Asparagus

Scientific name: Asparagus officinalis

Description:

Asparagus is a herbaceous, spring vegetable and flowering perennial plant with stout stems and much-branched feathery foliage. The "leaves"or modified stems are  needle-like cladodes(branchlets) in the axils of scale leaves. The root system is adventitious and the root type is fasciculated.

The flowers are bell-shaped, greenish-white to yellowish, axillary, fascicled, solitary or in pairs.

Parts used:

Roots and seeds of ripe fruit

Medicinal properties:

Asparagus has been used as a vegetable and medicine because of its diuretic properties, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, mild aperient, sedative, laxative, demulcent and the green resin it contains is believed to be calming to the heart.

Asparagus is high in vitamin B1, B6, B12, Vit A, C, E, K, calcium, magnesium and zinc.  It is also a good source of dietary fiber, protein, beta-carotene, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese, selenium and chromium. Asparagus is low in calorie and sodium.

This vegetable is also a natural free radical scavenger and antioxidant.

Medicinal Uses:

Asparagus is considered a useful supplement for hangovers.

Anti-Cancer: Asparagus has sarsasapogenin O, and seven known steroids which demonstrated significant cytotoxicities against human A2780, HO-8910 and other tumor cells.

Asparagus also alleviates pain caused by rheumatism, chronic gout and the green resin is used for flatulence, calculous affections and cardiac dropsy.

Water in which asparagus was boiled is good for rheumatism and the roots are considered a powerful diuretic and used also for bronchial catarrh and pulmonary tuberculosis.

Kava Kava

Scientific name: Piper methysticum

Other names: 'awa,'ava, kawa, kew, yagona, sakau, tonga

Description:

Kava is a tall evergreen shrub in the pepper family that grows in the South Pacific islands and some parts of Micronesia and Australia. It has stout rhizomes, fleshy stems and big leaves shaped like hearts. The roots of the plant has been used for thousands of years as a folk remedy and as a beverage. It has sedative properties and is drank to relax without disrupting mental clarity.

Parts used:

The root is the part of the plant used medicinally. Traditionally, it is prepared by either chewing, or made into a beverage by grinding or pounding the roots then combined with a small amount of  cold water and consumed as quickly as possible.


Medicinal Properties and Uses:

The main active components in kava root are called kavalactones. It has been found to affect the levels of specific neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). It is a bitter, pungent herb that has anesthetic properties, diuretic effect as well as herbal aphrodisiac properties.

Kava is an effective folk remedy for back pain, anxiety and insomnia as it relaxes the muscles and calms the nerves.

* It also enhances mental alertness and concentration

* It fights mouth ulcers

In folk medicine it also used for gout, rheumatism and arthritis.

Kava if effective for both acute and chronic gonorrhea, vaginitis, syphilis and other genito-urinary infections.

It is applied externally for ringworm and athlete’s foot.

Precautions and Side effects:

Consult your doctor before taking kava.  You should not take kava if you are pregnant or breastfeeding a baby. Avoid drinking alcohol while taking kava. The use of kava may cause Liver Toxicity. Do NOT start a new medication without telling your doctor.

Noni or Indian Mulberry

Noni (also called Indian Mulberry, noni fruit, noni juice, morinda, wild pine, hog apple


Scientific name: Morinda citrifolia,

Description:

The Noni plant is a small tropical evergreen tree that grows to about 10
feet tall in Tahiti and other Pacific Islands. It has straight trunk, large,
bright green and elliptical leaves, white tubular flowers and bears an ovoid
fruit about the size of a potato which starts out green and ripens into a
"grenade-like" yellow or white fruit. The seeds are reddish brown,
triangular in shape and has an air-sac attached at one end which makes the
seeds buoyant. A mature Noni fruit has a foul taste and odor. Parts of the
noni plant are used as a juice, a tonic, a poultice, and in tea. Its fruit,
bark, and leaves are used in herbal remedies and Polynesian folk medicine.


Medicinal Benefits:

* Increases the levels of antioxidant activity in the body. It also inhibits
or prevent the growth of tumors and helps the immune system.

* Prevents arteriosclerosis as it inhibits low-density-lipoprotein
oxidation. It is also used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure)
because Noni acts as a vasodilators allowing blood vessels to widen thus
increasing blood flow naturally.

* The pancreas is also affected by Noni juice lowering the blood sugar and is good for diabetics.

* The ripe noni fruit is used as a poultice for facial blemishes or as a
remedy for skin sores, boils, or infections.

* The leaves and bark are made into a liquid tonic for urinary problems and
muscle or joint pain.

* The fruit of Noni contains a natural alkaloid xeronine that helps
treat gastric ulcer, menstrual cramps, arthritis, rheumatism, diabetes,
heart disease and cancer.


THOUGH THE CONTENT OF THIS BLOG HAD BEEN TRIED/TESTED AND HAD BEEN USED
AS FOLK/HERBAL MEDICINE IT IS STILL BEST TO CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE TRYING THIS.

Celery

Scientific name:  Apium graveolens ( var dulce)

Description: Celery is a biennial plant, used as a vegetable for its leafy stalk and fleshy taproot or grown for its seeds. It reached around 12 to 16 inches tall and has furrowed stalk composed of a leafy top. The stalks are crunchy and the whole plant has a distinctive smell.

Health Benefits: Celery is a rich source of vitamin C, phalides, tryptophan, folate, dietary fiber, molybdenum, manganese, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamins B6 (pyridoxine), B1 (thiamin), B2
(riboflavin) and vitamin A . It provides a low-calorie dietary fiber bulk and is thus used in weight-loss diets.

Celery seeds are a great source of calcium.

Parts used:  Fresh plant, seeds.

Indications and Directions for use:

1.    Asthma
The seeds are used as (as a
Pound the celery seeds until powdery and wrap it in a piece of cloth.  This is given as an inhaler and the seeds will act as a bronchodilator. 

2.    Inflammation
The Vitamin C in celery functions as an anti-oxidant and it also helps the immune system.

3.    High Blood pressure/Hypertension

Include celery regularly in the diet, either eaten raw, boiled or stir-fried. Celery has long been recognized in Chinese herbal medicine as effective in lowering blood pressure.

4.    Urinary problems
Squeeze out the sap from a fresh whole herb.  To cook: warm over low flame without boiling it.  Drink the concoction. Or, eat it as raw.


THOUGH THE CONTENT OF THIS BLOG HAD BEEN TRIED & TESTED AND HAD BEEN USED AS FOLK/HERBAL MEDICINE IT IS STILL BEST TO CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR.