาก
ส่วนที่ใช้ : ทั้งต้น ใบสด ใบแห้ง ใบจะเก็บมาใช้เมื่อต้นมีอายุได้ 3-5 เดือน

สรรพคุณ
มี 4 ประการคือ

แก้ไข้ทั่ว ๆ ไป เช่น ไข้หวัด ไข้หวัดใหญ่

ระงับอาการอักเสบ พวกไอ เจ็บคอ คออักเสบ ต่อมทอนซิล หลอดลมอักเสบ ขับเสมหะ รักษาโรคผิวหนังฝี

แก้ติดเชื้อ พวกทำให้ปวดท้อง ท้องเสีย บิด และแก้กระเพาะลำไส้อักเสบ

เป็นยาขมเจริญอาหาร

และการที่ฟ้าทะลายโจรมีสรรพคุณ 4 ประการนี้ จึงชวนให้เห็นว่าตัวยาต้นนี้ เป็นยาที่สามารถนำไปใช้กว้างขวางมาก จากเหตุผลที่ฟ้าทะลายโจรมีฤทธิ์ระงับการติดเชื้อหรือระงับการเจริญเติบโตของเชื้อโรคได้

ข้อมูลทางวิทยาศาสตร์

ใบฟ้าทะลายโจร มีสารเคมีประกอบอยู่หลายประเภท แต่ที่เป็นสาระสำคัญในการออกฤทธิ์ คือ สารกลุ่ม Lactone คือ

สารแอดโดรกราโฟไลด์ (andrographolide)

สารนีโอแอนโดรกราโฟไลด์ (neo-andrographolide)

14-ดีอ๊อกซี่แอนโดรกราโฟไลด์ (14-deoxy-andrographolide)

ฟ้าทะลายโจรเป็นยาเก่าแก่ของประเทศจีน ที่ใช้ในการแก้ฝี แก้อักเสบ และรักษาโรคบิด การวิจัยด้านเภสัชวิทยาพบว่า ฟ้าทะลายโจรสามารถยับยั้ง เชื้อแบคทีเรียอันเป็นสาเหตุของการเป็นหนองได้ และมีการศึกษาวิจัยของโรงพยาบาลบำราศนราดูร ถึงฤทธิ์ในการรักษาโรคอุจจาระร่วงและบิด แบคทีเรีย เปรียบเทียบกับ เตตราซัยคลิน ในผู้ป่วย 200 ราย อายุระหว่าง 16-55 ปี ได้มีการเปรียบเทียบระยะเวลาที่ถ่ายอุจจาระเหลว จำนวนอุจจาระเหลว น้ำเกลือที่ให้ทดแทนระหว่างฟ้าทะลายโจรกับเตตราซันคลิน พบว่าสมุนไพรฟ้าทะลายโจร ลดจำนวนอุจจาระร่วงและจำนวนน้ำเกลือที่ให้ทดแทนอย่างน่าพอใจ แม้ว่าจากการทดสอบทางสถิติ จะไม่มีความแตกต่างโดยในสำคัญก็ตาม ส่วนการลดเชื้ออหิวาตกโรคในอุจจาระ ฟ้าทะลายโจรไม่ได้ผลดีเท่าเตตราซัยคลิน นอกจากนี้ยังมีโรงพยาบาลชุมชนบางแห่งได้ใช้ฟ้าทะลายโจรรักษาอาการเจ็บคอได้ผลดีอีกด้วย มีฤทธิ์เช่นเดียวกับเพ็นนิซิลินเมื่อเทียบกับยาแผนปัจจุบัน เท่ากับเป็นการช่วยให้มีผู้สนใจทดลองใช้ยานี้รักษาโรคต่าง ๆ มากขึ้น
วิธีและปริมาณที่ใช้

1. ถ้าใช้แก้ไข้เป็นหวัด ปวดหัวตัวร้อน

ใช้ใบและกิ่ง 1 กำมือ (แห้งหนัก 3 กรัม สดหนัก 25 กรัม) ต้มน้ำดื่มก่อนอาหารวันละ 2

ครั้ง เช้า-เย็น หรือเวลามีอาการ

2. ถ้าใช้แก้ท้องเสีย ท้องเดิน เป็นบิดมีไข้

ใช้ทั้งต้นหรือส่วนทั้ง 5 ของฟ้าทะลายโจร ผึ่งลมให้แห้ง หั่นชิ้นเล็ก ๆ ประมาณ 1 กำมือ

(หนักประมาณ 3-9 กรัม) ต้มเอาน้ำดื่มตลอดวัน
ตำรับยาและวิธีใช้

1. ยาชงมีวิธีทำดังนี้

- เอาใบสดหรือแห้งก็ได้ ประมาณ 5-7 ใบ แต่ใบสดจะดีกว่า

- เติมน้ำเดือดลงจนเกือบเต็มแก้ว

- ปิดฝาทิ้งไว้ประมาณครึ่งชั่วโมง หรือพอยาอุ่น แล้วรินเอามาดื่ม ขนาดรับประทาน

ครั้งละ 1 แก้ว วันละ 3-4 ครั้ง ก่อนอาหาร, ก่อนนอน

2. ยาเม็ด (ลูกกลอน) มีวิธีทำดังนี้

- เด็ดใบสดมาล้างให้สะอาดผึ่งในที่ร่ม ห้ามตากแดด ควรผึ่งในที่มีลมโกรก ใบจะได้

แห้งเร็ว

- บดเป็นผงให้ละเอียด

- ปั้นกับน้ำผึ้ง หรือน้ำเชื่อม เป็นเม็ดขนาดเท่าเม็ดถั่วเหลือง (หนัก 250 มิลลิกรัม)

แล้วผึ่งลมให้แห้ง เพราะถ้าปั้นรับประทานขณะที่ยังเปียกอยู่จะขมมาก ขนาดรับประทานครั้งละ 4-10 เม็ด วันละ 3-4 ครั้ง ก่อนอาหาร, ก่อนนอน

3. แค๊ปซูล มีวิธีทำคือ

แทนที่ผงยาที่ได้จะปั้นเป็นยาเม็ด กลับเอามาใส่ในแค๊ปซูล เพื่อช่วยกลบรสขมของยา แค๊ปซูล ที่ใช้ ขนาดเบอร์ 2 (ผงยา 250 มิลลิกรัม) ขนาดรับประทานครั้งละ 3-5 แค๊ปซูล วันละ 3-4 ครั้ง ก่อนอาหาร ก่อนนอน

4. ยาทิงเจอร์หรือยาดองเหล้า

เอาผงแห้งใส่ขวด แช่สุราที่แรง ๆ เช่น สุราโรง 40 ดีกรี ถ้ามี alcohol ที่รับประทานได้ (Ethyl alcohol) จะดีกว่าเหล้า แช่พอให้ท่วมยาขึ้นมาเล็กน้อย ปิดฝาให้แน่น เขย่าขวดวันละ 1 ครั้ง พอครบ 7 วัน จึงกรองเอาแต่น้ำ เก็บไว้ในขวดให้สะอาดปิดสนิท รับประทานครั้งละ 1-2 ช้อนโต๊ะ (รสขมมาก) วันละ 3-4 ครั้ง ก่อนอาหาร

5. ยาผงใช้สูดดม

คือเอายาผงที่บดละเอียด มาใส่ขวดหรือกล่องยา ปิดฝาเขย่าแล้วเปิดฝาออก ผงยาจะเป็นควันลอยออกมา สูดดมควันนั้นเข้าไป ผงยาจะติดที่คอทำให้ยาไปออกฤทธิ์ที่คอโดยตรง ช่วยลดเสมหะ และแก้เจ็บคอได้ดี วิธีที่ดีกว่านี้คือวิธีเป่าคอ กวาดคอ หรือรับประทานยาชง ตรงที่คอจะรู้สึกขมน้อยมาก ไม่ทำให้ขยาดเวลาใช้ ใช้สะดวกและง่ายมาก ประโยชน์ที่น่าจะได้รับเพิ่มก็คือ ผงยาที่เข้าไปทางจมูก อาจจะช่วยลดน้ำมูก และช่วยฆ่าเชื้อที่จมูกด้วย

ขนาดที่ใช้

สูดดมบ่อย ๆ วันละหลาย ๆ ครั้ง ถ้ารู้สึกคลื่นไส้ให้หยุดยาไปสักพัก จนความรู้สึกนั้นหายไป จึงค่อยสูดใหม่

ข้อควรรู้เกี่ยวกับตำรับยา

สารแอนโดรกราโฟไลด์ (Andrographolide) สารในต้นฟ้าทะลายโจร ละลายในแอลกอฮอร์ได้ดีมาก ละลายในน้ำได้น้อย ดังนั้นยาทิงเจอร์ หรือยาดองเหล้าฟ้าทะลายโจร จึงมีฤทธิ์แรงที่สุด ยาชงมีฤทธิ์แรงรองลงมา ยาเม็ดมีฤทธิ์อ่อนที่สุด

ข้อควรระวัง

บางคนรับประทาน ยาฟ้าทะลายโจร จะเกิดอาการปวดท้อง ท้องเสีย ปวดเอว เวียนหัว แสดงว่าแพ้ยา ให้หยุดยา และเปลี่ยนไปใช้ยาอื่น หรือลดขนาดรับประทานลง

Intanin

2009-07-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

Ma-tum

2009-07-15T07:40:00.001-07:00

Herbal

2009-07-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

Herbal Medicine & Home Remedies : Benefits of Fish Oil

2009-07-15T07:34:00.001-07:00

Pandanus amaryllifolius:Anti-influenza

2009-07-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the screwpine genus which is known commonly as pandan and used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. It is an erect green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woody aerial roots. The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.

The plant is rare in the wild but cultivated widely for use as a flavoring in cooking. The leaves are used fresh or wilted, and are commercially available in frozen form in Asian grocery stores in nations where the plant does not grow. They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor of Indonesian, Filipino, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese and Burmese foods, especially rice dishes and cakes. The leaves are sometimes steeped in coconut milk, which is then added to the dish. They may be tied in a bunch and cooked with the food. They also may be woven into a basket which is used as a pot for cooking rice. Pandan chicken, or gai ob bai toey, is a Thai dish with chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and fried. The leaves are also used as a flavoring for desserts such as pandan cake and sweet beverages.

In Indonesian it is called pandan wangi, soon-mhway in Burmese, and in Vietnamese it is called lá dứa. The leaves of the plant have a repellent effect on cockroaches.

The characteristic aroma of pandan is caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline which also gives white bread, jasmine rice and basmati rice, and bread flowers (Vallaris glabra) their typical smell.

Extracting of fluids of Pandanus amaryllifolius can surpass the normal aroma of fresh leaves