Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2015

Peruvian Forest - Tawari Tree used to treat infection, cancer, tumors and inflammation

By Liliana Usvat    
Blog 354-365


Medicinal Uses

The bark of the tawari tree is used to treat infection, cancer, tumors and inflammation.













Nowadays Tawari is used all around the world as a vegetable medicine (phytofarmacum). In South America it is considered to be astringent, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, fungicide and aperient, also used for ulcers, syphilis, gastrointestinal disorders, candidoses, cancer, diabetes, prostrate, obstructions and allergy. In the herbal medicine of the USA it is considered to be as a bearer of analgetic, anti-oxidate, anti-parasite, anti-microbe, fungicide, antivirus, anti-inflammatory, purgative and also anti-cancer features.


 It is used for external and internal treatment of fevers, infections, cold, flu, syphilis, cancer, respiratory problems, derm ulcers, dyzentery, gastro-interstinary problems of all kinds, artritidy, prostrate and circulate non-adequancies. Other, previously treated and registrated stages, are diabetes, lupus, ulcers, leucemy, allergy, hepatic problems, Hodgkins disease, osteomyelitidy, Parkinson disease and psoriasis.
 
 It is also a very popular instrument for treatment of leaver infections. 



Tawari has a long, well documented history of the Indian rainforest natives usage who used several kinds of Tabebuia including T.serratifolia,T.chrysantha, T.heptaphylla, T.impetiginosa, T.rosea. 
 
 There are indicia about using this trees also by Inks. In fact the clans living thousands miles away used also their treatment effects. Some of the native Indian tribes from tropical rainforests used the wood for manufacturing the bows and arrows and that is why they called this tree in breastsummer ,,bow,,. Indians from the Guarani and Tupi tribe call the tree ,,tajy,, what means to “have the strength and spirit,, and they use the crust on various medicine methods. 

The native use covers the stages as malary, anemia, respiratory problems, cold, cough, flu, mould infections, fever, artrididy, rheumatism, against the snakebite, bad blood circulation, syphilis, ulcers and cancer.

Traditional enthomedicinal uses:
For reducing the blood sugar level, reduction of gassiness, treatments of bile stones, liver diseases, infection diseases and for a complete repair of organism, the bast is used as a draught prepared apr. 20-25 minutes on a very mild fire (under a cover) in the ratio 10:1000.

Phytoterapeutic properties:
Analgetic, anti-bacterial, fungicide,anti-inflammatory, anti-saprophytic, antioxidative, anti-mutagenous, anti-leucemic, antirheumatic, anti-carcinogen, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunostimulant, laxative.


Family: Bignoniaceae (Trumpet creeper family)

Genus: Tabebuia Specie: serratifolia (Jacq.) Nich.

Common names: Pau d’arco, abano, acapro, araguanei, chacaradanga, chonta, curarire, roxo, lapacho, tahuari, taheebo, trumpet tree, 


Description

Tabebuia spp. is a big tree situated in some parts of south-american tropical rainforests. It usually grow up to the height of 150 feet and the trunk base is in average between 4-6 feet. The tribe Tabebuia include a big amount of big and beautifully blooming trees, e.g. serratifolia, ochracea,chrysantha and others, which have concretely big and lovely violet flowers. The tribes of Tabebuias are very common picture of the south-american country and cities, just for their beauty. Unfortunately they are also very popular for companies, which lumber the wood - due to very resistant and tough wood, which is commonly used on houses constructions even on ships and agricultural tools.


Nowadays Tawari is used all around the world as a vegetable medicine (phytofarmacum). In South America it is considered to be astringent, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, fungicide and aperient, also used for ulcers, syphilis, gastrointestinal disorders, candidoses, cancer, diabetes, prostrate, obstructions and allergy. In the herbal medicine of the USA it is considered to be as a bearer of analgetic, anti-oxidate, anti-parasite, anti-microbe, fungicide, antivirus, anti-inflammatory, purgative and also anti-cancer features.


 It is used for external and internal treatment of fevers, infections, cold, flu, syphilis, cancer, respiratory problems, derm ulcers, dyzentery, gastro-interstinary problems of all kinds, artritidy, prostrate and circulate non-adequancies. Other, previously treated and registrated stages, are diabetes, lupus, ulcers, leucemy, allergy, hepatic problems, Hodgkins disease, osteomyelitidy, Parkinson disease and psoriasis.

 It is also a very popular instrument for treatment of leaven infections.
 


The chemical components and active units of Tabebuia tribe are very well documented. Its usage and recorded results of the treatment of various kinds of cancer in the first decade of the sixtith years accelerated most of the research about this plant. 

 Its against-cancer features were firstly fastened on the phytochemical called lapachol which is located in the crust and in the wood. In the study from the year 1968, lapachons proved a significant effect against cancer´s tumours of rats.

Sequentialy in the year 1974, NCI recorded that in the first stage of clinical tests lapachons did not banish the terapeutical effect without sequential side effects and that is why was interupted the cancer research.

 An another important researching group developed in 1975 lapachol which very effectively extended the life-span about more than 80% at mouses inoculated by leucemic cells. In the short study from the year 1980 at 9 patients with various kinds of cancer (liver, kidney, breast, prostate, cervix) recorded that the pure lapachol showed the ability to reduce the tumours and to reduce the feeling of pain caused by tumours and demostrated the complete remission at three patients.

Beside lapachol it consists at least 20 other active components to which are imputed various effects. It was clearly proved the often medical using in a big number of diseases caused by microorganisms which interprete us its wide range of using in nature medicine. 


The effects probably come from a bigger feed of oxigene on the local level, killing the bacterias, virus, mould and parasites. The anti-microbe characteristics were clinicaly verified in many studies and they show strong effects at gram-positive bacterias and moulds, including Candida, Staphylococcus, Trichophyton, Brucella, Tuberculosis, Pneumonie, Streptococcus and Shigella. 

These components further deported the significant anti-virus character at virus like Herpes I and II, Influenza, Poliovirus and Vesicular stomatitis virus. Its anti-parasite effects showed in malaria, Schistosoma, Trypanosoma and were clinically acknowledged. The crust samples proved the anti-inflammation activity against wide range of irritations. At derivates of furans (naftofurans), naftochinons, naftopyranons – summary + marked as lapachons was proved the significant cytotoxicity ( the inhibition of reverse transcriptose).

Tawari is an important source from tropical rainforest with many opportunities of using in herbal medicine. Unfortunately its popularity and using has always been guided with controversy thanks to various effect results that were caused by the missing quality control and confusing about which parts of the plant to use for processng and how to proceed in the preparation.


 There are several kinds of Tabebuia, also as other, completely unrelated tree kinds, which are exported from South America, e.g.,,Lapacho,, „Tawari“,„Pau´D Arco“ etc, which have just very low or no active ingredients from the studies of subjacented and used medical kinds. 

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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Mosquito Repellent Trees - Neem Tree and other Medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 294-365


Neem is the “village pharmacy.” Every part of the plant has bioactive compounds that can be used in medicine and agriculture. It is a fast growing tree that can provide  shelter, food, medicine, and crop protection. We are just beginning to learn of the benefits that this tree offers.



Names

Botanists know it as Azadirachta indica, the generic name coming from Persian words meaning “free” or “noble tree” and the species name being Latin for “Indian”.

Description

The neem tree is one of the most versatile of India’s plants. Valued for centuries throughout tropical Asia for its multitude of medicinal and other uses.

The umbrella-shaped neem, a member of the mahogany family (Meliaceae), grows to about 50 feet tall. It is generally evergreen, though in some areas it may be briefly deciduous. Its foot-long leaves are divided into 8 to 18 toothed leaflets which measure 1 to 4 inches long by 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches wide. Fragrant white flowers about 1/2 inch broad in branching groups crowd in the leaf axils. The thin-fleshed, egg-shaped yellow fruits measure about 3/4 inch long and contain a single seed.

Distribution

 It is planted as a street tree in Haiti and is also cultivated in Guatemala, Cuba, and Nicaragua. It grows in Hawaii and Florida but rarely flowers in the latter state. 

Uses


The young, tender branches have been widely used in India and other countries as “chewing sticks” to keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy. 

Commercial toothpastes containing neem extracts are now available in India, Europe, and the United States. Limited clinical trials have shown neem toothpaste to be a potential treatment for gingivitis. 

Neem branches are also placed in stored grain to repel insects.

The bitter leaves and flowers are eaten as a potherb, and the fruit is also edible.

Organic farmers use it in bio-pesticides, as it is naturally-derived and potent. Aphids, mealy bugs, mites, thrips, cabbage worms and any number of insects.

Neem flowers are generally used in cooking to improve digestive health. This also used to treat excessive phlegm and intestinal worms. Some preparations dried flowers been powdered and used. Generally the dried flowers are roasted in ghee and used in the dishes.
The flowering season of the Neem tree falls on Jan to May (Spring season), but only once in a year. During that time one can pick the flowers and dry them in sun 
Medicinal Uses

 In Indian folk medicine, the leaves are prescribed for many ailments,

  •  including intestinal parasites, 
  • swollen glands, 
  • bruises, 
  • sprains, and 
  • malaria
  • Leaf extracts have been shown to have antiviral activity 
  • and delay blood clotting (confirming their efficacy as traditional snakebite treatments), and 
  • the leaf essential oil has strong antibacterial and 
  • antifungal ­activity. Research on neem’s potential against malaria is now under way in Africa.
  • The fruit has been used to treat urinary disorders and 
  • hemorrhoids
  •  Like the leaf oil, the seed oil has been shown to be antifungal and antiseptic, and it may also be contraceptive. 
  • An attractive characteristic of neem insecticides is their very low toxicity to humans, plants, and other animals including certain beneficial insects. 
  • Neem has a curative effect on chronic skin conditions that have not been successfully helped through conventional medical treatments. 
  • Acne, 
  • dry skin,
  •  dandruff, 
  • psoriasis, 
  • eczema,
  •  herpes, 
  • shingles, 
  • andringworm have all been shown to respond to natural creams salves or lotions made with neem.
  • Cancer. Remember that many of the conventional anticancer drugs are derived from plants. The benefits of neem have been extensively and scientifically studied. The components extracted from the seeds, leaves, flowers and fruits of the neem tree have been used in traditional medicine for the cure of multiple diseases including cancer for centuries. These extracts show chemo preventive and anti-tumor effects in different types of cancer. Two bioactive components in neem, azadirachtin and nimbolide, have been studied extensively.
History

Neem’s Sanskrit name “Nimba” is a derivative of the phrase “Nimbati svasthyamdadati“, which means “to give good health”. Its medicinal use dates back to the Vedic periods in India, around 4,000 BCE. 

Through various traditions in various regions, it became useful for treating a great many ailments, such as leprosy, heat rash, wounds, ulcers and chicken pox. It was used widely and diversely in agriculture. 

It is still prescribed in the ancient practices of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, systems of medicine which are still practiced and taught today.



Receipt for  alternative to bug spray.


You can give it a try at home, for an environmentally sound alternative to bug spray.
Ingredients
  • 3 large handfuls of neem leaves
  • 1 kilo of pure shea butter
  • 1 bar of soap
  • 1 litre of water

Recipe
Boil the neem leaves in the water until the water turns green. Strain out the leaves. Grate the soap into fine pieces and add to the hot liquid, stirring until dissolved. Add in the shea butter a little at a time, and stir until incorporated. Let cool, and store in an airtight container.
This is a great product to use to protect the children from malaria.
Neem as an Insecticide

Neem is classified as an “anti-feedant”, which means that pest insects refuse to eat anything covered with it. This effectively reduces populations that infest your garden; your crops are these insects primary food of choice.

Neem also works by disrupting insects’ hormone balance, instead of being a simple poison that kills them through toxicity. The soft-bodied insects it is most effective against (such as whitefly and aphids), come into contact with neem and the chemical impulses which tell them to eat, mate, fly or molt are not received. 

This disrupts their population to the extent that it quickly fails. The fact that it does no harm to predatory insects leaves pests more susceptible to predation. The fact that it is non-toxic and safe for application means that it can be used as needed without worrying about residual toxic effects, like most pesticides.

Reforestation with Neem Tree

Propagation:

The most common propagation method is to grow neem trees from seed.
There have been trials using cuttings, suckers, roots and tissue culture, and it all works, but planting seed is by far the easiest and the most common method.
As long as the seed is fresh it germinates readily in about a week.

I have never tried to raise seeds in pots, I just put them straight into the ground and they do fine anywhere. However, I see no problem with raising them in pots. Any standard mix, supplemented with a balanced fertilizer, should do.
Neem trees develop a very deep and strong tap root. 

Leaving them in pots or polythene bags for too long will lead to stunted and distorted roots, and it is also very easy to damage roots when the tree is planted out. So if you start them in pots, get them out in the garden as soon as they are big enough.

Growth And Life Span

Neem trees grow slowly during their first year, but they reach maturity fast. You can expect to harvest your first neem fruit after three to five years. It takes about ten years for a neem tree to get to full production. After that it will produce 30 to 50 kg of fruit a year. A neem tree can be expected to live 150 to 200 years.

Sunlight: The more, the better. Especially young neem trees cannot handle shade.

Soil you can grow neem trees in just about any soil.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Strange Trees Cannon ball tree or Couroupita guianensis Medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 148-365


The cannon ball tree is one of the more spectacular South American trees to be planted in subtropical and tropical botanical gardens throughout the world. This magnifient tree can be seen in cultivation at the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens in Coral Gables, Florida. The species was given the name Couroupita guianensis in 1775 by the French botanist J. F. Aublet and is a member of the Brazil nut family.  The tree is also called a “sala tree,”


This big tree can grow 35 m (115 ft) tall and achieve an 80 cm (2.6 ft) trunk diameter.  



The large, sweetly fragrant flowers (and later the fruit) are borne directly from the trunk and main branches (cauliflory) in large clusters on woody stalks that can be a few metres long. The heavy fruits drop from the tree with great force and may crack open upon landing, revealing a foul smelling pulp with many seeds. Wild peccaries and other animals eat the pulp and disperse the seeds in their waste.

Pollination


The tree at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, FL, is self-incompatible. It requires cross -pollination from another tree (in past years, the tree at Montgomery Botanical Center was the daddy). The flowers are borne on long, woody, perennial branches that originate from the lower part of the trunk and hang down. The cold weather Miami is getting this week will cause the tree to completely defoliate within a couple of days, but new, replacement leaves will grow out within a couple of weeks.

Most fruits of this species in nature are probably the result of the movement of pollen from one tree to another, but experiments show that self-pollinated plants of the cannon ball tree also set fruit.

Dispersal
 
Observation of a tree under which the ground was covered by many fruits revealed that they remained untouched until a herd of peccaries passed by and broke open the fruits and consumed the pulp. Presumably the peccaries pass the seeds in their feces and some of the seeds germinate. The seeds of species of Couroupita have hairs on their seed coat which may protect them from digestive juices and facilitate their passage through the digestive tracts of animals.

Medicinal Uses


In the Amazon all parts of the tree are used medicinally by the shamans who also eat the fruit, although this is not recommended for ordinary mortals who probably have allergic reactions to it.



Each of these fruits, or cannonballs, contains up to 200 or 300 seeds apiece.  This tree is considered a maestro plant, as its spirit enjoys teaching and the plant itself has incredible medicinal properties. The spirit is typically male and works well with other power plants like ayahuasca.



The flowers, leaves, bark and fruit flesh are used medicinally. Ayahuma possesses
  • antibiotic, 
  • anti-microbial
  • antifungal, 
  • antiseptic and
  •  analgesic qualities. 
  • Can be used to treat heart diseases,
  •  aids, 
  • cancer, 
  • osteoporosis,
  •  memory loss,

  •  infectious diseases resistant to vaccines, 
  • parasitic worms and 
  • to treat animals.
  • The bark is used to cure colds and 
  • stomach aches. 
  • The juice made from the leaves is used to cure skin diseases and
  •  for treating malaria. 
  •  The inside of the fruit can disinfect wounds and 
  • young leaves ease toothache.  
  • In Ayurvedic medicine the leaves are used as an anti-inflammatory, and for alopecia, skin diseases and fevers.
  • In folk medicine the tree and its parts are said to bring someone who is mad back to sanity. 
  • In the Amazon, the flesh of the fruit is used to clean wounds
Around the World


The cannonball tree is native to the tropical forests in the Amazon basin in northeastern South America and also the islands of the southern Caribbean. It has been used traditionally as an anti-microbial and anodyne. There is some controversy on its native status in India and Thailand.


In India, the tree is revered, and planted near Shiva temples. It is called Shivalinga in Hindi, and Nagalingam in Tamil. Some proponents of pre-columbian transoceanic voyages cite fossil evidence and written historical records of Couroupita guianensis in Asia as proof of transcontinental trade.
  • It is a sacred tree for Hindus. 
  • It is often associated with Shiva temples in India.
  •  It is called the Nagalingam tree in Tamil.
Stories



The cannonball fruit is thought to have been originally eaten and dispersed by giant ground sloths, which are now extinct. In modern times, peccaries have been observed eating the fruit. In the tropics, where the cannonball tree is planted for its beautiful and aromatic flowers, there are signs on the trees warning people to stay away from the base of the tree, as its heavy fruit falls to the ground randomly.

Cannon Ball and Religion


It is common for curanderos to diet with this powerful tree in order to strengthen their spirits and protect them from dark or negative entities.

The Cannonball tree is held in high regard by the shamans of the Amazon region.They call it “head of spirit” or Ayahuma.


It is sacred to Hindus who call it Nagalingam, as it has what resembles the sacred serpent on the large Shiva lingam in the centre of the flower and there are other Shiva lingams around this. 

In Buddhist countries the cannonball tree represents Enlightenment and is found in many temples (sometimes known as Bodhi tree) as it is very reminiscent of the Sala tree (Shorea Robusta species) under which Buddha is supposed to have died, or according to others, under which He was born. Very sacred, either way.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Dragon Fruit Tree - Anti Cancer Super Fruit

By Liliana Usvat


"Pitahaya" or "Dragonfruit" is the fruit of several cactus species.

Pitahaya-producing cacti of the genus Hylocereus are originally native to Mexico, and they were also transplanted to Central America and to other parts of the world.

Currently, they are also cultivated in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia and more recently Bangladesh.

The fruit was probably introduced by Europeans who brought it from the New World. In the case of Taiwan, the fruit was brought in by the Dutch.

Health Benefits 

  • Dragon Fruit Antioxidants - Eat dragon fruit as a good natural source of anti-oxidants which help to prevent the dangers of free radicals which can cause cancer and other undesirable health detriments
  • The fruit has been hailed as having remarkable health-giving properties, including the ability to regulate blood sugar levels in diabetes as well as providing a dose of anti-oxidants.
  • Dragon Fruit Vitamin C - The amount of vitamin C in dragon fruit is high

  • Dragon Fruit Cholesterol -Dragon fruit is both low in cholesterol and has little to no unhealthy cholesterol producing fats 
  • Dragon Fruit Fiber - Dietary fiber is an important nutrition factor for everyone from young to old, and the best way to get dietary fiber is to eat fruits and vegetables including fruits like the dragon fruit. 
  • 50% of the seeds were made up of an essential fatty acid, oleic acid, which helps lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol.


  • a study indicates regular consumption of dragon fruit may lower the risks of developing heart disease and developing high blood pressure.
  • Dragon fruit is high in antioxidants. Studies show that antioxidants may be effective at lowering risk of certain types of cancer.
  • The seeds contain omega-3 fats. A great deal of research shows that omega-3 fatty acids can fight inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
  • Because of its nutritional makeup, including antioxidants, monounsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fiber, pitaya is a beauty-enhancing fruit.
 
Also known as pitaya, dragonfruit is a hemi-epiphytic cactus that produces large and tasty fruits with neon pink skin and a surprising white flesh that's peppered with tiny black seeds. These seeds are really easy to germinate, and the patient gardener will one day be rewarded with a fruit bearing plant of her own!


 Blog 140-365

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Forest Plants - Tumeric - Mecicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat

Turmeric grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. Turmeric comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant and has a tough brown skin and a deep orange flesh. Turmeric has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory in both the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine. Turmeric was traditionally called "Indian saffron" because of its deep yellow-orange color and has been used throughout history as a condiment, healing remedy and textile dye. 



Turmeric is an excellent source of both iron and manganese. It is also a good source of vitamin B6, dietary fiber, and potassium.

Culinary

 
Turmeric is widely used as a spice in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Many Persian dishes use turmeric as a starter ingredient. Almost all Iranian fried dishes consist of oil, onions, and turmeric followed by any other ingredients that are to be included.

Turmeric is mostly used in savory dishes, but is used in some sweet dishes, such as the cake Sfouf. In India, turmeric plant leaf is used to prepare special sweet dishes, patoleo, by layering rice flour and coconut-jaggery mixture on the leaf, and then closing and steaming it in a special copper steamer (goa).

Folk medicine and traditional uses

In Tamilnadu, turmeric has been used traditionally for thousands of years as a remedy for stomach and liver ailments, as well as topically to heal sores, basically for its supposed antimicrobial property.

 In the Siddha system (since c. 1900 BCE) turmeric was a medicine for a range of diseases and conditions, including those of the skin, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal systems, aches, pains, wounds, sprains, and liver disorders. A fresh juice is commonly used in many skin conditions, including
 
  • eczema, 
  • chicken pox, 
  • shingles, 
  • allergy, and 
  • scabies.
Manjal Pal (turmeric milk) is warm milk mixed with some turmeric powder. It is commonly used in Tamilnadu as a home remedy when someone is suffering from fever. Turmeric paste is often used in Tamilnadu as an antiseptic in open wounds, while chun-holud (turmeric with slaked lime) is used to stop bleeding as home remedies. It is also used as a detanning agent in Tamilnadu.

The active compound curcumin is believed to have a wide range of biological effects including 
  • anti-inflammatory, 
  • improved Liver Functions
  • antioxidant, 
  • antitumour,
  • antibacterial, and
  • antiviral activities, which indicate potential in clinical medicine. 
  • In Chinese medicine, it is used for treatment of various infections and as an antiseptic.
  • administration of curcumin or turmeric can suppress several stages of cancer development in multiple tumor models.

  • irreversibly inhibit the multiplication of leukemia cells in a cell culture 
  • Help for Cystic Fibrosis Sufferers 
  • Epidemiological studies have linked the frequent use of turmeric to lower rates of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer; laboratory experiments have shown curcumin can prevent tumors from forming; and research conducted at the University of Texas suggests that even when breast cancer is already present, curcumin can help slow the spread of breast cancer cells to the lungs in mice. 

  • An Effective Treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • prevent the oxidation of cholesterol in the body. Since oxidized cholesterol is what damages blood vessels and builds up in the plaques that can lead to heart attack or stroke, preventing the oxidation of new cholesterol may help to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease.   
  • Relief for Rheumatoid Arthritis 

  • Inhibits Cancer Cell Growth and Metastases
  • Protection against Alzheimer's Disease
  • Turmeric and Onions May Help Prevent Colon Cancer. Curcumin, a phytonutrient found in the curry spice turmeric, and quercitin, an antioxidant in onions, reduce both the size and number of precancerous lesions in the human intestinal tract
Tips for Preparing Turmeric 
Be careful when using turmeric since its deep color can easily stain. To avoid a lasting stain, quickly wash any area with which it has made contact with soap and water. To prevent staining your hands, you might consider wearing kitchen gloves while handling turmeric. 
If you are able to find turmeric rhizomes in the grocery store, you can make your own fresh turmeric powder by boiling, drying and then grinding it into a fine consistency.

History

Turmeric has been used in Tamilnadu for thousands of years and is a major part of Siddha medicine. It was first used as a dye and then later for its medicinal properties.

 Siddha Medicine

Siddha Medicineis one of the oldest medical systems known to mankind  Reported to have surfaced more than 10000 years ago, the Siddha system of medicine is considered one of the most ancient traditional medical systems. 

The Siddha flourished in the period of Indus Valley civilization. Palm leaf manuscripts says that the Siddha system was first described by Lord Shiva to his wife Parvathy. Parvathy explained all this knowledge to her son Lord Muruga. He taught all these knowledge to his disciple sage Agasthya. Agasthya taught 18 Siddhars and they spread this knowledge to human beings.
 
Siddhars were of the concept that a healthy soul can only be developed through a healthy body. So they developed methods and medication that are believed to strengthen their physical body and thereby their souls.

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