Herbs - Artemisia Annua or Sweet Wormwood used for Cancer and Malaria treatment

By Liliana Usvat

Namely, according to the researches published in “Life Science”, artemisinin, a “Sweet wormwood” or “Artemisia Annua” derivative, was used in Chinese medicine and it can kill 98% of lung cancer cells in less than 16 hours. - See more at: http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/amazing-herb-kills-98-cancer-cells-just-16-hours/#sthash.7ARJsaKL.dpuf

Artemisia Annua Sweet wormwood is a shrub with fern-like leaves and bright yellow flowers.

Wormwood, also called Sweet Wormwood, Sweet Annie, Sweet Sagewort and other such names, is ARTEMISIA ANNUA. It's, a native of Eurasia.  It's a common weed in much of the US, especially the east-central states.


Sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) a shrub with fern-like leaves and bright yellow flowers. It's a member of the Asteraceae family and usually flowers between August and September. This plant thrives in direct sunlight and enjoys a variety of soil conditions. Native to Asia, it is now found throughout the world, especially in temperate zones at altitudes between 1000 and 1500 meters.

Artemisinin is the Key Antimalarial Constituent

In traditional Chinese medicine sweet wormwood is called "qinghoa" and used for the management of fevers and bleeding. It is also used for conditions of the digestive tract like flatulence and diarrhea. In modern allopathic medicine, a chemical component of this plant has shown astounding activity in the treatment of malaria. This constituent is a sesquiterpene lactone called "artemisinin" and it appears to kill and inhibit the growth of malaria-causing protozoa like Plasmodium falciparum.

Etymology

The etymology of the generic term (Artemisia) is safe and appears to derive from Artemisia, wife of Mausolus, King of Caria, but also, according to other etymologies, could come from the goddess of the hunt (Artemis), or from a Greek word " Artemesia "(= healthy), alluding to the medicinal properties of plants of the genus Artemisia. The specific name (year) refers to the annual biological cycle of the plant.


This plant has been used for decades in the treatment of many diseases, including dermatitis. Recently (after 1970) has been used against malaria, in fact, this plant is the active ingredient artemisinin antimalarial that has a significant function .

History

Artemisia annua has been used by Chinese herbalists for more than two thousand years in the treatment of many illnesses, such as skin diseases and malaria. The earliest record dates back to 200 BC, in the "Fifty-two Prescriptions" unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Dynasty tombs.


Its antimalarial application was first described, in Zhouhou Beiji Fang ("The Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies", Chinese: 肘后备急方), edited in the middle of the fourth century by Ge Hong. In that book, 43 malaria treatment methods were recorded.

according to the researches published in “Life Science”, artemisinin, a “Sweet wormwood” or “Artemisia Annua” derivative, was used in Chinese medicine and it can kill 98% of lung cancer cells in less than 16 hours. - See more at: http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/amazing-herb-kills-98-cancer-cells-just-16-hours/#sthash.5r8zIkVw.dpuf

according to the researches published in “Life Science”, artemisinin, a “Sweet wormwood” or “Artemisia Annua” derivative, was used in Chinese medicine and it can kill 98% of lung cancer cells in less than 16 hours. - See more at: http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/amazing-herb-kills-98-cancer-cells-just-16-hours/#sthash.5r8zIkVw.dpuf

Uses

Sweet Annie is used in tea from leaves and flowers dried or not.
Tea made from Sweet Wormwood is anything but sweet. It's fairly bitter and medicinal tasting, and most people would despise it.

• antibacterial (blocks the generation of bacteria);
• antiseptic (property to prevent or slow the growth of microbes); 
•  carminative (promotes the release of intestinal gas)
• digestive;
• febrifuge (lowers body temperature).
• kill 98% of lung cancer cells in less that 16 hours with no impact on healthy cells
• anti-malarial natural product
• good for treating worms
• used for fevers, 
• bleeding and 
• for conditions of the digestive tract like flatulence and
•  diarrhea.  
• Asthma: Prepare an inhalation by pouring one cup of boiling water onto some fresh or dried Artemisia leaves, and put the container on a low heat.
• Hemorrhoids: This is the oldest recorded use of Artemisia tea in traditional Chinese medicine. Drink one liter of Artemisia tea each day.  

• Stomach and Intestinal Problems, e.g. ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and chronic dysentery, also various rheumatic diseases, arthritis, soft-tissue rheumatism, borreliosis, babesiosis: Take Artemisia tea in the higher dose for 7 days, and then in the lower dose until the symptoms disappear. Artemisia disinfects the system and modulates the immune system (brings it back into balance).
• including gout, diabetes, high blood pressure, warts, osteoporosis, epilepsy, glandular fever, migraine, psoriasis and leishmaniosis. The gate is wide open for further research! The patients take tea using 5g of Artemisia each day for a week.  

• Skin problems; athlete’s foot, hemorrhoids, eczema: Use Artemisia ointment for its mild antiseptic effect. Pulverize 5 g (for hemorrhoids 2.5 g) of Artemisia leaves and mix with 100 ml of vegetable oil (the best is olive oil, otherwise peanut or sunflower oil). Heat this mixture on a water bath for 1 hour. Filter the mixture through a cloth, add 10 g of melted beeswax and immediately pour into containers (e.g. clean film canisters). Use within 1 year. Always apply on WET skin and rub in well.

Natural habitat
 

Native to Eurasia, from south-east Europe (including Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey) to Vietnam and northern India. Naturalised in many countries (including Argentina, Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States). It has even been occasionally recorded growing wild in the UK, arising from bird seed or wool shoddy, and has been cultivated experimentally as far north as Finland.

 
Natural habitat of Artemisia annua var. macrocephala alond rivers between redgrase.

Beautiful olive green foliage and with tiny flowers. This plant is excellent as a filler in any flower arrangement or any dried flower project. It's main use however is for it's stunning long lasting aroma which can fill the house with just a tiny movement of one small sprig. It is excellent for use in wreaths and other aroma projects. It's scent is strong and very pleasant, unlike any other plant. 


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Legume Trees Fix the Soil

By Liliana Usvat

Question: what can be done to reverse the loss of the soil on large area due to deforestation and desertification?

Nitrogen-Fixing Trees Help Tropical Forests Make a Comeback

Some species of trees can restore lost nutrients in deforested areas, helping other trees to grow.


Denuded forests were efficiently restored in a few years, mostly with the help of leguminous plants that fix atmospheric nitrogen and pump it into the soil.

Nitrogen-fixing trees helped secure a large amount of carbon in just 12 years. In just about a decade, the new forests had accumulated 40 percent of carbon found in old, mature tropical forests. Legume trees contributed to nearly half of the carbon "sink.

Trees turn nitrogen fixation on and off according to the need for nitrogen in the system.

Legume trees accumulated carbon nine times faster than non nitrogen-fixers during the early stages of forests' comeback. These trees even provided enough nitrogen for other trees to grow. The legume trees' secret lies in their relationship with a kind of bacteria known as rhizobia, which help the trees fix nitrogen. Tropical forest soil is often low in nitrogen.

Leguminous trees are essential for a forests' recovery and so their loss could lead to long-term problems for many species of trees, researchers said.
"Diversity really matters. Each tree species fixes nitrogen and carbon differently so species important at 12 years drop out or become less common at 30 years.

Pods of carob (Ceratonia siliqua)

Pods of carob (Ceratonia siliqua), an ancient Mediterranean crop. Great livestock fodder and edible for humans as well. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

These trees are providing more than just food for animals. Livestock enjoy the shade they provide, especially in the tropical sun. Many of these trees fix nitrogen. Some even have pods edible for humans.

 The pods of Acacia nilotica

The pods of Acacia nilotica, from African semi-arid savannahs. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Cassia grandis

 

Cassia grandis, from the humid tropical Americas. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. 

The North American honey locust (Gleditia triacanthos)

 

The North American honey locust (Gleditia triacanthos), a good choice for cold temperate climates. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The sweet pods of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)

The sweet pods of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), a North America nitrogen-fixing tree for cold, arid landscapes. There are mesquites throughout the dry Americas as well as native species from Africa and Asia, for highlands and lowlands, arid and semi-arid climates. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.


Locust Tree

Locust trees transformed the ecosystem by adding nutrients. The soil analysis revealed that locust trees increased soil organic matter and nutrients, nearly doubling local nitrogen levels. 

Leguminous Tree Kowhai

Flowers of the leguminous tree, Kowhai, the national flower of New Zealand

Nitrogen Fixing Trees for Permaculture

Nitrogen fixation is a pattern of nutrient cycling which has successfully been used in perennial agriculture for millennia.  importance in agriculture.

Three legumes (nitrogen fixing trees, hereafter called NFTs) are especially valuable in subtropical and tropical permaculture. They can be integrated in a permaculture system to restore nutrient cycling and fertility self-reliance.


On unvegetated sites, "pioneer" plants (plants which grow and thrive in harsh, low-fertility conditions) begin the cycling of nutrients by mining and accumulating available nutrients. As more nutrients enter the biological system and vegetative cover is established, conditions for other non-pioneering species become favourable. Pioneers like NFTs tend to benefit other forms of life by boosting fertility and moderating harsh conditions.

Nitrogen fixing trees are often deep rooted, which allows them to gain access to nutrients in subsoil layers. Their constant leaf drop nourishes soil life, which in turn can support more plant life.

The extensive root system stabilises soil, while constantly growing and atrophying, adding organic matter to the soil while creating channels for aeration.

There are many species of NFTs that can also provide numerous useful products and functions, including food, wind protection, shade, animal fodder, fuel wood, living fence, and timber, in addition to providing nitrogen to the system.

Nitrogen: From the Air to the Plants
Nitrogen is often referred to as a primary limiting nutrient in plant growth. Simply put, when nitrogen is not available plants stop growing. Although lack of nitrogen is often viewed as a problem, nature has an immense reserve of nitrogen everywhere plants grow – in the air.

Air consists of approximately 80% nitrogen gas (N2), representing about 6400kg of N2 above every hectare of land. However, N2 is a stable gas, normally unavailable to plants. Nitrogen fixation, a process by which certain plants "fix" or gather atmospheric N2 and make it biologically available is an underlying pattern in natur.


How to Use NFTs in a System

In the tropics, most of the available nutrients (over 75%) are not in the soil but in the organic matter. In subtropical and tropical forests, nutrients are constantly cycling through the ecosystem.

Aside from enhancing overall fertility by accumulating nitrogen and other nutrients, NFTs establish readily, grow rapidly, and regrow easily from pruning.

They are perfectly suited to jump-start organic matter production on a site, creating an abundant source of nutrient-rich mulch for other plants. Many fast-growing NFTs can be cut back regularly over several years for mulch production.

From Desert to Oasis in 4 Years (Jordan)

Geoff Lawton’s  video in his ever-expanding lineup takes you to Wadi Rum in Jordan where he consulted on a 10 acre organic farm and rebuilt their failing farm into a commercial success.

Wadi Rum looks very much like your classic inhospitable desert region. It was used in the early 1960s as the backdrop set for the David Lean’s masterpiece, “Lawrence of Arabia.”

If you’ve ever watched the movie as Geoff had, you’ll be greeted with a sense of déjà Vu. The place looks familiar and intimidating. Geoff says it still has access to water in the dry Wadi canyons and aquifers.

Geoff Lawton takes you to Wadi Rum in Jordan and shows you how he transformed 10 acres of hostile desert into an abundant oasis, now producing food as a successful organic farm located in the Middle East.
Geoff reveals his design process and explains the steps needed to create a paradise on earth.  
“If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.” he says.

Geoff Lawton reveals his little known secrets of soil fertility capture using a succession of plants and succulents.
See the amazing results in this 13 minute video. Don’t miss it!

http://www.geofflawton.com/sq/35684-desert-oasis
 


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Cacao Tree

By Liliana Usvat

The Latin name for cacao is Theobroma, which means 'food of the gods.' Anyone who has tasted cocoa knows why this name is so appropriate.

Chocolate is made from cacao beans. Cacao beans are the seeds of cacao pods which are the fruit of the cacao tree known in Latin as “Theobroma Cacao” meaning the food of the gods. Ask any chocoholic and they will agree the name is quite appropriate.



Chocolate comes from the tree Therobroma cacao, meaning food of the gods in Greek. Originating in Mexico, chocolate was first used by the Olmecs.

Cacao trees are delicate plants that live in the understory of tropical forests and require other, taller trees to shelter them from wind and sun. These petite trees top out at 60 feet tall in the wild (although most grow only 20 to 40 feet high), shielded from wind and sun by hardwoods and other trees that stretch as high as 200 feet. 
 
This showy tree draws other plants to it. Moss and lichens cling to the bark, as do small orchids. Theobroma Cacao’s own pink or white blossoms adorn the branches. Some of these pretty flowers turn into colorful fruits called pods, filled with sweet juice and bitter seeds. These seeds—the cocoa beans—form the heart of chocolate.



While scientists agree the tree originated in South or Central America, the exact location eludes them. Some believe it first grew in the Amazon basin of Brazil. Other scientists point to the Orinoco Valley of Venezuela, while still others root for Central America.
Others propose an enigmatic tale and posit that the Olmecs, the first known people to eat cacao, brought the tree from their original homeland, and that this unknown location may have disappeared under the sea.



Humans’ love affair with chocolate began at least 4,000 years ago in Mesoamerica, in present-day southern Mexico and Central America, where cacao grew wild. When the Olmecs unlocked the secret of how to eat this bitter seed, they launched an enduring phenomenon.

Since then, people around the world have turned to chocolate to cure sickness, appease gods, show love, buy rabbits, fete holidays, survive fasts, ward off scorpions and sustain warriors.

In fact, the making of chocolate has evolved into an industry so large that 40 to 50 million people depend on cocoa for their livelihoods—and chocolate farmers produce 3.8 million tons of cocoa beans per year.

For many centuries, chocolate was a bitter drink. Made from cacao nibs, it was akin to modern-day baking chocolate mixed with water. Some cultures drank it cold and some hot.
The ancients added flavorings such as allspice, cinnamon, chili powder and vanilla. They may have mixed in maize or sweeteners such as honey, agave syrup or cactus.

History



In Mexico during the time of the Aztec kings the small seeds were utilized as coins twelve approximating to the value of 1d., the smallest actual coin in use then being worth about 6d. The seeds were necessary for small transactions. The method is still in use in some parts of Mexico.

When the Spaniards arrived, the Mesoamericans were busily drinking cacao. They were so besotted by this drink, in fact, that they proudly shared it with company. In 1519, the Aztec emperor Montezuma served some to his new guest, the conquistador Hernando Cortes.  The Aztecs thought that Cortes was the reincarnation of an exiled god-king. Instead, he had come calling to find rumored Aztec gold, and within three years he brought down the Aztec empire.

Cortes brought cacao home to Spain in 1529, according to many scholars. He was not the first to do so. Nearly 30 years prior, Christopher Columbus had presented cacao beans from the Caribbean to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella as a curiosity, and nobody considered them further.

Yet Cortes did his homework and sweetened the cacao drink for Spaniards, adding copious amounts of sugar that was unavailable in Mesoamerica. Before sailing home, he also planted cacao trees in the Caribbean.
 
For nearly 100 years, Spanish aristocrats secretly sipped this new delicacy. They also continued to experiment, adding cinnamon and vanilla to the sugar and serving it steaming hot. As the drink gained popularity, the Spanish planted more cacao trees in its colonies in Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Jamaica.

The Aztecs and Maya peoples had many ways of making food and drink from cocoa beans. They also used the beans as money, for example exchanging one turkey for 200 beans, or one slave for 100 beans. 

Cocoa beans were so precious that only the royals, warriors and the wealthy could afford to eat and drink chocolate. The hieroglyphs tell us that the Aztecs and Maya peoples drank cocoa powder suspended in water, and used flavourings such as chillies (Capsicum annuum), vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), achiote (Bixa orellana), aromatic herbs and honey.

Some interesting facts about the cacao tree

 

• it grows to a height of 12 to 15 metres
  
• it bears fruit continuously
  
• it stops bearing fruit after 25 years, although it can live much longer
  
• in the wild, it always grows beneath the much taller rainforest canopy to be protected from direct sunlight and wind
  
• it requires ground cover to maintain soil moisture; its dead leaves serve this purpose
  
• it has flowers directly on its trunk and major branches
  
• it has flowers pollinated by little midges and not bees
• it has no way to release its seeds by itself; it needs either animals or humans to open its pods

Cacao leaves



When cacao leaves fall to the forest floor, they mix with the leaves of other plants and decay. Fungi and other organisms decompose this debris, which are going to feed the soil with essential nutrients, thus fertilizing the tree. In addition, decaying leaves provide the perfect breeding ground for midges, the tiny insects that pollinate cacao flowers.

Cacao roots

Cacao roots soak up rainfall and nutrients from the soil and leaf litter. Stretching across the thin forest floor, these roots also anchor the cacao tree and help prevent soil erosion. Cultivated cacao's root system is shallow, however, and relies heavily on the decaying cover of leaf litter to remain healthy. Most of the nutrients in rainforest soils can be found in the topmost layer of decaying vegetation. When grown naturally from seed the tree has a 2 metre deep taproot. However in cultivation, most plantations use vegetative reproduction (cuttings) that results in a tree without taproot.

Cacao pods


Cacao pods are the fruits of the cacao tree. Successfully pollinated flowers mature into this ribbed and oval fruit. The ripening process takes about five months. It is quite common to see both flowers and pods together on the same tree throughout the year. The thick shelled cacao pod contains "mucilage", a sweet white pulp that surrounds the bitter cocoa beans.

Each tree produces about 20 pods and each pod contains between 20 and 60 seeds. In order to produce one kilogramme of cocoa paste about 10 pods are required. Healthy mature pods will eventually rot on the tree unless picked by an animal or farmer. When the pods ripen they turn from green or yellow to orange or red.

Cocoa beans


Cocoa beans, the base for making chocolate, are the seeds of the cacao tree. They are found inside the cacao pods, surrounded by a sweet white pulp. Each pod contains between 20 and 60 cocoa beans. A variety of chemicals, including theobromine which is very similar to caffeine, give the seeds a bitter flavour. Beans can only germinate within 2 weeks of being harvested.

When monkeys, birds, human or other animals break open the pods to reach the delicious sweet pulp, they spit out the bitter-tasting seeds. This is the clever adaptation that the cacao tree evolved so that its seeds hit the forest floor and sprout into new trees.


Medicinal Action and Uses


Cocoa is prepared by grinding the beans into a paste between hot rollers and mixing it with sugar and starch, part of the fat being removed. Chocolate is prepared in much the same way, but the fat is retained.

Unfermented cocoa seeds and the seed coat are used to treat a variety of ailments, including

• diabetes, 
• digestive and 
• chest complaints. 
• Cocoa powder, prepared from fermented cocoa beans, is used to prevent heart disease. 
• Cocoa butter is taken to lower cholesterol levels,

It is also used widely in foods and pharmaceutical preparations, as well as being used as a rich moisturiser for the skin.


Oil of Theobroma or cacao butter is a yellowish white solid, with an odour resembling that of cocoa, taste bland and agreeable; generally extracted by expression. It is used as an

• ingredient in cosmetic ointments and in 
•  pharmacy for coating pills and 
• preparing suppositories. 
• It has excellent emollient properties and 
• is used to soften and protect chapped hands and lips. 
• Theobromine, the alkaloid contained in the beans, resembles caffeine in its action, but its effect on the central nervous system is less powerful. 
• Its action on muscle, the kidneys and the heart is more pronounced. 
• It is used principally for its diuretic effect due to stimulation of the renal epithelium; 
•  it is especially useful when there is an accumulation of fluid in the body resulting from cardiac failure, when
•  it is often given with digitalis to relieve dilatation. 
• It is also employed in high blood pressure as it dilates the blood-vessels. 
• It is best administered in powders or cachets.

Dosage---Theobromine, 5 to 10 grains.



The Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs used parts from the tree to

• treat anxiety, 
• fever, 
• fatigue, and 
• coughs. 
• Five hundred years ago the plant was brought to Europe, where it was used to treat kidney stones and 
• cuts and 
• burns, among other things. 
• Recent research shows that chocolate contains polyphenols, which prevent heart disease.

Soil Improvement

The crushed shells of cocoa beans are used as an alternative to peat mulch. Mulches are layered on to the soil surface to suppress weeds, conserve moisture, improve its visual appearance and minimize erosion. Not only does this make good use of cocoa-shell, which is a by-product of the chocolate industry, but it also helps reduce the use of peat.

Peat bogs are important sites for wildlife and also help to protect the earth from global warming. In Great Britain, over 94% of the 69,700 hectares of peat bogs have been damaged or destroyed. Most of this damage has occurred in the last 50 or so years, since the promotion of large-scale use of peat for the horticultural industry, which now discourages this.

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