Showing posts with label sprains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sprains. Show all posts

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.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Gray Alder, Alnus incana Nitrogen Fixing Tree and Medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 266-365
















Alnus incana is a deciduous Tree growing to 18 m (59ft) by 5 m (16ft) at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone (UK) 2. It is in flower from Feb to March. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind.It can fix Nitrogen. 


Alders have nodules on their roots that contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. When an alder rots, this nitrogen is added to the soil.

These plants are wind pollinated. Their pollen grains are so small (0.03mm) they can float long distances on a slight breeze

Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry moist or wet soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Reforestation

This species fixes atmospheric nitrogen and is also tolerant of polluted soils, it can be used for land reclamation, especially on coal tips. This is an excellent pioneer species for re-establishing woodlands on disused farmland, difficult sites.

 Its fast rate of growth means that it quickly provides sheltered conditions to allow more permanent woodland trees to become established. 

In addition, bacteria on the roots fix atmospheric nitrogen - whilst this enables the tree to grow well in quite poor soils it also makes some of this nitrogen available to other plants growing nearby

Alder trees also have a heavy leaf canopy and when the leaves fall in the autumn they help to build up the humus content of the soil. 

Alder seedlings do not compete well in shady woodland conditions and so this species gradually dies out as the other trees become established. The bark and the fruits contain up to 20% tannin. Wood - light, soft, fairly elastic, easy to split. 

  • Prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation. 
  • Grows well in heavy clay soils 
  • Thrives in drier soils than many other members of this genus. 
  • Tolerates very infertile sites. 
  • This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil micro-organisms, these form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. 
  • Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. 
  • Special Features:Attractive foliage,
  •  Not North American native, 
  • Wetlands plant, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.
Medicinal Uses

  • An infusion of the bark is used as a gargle fortreating sore throat, poor circulation, diarrhea and eye problems.
  • Bark (outer & inner) is astringent and powerfully bitter.
  • Bark 3.5g boiled in 250ml vinegar is a good remedy for lice. This also makes an excellent mouth wash when diluted with equal parts water.
  • Bark is dried and aged for several weeks, then powdered. 30ml powdered bark is mixed with 250ml brown apple cider and 5ml is taken 3 times a day to relieve constipation.
  • Leaves applied directly to bare feet in shoes helps with blisters, burning and aching.
  • Leaves are used to relieve inflammation.
  • Leaves in decoction have been used to soak sore feet.
  • Buds and green cones can be chewed and the juice swallowed. This is good juice and good for colds.
  • Bark decoctions were used to relieve cramps, diarrhea and vomiting, to aid circulation, sooth stomach ache, ease childbirth, stop bleeding, and also to treat eye problems.
  • Leaves were moistened with warm milk and used as a poultice to relieve external swellings and inflammation or somtetimes used alone.
  • Twig decoctions were drunk as a remedy for impure blood.
Native Americans used speckled alder 
  • to treat anemia, as an emetic, 
  • acompress or wash for sore eyes, and 
  • a diaphoretic, 
  • for internal bleeding, 
  • urinary problems, 
  • sprains, 
  • bruises or 
  • backaches, 
  • itches, 
  • flux, and 
  • piles, 
  • to cure saddle gall in horses.

Folklore:
  • Some Dena'ina say it should not be used for cooking meat because a red juice which looks like blood bubles out of it when it is burned.
  • In Europe was considered a spirit-haunted tree, and when cut it may begin to , bleed, weep or even speak.