Banaba

Scientific name: Lagerstroemia speciosa.

Common names: Queen's flower, pride of India and queen's crape myrtle and Banaba.

Banaba is a deciduous tropical flowering tree that grow up to 10 meters high. It has large green oblong to elliptic-ovate leaves, smooth and spatulate. The flowers or Banaba are racemes, 6-parted and colored mauve-pink to lavender, purplish lilac. Petals are obovate, shortly clawed with margins that are undulate and hardly fimbriate. Banaba or Queen's flower, crape myrtle bears nut-like fruits that are obovoid and arranged in large clumps.

Parts used: Leaves, fruits

Medicinal properties and uses:

Banaba contains corosolic acid/triterpenoid glycoside acid that act like insulin by lowering the blood sugar in the body. Banaba also contains a lot of dietary fiber and minerals such as magnesium and zinc.

The leaves has Valoneic Acid Dilactone (VAD) which acts as an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase to lower uric acid levels and is effective against gout.

It is also rich in tannin, phenolic compounds, flavonoids and saponins.

Banaba is used in folkloric herbal medicine for the treatment of the following:

Blood pressure control
Cholesterol level control
Diabetes
Diarrhea
Gout
Kidney stones and other kidney disorders
Weight loss

Preparation of Banaba herbal tea:

Dry Banaba leaves and fruits for about two weeks; cut Banaba leaves/fruits into pieces. One cup of water for every cup of Banaba leaves and fruits.

Boil, strain and let it steep for 30 minutes. Take the Banaba herbal tea for 4 to 6 times daily.

Precaution:
It is recommended to consult your doctor before taking any herbal medicine.

Pomelo

Scientific name: Citrus decumana, Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis


Common names: shaddock, pomelo, suha, pamplemousse

Description: Pomelo is a large citrus fruit 15–25 centimetres in diameter and weighing about 2.2 to more than 4 lbs.  It has the consistency of grapefruits without the tart flavor. It is pale green or yellowish in color while its edible flesh inside is pulpy & white, pink or red and has very thick albedo (rind pith).

The peel is used to make marmalade or candied.

Parts used: Fruit, peel, leaves

Nutritional value:

Fresh fruit is a good source of vitamins, minerals, and organic compounds like vitamin B & C, potassium, iron, magnesium, lycopene and dietary fiber. The rind has flavonoids, limonoids,
and terpenes.

Medicinal properties:

Studies show that pomelo is antimicrobial, antioxidant, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial.

Anti-Aging - Pomelo has high levels of vitamin C, antioxidants and pomelo also contains spermadine (a rare chemical found in human sperm) and linked to anti-aging properties.

Anti-depressant - The extract of leaves showed psychostimulant effect and increased in norepinephrine level in the synapses thus helpful in lifting up the mood.

Blood Pressure - Pomelos are a very good source of potassium about 37% of your daily requirement. Potassium is a vasodilator which helps release tension of blood vessels and promotes increased blood circulation and oxygenation of organ systems. It is also good for the heart.

Body Cramping - Potassium is important in the fluid balance in the body and prevents muscle cramping and stiffness.

Diabetes - Pomelo Juice yields insulin like substance and is rich in lycopene and vitamin C.

Digestion - Pomelo contains about 25% of your daily requirement of fiber. This promotes healthy digestion and eliminates problems like constipation and diarrhea.

Dyspepsia - Peel or rind, dried or in decoction, used for dyspepsia.

Immune System - Being rich in Vitamin C this fruit helps to fight off infections, colds, coughs, fevers, and other microbial, viral, and bacterial infections.

Weight Loss - Pomelo contains Carnitine pamitoyl-transferase a “fat-burning enzyme” that can help you reduce your weight.

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.

Bee Balm

Scientific name: Monarda didyma

Common names: Horsebalm, Bergamot, Wild Bergamot, Scarlet Monarda, Oswego Tea, Mountain
Mint, Horseming, Elk Medicine, Sweet leaf

Description:

Bee balm is a perennial plant and a member of the mint family. The flowers are long, tubular that are clustered in a solitary, rounded head of dark-red calices. The flowers range in color from pink to crimson red, red and light purple hues. The stems are about 2 to 3 feet long that are branched while the leaves are aromatic/fragrant minty that are dark green, oval to oblong lanceshape. The preferred habitat are open woods, thickets, dry rocky hills and found in Eastern Canada and Maine, westward to Minnesota, south to Gulf of Mexico.  Bee balm is edible as well as medicinal and used as an herb.
Bees delight in the nectar of the flowers, earning the name "Bee Balm".

Parts Used: leaves, flowers

Medicinal uses and properties:

Bee balm is the natural sources of the antiseptic thymol (the main active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwash formulas and used to treat mouth and throat infections.),carvacrol, rosemarnic acid. It has excellent antibacterial qualities & strong antiseptic properties used for skin infections and minor wounds.  The herb also has carminative properties and used to treat headaches and fevers, colds, colic, nausea, delayed menstruation, general stomach upset, insufficient circulation and as a relaxant diaphoretic. The bee balm can also be use for psoriasis, eczema and can be used as an insect repellant.

Bee Balm Tea Recipe:

Place ¼ cup bee balm leaves and flowers in a teapot. Add one quart of boiling water.Cover and steep for about an hour until cool. Strain and discard leaves and flowers. sweeten to taste, take at bedtime. You may also want to chill and serve over ice.

Precaution:

Not to be taken by those with thyroid problems, pregnant or lactating women. It can also cause skin irritation and cause sensitivity to the sun so it is advisable to test it first on a small area of the skin before applying. Just like in all the post here of medicinal plants, it is still best to consult your doctor before using medicinal plants.

Peppermint

Scientific name: Mentha piperita also known as M. balsamea Willd
Other names: corn mint, lamb mint, yerba buena, black peppermint, chinese peppermint

Description: Peppermint is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial hybrid plant as a result of a cross between Spearmint (Mentha spicata) and Watermint (Mentha aquatica). It has a wide-spreading, fleshy rhizome with fibrous roots. Leaves are placed opposite each other and are greenish-purple lance-shaped and toothed along the margins. It small, violet/purple flowers that blooms from mid to late summer. Both leaves and flowers have a characteristic, aromatic fragrance. The peppermint has  a bit stronger minty flavor while the spearmint is subtle.

Parts used: leaves and flowers

Medicinal properties and uses:

Peppermint is considered to have astringent, antiseptic, emetic, stimulant qualities and muscle relaxing abilities.  Peppermint is also a good source of manganese, copper, and vitamin A & C. It has long been used as a medicinal plant and research shows that taking peppermint oil taken orally helps reduce stomach pain, bloating, gas, and helps in the bowel movements & muscle spasm in people with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Crushed leaves rubbed on the skin help soothe and relax the muscles.

Peppermint tea made from leaves and flowers can be an excellent remedy for indigestion, cramps, flatulence, nausea, vomiting and colic. Peppermint can also an appetite stimulant.

Topical application of peppermint oil can reduce pain caused by arthritis, rheumatism and even chronic joint pain. It also relieves headache, itchiness, toothache and nerve pain.

Peppermint vapors and inhalers helps alleviates nasal and sinus congestion, laryngitis and bronchitis. The rosmarinic acid found in peppermint is beneficial for asthma sufferers.


Precaution: Some herbs could react with certain medication or produce adverse reaction to your body, therefore it is  advisable to contact your doctor/herbalist before consumption of any herb.