Showing posts with label eczema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eczema. Show all posts

Monday, March 24, 2014

Baobab Tree - Protector of the African Continent Fight Diabetis

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 163-365


Baobab is the common name of a genus of trees (Adansonia). There are eight species, six native to Madagascar, and one each to mainland Africa and Australia.

Viewed by the native population as their symbol of the African Continent and as their Protector, the Baobab is of high importance for humans and animals as it provides them with food and medicine. In traditional African medicine, the Baobab is used to help treat fever, diarrhea, dysentery, malaria, smallpox, and inflammation. 
 
The Baobab Tree is also known as the “Tree of Life”, “The Chemist Tree” and “The Monkey Bread Tree”. The scientific name is Adansonia Digitata. It is a deciduous tree that can reach 30 meters or 90 feet in height and 15 meters or 45 feet in diameter. The swollen, short, bottle shaped trunk can store up to 30,000 gallons of water during the dry season, which serves as water storage for the villages. The Baobab Tree can live up to 5000 years and is protected from fire due to its spongy wood.

Known as 'The Tree of Life', the baobab is an icon of the African savannah; a symbol of life and positivity in a landscape where little else can thrive. The Baobab trees are also known as an upside down bottles or monkey bread trees. 
 
Two magnificent baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) with possibly the widest tree-trunks to be found in the Caribbean grow in Barbados!  The largest can be seen in our Queen's Park in Bridgetown. To give an example of the size of this tree of great distinction, it takes 15 adults joining with outstretched arms to cover its circumference.

This tree is estimated as being over one thousand years old! It is thought that a seed floated from Ginea, West Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the shores of Barbados and eventually grew into this magnificent tree. 

 
The other grand specimen can be found on the Warrens Road in St.Michael, where the inscription on the wooden plaque reads:  Boabab Tree (Adansonia digitata)

 
 One of the two mature trees in Barbados. This remarkable tree of girth 44.5 ft (13.6m) is believed to have been brought from Guinea, Africa around 1738 making it over 250 years old. Its jug-shaped trunk is ideally suited for storing water, an ideal adaption in the dry savannah
regions of its native Africa.

Another larger Baobab tree of girth 51.5 ft (18.5m) is located in Queen's Park, Bridgetown. 

 
Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden in Miami has a Baobab tree. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a 83-acre (34 ha) botanic garden, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees and vines. It is located in metropolitan Miami, just south of Coral Gables, Florida, United States.

Currently, Fairchild supports some 22,800 catalogued plants that comprise more than 3,400 species—a phenomenal increase from the 1939 inventory of 692 plants and 243 species. Fairchild’s palm and cycad collection are among the greatest in the world.

Stories about Baobab
 
The folklore surrounding these trees are truly amazing, one tale tells of God accidentally planting the tree upside down, there fore when a Baobab tree dies it spontaneously catches fire, apparently the event of a baobab tree catching fire has some credible witnesses, that describes this as a wondrous and completely unbelievable thing to witness.

Uses

  • The leaves are used as condiments and medicines. The fruit, called "monkey bread", is edible, and full of Vitamin C. The fruit has a velvety shell and is about the size of a coconut, weighing about 1.44 kilograms (3.2 lb). It has a somewhat acidic flavour, described as 'somewhere between grapefruit, pear, and vanilla'
  •  The tree bears fruit once a year, which is harvested by the local population. The fruit contains naturally dehydrated fruit pulp, which is then mechanically separated from the fiber and seeds. The leaves and seeds provide botanical extracts used in a variety of industries. The seed endocarp has naturally occurring Omega 3, 6 and 9. 
  • The tree can store hundreds of litres of water, which is an adaptation to the harsh drought conditions of its environment. The tree may be tapped in dry periods.
  • These seed are considered refreshing to suck and when boiled or soaked in water they make a refreshing lemony flavored drink. 
  • Some natives believe that drinking the water that the seeds were soaked in would protect them from crocodiles.
 
Medicinal Uses

Baobab tree is also known as the “Tree of Life” due to its nutrition facts. New reports have shown that the ingredients in African baobab tree and its fruit cover vitamins and nutrients including riboflavin, niacin and vitamins C, A, D and E. This makes baobab enjoy a high reputation for its benefits.
 
In traditional African medicine, baobab fruit is used to treat a number of illnesses including
  • asthma - the leave is boiled and the water that is left after the boiling is done can be taken is small dosages to cure asthma, coughs and other chest related ailments
  •  fever, 
  • diarrhea, 
  • malaria and 
  • smallpox
  • In addition, practitioners of traditional African medicine often use baobab fruit to curb inflammation.
Baobab fruit can

  • help slow the aging process and
  •  protect against major illnesses like heart disease and 
  • cancer. 
  • diabet Prized in Africa for centuries for its health-boosting properties, the fruit from the ancient baobab tree is an extremely rich source of polyphenals, known to be beneficial in reducing the glycaemic response - the rate at which sugar is released into the bloodstream. 
 
  • The Baobab Essence has been very useful for pain, for example back pain or pain caused by arthritis, again having almost instantaneous results.
  • The flower essence also help to heal flesh wounds
  • Many people have reported that the Baobab has good (miraculous in a few cases) effects in pain, especially for the back and related to arthritis.
  • The edible oil in baobab can also be applied to the skin for beauty purposes.
  • The residue that remains after processing oil is mixed with coconut oil and used for making soap.  the soap helps to fight skin diseases, such as acne, sunburn, eczema and rashes.  
  • Baobab fruits are vital to encourage probiotic organisms to survive and thrive in the human gut. The soluble fiber, being a non-digestible food ingredient, stimulates the growth and activity of bacteria in the digestive system, which are beneficial to the health of the body.
  • Rich in iron, high in potassium and containing vital blood clotting ingredients it can even help support the circulatory system whilst the high-fibre content benefits the digestive system
Life Span

The trees are long-lived, but just how long is disputed. The owners of Sunland Farm in Limpopo, South Africa have built a pub called "The Big Baobab Pub" inside the hollow trunk of the 22 metres (72 ft) high tree. The tree is 47 m (155 ft) in circumference, and is said to have been carbon dated at over 6,000 years old.

Propagation from Seeds

Typically soaking baobab seed in hot water for 24 hour. After they have been soaked they will then need to be dried for another day or so before planting. The germination rate for baobab seeds can be low, slow and sporadic so sow two to three times the amount of seed required to ensure you get enough stock. Be aware that it can take 3-4 months from your first Baobab seedling to germinate until your last one pokes its head above the compost.

It is imperative that you use a very well-drained growing medium. You can use a standard seed compost - such as John Innes 'Seed and Cutting' but you will need to mix in an equal part of horticultural grit or perlite to improve the drainage further.


In order to germinate the baobab seeds the soil temperature will need to be kept at between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius, so unless you are blessed with these temperature naturally you will need to keep your compost - presumably held in a seed tray - in a heated propagator.

Planting seed approximately 1/2 in. deep in the compost and water well using warm water. The seeds can now be moved to a sunny position. Considering the baobabs natural environment, they will need as much light as possible.

Make sure that winter temperatures do not drop below 10 degrees Celsius. If this is likely then the Baobab will need to be brought in under temperature controlled protection such as the sunniest room in the house or a heated greenhouse.


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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