Peruvian Pepper Tree Medicinal Uses for Lung Disease Ulcers, Sores Inflamations Hearth Problems

By Liliana Usvat    
Blog 346-365
 

Other Names

• escobilla,
• false pepper

Traditional Medicinal Uses: as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial and antiseptic against bacterial, viral, and fungal infections; for Candida and yeast infections; to tone, balance, and strengthen heart function and as a heart regulator for arrhythmia and mild hypertension; to stop bleeding and heal wounds internally and externally

Suggested Use: Take 60 drops (2 ml) of a 1:4 tincture extract 2-3 times daily or as needed. Can also be used externally by applying to the skin twice daily and letting dry completely. As a gargle or mouth rinse, dilute 60 drops (2 ml) in a small amount of warm water and swish in mouth 2-3 times daily. To learn how to make your own extract, email me.

Traditional Preparation: The leaves are best prepared as an infusion, and the bark is best prepared as a decoction or an alcohol tincture. Generally, 1/2 cup of a bark decoction twice daily is used for colds, flu, sore throats and other upper respiratory infections; 2-3 ml of a 4:1 tincture taken two or three times daily can be substituted, if desired. This traditional remedy is also used as a heart tonic and for irregular heartbeat. A leaf decoction twice daily or as needed is generally used for menstrual disorders.

Contraindications: This plant has been documented with uterine stimulant and uterine antispasmodic actions in animal studies and should therefore not be used in pregnancy

WORLDWIDE ETHNO-MEDICAL USES
Argentina	for diarrhea, menstrual disorders, respiratory tract infections, inflammation, urinary tract infections, wounds
Brazil	for bronchitis, constipation, cough, cystitis, depression, diarrhea, eye diseases, fever, flu, gonorrhea, heart problems, hemorrhage, inflammation, menstrual disorders, respiratory tract infections, rheumatism, spasms, tumors, urethritis, urinary tract disorders, and as a astringent, stimulant, and tonic
Colombia	for diarrhea, lung diseases, rheumatism
Mexico	for asthma, bronchitis, cataract, colic, conjunctivitis, constipation, cough, digestive disorders, flu, foot fungus, gonorrhea, gum, mouth sores, rheumatism, sores (skin), stomachache, toothache, tuberculosis, tumors, ulcers, urogenital diseases, venereal disease, warts, wounds, and as an astringent
Paraguay	for gonorrhea, menstrual disorders, sores, urethritis, urinary insufficiency, wounds
Peru	for constipation, fevers, fractures, rheumatism, toothache, tumors, urinary insufficiency, warts, wounds, and as an antiseptic
South Africa	for arrhythmia, colds, cough, depression, gout, hypertension, inflammation, pain, rheumatism
Turkey	for constipation, coughs, excessive mucous, gonorrhea, urinary insufficiency, and as a digestive stimulant, and tonic
Uruguay	for menstrual disorders, rheumatism, wounds, and as an antiseptic
Elsewhere	for bronchitis, constipation, coughs, excessive mucous, edema, eye diseases, gingivitis, gout, hypertension, menstrual disorders, rheumatism, sores, swelling, urinary insufficiency, urogenital inflammation, venereal disease, viruses, and to stimulate digestion

This plant has a traditional use in South America for heart problems (hypertension and arrhythmia).

Main Actions

• antibacterial, 
• anticandidal,
•  antifungal, 
• antihemorrhagic (reduces bleeding), 
• cardiotonic (tones, balances, strengthens the heart) 

Other Uses

The leaves are also used for the natural dying of textiles in the Andean region. This practice dates back to pre-Columbian times.

Use for Reforestation

The tree reproduces through seed, suckers and cuttings. Seeds have a particularly hard coat and germination rates are greatly improved after seeds have passed through the gut of birds or other animals. Seeds germinate in spring, with seedlings slow growing until established

Medicinal Trees Dogwood (Cornus ) bark is used for ever, pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, hemoroids, colic, ringworms

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 188-365


Dogwood (Cornus )

A medicine made from the bark of this tree native to the eastern United States often has been substituted for quinine.

Fruits

Cornus mas is commonly cultivated in Southeastern Europe for its edible berries, which can be eaten raw after slight bletting, turned into jams, and fermented into a wine.

Useful Parts of the Plant:

• Leaves
• Bark
• Ripe fruit

 

• Flowers
• Peel

Medicinal Uses

• Astringent, 
• febrifuge, 
• stimulant, 
• tonic

Cornus florida has been proven to prevent the spread of malaria. Their bark is rich in tannin and has been used as a substitute for quinine. During the civil war confederate soldiers would make a tea from the bark to treat pain and fevers, and dogwood leaves in a poultice to cover wounds


Dogwood bark is best used as an

• ointment for ague - A tincture can be made out of either the leaves or the bark of the plant and can be used to treat various ailments such as eczema, skin infections, intestinal parasites, veal skin, and gout and so on. 

The tincture should be prepared in the following: mix 50 g of the ground plant in 250 ml of alimentary alcohol. Filter this mixture for 15 days. It is advisable to consume about 10-15 drops of this tincture (after diluting in water) about three times a day.

• Cornus is also useful in treating colic.
• Making a tea out of dogwood has been found beneficial in bringing down high temperatures, and relieving body chills as well.
• Dogwood teas are also effective in inducing vomiting as well as bringing about relaxation in sick persons.  
• The bark of the dogwood can also be used to treat external hemorrhoids. All you need to do is to boil about 4 tablespoons of the bark in about 1 liter of water for about half an hour. Filter this mixture and then apply on the affected areas for relief. 
• The leaves of the cornus plant are also effective in treating ringworm. A decoction should be made by boiling cornus leaves along with hag berry leaves. Consume this decoction in order to treat ringworm. 

• malaria (substitute for quinine), 
• fever, pneumonia, 
• colds, and similar complaints. 
• Used for diarrhea.  The fruits were widely used to treat dysentery and diarrhea. The method for doing this is as follows. About 9 cornus fruits were mixed with some pears and nutshells and a tea was made from these. This remedy was found to be effective for diarrhea.

Externally, poulticed onto external ulcers and sores.

• Jamaican dogwood is a fairly potent sedative well known as a specific for migraine headaches, neuralgia, and for treatment of insomnia caused by pain , nervous tension, and stress. The bark is anti-inflamatory and antispasmodic and can be used in cases of dysmenorrhea (painful periods). Jamaican dogwood is a strong analgesic that can be used along with other herbs to treat the musculoskeletal pain of arthritis and rheumatism. Preparation Methods & Dosage :Most often as a decoction, also taken in tincture and caps.

Formulas or Dosages

Use only dried dogwood bark. Fresh bark upsets the stomach and bowels.
Infusion: steep 1 tbsp. bark in 1 pint water for 30 minutes and strain. Take 1/2 cup every 2-3 hours.
Tincture: take 20-40 drops in water, as needed.

Folklore
 
This tropical shrub grows wild in Central America and the northern parts of South America. The bark of the root works similarly to aspirin pain relievers by blocking an enzyme that produces inflammatory and pain causing chemicals called prostaglandins. It gained its nickname "fish poison tree" from the West Indian practice of using it to stupify fish to make them easier to catch. 

Other Uses

The flowers of the plant can either be eaten raw or used in the making of syrups, brandy or marmalade.

Twigs used as chewing sticks, forerunners of the toothpick. It was sometimes used as a substitute when Peruvian bark could not be obtained. 

Biochemical Information

Tannic and gallic acids, resin, gum, oil, wax, lignin, lime potash and iron
Forestation
 
Dogwood can be propagated without much difficulty by its seeds. The seeds of dogwood are sown in the fall into organized rows of sand or sawdust and the seedling usually emerge in the ensuing spring. If you are using clean seeds the germination rate is excellent, almost 100 per cent. In fact, the dormancy of the seeds is prevailed over by means of cold stratification treatments for about 90 to 120 days (three to four months) at around 4°C (39°F).

Alternately, dogwood may also be propagated by softwood cuttings taken from new growth in the later part of spring or early part of summer and rooted.

While the success of rooting can be as high as 50 per cent to 85 per cent, this method is not generally used by commercial cultivators.  Selected cultivable varieties are usually propagated by a method called T-budding in the later part of summer or by means of another method known as whip grafting in the greenhouse during winter months onto seedling rootstock.

Name
 
Cornus is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods.

Other Names of Cornus:

• Common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)
• Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)
• Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)
• Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
• Canadian Dwarf Cornel (Cornus Canadensis)
• Eurasian Dwarf Cornel (Cornus suecica)
• Cornelian Cherry (Cornus Mas)
• Golden Dogwood (Cornus Alba)
• Dogwood (Cornus Contoversa)
• Flaviramea (Cornus Stolonifera)

Cerasee for Diabetis

By Liliana Usvat
174-365

A tea made of the vine is used for diabetes, hypertension, worms, dysentery, malaria and as a general tonic and blood purifier. It is also very effective to relieve constipation and colds and fevers in children.

Women in Latin American use the leaf for menstrual problems to promote discharge after childbirth.

The tea is taken for 9 days after giving birth to clean out and tone up all the organs involved in the delivery. Cerasee is also used as a natural method of birth control, by taking two cups each day after intercourse, for three days. It is said that women who drink Cerasee daily will not conceive during that time.
As a wash, the tea is used externally for sores, rashes, skin ulcers and all skin problems. A Cerasee bath is good for arthritis, rheumatism, gout and other similar ailments.
 
  Cerasee comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.  The Cerasee more typical of India has a narrower shape with pointed ends, and a surface covered with jagged, triangular "teeth" and ridges. It is green to white in color. Some bear miniature fruit of only 6–10 cm in length, which may be served individually as stuffed vegetables. These miniature fruit are popular in India and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

The flesh on the cerasee seeds are edible and sweet in taste. The pods found all over the cerasee vine, are first green, then turn orange when ripe.

Around the World 

  In Trinidad and Tobago, Cerasee are usually sautéed with onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper until almost crisp, while in Jamaica it is consumed exclusively by drinking.

Cerasee is a significant ingredient in Okinawan cuisine, and is increasingly used in mainland Japan. It is popularly credited with Okinawan life expectancies being higher than the already long Japanese ones.In the Philippines, Cerasee may be stir-fried with ground beef and oyster sauce, or with eggs and diced tomato. 
 
The dish pinakbet, popular in the Ilocos region of Luzon, consists mainly of Cerasee, eggplant, okra, string beans, tomatoes, lima beans, and other various regional vegetables altogether stewed with a little bagoong-based stock.

Cerasee can be consumed in two ways, sauteed or boiled, and drink as tea, or chilled, and serve as a refreshing drink. The young shoots and leaves of Cerasee may also be eaten as greens.Cerasee is often used in Chinese Cuisine for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea. It has also been used in place of hops as the bitter ingredient in some Chinese beers.It is very popular throughout South Asia.
 
 In Northern India, it is often prepared with potatoes and served with yogurt on the side to offset the bitterness, or used in sabji. In North Indian cuisine it is stuffed with spices and then cooked in oil. In Southern India it is used in the dishes thoran/thuvaran (mixed with grated coconut), theeyal (cooked with roasted coconut) and pachadi (which is considered a medicinal food for diabetics). 

Other popular recipes include preparations with curry, deep fried with peanuts or other ground nuts, and pachi pulusu, a soup with fried onions and other spices.  

In Tamil Nadu a special preparation in Brahmins' cuisine called 'pagarkai pitla' is a kind of sour 'Koottu' , variety is very popular. Also popular is ' kattu a curry stuffed with onions,cooked lentil and grated coconut mix, tied with thread and fried in oil. 

In Pakistan and Bangladesh, Cerasee is often cooked with onions, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, and a pinch of cumin seeds. Another dish in Pakistan calls for whole, unpeeled Cerasee to be boiled, and then stuffed with cooked ground beef, served with either hot tandoori bread, naan, chappati, or with khichri (a mixture of lentils and rice). 

Cerasee is widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, and drink, is among the bitterest of all fruits. Cerasee is very common here in Central Florida, but very few people really know the value of this very important herb. This herb may hold the key to a lot of the health problems we face. 

Medicinal Uses 
 
Today folks in the Caribbean still use cerasee as a blood cleanser; bush bath for beautiful skin; and for diabetes, cancer and other infectious diseases. We also use it for all types of stomach complaints including griping or pain in the stomach, amoebas and intestinal parasites and as a laxative. Research confirms these benefits by documenting the anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic properties within cerasee.

Cerasee has been used in various Asian and African traditional medicine systems for a long time. In Turkey it has been used as a folk remedy for a variety of ailments, particularly stomach complaints. The fruit is broken up and soaked in either olive oil or honey.The plant contains several biologically active compounds, chiefly momordicin I and II, and cucurbitacin B.

The plants contains also several bioactive glycosides (including momordin, charantin, charantosides, goyaglycosides, momordicosides) and other terpenoid compounds (including momordicin-28, momordicinin, momordicilin, momordenol, and momordol). It also contains cytotoxic (ribosome-inactivating) proteins such as momorcharin and momordin.
 
Diabetes:
                       In 1962, Lolitkar and Rao extracted from the plant a substance, which they called charantin, which had hypoglycaemic effect on normal and diabetic rabbits. Another principle, active only on diabetic rabbits, was isolated by Visarata and Ungsurungsie in 1981. Cerasee has been found to increase insulin sensitivity. In 2007, a study by the Philippine Department of Health determined that a daily dose of 100 mg per kilogram of body weight is comparable to 2.5 mg/kg of the anti-diabetes drug glibenclamide taken twice per day. Tablets of Bitter Melon extract are sold in the Philippines as a food supplement and exported to many countries.Other compounds in Cerasee have been found to activate the AMPK, the protein that regulates glucose uptake (a process which is impaired in diabetics).
                  
  Cerasee also contains a lectin that has insulin-like activity due to its non-protein-specific linking together to insulin receptors. This lectin lowers blood glucose concentrations by acting on peripheral tissues and, similar to insulin's effects in the brain, suppressing appetite. This lectin is likely a major contributor to the hypoglycemic effect that develops after eating Bitter Melon.

Anti malarial:
                    
 Cerasee is traditionally regarded in Asia as useful for preventing and treating malaria. Tea from its leaves is used for this purpose also in Panama and Colombia. In Guyana, Cerasee are boiled and stir-fried with garlic and onions. This popular side dish known as corilla is served to prevent malaria. Laboratory studies have confirmed that species related to Cerasee have anti-malarial activity, though human studies have not yet been published.
Anti Cancer:
                     Researchers at Saint Louis University claims that an extract from Cerasee, commonly eaten and known as karela in India, causes a chain of events which helps to kill breast cancer cells and prevents them from multiplying.
Cerasee has been used in traditional medicine for several other ailments, including dysentery, colic, fevers, burns, painful menstruation, scabies and other skin problems. It has also been used as abortifacient, (no ideas please) for birth control, and to help childbirth.

Anti viral:
                 
In Togo the plant is traditionally used against viral diseases such as chickenpox and measles. Tests with leaf extracts have shown in vitro activity against the herpes simplex type 1 virus, apparently due to unidentified compounds other than the momordicins.                

Laboratory tests suggest that compounds in Cerasee might be effective for treating HIV infection. As most compounds isolated from Cerasee that impact HIV have either been proteins or lectins, neither of which are well-absorbed, it is unlikely that oral intake of Cerasee will slow HIV in infected people. It is possible oral ingestion of Cerasee could offset negative effects of anti-HIV drugs, if a test tube study can be shown to be applicable to people.

Cardio protective:
                 
 Studies in mice indicate that Cerasee seed may have a cardio protective effect by down-regulating the NF-κB inflammatory pathway.
Cerasee has been used in traditional medicine for several other ailments, including dysentery, colic, fevers, burns, painful menstruation, scabies and other skin problems. It has also been used as abortifacient, for birth control, and to help childbirth.

Propagation

Propagated by cuttings, which, is planted on a bed on light earth, during any of the summer months.