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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2enclosuresfull.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:43:49 +0000</lastBuildDate><title>herbal in thailand</title><description>About herbal in thailand such as ginger,pepper,acasia,Liquorice and other herbal thai.</description><link>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>242</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><itunes:owner><itunes:email>noreply@blogger.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>About herbal in thailand such as ginger,pepper,acasia,Liquorice and other herbal thai.</itunes:subtitle><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/HerbalInThailand" type="application/rss+xml" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com" /><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-311898907609476189</guid><pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:36:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-11-11T06:43:49.796-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">carambola</category><title>Carambola</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/di3QuDbaGb4yh-X9BiOFwR4FB0w/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/di3QuDbaGb4yh-X9BiOFwR4FB0w/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/di3QuDbaGb4yh-X9BiOFwR4FB0w/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/di3QuDbaGb4yh-X9BiOFwR4FB0w/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SvrNED4-cPI/AAAAAAAAENk/2RUt-byFbIM/s1600-h/401px-Averrhoa_carambola_ARS_k5735-7.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SvrNED4-cPI/AAAAAAAAENk/2RUt-byFbIM/s320/401px-Averrhoa_carambola_ARS_k5735-7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402856172631781618" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carambola or starfruit is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. The tree and its fruit are popular throughout Southeast Asia, Malaysia, the South Pacific and other parts of East Asia. The tree is cultivated also throughout the tropics such as in Trinidad, Guyana, and Brazil, and, in the United States, in south Florida, and Hawaii.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The carambola is closely related to the bilimbi. The fruit in cross section is a five-pointed star, hence its name.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Origins and distribution&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The carambola has been grown in parts of Asia for hundreds of years – some claim that it originated in Sri Lanka and Moluccas. Malaysia is the global leader in starfruit production by volume, and ships the product all over Asia and Europe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Due to concerns on pests and pathogens, however, whole starfruits cannot yet be imported to the US from Malaysia, under current FDA/USDA regulation. In the United States, starfruits are grown in tropical and semi tropical areas, including Florida, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carambolas are best consumed when ripe, when they are yellow with a light shade of green. It will also have brown ridges at the five edges and feel firm. An overripe fruit will be yellow with brown spots.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The fruit is entirely edible, including the slightly waxy skin. It is sweet without being overwhelming and extremely juicy. The taste is difficult to compare, but it has been likened to a mix of papaya, orange and grapefruit all at once&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Health benefits&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carambola is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, and low in sugar, sodium and acid. It is also is a potent source of both primary and secondary polyphenolic antioxidants&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Health risks&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carambola is a fairly complex fruit with many benefits like strawberries, but a small percent of the human population should be cautious of the fruit for health reasons. Like the grapefruit, carambola contains oxalic acid which can be harmful to individuals suffering from kidney failure or under kidney dialysis treatment. Consumption by those with kidney failure can produce hiccups, vomiting, nausea, and mental confusion. Fatal outcomes have been documented in some patients&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Drug interactions&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like the grapefruit, carambola is considered to be a potent inhibitor of seven cytochrome P450 isoforms.These enzymes are significant in the first pass elimination of many medicines, and thus the consumption of carambola or its juice in combination with certain medications can significantly increase their effective dosage within the body. Research into grapefruit juice has identified a number of common medications affected, including statins which are commonly used to treat cardiovascular illness, benzodiazepines (a tranquilizer family including diazepam) as well as other medicines&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Cultivation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The carambola is a tropical and subtropical fruit. In India, it grows in up to 4,000 feet in elevation. It prefers a total exposition to the sun, but requires enough humidity and a total of 70 inches or more of rainfall a year. It does not have a preference in grounds but it requires a good drainage.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Carambola trees are planted at least 20 feet from each other, and fertilized three times a year. The tree grows fast and produces food at 4 or 5 years of age, sometimes even before that. The large amount of rain during spring actually reduces the amount of fruit, but in ideal conditions carambola can produce from 200 to 400 pounds of fruit a year. The fruit is cultivated mainly during the months of June, July, and August, but sometimes year-round.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Major pests are fruit flies, ants, and birds. Crops are also susceptible to frosts, especially in the United States&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-311898907609476189?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/rlgDWdnq2zE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/rlgDWdnq2zE/carambola.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SvrNED4-cPI/AAAAAAAAENk/2RUt-byFbIM/s72-c/401px-Averrhoa_carambola_ARS_k5735-7.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/11/carambola.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-1323174064583050760</guid><pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-11-10T04:28:06.417-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pineapple</category><title>Change Player Size Watch this video in a new windowGardening Plant Care : Pineapple Plant Care</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qXoGVuaQ60kUhPuwIZUMZxcscyk/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qXoGVuaQ60kUhPuwIZUMZxcscyk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qXoGVuaQ60kUhPuwIZUMZxcscyk/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qXoGVuaQ60kUhPuwIZUMZxcscyk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XKsBxVKqZfA&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XKsBxVKqZfA&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-1323174064583050760?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/qv8jti5XjrQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/qv8jti5XjrQ/change-player-size-watch-this-video-in.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><media:content url="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~5/G7IhCJsXYx8/XKsBxVKqZfA&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" fileSize="1041" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><itunes:author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</itunes:author><itunes:keywords>pineapple</itunes:keywords><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/11/change-player-size-watch-this-video-in.html</feedburner:origLink><enclosure url="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~5/G7IhCJsXYx8/XKsBxVKqZfA&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" length="1041" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><feedburner:origEnclosureLink>http://www.youtube.com/v/XKsBxVKqZfA&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;</feedburner:origEnclosureLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-456670139817721772</guid><pubDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-11-07T23:12:03.062-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">peanut</category><title>Boiled peanuts</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/P9SKt_59Uwjte_C4Dr-DeMr0tv0/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/P9SKt_59Uwjte_C4Dr-DeMr0tv0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/P9SKt_59Uwjte_C4Dr-DeMr0tv0/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/P9SKt_59Uwjte_C4Dr-DeMr0tv0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SvZvO1GrW2I/AAAAAAAAENc/-XIQhYhPcPg/s1600-h/peanuts.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SvZvO1GrW2I/AAAAAAAAENc/-XIQhYhPcPg/s320/peanuts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401627103641426786" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Boiled peanuts are popular in some places where peanuts are common. Fully mature peanuts do not make good quality boiled peanuts; rather raw or "green" ones are used. "Raw" denotes peanuts in a semi-mature state, having achieved full size, but not being fully dried, as would be needed for roasting or peanut butter use. After boiling they take on a strong salty taste and become softer with the length of cooking, somewhat resembling a pea or bean, to which they are related. The most flavorful peanuts for boiling are the Valencia type. These are preferred in the United States, being grown in gardens and small patches throughout the South. Green Virginia type peanuts are also sometimes used.&lt;br /&gt;South Carolina Boiled Peanut in Shell&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Boiling peanuts has been a folk cultural practice in the south of the US since the 19th century, where they were originally called goober peas. In late August, when the peanut crops would come in, unsold and surplus peanuts would be prepared in a boiling, and extended families and neighbors would gather to share conversation and food. Like a fish fry, peanut boils have been organizing principles for social gatherings. Like okra, black-eyed peas, collard greens and pork barbecue, boiled peanuts are symbols of southern culture and cuisine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cooking&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Raw peanuts in the shell are put in a large pot of very heavily salted water and boiled. This can be done inside on the stove or outside on a propane burner for a larger volume. Depending on the locality, some cooks use rock salt or standard table salt, or both. The boil can go on from four to seven hours or more, depending on quantity and the age of the peanut (green "raw" peanuts cook faster and tend to be better tasting), and the boilings will most often be of several gallons of water. Flavorings such as ham hocks, hot sauce, Cajun seasonings or beer can be added to the boil.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The resulting food is a very soft peanut in the shell, invariably quite salty. The softened peanuts are easy to open. Often small, immature peanuts (called "pops") are included, which have even softer shells and can be eaten in entirety. These tend to absorb more salt than the larger ones.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Uneaten peanuts should be stored in a refrigerator, as they can become slimy or moldy quite quickly without refrigeration. Boiled peanuts can be frozen, and later reheated in a microwave for out of season consumption.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Boiled peanuts can also be canned. Put boiled peanuts into canning jars, do not over fill. Cover with hot brine to 1/2 inch below rim of jar. Submerge containers to 1/2 their depth in boiling water for 10 minutes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Install seals and rings while hot and process for 45 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. Cool jars in water, date, and store in a cool, dry place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Given high protein content and ease of storage, boiled peanuts are an excellent food for very hot weather and outdoor work.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-456670139817721772?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/m1n7XvDbQEw" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/m1n7XvDbQEw/boiled-peanuts.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SvZvO1GrW2I/AAAAAAAAENc/-XIQhYhPcPg/s72-c/peanuts.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/11/boiled-peanuts.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-5026917364099508874</guid><pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-10-25T06:25:19.839-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Herbal Thai</category><title>Thai Herbal Compress Massage</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0Ag-gpA4GC4wdskghG9ZH77EzRI/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0Ag-gpA4GC4wdskghG9ZH77EzRI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0Ag-gpA4GC4wdskghG9ZH77EzRI/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/0Ag-gpA4GC4wdskghG9ZH77EzRI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mNGBBaesH6g&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mNGBBaesH6g&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-5026917364099508874?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/7QNxKg3ErCE" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/7QNxKg3ErCE/thai-herbal-compress-massage.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><media:content url="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~5/MhzkJAwzCC8/mNGBBaesH6g&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" fileSize="945" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><itunes:author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</itunes:author><itunes:keywords>Herbal Thai</itunes:keywords><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/10/thai-herbal-compress-massage.html</feedburner:origLink><enclosure url="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~5/MhzkJAwzCC8/mNGBBaesH6g&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" length="945" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><feedburner:origEnclosureLink>http://www.youtube.com/v/mNGBBaesH6g&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;</feedburner:origEnclosureLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-1992652311994415995</guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-10-05T07:02:08.221-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Harrisonia perforata</category><title>Harrisonia perforata  (Blanco) Merr.</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Hpt3maqSPZd6d4mfQbtImfDl7P4/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Hpt3maqSPZd6d4mfQbtImfDl7P4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Hpt3maqSPZd6d4mfQbtImfDl7P4/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Hpt3maqSPZd6d4mfQbtImfDl7P4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Ssn8Ve6_ORI/AAAAAAAAEI8/mVj9AD-9wA4/s1600-h/19254823475_konta.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 311px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Ssn8Ve6_ORI/AAAAAAAAEI8/mVj9AD-9wA4/s320/19254823475_konta.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389115875133438226" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Family :&lt;/span&gt;Simaroubaceae&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Synonyms :&lt;/span&gt;Harrisonia paucijuga Olivo, Harrisonia bennettii Benn.&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Vernacular Names&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Malaysia     :&lt;/span&gt; Kait-kait (Murut, Sabah)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Indonesia   :&lt;/span&gt; Sesepang (Lam-pung), garut (Sundanese), ri kengkeng&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;                    (Javanese)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Philippines :&lt;/span&gt; Asimau, mamikil (Tagalog), muntani (Bisaya)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Laos &lt;/span&gt;          : Dok kin ta&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Thailand&lt;/span&gt;    : Khonthaa (Central), naam chee (Northem)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Vietnam    &lt;/span&gt; : S[aa]n, da da, h[ar]i s[ow]n&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Geographical Distributions&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;H. perforata is found in the drier parts from Burma (Myanmar) eastward through Thailand to Indo-China and the Philippines, southward to Peninsular Malaysia (Perlis), South Sumatra, Borneo (Sabah), Sulawesi, Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands.&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Description &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;It is a climbing to erect prickly shrub up to 4(-6) m tall.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The leaves pinnate with unpaired terminal leaflet up to 20 cm long, with 1-15 pairs of leaflets supported by a 5-30 mm long stalk. The stipulate thorns are slightly curved backward or downward, increasing in size to 7 mm. Its leaflets are rhomboid to ovate-lance-shaped, 10-20 mm x 5-15 mm, nearly entire to lobed with narrowly winged rachis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Flowers are with a pedicel, small sepal, triangular lobes, petals are lance-shaped, 6-9 mm x 2-4 mm which are red outside and pale red to white inside. The stamens are (8-)10 with anthers 1.5-4.5 mm long, filaments are 7-10 mm long, at the base with an elongated flattened strap-shaped structure which is densely woolly at the margin, disk is cup-shaped, ovary is slightly lobed, styles 5-8 mm long and pubescent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The fruit is a berry, 4-9 mm x 11-15 mm, exocarp of leathery texture, at least 1 mm thick, endocarp hard, without suture.&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Ecology / Cultivation&lt;/span&gt; &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;H. perforata prefers dry, open localities such as light secondary forest, thickets and forest edges, often on limestone rocks; less common in monsoon forest. It prefers distinctly seasonal conditions from sea-level up to 700(-900) m altitude&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-1992652311994415995?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/lh6SUhQOmVk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/lh6SUhQOmVk/harrisonia-perforata-blanco-merr.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Ssn8Ve6_ORI/AAAAAAAAEI8/mVj9AD-9wA4/s72-c/19254823475_konta.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/10/harrisonia-perforata-blanco-merr.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-786750501702185510</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-29T06:37:51.362-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">ajwain</category><title>Ajwain</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/8BH1p5GnADzCt2FSddHtAJ94H20/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/8BH1p5GnADzCt2FSddHtAJ94H20/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/8BH1p5GnADzCt2FSddHtAJ94H20/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/8BH1p5GnADzCt2FSddHtAJ94H20/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SsINhhduFqI/AAAAAAAAEIs/hUSR5Sn5w74/s1600-h/800px-Carom.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SsINhhduFqI/AAAAAAAAEIs/hUSR5Sn5w74/s320/800px-Carom.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386882973858404002" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ammi majus is known as bishop's weed.&lt;br /&gt;Ground-elder is also known as bishop's weed.&lt;br /&gt;Ajwain (botanical name of Trachyspermum copticum as from the ITIS Standard Report Page) (also known as Ajowan caraway, carom seeds or mistakenly as bishop's weed), is an uncommon spice except in certain areas of Asia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Characteristics&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is the small seed-like fruit similar to that of the Bishop's Weed (Ammi majus) plant, egg-shaped and grayish in colour. The plant has a similarity to parsley. Because of their seed-like appearance, the fruit pods are sometimes called ajwain seeds or mistakenly as bishop's weed (Ammi majus) seeds (Botanical Synonyms for Ajwain, which are no longer accepted by ITIS are, Ammi copticum, Carum copticum, Trachyspermum ammi).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Etymology&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ajwain is often confused with lovage seed; even some dictionaries mistakenly state that ajwain comes from the lovage plant. In Hindi it is called as Ajwain (अजवायन). Ajwain is also called 'Owa (ओवा)' in Marathi, "vaamu" or Oma in Telugu, "omam" (ஓமம்) in Tamil, "ajwana" in Kannada, "ajmo" (અજમો) in Gujarati, "jowan" in Bengali, "jwanno" in Nepali, "asamodagam" in Singhalese and "xiang zhu la jiao" (香著辣椒) in Chinese&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Flavour and aroma&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Raw ajwain smells almost exactly like thyme because it also contains thymol, but is more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as slightly bitter and pungent. It tastes like thyme or caraway, only stronger. Even a small amount of raw ajwain will completely dominate the flavor of a dish.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Indian cuisine, ajwain is almost never used raw, but either dry-roasted or fried in ghee or oil. This develops a much more subtle and complex aroma, somewhat similar to caraway but "brighter". Among other things, it is used for making a type of paratha, called 'ajwain ka paratha&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;History&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ajwain originated in the Middle East, possibly in Egypt. It is now primarily grown and used in the Indian Subcontinent, but also in Iran, Egypt and Afghanistan. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in berbere, a spice mixture favored in Eritrea and Ethiopia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In India, the major Ajwain producing states are Rajasthan and Gujarat, where Rajasthan produces about 90% of India's total production.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Omam (Ajwain) is used to make a special food called the 'omapodi'. It is also mixed in several snacks of north and south India. Omam is used to cure digestive problems in children and adults. Omam is also mentioned in ancient Tamil literatures&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Medicinal uses&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is also traditionally known as a digestive aid and an antiseptic&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/ajowan.html"&gt;ajwain more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-786750501702185510?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/QGvlQYt1Tms" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/QGvlQYt1Tms/ajwain.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SsINhhduFqI/AAAAAAAAEIs/hUSR5Sn5w74/s72-c/800px-Carom.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/ajwain.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-2270607340707508453</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-25T08:31:16.551-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Zingiberaceae</category><title>Zingiberaceae</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uO5wtaCK-fet4JFyw1P5x7DSxhc/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uO5wtaCK-fet4JFyw1P5x7DSxhc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uO5wtaCK-fet4JFyw1P5x7DSxhc/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uO5wtaCK-fet4JFyw1P5x7DSxhc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SrziOv54rfI/AAAAAAAAEIc/ba6BZUi1rKU/s1600-h/Zingiberaceae-sp-142.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 311px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SrziOv54rfI/AAAAAAAAEIc/ba6BZUi1rKU/s320/Zingiberaceae-sp-142.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385427997433572850" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca. 52 genera and more than 1300 species, distributed throughout tropical Africa, Asia, and the Americas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many species are important ornamental plants, spices, or medicinal plants. Ornamental genera include the shell gingers (Alpinia), Siam or summer tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia), Globba, ginger lily (Hedychium), Kaempferia, torch-ginger Nicolaia, Renealmia, and ginger (Zingiber). Spices include ginger (Zingiber), galangal or Thai ginger (Alpinia galanga and others), melegueta pepper (Aframomum melegueta), myoga (Zingiber mioga), turmeric (Curcuma), cardamom (Amomum, Elettaria).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characteristics&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Members of the family are small to large herbaceous plants with distichous leaves with basal sheaths that overlap to form a pseudostem. The plants are either self-supporting or epiphytic. Flowers are hermaphroditic, usually strongly zygomorphic, in determinate cymose inflorescences, and subtended by conspicuous, spirally arranged bracts. The perianth is comprised of two whorls, a fused tubular calyx, and a tubular corolla with one lobe larger than the other two. Flowers typically have two of their stamenoids (sterile stamens) fused to form a petaloid lip, and have only one fertile stamen. The ovary is inferior and topped by two nectaries, the stigma is funnel-shaped.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some genera yield essential oils used in the perfume industry (Alpinia, Hedychium).&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-2270607340707508453?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/hjoiqQ2NrIg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/hjoiqQ2NrIg/zingiberaceae.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SrziOv54rfI/AAAAAAAAEIc/ba6BZUi1rKU/s72-c/Zingiberaceae-sp-142.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/zingiberaceae.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-9196020238414256901</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:28:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-21T00:36:01.230-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Artemisia annua</category><title>Artemisia annua</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/DxpFmz-QKMQsVYC_u8Ze_QTapuk/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/DxpFmz-QKMQsVYC_u8Ze_QTapuk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/DxpFmz-QKMQsVYC_u8Ze_QTapuk/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/DxpFmz-QKMQsVYC_u8Ze_QTapuk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Srcs1XjsTMI/AAAAAAAAEH8/AtpDoJPinZs/s1600-h/11233FA.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 301px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Srcs1XjsTMI/AAAAAAAAEH8/AtpDoJPinZs/s320/11233FA.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383821174913125570" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Artemisia annua, also known as Sweet Wormwood, Sweet Annie, Sweet Sagewort or Annual Wormwood (Chinese: 青蒿; pinyin: qīnghāo), is a common type of wormwood that is native to temperate Asia, but naturalized throughout the world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Characteristics&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It has fern-like leaves, bright yellow flowers, and a camphor-like scent. Its height averages about 2 m tall, and the plant has a single stem, alternating branches, and alternating leaves which range 2.5-5 cm in length. It is cross-pollinated by wind or insects. It is a diploid plant with chromosome number, 2n=18&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Medicinal uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sweet Wormwood was used by Chinese herbalists in ancient times to treat fever, but had fallen out of common use, but was rediscovered in 1970 when the Chinese Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency Treatments (340 AD) was found. This pharmacopeia contained recipes for a tea from dried leaves, prescribed for fevers (not specifically malaria).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Extractions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 1971, scientists demonstrated that the plant extracts had antimalarial activity in primate models, and in 1972 the active ingredient, artemisinin (formerly referred to as arteannuin), was isolated and its chemical structure described. Artemisinin may be extracted using a low boiling point solvent such as diethylether and is found in the glandular trichomes of the leaves, stems, and inflorescences, and it is concentrated in the upper portions of plant within new growth&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Parasite treatment&lt;br /&gt;It is commonly used in tropical nations which can afford it, preferentially as part of a combination-cocktail with other antimalarials in order to prevent the development of parasite resistance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Malaria treatment&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Artemisinin itself is a sesquiterpene lactone with an endoperoxide bridge and has been produced semi-synthetically as an antimalarial drug. The efficacy of tea made from A. annua in the treatment of malaria is contentious. According to some authors, artemesinin is not soluble in water and the concentrations in these infusions are considered insufficient to treatment malaria.[4][5][6] Other researchers have claimed that Artemisia annua contains a cocktail of anti-malarial substances, and insist that clinical trials be conducted to demonstrate scientifically that artemisia tea is effective in treating malaria.[7] This simpler use may be a cheaper alternative to commercial pharmaceuticals, and may enable health dispensaries in the tropics to be more self-reliant in their malaria treatment.[8] In In 2004, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health changed Ethiopia’s first line anti-malaria drug from Fansidar, a Sulfadoxine agent which has an average 36% treatment failure rate, to CoArtem, an agent created from A. annua and which is 100% effective when used correctly, despite a world-wide shortage at the time of the needed derivative from A. annua.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cancer treatment&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The plant has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties. It is said to have the ability to be selectively toxic to some breast cancer cells [Cancer Research 65:(23).Dec 1, 2005] and some form of prostate cancer, there have been exciting preclinical results against leukemia,and other cancer cells&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mechanism&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The proposed mechanism of action of artemisinin involves cleavage of endoperoxide bridges by iron producing free radicals (hypervalent iron-oxo species, epoxides, aldehydes, and dicarbonyl compounds) which damage biological macromolecules causing oxidative stress in the cells of the parasite.[citation needed] Malaria is caused by the Apicomplexan, Plasmodium falciparum, which largely resides in red blood cells and itself contains iron-rich heme-groups (in the from of hemozoin).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Other uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In modern-day central China, specifically Hubei Province, the stems of this wormwood are used as food in a salad-like form. The final product, literally termed "cold-mixed wormwood" is a slightly bitter salad with strong acid overtones from the spiced rice vinegar used as a marinade. It is considered a delicacy and is typically more expensive to buy than meat.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-9196020238414256901?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/YzS0dG-hsSU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/YzS0dG-hsSU/artemisia-annua.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Srcs1XjsTMI/AAAAAAAAEH8/AtpDoJPinZs/s72-c/11233FA.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/artemisia-annua.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-5700603188895161247</guid><pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-18T07:57:48.417-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Patchouli</category><title>Patchouli</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/75jOIZtsvQg-HQE941ZFwaNDPqM/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/75jOIZtsvQg-HQE941ZFwaNDPqM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/75jOIZtsvQg-HQE941ZFwaNDPqM/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/75jOIZtsvQg-HQE941ZFwaNDPqM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SrOf4LvVIwI/AAAAAAAAEHc/DW-Ml_l2ZlY/s1600-h/Pogostemon_cablin0.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SrOf4LvVIwI/AAAAAAAAEHc/DW-Ml_l2ZlY/s320/Pogostemon_cablin0.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382821767210672898" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth; also patchouly or pachouli) is a species from the genus Pogostemon and a bushy herb of the mint family, with erect stems, reaching two or three feet (about 0.75 metre) in height and bearing small pale pink-white flowers. The plant is native to tropical regions of Asia and is now extensively cultivated in Caribbean countries, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines, West Africa and Vietnam&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Etymology&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scent of patchouli is heavy and strong. It has been used for centuries in perfumes and continues to be so today. The word derives from the Tamil patchai (Tamil: பச்சை) (green), ellai (Tamil: இலை) (leaf). In Assamese it is known as xukloti.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pogostemon cablin, P. commosum, P. hortensis, P. heyneasus and P. plectranthoides are all cultivated for their oils and all are known as 'patchouli' oil, but P. cablin is considered superior&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Extraction of the essential oil&lt;br /&gt;Extraction of the essential oil is by steam distillation, requiring the cell walls of the leaves to be first ruptured. This can be achieved by steam scalding, light fermentation, or by drying.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Leaves are harvested several times a year, and where dried may be exported for distillation of the oil. Sources disagree over how to obtain the best quality oil. Some claim the highest quality oil is usually produced from fresh leaves, distilled close to the plantation,while others claim baling the dried leaves and allowing them to ferment a little is best&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Europe and the US, patchouli oil and incense underwent a surge in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly among devotees of the free love and hippie lifestyles&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conditioner and repellent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It has also been used as a hair conditioner for dreadlocks. One study suggests Patchouli oil may serve as an all-purpose insect repellent.[3]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Medicinal uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In several Asian countries, such as Japan and Malaysia, Patchouli is also used as an antidote for venomous snakebites. The plant and oil have a number of claimed health benefits in herbal folk-lore, and its scent is used with the aim of inducing relaxation. Chinese medicine uses the herb to treat headaches, colds, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Patchouli oil can be purchased from mainstream Western pharmacies and alternative therapy sources as an aromatherapy oil.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Perfume uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Patchouli is also in widespread use in modern industry. It is a popular component in perfumes, including more than half of perfumes for men.[citation needed] Patchouli is also an important ingredient in East Asian incense. It is also used as a scent in products like paper towels, laundry detergents, and air fresheners. Two important components of the essential oil are patchoulol and norpatchoulenol.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During the 18th and 19th century silk traders from China travelling to the Middle East packed their silk cloth with dried patchouli leaves to prevent moths from laying their eggs on the cloth.[citation needed] Many historians speculate that this association with opulent eastern goods is why patchouli was considered by Europeans of that era to be a luxurious scent. It is said that Patchouli was used in the linen chests of Queen Victoria in this way.[citation needed].&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cultivation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Patchouli grows well in warm to tropical climates. It thrives in hot weather but not direct sunlight. If the plant withers due to lack of watering it will recover well and quickly once it has been watered. The seed-bearing flowers are very fragrant and bloom in late fall. The tiny seeds may be harvested for planting, but they are very delicate and easily crushed. Cuttings from the mother plant can also be rooted in water to produce further plants.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-5700603188895161247?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/Jf057SLw7ho" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/Jf057SLw7ho/patchouli.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SrOf4LvVIwI/AAAAAAAAEHc/DW-Ml_l2ZlY/s72-c/Pogostemon_cablin0.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/patchouli.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-1384326926425299031</guid><pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-12T07:36:33.189-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Pandanus tectorius</category><title>Pandanus tectorius</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qY3l3NgKOQbUuNEHgu8PJFL7jyc/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qY3l3NgKOQbUuNEHgu8PJFL7jyc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qY3l3NgKOQbUuNEHgu8PJFL7jyc/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/qY3l3NgKOQbUuNEHgu8PJFL7jyc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Squx0xh0SAI/AAAAAAAAEGM/-DOleu26sHg/s1600-h/417px-Pandanus_tectorius_fruit.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Squx0xh0SAI/AAAAAAAAEGM/-DOleu26sHg/s320/417px-Pandanus_tectorius_fruit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380589700030679042" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine), occurring from near Port Macquarie in New South Wales to northern Queensland, Australia and Indonesia east through the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean to Hawaiʻi (where it is known locally as the hala tree). Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation; it may be an early Polynesian introduction to many of the more isolated Pacific islands on which it occurs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Pandanus tectorius fruit showing phalanges.P. tectorius is a tree that to grows to 4–14 metres (13–46 ft) tall. The single trunk is spiny and forks at a height of 4–8 metres (13–26 ft).[1] It is supported by prop roots that firmly anchor the tree to the ground. Its leaves are usually 90–150 centimetres (3.0–4.9 ft) long and 5–7 centimetres (2.0–2.8 in) wide with saw-like margins. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Flowers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P. tectorius is dioecious, with very different male and female flowers. Male flowers are small, fragrant, form clusters or racemes, and short lived, lasting only a single day. Female flowers resemble pineapples.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fruit&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The screwpine tree's fruit is either ovoid, ellipsoid, subglobose or globose with a diameter of 4–20 centimetres (1.6–7.9 in) and a length of 8–30 centimetres (3.1–12 in). The fruit is made up of 38–200 wedge-like phalanges, which have an outer fibrous husk. Phalanges contain two seeds on average, with a maximum of eight reported. The phalanges are buoyant, and the seeds within them can remain viable for many months while being transported by ocean currents.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Habitat&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P. tectorius naturally grows in coastal regions, such as on mangrove margins and beaches,[1] at elevations from sea level to 610 metres (2,000 ft). It requires 1,500–4,000 millimetres (59–160 in) of annual rainfall. Screwpine is well adapted to grow in the many soil types present on coasts, including quartz sand, coral sand, and peat, as well as in limestone and basalt. P. tectorius is salt and wind tolerant and favors slightly acidic to basic soil (pH of 6-10). It prefers to grow in full sunlight, but grows well with 30-50% shade.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked and is a major source of food in Micronesia, especially in the atolls. The fibrous nature of the fruit also serves as a natural dental floss. The tree's leaves are often used as flavoring for sweet dishes such as kaya jam, and are also said to have medicinal properties. Leaves were used by the Polynesians to make baskets, mats, outrigger canoe sails, thatch roofs,[3] and grass skirts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Culture&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The seal of Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi features the hala tree, in part because lauhala, the art of weaving with the leaves of that tree, is pivotal to the history of the island, with everything from houses to pillows being made in this fashion. Local legend tells of an aged Hawaiian couple who lived long ago above the present Punahou campus, and had to travel far for water. They prayed each night for a spring, but to no avail. Finally one night, in a dream answering their prayers, they were told to uproot the stump of an old hala tree. They did as they were told and found a spring of clear, sweet water, which they named Ka Punahou, the New Spring. According to legend, Punahou School's lily pond is fed by this same spring.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ecology&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The stick insect Megacrania batesii lives and feeds only on this species&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-1384326926425299031?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/pSDptatm7do" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/pSDptatm7do/pandanus-tectorius.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Squx0xh0SAI/AAAAAAAAEGM/-DOleu26sHg/s72-c/417px-Pandanus_tectorius_fruit.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">2</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/pandanus-tectorius.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-3180914921981698449</guid><pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-12T07:24:08.293-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Screw Pine</category><title>Screw Pine</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/S3QJD7eKWHhZ2zFEyjB4fAewW4A/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/S3QJD7eKWHhZ2zFEyjB4fAewW4A/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/S3QJD7eKWHhZ2zFEyjB4fAewW4A/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/S3QJD7eKWHhZ2zFEyjB4fAewW4A/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SquvAWTXBVI/AAAAAAAAEGE/q5cJQbnEy2E/s1600-h/karakad.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SquvAWTXBVI/AAAAAAAAEGE/q5cJQbnEy2E/s320/karakad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380586600345830738" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ชื่อวิทยาศาสตร์ :   Pandanus tectorius  Blume&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;ชื่อสามัญ :   Screw Pine&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;วงศ์ :   PANDANACEAE&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;ชื่ออื่น :  การะเกดด่าง  ลำเจียกหนู  เตยดง เตยด่าง&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;ลักษณะทางพฤกษศาสตร์ : ไม้พุ่มกึ่งไม้ต้น สูง 3-7 ม. ลำต้นมักแตกกิ่งก้านสาขา มีรากอากาศค่อนข้างยาว และใหญ่ ใบเดี่ยวเรียงเวียนสลับกันเป็น 3 เกลียวที่ปลายกิ่ง รูปรางน้ำ กว้าง 0.7-2.5 ซม.ยาว 3-9 ซม. ค่อยๆ เรียวแหลมไปหาปลาย ขอบมีหนามแข็งยาว 0.2-1 ซม. แผ่นใบด้านล่างมีนวล ดอกแยกเพศ อยู่ต่างต้นกัน ออกตามปลายยอด มีจำนวนมาก ติดบนแกนของช่อ ไม่มีกลีบเลี้ยงและกลีบดอก ช่อดอกเพศผู้ตั้งตรง ยาว 25-60 ซม. มีกาบสีนวลหุ้ม กลิ่นหอม เกสรเพศผู้ติดรวมอยู่บนก้านซึ่งยาว 0.8-2 ซม. ช่อดอกเพศเมียค่อนข้างกลม ประกอบด้วยเกสรเพศเมียเชื่อมติดกัน 3-5 อัน เป็นกลุ่ม 5-12 กลุ่ม แต่ละกลุ่มกว้าง 2-5 ซม. ยาว 3-7 ซม. ปลายหยักตื้นเป็นร่องระหว่างยอดเกสรเพศเมีย ยอดเกสรเพศเมียเรียงเป็นวง ผลเบียดกันแน่นเป็นก้อนกลม เส้นผ่านศูนย์กลาง 10-20 ซม. แต่ละผลกว้าง 2-6.5 ซม. ยาว 4-7.5 ซม. เมื่อสุกหอม โคนสีเหลือง ตรงกลางสีแสด ตรงปลายยอดสีน้ำตาลอมเหลือง ผลที่สุกแล้วมีโพรงอากาศจำนวนมาก&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;สรรพคุณ : &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ดอก &lt;br /&gt;-  ปรุงยาหอม ทำให้ชุ่มชื่นหัวใจ ดอกหอม รับประทาน มีรสขมเล็กน้อย&lt;br /&gt;-  แก้โรคในอก เช่น เจ็บคอ แก้เสมหะ บำรุงธาตุ&lt;br /&gt;-  อบกลิ่นเสื้อผ้าให้หอม &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;วิธีใช้  -  นำดอกไปเคี่ยวกับน้ำมันมะพร้าว หรือมันหมู ปรุงเป็นน้ำมันใส่ผม นำดอกเข้ายาหอมบำรุงหัวใจ&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-3180914921981698449?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/_UzK3HAZ-YM" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/_UzK3HAZ-YM/screw-pine.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SquvAWTXBVI/AAAAAAAAEGE/q5cJQbnEy2E/s72-c/karakad.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/screw-pine.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-5737614245551649400</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-10T06:51:16.281-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Acacia catechu</category><title>Acacia catechu</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/glrlqCuCal_OHvE6Vak6BCnPJO8/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/glrlqCuCal_OHvE6Vak6BCnPJO8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/glrlqCuCal_OHvE6Vak6BCnPJO8/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/glrlqCuCal_OHvE6Vak6BCnPJO8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqkEQzmaKYI/AAAAAAAAEFk/UlMIJDWiU6o/s1600-h/Acacia+Catechu.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqkEQzmaKYI/AAAAAAAAEFk/UlMIJDWiU6o/s320/Acacia+Catechu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379835916646492546" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Acacia catechu also commonly called mimosa catechu, is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to 15 m (50 ft) in height.Common names for it include Catechu, Cachou and Black Cutch. It is found in Asia, China, India and the Indian Ocean area.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The species has lent its name to the important catechins, catechols and catecholamines of chemistry and biology.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Food&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The tree's seeds are a good source of protein.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fodder&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Branches of the tree are quite often cut for goat fodder and are sometimes fed to cattle.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Medicinal uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More specifically, the extract, called catechu is used to treat sore throats and diarrhoea.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Wood&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The tree is often planted for use as firewood and its wood is highly valued for furniture and tools.The wood has a density of about 0.88 g/cm³.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Other uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Its heartwood extract is used in dyeing, leather tanning, as a preservative for fishing nets, for medicine and as a viscosity regulator for oil drilling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cultivation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The tree can be propagated by planting its seeds, which are soaked in hot water first. After about six months in a nursery, the seedlings can be planted in the field&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-5737614245551649400?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/IkKHegYrjfc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/IkKHegYrjfc/acacia-catechu.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqkEQzmaKYI/AAAAAAAAEFk/UlMIJDWiU6o/s72-c/Acacia+Catechu.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/acacia-catechu.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-4521371781927994359</guid><pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-08T07:27:06.347-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) KURZ</category><title>Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) KURZ</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wj83G-GpY7m7TdtudPv0Ljeuvls/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wj83G-GpY7m7TdtudPv0Ljeuvls/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wj83G-GpY7m7TdtudPv0Ljeuvls/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/wj83G-GpY7m7TdtudPv0Ljeuvls/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqZpmjk9fMI/AAAAAAAAEFM/GBrZGaOBvSc/s1600-h/200822815164452309b_tong_pun_chang.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 310px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqZpmjk9fMI/AAAAAAAAEFM/GBrZGaOBvSc/s320/200822815164452309b_tong_pun_chang.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379102916046847170" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) KURZ (Acanthaceae) is a shrub widely distributed in South China and India. In this study, the antiproliferative activity of the ethanol extract of root and aqueous extract of leaves of R. nasutus, and the supposed active moiety rhinacanthin C was assessed in vitro using the human cervical carcinoma cell line HeLa, its MDR1-overexpressing subline Hvr100-6, human prostate carcinoma PC-3 cells and human bladder carcinoma T24 cells. Rhinacanthin C was chemically synthesized and its content in the R. nasutus extracts was determined by HPLC with a photodiode array detector. The antiproliferative activity of the R. nasutus extracts was also assessed in vivo using sarcoma 180-bearing mice. It was suggested that 1) the in vitro antiproliferative activity of rhinacanthin C was comparable with or slightly weaker than that of 5-FU, 2) rhinacanthin C showed antiproliferative activity for MDR1-overexpressing Hvr100-6 cells, similarly to parent HeLa cells, 3) the in vitro antiproliferative activity of the ethanol extract of root R. nasutus was due to rhinacanthin C, whereas that of the aqueous extract of leaves of R. nasutus was due to constituents other than rhinacanthin C, and 4) both of the R. nasutus extracts showed in vivo antiproliferative activity after oral administration once daily for 14 d.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-4521371781927994359?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/cJUXPNZQNGg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/cJUXPNZQNGg/rhinacanthus-nasutus-l-kurz.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqZpmjk9fMI/AAAAAAAAEFM/GBrZGaOBvSc/s72-c/200822815164452309b_tong_pun_chang.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/rhinacanthus-nasutus-l-kurz.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-1771790226474955261</guid><pubDate>Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:18:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-05T06:23:41.343-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Salvia lyrata</category><title>Salvia lyrata</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eWPS_mJyn-KH89aoKU1mo073dLw/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eWPS_mJyn-KH89aoKU1mo073dLw/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eWPS_mJyn-KH89aoKU1mo073dLw/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/eWPS_mJyn-KH89aoKU1mo073dLw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqJmNQlnHgI/AAAAAAAAEDA/1LgOBHVmXgs/s1600-h/432px-Salvia_lyrata_Kaldari.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqJmNQlnHgI/AAAAAAAAEDA/1LgOBHVmXgs/s320/432px-Salvia_lyrata_Kaldari.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377973283010846210" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Salvia lyrata (Lyre-leaf sage, Lyreleaf sage, Wild sage, Cancerweed), is a herbaceous perennial in the family Lamiaceae that is native to the United States, from Connecticut west to Missouri, and in the south from Florida east to Texas.It was described and named by Carolus Linnaeus in 1753&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Salvia lyrata forms a basal rosette of leaves that are up to 8 inches (20 cm) long, broadening toward the tip. The leaves have irregular margins and are typically pinnately lobed or cut, looking somewhat like a lyre. The center vein is sometimes dark wine-purple. A hairy stem up to 2 feet (0.61 m) long grows from the rosette, with uneven whorls of two-lipped lavender to blue flowers. Flowering is heaviest between April and June, though sparse flowering can happen throughout the year. The leaves were once thought to be an external cure for cancer, thus one of the common names "Cancerweed".Salvia lyrata grows in full sun or light to medium shade, with native stands found on roadsides, fields, and open woodlands&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cultivation and uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Salvia lyrata is sometimes grown in gardens for its attractive foliage and flowers, though it can prolifically seed, easily becoming a lawn weed. Several cultivars have been developed with purple leaves. 'Burgundy Bliss' and 'Purple Knockout' are two cultivars with burgundy leaves that are deeper in color than the species. Native Americans used the root as a salve for sores, and used the whole plant as a tea for colds and coughs&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-1771790226474955261?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/e3fJ-zOVMaU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/e3fJ-zOVMaU/salvia-lyrata.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SqJmNQlnHgI/AAAAAAAAEDA/1LgOBHVmXgs/s72-c/432px-Salvia_lyrata_Kaldari.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/09/salvia-lyrata.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-8995762104785192972</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-31T17:27:31.104-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">onion</category><title>Onion</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lOBr1vHo9xpA6TFzrGmfs9t64AA/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lOBr1vHo9xpA6TFzrGmfs9t64AA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lOBr1vHo9xpA6TFzrGmfs9t64AA/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/lOBr1vHo9xpA6TFzrGmfs9t64AA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpxqTBGaeOI/AAAAAAAAEC4/8Gqt7b0u4w4/s1600-h/692px-Onion_Flower_Head.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpxqTBGaeOI/AAAAAAAAEC4/8Gqt7b0u4w4/s320/692px-Onion_Flower_Head.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376288930118924514" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the "garden onion" or "bulb" onion. It is grown underground by the plant as a vertical shoot that is used for food storage, leading to the possibility of confusion with a tuber, which it is not.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Allium Cepa is known only in cultivation,but related wild species occur in Central Asia. The most closely-related species include Allium vavilovii Popov &amp; Vved. and Allium asarense R.M. Fritsch &amp; Matin from Iran.However Zohary and Hopf warn that "there are doubts whether the vavilovii collections tested represent genuine wild material or only feral derivatives of the crop.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Onions, one of the oldest vegetables known to mankind, are found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures. They are nowadays available in fresh, frozen, canned, pickled, powdered, chopped, and dehydrated forms. Onions can be used, usually chopped or sliced, in almost every type of food including cooked foods and fresh salads and as a spicy garnish. They are rarely eaten on their own but usually act as accompaniment to the main course. Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy and pungent or mild and sweet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Onions pickled in vinegar are eaten as a snack. These are often served as a side serving in fish and chip shops throughout the United Kingdom and are referred to simply as "Pickled Onions". Onions are widely-used in India and Pakistan and are fundamental in the local cuisine. They are commonly used as a base for curries or made into a paste and eaten as a main course or as a side dish. Onion is called "Pyaaz" (प्याज़) in Hindi, "Erulli/Ulla gaddi" in Kannada , "ulli paya" (ఉల్లిపాయ) or "Ulli gadda" (ఎర్ర గడ్డ) in Telugu , "Sawala" or "Ulli" in Malayalam , "Kanda" in Marathi and "vengayam" in Tamil.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tissue from onions is frequently used in science education to demonstrate microscope usage, because they have particularly large cells which are readily observed even at low magnifications&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Historical uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is thought that bulbs from the onion family have been used as a food source for millennia. In Bronze Age settlements, traces of onion remains were found alongside fig and date stones dating back to 5000 BC.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, it is not clear if these were cultivated onions. Archaeological and literary evidence such as the Book of Numbers 11:5 suggests cultivation probably took place around two thousand years later in ancient Egypt, at the same time that leeks and garlic were cultivated. Workers who built the Egyptian pyramids may have been fed radishes and onions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The onion is easily propagated, transported and stored. The Ancient Egyptians worshipped it,believing that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life. Onions were even used in Egyptian burials as evidenced by onion traces being found in the eye sockets of Ramesses IV.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In ancient Greece, athletes ate large quantities of onion because it was believed that it would lighten the balance of blood. Roman gladiators were rubbed down with onion to firm up their muscles. In the Middle Ages onions were such an important food that people would pay their rent with onions and even give them as gifts. Doctors were known to prescribe onions to facilitate bowel movements and erection, and also to relieve headaches, coughs, snakebite and hair loss. The onion was introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus on his 1492 expedition to Hispaniola. Onions were also prescribed by doctors in the early 1500s to help with infertility in women, and even dogs and cattle and many other household pets. However, recent evidence has shown that dogs, cats, and other animals should not be given onions in any form, due to toxicity during digestion&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Medicinal properties and health effects&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wide-ranging claims have been made for the effectiveness of onions against conditions ranging from the common cold to heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other diseases.They contain chemical compounds believed to have anti-inflammatory, anticholesterol, anticancer, and antioxidant properties such as quercetin. However, it has not been conclusively demonstrated that increased consumption of onions is directly linked to health benefits. Some studies have shown that increased consumption of onions reduces the risk of head and neck cancers.In India some sects do not eat onion due to its alleged aphrodisiac properties.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In many parts of the world, onions are used to heal blisters and boils. A traditional Maltese remedy for sea urchin wounds is to tie half a baked onion to the afflicted area overnight. In the United States, products that contain onion extract are used in the treatment of topical scars; some studies have found their action to be ineffective,while others found that they may act as an anti-inflammatory or bacteriostatic and can improve collagen organization in rabbits.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Onions may be especially beneficial for women,who are at increased risk for osteoporosis as they go through menopause, by destroying osteoclasts so that they do not break down bone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An American chemist has stated that the pleiomeric chemicals in onions have the potential to alleviate or prevent sore throat. However onion in combination with jaggery has been widely used as a traditional household remedy for sore throat in India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Shallots have the most phenols, six times the amount found in Vidalia onion, the variety with the lowest phenolic content. Shallots also have the most antioxidant activity, followed by Western Yellow, pungent yellow (New York Bold[18]), Northern Red, Mexico, Empire Sweet, Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia. Western Yellow onions have the most flavonoids, eleven times the amount found in Western White, the variety with the lowest flavonoid content.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For all varieties of onions, the more phenols and flavonoids they contain, the more antioxidant and anti-cancer activity they provide. When tested against liver and colon cancer cells, Western Yellow, pungent yellow (New York Bold[18]) and shallots were most effective in inhibiting their growth. The milder-tasting varieties—Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Empire Sweet, Mexico, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia—showed little cancer-fighting ability.[18]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Shallots and ten other onion (Allium cepa L.) varieties commonly available in the United States were evaluated: Western Yellow, Northern Red, pungent yellow (New York Bold), Western White, Peruvian Sweet, Empire Sweet, Mexico, Texas 1015, Imperial Valley Sweet, and Vidalia. In general, the most pungent onions delivered many times the benefits of their milder cousins&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Onions and eye irritation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As onions are sliced or eaten, cells are broken, allowing enzymes called alliinases to break down amino acid sulphoxides and generate sulphenic acids. Sulphenic acids are unstable and spontaneously rearrange into a volatile gas called syn-propanethial-S-oxide. The gas diffuses through the air and eventually reaches the eye, where it binds to sensory neurons, creating a stinging sensation. Tear glands produce tears to dilute and flush out the irritant.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Supplying ample water to the reaction while peeling onions prevents the gas from reaching the eyes. Eye irritation can, therefore, be avoided by cutting onions under running water or submerged in a basin of water.Rinsing the onion and leaving it wet while chopping may also be effective. Another way to reduce irritation is by chilling, or by not cutting off the root of the onion (or by doing it last), as the root of the onion has a higher concentration of enzymes.Using a sharp blade to chop onions will limit the cell damage and the release of enzymes that drive the irritation response. Chilling or freezing onions prevents the enzymes from activating, limiting the amount of gas generated. Eye irritation may be avoided by having a fan blow the gas away from the eyes as the onion is being cut.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is also possible to avoid eye irritation by wearing goggles or any eye protection that creates a seal around the eye. Contact lens wearers can experience less immediate irritation as a result of the slight protection afforded by the lenses themselves. It may also be that lens wearers are familiar with controlling the more reflexive actions of their eyes with regards to irritation; as this is an ability they require when manipulating the lenses to prevent blinking.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The volume of sulfenic acids released, and the irritation effect, differs among Allium species. On January 31, 2008, the New Zealand Crop and Food institute created a strain of "no tears" onions by using gene-silencing biotechnology&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Propagation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Onion and shallot output in 2005 &lt;br /&gt;Onion growing shootsOnions may be grown from seed or, more commonly today, from sets started from seed the previous year. Onion sets are produced by sowing seed very thickly one year, resulting in stunted plants which produce very small bulbs. These bulbs are very easy to set out and grow into mature bulbs the following year, but they have the reputation of producing a less durable bulb than onions grown directly from seed and thinned.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Seed-bearing onions are day-length sensitive; their bulbs begin growing only after the number of daylight hours has surpassed some minimal quantity. Most traditional European onions are what is referred to as "long-day" onions, producing bulbs only after 15+ hours of daylight occur. Southern European and North African varieties are often known as "intermediate day" types, requiring only 12–13 hours of daylight to stimulate bulb formation. Finally, "short-day" onions, which have been developed in more recent times, are planted in mild-winter areas in the fall and form bulbs in the early spring, and require only 9–10 hours of sunlight to stimulate bulb formation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Either planting method may be used to produce spring onions or green onions, which are the leaves and/or immature plants. Green onion is a name also used to refer to another species, Allium fistulosum, the Welsh onion, which is said not to produce dry bulbs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Tree onion produces bulbs instead of flowers and seeds, which can be planted directly in the ground&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Spxp_hslBGI/AAAAAAAAECw/PLTEBNPa6W4/s1600-h/800px-Onions.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/Spxp_hslBGI/AAAAAAAAECw/PLTEBNPa6W4/s320/800px-Onions.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376288595271550050" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Raw Onions&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) &lt;br /&gt;Energy 40 kcal   170 kJ &lt;br /&gt;Carbohydrates     9.34 g &lt;br /&gt;- Sugars  4.24 g &lt;br /&gt;- Dietary fiber  1.7 g   &lt;br /&gt;Fat 0.1 g &lt;br /&gt;- saturated  0.042 g &lt;br /&gt;- monounsaturated  0.013 g   &lt;br /&gt;- polyunsaturated  0.017 g   &lt;br /&gt;Protein 1.1 g &lt;br /&gt;Water 89.11 g &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin A equiv.  0 μg  0% &lt;br /&gt;Thiamine (Vit. B1)  0.046 mg   4% &lt;br /&gt;Riboflavin (Vit. B2)  0.027 mg   2% &lt;br /&gt;Niacin (Vit. B3)  0.116 mg   1% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin B6  0.12 mg 9% &lt;br /&gt;Folate (Vit. B9)  19 μg  5% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin B12  0 μg   0% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin C  7.4 mg 12% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin E  0.02 mg 0% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin K  0.4 μg 0% &lt;br /&gt;Calcium  23 mg 2% &lt;br /&gt;Iron  0.21 mg 2% &lt;br /&gt;Magnesium  0.129 mg 0%  &lt;br /&gt;Phosphorus  29 mg 4% &lt;br /&gt;Potassium  146 mg   3% &lt;br /&gt;Sodium  4 mg 0% &lt;br /&gt;Zinc  0.17 mg 2% &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Percentages are relative to US&lt;br /&gt;recommendations for adults.&lt;br /&gt;Source: USDA Nutrient database&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-8995762104785192972?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/UHq3D2_rb80" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/UHq3D2_rb80/onion.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpxqTBGaeOI/AAAAAAAAEC4/8Gqt7b0u4w4/s72-c/692px-Onion_Flower_Head.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/onion.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-922886917092796190</guid><pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-31T07:08:20.237-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Zingiber zerumbet</category><title>Zingiber zerumbet</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/dLTP9cXOcizu_tgfcBuYOb-xnYA/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/dLTP9cXOcizu_tgfcBuYOb-xnYA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/dLTP9cXOcizu_tgfcBuYOb-xnYA/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/dLTP9cXOcizu_tgfcBuYOb-xnYA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpvZJfG4E7I/AAAAAAAAECg/--SC7Cdy-oA/s1600-h/katouu.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpvZJfG4E7I/AAAAAAAAECg/--SC7Cdy-oA/s320/katouu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376129337189209010" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Zingiber zerumbet (Awapuhi), also known as the Shampoo Ginger, is a vigorous ginger with leafy stems growing to about 1.2 m tall.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Awapuhi is a perennial, so from autumn until spring it goes dormant above ground as the leafy stems shrivel and die away, leaving the pale brown, creeping stems (rhizomes) at ground level. In the spring the plant springs up anew. The 10-12 blade-shaped leaves 15-20 cm long grow in an alternate arrangement on thin, upright stem to 1.2 m tall. Among the leafy stems the conical or club-shaped flower heads burst forth on separate and shorter stalks. These appear in the summer, after the leafy stems have been growing for awile. The flower heads are reddish-green 3-10 cm long with overlapping scales, enclosing small yellowish-white flowers that poke out a few at a time. As the flower heads mature, they gradually fill with an aromatic, slimy liquid and turn a brighter red color. The flower stalks usually remain hidden beneath the leaf stalks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Distribution&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This plant, originating in India, was distributed eastward through Polynesia and introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the canoes of early Polynesian settlers&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The juice can be used to quench thirst when out walking in the forest and can be combined with Mountain Apples as a meal.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Medicinal Uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Hawaii the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes were pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. The rhizomes can be stored in a cool, dark place to keep for use when needed. In traditional use, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle, was mixed with a ripe Noni fruit and then used to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened 'Awapuhi rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material is mixed with water and drunk. Similarly, 'Awapuhi Pake or Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is widely cultivated and eaten, or made into a tea for indigestion as well as increased circulation of the blood and an increased sense of well-being.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An extract,"Zerumbone", from Zingiber zerumbet smith, has been found to induce apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in human liver cancer cells, in an in vitro study. (Cancer Cell International, April 3, 2007).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mythology&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The 'Awapuhi is said to be one of the Kinolau, multiple forms, of the Hawaii deity Kane&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Indigenous Practices&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The leaves and leaf stalks, which are also fragrant, were used in baking in the imu, underground oven, to enhance the flavor of pork and fish as they cooked. Traditionally, the aromatic underground rhizomes were sliced, dried and pounded to a powder, then added to the folds of stored Kapa (Tapa) cloth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perhaps the most common use of 'Awapuhi is as a shampoo and conditioner for the hair. The clear slimy juice present in the mature flower heads is excellent for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out. Hawaiian women often pick or cut the flowerheads of this plant in the forest, as they approach a pool or waterfall for a refreshing summer bath, leave the flowers atop a nearby rock, and then squeeze the sweet juices into their hair and over their bodies when the swim is completed. The sudsy juice is excellent for massage also.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-922886917092796190?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/BtZ3nXn1pLk" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/BtZ3nXn1pLk/zingiber-zerumbet_31.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpvZJfG4E7I/AAAAAAAAECg/--SC7Cdy-oA/s72-c/katouu.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/zingiber-zerumbet_31.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-4879699310970680037</guid><pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-28T07:32:41.175-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Moringa oleifera Lam</category><title>Moringa oleifera Lam</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pjemNwFiPfPtyCx6atHSuPVyUBA/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pjemNwFiPfPtyCx6atHSuPVyUBA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pjemNwFiPfPtyCx6atHSuPVyUBA/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/pjemNwFiPfPtyCx6atHSuPVyUBA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpfqfWUJumI/AAAAAAAAEBo/Y5uwnxvlo3M/s1600-h/Moringa%2520oleifera.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpfqfWUJumI/AAAAAAAAEBo/Y5uwnxvlo3M/s320/Moringa%2520oleifera.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375022504576924258" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Almost every part of plant is of value for food. Seed is said to be eaten like a peanut in Malaya. Thickened root used as substitute for horseradish. Foliage eaten as greens, in salads, in vegetable curries, as pickles and for seasoning. Leaves pounded up and used for scrubbing utensils and for cleaning walls. Seeds yield 38–40% of a non-drying oil, known as Ben Oil, used in arts and for lubricating watches and other delicate machinery. Oil is clear, sweet and odorless, never becoming rancid; consequently it is edible and useful in the manufacture of perfumes and hairdressings. Wood yields blue dye. Leaves and young branches are relished by livestock. Commonly planted in Africa as a living fence (Hausa) tree. Trees planted on graves are believed to keep away hyenas and its branches are used as charms against witchcraft. Bark can serve for tanning; it also yields a coarse fiber. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Folk Medicine &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to Hartwell (1967–1971), the flowers, leaves, and roots are used in folk remedies for tumors, the seed for abdominal tumors. The root decoction is used in Nicaragua for dropsy. Root juice is applied externally as rubefacient or counter-irritant. Leaves applied as poultice to sores, rubbed on the temples for headaches, and said to have purgative properties. Bark, leaves and roots are acrid and pungent, and are taken to promote digestion. Oil is somewhat dangerous if taken internally, but is applied externally for skin diseases. Bark regarded as antiscorbic, and exudes a reddish gum with properties of tragacanth; sometimes used for diarrhea. Roots are bitter, act as a tonic to the body and lungs, and are emmenagogue, expectorant, mild diuretic and stimulant in paralytic afflictions, epilepsy and hysteria. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chemistry&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Per 100 g, the pod is reported to contain 86.9 g H2O, 2.5 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 8.5 g total carbohydrate, 4.8 g fiber, 2.0 g ash, 30 mg Ca, 110 mg P, 5.3 mg Fe, 184 IU vit. A, 0.2 mg niacin, and 120 mg ascorbic acid, 310 mg Cu, 1.8 mg I. Leaves contain 7.5 g H2O, 6.7 g protein, 1.7 g fat, 14.3 g total carbohydrate, 0.9 g fiber, 2.3 g ash, 440 mg Ca, 70 mg P, 7 mg Fe, 110 mg Cu, 5.1 mg I, 11,300 IU vit. A, 120 mg vit. B, 0.8 mg nicotinic acid, 220 mg ascorbic acid, and 7.4 mg tocopherol per 100 g. Estrogenic substances, including the anti-tumor compound, b-sitosterol, and a pectinesterase are also reported. Leaf amino acids include 6.0 g arginine/16 g N, 2.1 histidine, 4.3 lysine, 1.9 tryptophane, 6.4 phenylalanine, 2.0 methionine, 4.9 threonine, 9.3 lucine, 6.3 isoleucine, and 7.1 valine. Pod amino acids enclue 3.6 g arginine/16 g N, 1.1 g histidine, 1.5 g lysine, 0.8 g tryptophane, 4.3 g phenylalanine, 1.4 g methionine, 3.9 g threonine, 6.5 g leucine, 4.4 g isoleucine, and 5.4 valine. Seed kernel (70–74% of seed) contains 4.08 H2O, 38.4 g crude protein, 34.7% fatty oil, 16.4 g N free extract, 3.5 g fiber, and 3.2 g ash. The seed oil contains 9.3% palmitic, 7.4% stearic, 8.6% behenic, and 65.7% oleic acids among the fatty acids. Myristic and lignoceric acids have also been reported. The cake left after oil extraction contains 58.9% crude protein, 0.4% Cao, 1.1% P2O5 and 0.8% K2O. Pterygospermin, a bactericidal and fungicidal compound, isolated from Moringa has an LD50 subcutaneously injected in mice and rats of 350 to 400 mg/kg body weight. Root-bark yields two alkaloids: moringine and moringinine. Moringinine acts as cardiac stimulant, produces rise of blood-pressure, acts on sympathetic nerve-endings as well as smooth muscles all over the body, and depresses the sympathetic motor fibers of vessels in large doses only. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Short, slender, deciduous, perennial tree, to about 10 m tall; rather slender with drooping branches; branches and stems brittle, with corky bark; leaves feathery, pale green, compound, tripinnate, 30–60 cm long, with many small leaflets, 1.3–2 cm long, 0.6–0.3 cm wide, lateral ones somewhat elliptic, terminal one obovate and slightly larger than the lateral ones; flowers fragrant, white or creamy-white, 2.5 cm in diameter, borne in sprays, with 5 at the top of the flower; stamens yellow; pods pendulous, brown, triangular, splitting lengthwise into 3 parts when dry, 30–120 cm long, 1.8 cm wide, containing about 20 seeds embedded in the pith, pod tapering at both ends, 9-ribbed; seeds dark brown, with 3 papery wings. Main root thick. Fruit production in March and April in Sri Lanka. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Germplasm&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Reported from the African and Hindustani Centers of Diversity, Moringa or cvs thereof is reported to tolerate bacteria, drought, fungus, laterite, mycobacteria, and sand (Duke, 1978). Several cvs are grown: 'Bombay' is considered one of the best, with curly fruits. Others have the fruits 3-angled or about round in cross-section. In India, 'Jaffna' is noted for having fruits 60–90 cm, 'Chavakacheri murunga' 90–120 cm long. (2n = 28) &lt;br /&gt;Distribution&lt;br /&gt;Native to India, Arabia, and possibly Africa and the East Indies; widely cultivated and naturalized in tropical Africa, tropical America, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Malabar, Malaysia and the Philippine Islands. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ecology&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ranging from Subtropical Dry to Moist through Tropical Very Dry to Moist Forest Life Zones, Moringa is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 4.8 to 40.3 dm (mean of 53 cases = 14.1) annual temperature of 18.7 to 28.5°C (mean of 48 cases = 25.4) and pH of 4.5 to 8. (mean of 12 cases = 6.5). Thrives in subtropical and tropical climates, flowering and fruiting freely and continuously. Grows best on a dry sandy soil. Drought resistant. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cultivation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In India, the plant is propagated by planting limb cuttings 1–2 m long, from June to August, preferably. The plant starts bearing pods 6–8 months after planting but regular bearing commenced after the second year. The tree bears for several years. &lt;br /&gt;Harvesting&lt;br /&gt;Fruit or other parts of plant usually harvested as desired according to some authors, but in India, fruiting may peak between March and April and again in September and October. Seed gathered in March and April and oil expressed. &lt;br /&gt;Yields and Economics &lt;br /&gt;While I have not located specific yield figures for Moringa, I feel, from personal observations, that its biomass and pod production should approach that of Prosopis growing in the same habitat. Hence, I would suggest a target yield of about 10 MT pods per hectare. Horseradish-tree is grown locally in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, and is consumed as a local product, either ripe or unripe. No commercial data are available. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Energy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to Verma et al. (1976), "saijan" is a fast growing tree being planted in India on a large scale as a potential source of wood for the paper industry. It seems doubtful that the wood and seed oil could both be viewed as fountains of energy. According to Burkill (1966), "The seeds yield a clear inodorous oil to the extent of 22 to 38.5 percent. It burns with a clear light and without smoke. It is an excellent salad oil, and gives a good soap... It can be used for oiling machinery, and indeed has a reputation for this purpose as watch oil, but is now superseded by sperm oil." Sharing rather similar habitat requirements with the jojoba under certain circumstances, it might be investigated as a substitute for sperm whale oil like jojoba. Growing readily from cuttings, the ben oil could be readily produced where jojoba grows. Coming into bearing within two years, it could easily be compared to jojoba in head-on trials. I recommend such. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Biotic Factors&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Fruitflies (Gitona spp.) have infested the fruits which then dried out at the tip and rotted. Leaves of young plants and freshly planted stumps are attacked by several species of weevils (Myllocerus discolor var. variegatus, M. 11-pustulatus, M. tenuiclavis, M. viridanus and Ptochus ovulum). Also parasitized by the flowering plant, Dendrophthoe flacata. Fungi which attack the horseradish-tree include: Cercospora moringicola (Leaf-spot), Sphaceloma morindae (Spot anthracnose), Puccinia moringae (rust), Oidium sp., Polyporus gilvus&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-4879699310970680037?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/JBqAtuSvnf4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/JBqAtuSvnf4/moringa-oleifera-lam.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpfqfWUJumI/AAAAAAAAEBo/Y5uwnxvlo3M/s72-c/Moringa%2520oleifera.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/moringa-oleifera-lam.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-6510932926073250393</guid><pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-27T06:45:52.009-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Crassulaceae</category><title>Crassulaceae</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Bw1LLWF0ukaNBdOkcibesWtLYpw/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Bw1LLWF0ukaNBdOkcibesWtLYpw/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Bw1LLWF0ukaNBdOkcibesWtLYpw/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Bw1LLWF0ukaNBdOkcibesWtLYpw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpaNydFdo9I/AAAAAAAAEBY/OsIThyzJTHs/s1600-h/425px-Crassula_ovata_700.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpaNydFdo9I/AAAAAAAAEBY/OsIThyzJTHs/s320/425px-Crassula_ovata_700.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374639103253783506" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Crassulaceae, or orpine family, is a family of dicotyledons. They store water in their succulent leaves. They are found worldwide, but mostly occur in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Africa, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce. The family includes about 1,400 species in 33 genera.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No member of this family is an important crop plant, but many are popular for horticulture; many members have a bizarre intriguing appearance, and are quite hardy, typically needing only minimal care. Familiar species include the Jade plant or "friendship tree", Crassula ovata and "Florists' Kalanchoe", Kalanchoe blossfeldia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Classification within the family is difficult because many of the species hybridize readily, both in the wild and in cultivation. Some older classifications included the Crassulaceae in the Rosales, but newer schemes treat them in the order Saxifragales.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;CAM photosynthesis (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) is named after the family, because the pathway was first discovered in crassulacean plants.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-6510932926073250393?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/wO9z3ul74kQ" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/wO9z3ul74kQ/crassulaceae.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpaNydFdo9I/AAAAAAAAEBY/OsIThyzJTHs/s72-c/425px-Crassula_ovata_700.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/crassulaceae.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-303567640893419598</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-26T01:11:25.513-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">cabbage</category><title>Cabbage</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PkrDMVhaPn6yX6pK9i6I42K-L2I/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PkrDMVhaPn6yX6pK9i6I42K-L2I/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PkrDMVhaPn6yX6pK9i6I42K-L2I/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/PkrDMVhaPn6yX6pK9i6I42K-L2I/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpTuH6oOEmI/AAAAAAAAEBQ/VZP8Sqe6KQU/s1600-h/800px-Cabbage_and_cross_section_on_white.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 147px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpTuH6oOEmI/AAAAAAAAEBQ/VZP8Sqe6KQU/s320/800px-Cabbage_and_cross_section_on_white.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374182075124290146" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The cabbage is a popular cultivar of a the species Brassica oleracea Linne (Capitata Group) of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae), and is used as a leafy green vegetable. It is a herbaceous, biennial, dicotyledonous flowering plant distinguished by a short stem upon which is crowded a mass of leaves, usually green but in some varieties red or purplish, which while immature form a characteristic compact, globular cluster (cabbagehead).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The plant is also called head cabbage or heading cabbage, and in Scotland a bowkail, from its rounded shape. The Scots call its stalk a castock,and the English call its head a loaf[citation needed]. It is in the same genus as the turnip - Brassica rapa L.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cabbage leaves often display a delicate, powdery, waxy coating called bloom. The sharp or bitter taste sometimes present in cabbage is due to glucosinolate(s). Cabbages are also a good source of Riboflavin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;History&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Cabbage farmer in Gardena, California, 1951The cultivated cabbage is derived from a leafy plant called the wild mustard plant, native to the Mediterranean region, where it is common along the seacoast. Also called sea cabbage and wild cabbage, it was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans; Cato the Elder praised this vegetable for its medicinal properties, declaring that "It is the cabbage which surpasses all other vegetables." The English name derives from the Normanno-Picard caboche (head), perhaps from boche (swelling, bump). Cabbage was developed by ongoing artificial selection for suppression of the internode length.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Uses&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The only part of the plant that is normally eaten is the leafy head; more precisely, the spherical cluster of immature leaves, excluding the partially unfolded outer leaves. Cabbage is used in a variety of dishes for its naturally spicy flavor. The so-called 'cabbage head' is widely consumed raw, cooked, or preserved in a great variety of dishes.[citation needed] It is the principle ingredient in coleslaw&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cooked&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cabbage is often added to soups or stews. Cabbage soup is popular in Central and eastern Europe, and cabbage is an ingredient in some kinds of borscht. Garbure (from Provençal garburo) is a thick soup of cabbage or other vegetables with bacon. Cabbage may be an ingredient in kugel, a baked pudding served as a side dish or dessert. Cabbage is also used in many popular dishes in India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Boiling tenderizes the leaves and releases sugars, which leads to the characteristic "cabbage" aroma. Boiled cabbage has become stigmatized because of its strong cooking odor and the belief that it causes flatulence. Boiled cabbage as an accompaniment to meats and other dishes can be an excellent source of vitamins and dietary fiber. It is often prepared and served with boiled meat and other vegetables as part of a boiled dinner. Harold McGee has studied the development of unpleasant smells when cooking brassicas and reports that they develop with prolonged cooking. According to Corriher's Compendium smell doubles when prolonging cooking from 5 to 7 minutes; for best results cabbage should be sliced thinly and cooked for 4 minutes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cabbage rolls, a type of dolma, are an East European and Middle Eastern delicacy. The leaves are softened by parboiling or by placing the whole head of cabbage in the freezer, and then stuffed with a mixture of chopped meat and/or rice. Stuffed cabbage is called holishkes in Yiddish. A vegetable stuffed with shredded cabbage and then pickled is called mango.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Bulgarian CabbageThe largest cabbage dish is made in Macedonian city of Prilep, with 80,191 sarmas (cabbage rolls).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bubble and squeak consists of potatoes and cabbage or, especially formerly, potatoes, cabbage and meat fried together. Potatoes and cabbage or other greens boiled and mashed together make up a dish called colcannon, an Irish Gaelic word meaning white-headed cabbage, grounded in Old Irish terms for cabbage or kale (cāl), head (cend or cenn) and white (find). In the American South and Midland, corn dodgers were boiled as dumplings with cabbage and ham.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fermented and preserved&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cabbage is the basis for the German sauerkraut, Chinese suan cai and Korean kimchi. To pickle cabbage it is cut fine, placed in a jar, covered with a brine made of its own juice with salt, and left in a warm place for several weeks to ferment. Sauerkraut (colloquially referred to simply "kraut") was historically prepared at home in large batches, as a way of storing food for the winter. The word comes from German sauer (sour) and kraut (plant or cabbage) (Old High German sūr and krūt). Cabbage can also be pickled in vinegar with various spices, alone or in combination with other vegetables. (Turnips can be cured in the same way.) Korean baechu kimchi is usually sliced thicker than its European counterpart, and the addition of onions, chillies, papaya, gin, minced garlic and ginger is common.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Medicinal properties&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cabbage is an excellent source of Vitamin C. It also contains significant amounts of glutamine, an amino acid which has anti-inflammatory properties. Cabbage can also be included in dieting programs, as it is a negative calorie food (citation needed).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is a source of indole-3-carbinol, or I3C, a compound used as an adjuvent therapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a disease of the head and neck caused by human papillomavirus (usually types 6 and 11) that causes growths in the airway that can lead to death.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In European folk medicine, cabbage leaves are used to treat acute inflammation. A paste of raw cabbage may be placed in a cabbage leaf and wrapped around the affected area to reduce discomfort. Some claim it is effective in relieving painfully engorged breasts in breastfeeding women.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fresh cabbage juice has been shown to promote rapid healing of peptic ulcers &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Varieties&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Cultivar UnknownThere are many varieties of cabbage based on shape and time of maturity. Cabbages grown late in autumn and in the beginning of winter are called coleworts; their leaves do not form a compact head."Colewort" may also refer to a young cabbage. The word comes from Latin caulis (stalk of a plant, cabbage) and Old English wyrt (herb, plant, root). A drumhead cabbage has a rounded, flattened head. An oxheart cabbage has an oval or conical head. A pickling cabbage, such as the red-leafed cabbage, is especially suitable for pickling; krautman is the most common variety for commercial production of sauerkraut. Red cabbage is a small, round-headed type with dark red leaves. Savoy cabbage has a round, compact head with crinkled and curled leaves.Winter cabbage will survive the winter in the open in mild regions such as the southern United States; the name is also used for Savoy cabbage.Other traditional varieties include "Late Flat Dutch", "Early Jersey Wakefield" (a conical variety) and "Danish Ballhead" (late, round-headed).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cabbage, raw&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Energy 20 kcal   100 kJ &lt;br /&gt;Carbohydrates     5.8 g &lt;br /&gt;- Sugars  3.2 g &lt;br /&gt;- Dietary fiber  2.5 g   &lt;br /&gt;Fat 0.1 g &lt;br /&gt;Protein 1.28 g &lt;br /&gt;Thiamine (Vit. B1)  0.061 mg   5% &lt;br /&gt;Riboflavin (Vit. B2)  0.040 mg   3% &lt;br /&gt;Niacin (Vit. B3)  0.234 mg   2% &lt;br /&gt;Pantothenic acid (B5)  0.212 mg  4% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin B6  0.124 mg 10% &lt;br /&gt;Folate (Vit. B9)  53 μg  13% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin C  36.6 mg 61% &lt;br /&gt;Calcium  40 mg 4% &lt;br /&gt;Iron  0.47 mg 4% &lt;br /&gt;Magnesium  12 mg 3%  &lt;br /&gt;Phosphorus  26 mg 4% &lt;br /&gt;Potassium  170 mg   4% &lt;br /&gt;Zinc  0.18 mg 2% &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Percentages are relative to US&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-303567640893419598?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/p0iVAR8kfa4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/p0iVAR8kfa4/cabbage.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpTuH6oOEmI/AAAAAAAAEBQ/VZP8Sqe6KQU/s72-c/800px-Cabbage_and_cross_section_on_white.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">1</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/cabbage.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-3815049000303989952</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:02:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-24T04:08:25.519-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Acanthus ebracteatus</category><title>Acanthus ebracteatus</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/j-k6QWSEmpQv58NWR0THYhfP560/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/j-k6QWSEmpQv58NWR0THYhfP560/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/j-k6QWSEmpQv58NWR0THYhfP560/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/j-k6QWSEmpQv58NWR0THYhfP560/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpJ0mQE1dwI/AAAAAAAAEA4/1tyfyy-9b-M/s1600-h/Acanthus_ebracteatus_flower.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpJ0mQE1dwI/AAAAAAAAEA4/1tyfyy-9b-M/s320/Acanthus_ebracteatus_flower.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373485505905522434" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Acanthus ebracteatus is a species of shrubby herb that grows in the undergrowth of mangroves of south-east Asia. Common names include sea holly and holly mangrove.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It grows as an erect, spreading or scrambling shrubby herb, up to 1.5 metres tall, usually with a great many stems. Its leaves are are dark green, stiff, with sharp spines at the end of each deep lobe: very much like those of holly (Ilex). Flowers are blue, purple or white, and occur in spikes terminal on the branches. The fruit is a square-shaped capsule, which explodes when ripe, projecting the seeds up to two metres from the plant. Seeds are off-white, and flat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Taxonomy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This species was first described by Martin Vahl in his 1791 Symbolae Botanicae. In 1806 Christiaan Persoon transferred it into Dilivaria, but this was not accepted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Two subspecies are recognised, the autonym A. ebracteatus subsp. ebracteatus, and A. ebracteatus subsp. ebarbatus, described in 1986.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Distribution and habitat&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It occurs in the undergrowth of mangroves in south-east Asia, including northern Australia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1045.htm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Acanthus ebracteatus&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-3815049000303989952?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/qcBD_Lq8Dx8" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/qcBD_Lq8Dx8/acanthus-ebracteatus.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpJ0mQE1dwI/AAAAAAAAEA4/1tyfyy-9b-M/s72-c/Acanthus_ebracteatus_flower.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/acanthus-ebracteatus.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-6532660403877382257</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:45:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-23T07:51:38.807-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">MARSH</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">MALLOW</category><title>MALLOW, MARSH</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-eiO660H5QRvG0SximRsW8rRDXI/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-eiO660H5QRvG0SximRsW8rRDXI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-eiO660H5QRvG0SximRsW8rRDXI/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/-eiO660H5QRvG0SximRsW8rRDXI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpFW-flozPI/AAAAAAAAEAg/eQUid4Q9eOo/s1600-h/marsh.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpFW-flozPI/AAAAAAAAEAg/eQUid4Q9eOo/s320/marsh.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373171462060952818" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Botanical: Althaea officinalis (LINN.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Synonyms---&lt;/strong&gt;Mallards. Mauls. Schloss Tea. Cheeses. Mortification Koot. &lt;br /&gt;(French) Guimauve. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Parts Used---&lt;/strong&gt;Leaves, root, flowers. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Habitat---&lt;/strong&gt;Marsh Mallow is a native of most countries of Europe, from Denmark southward. It grows in salt marshes, in damp meadows, by the sides of ditches, by the sea and on the banks of tidal rivers. &lt;br /&gt;In this country it is local, but occurs in most of the maritime counties in the south of England, ranging as far north as Lincolnshire. In Scotland it has been introduced. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Description---&lt;/strong&gt;The stems, which die down in the autumn, are erect, 3 to 4 feet high, simple, or putting out only a few lateral branches. The leaves, shortly petioled, are roundish, ovate-cordate, 2 to 3 inches long, and about 1 1/4 inch broad, entire or three to five lobed, irregularly toothed at the margin, and thick. They are soft and velvety on both sides, due to a dense covering of stellate hairs. The flowers are shaped like those of the common Mallow, but are smaller and of a pale colour, and are either axillary, or in panicles, more often the latter. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The stamens are united into a tube, the anthers, kidney-shaped and one-celled. The flowers are in bloom during August and September, and are followed, as in other species of this order, by the flat, round fruit called popularly 'cheeses.' &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The common Mallow is frequently called by country people, 'Marsh Mallow,' but the true Marsh Mallow is distinguished from all the other Mallows growing in Britain, by the numerous divisions of the outer calyx (six to nine cleft), by the hoary down which thickly clothes the stems, and foliage, and by the numerous panicles of blush-coloured flowers, paler than the Common Mallow. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The roots are perennial, thick, long and tapering, very tough and pliant, whitishyellow outside, white and fibrous within. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The whole plant, particularly the root, abounds with a mild mucilage, which is emollient to a much greater degree than the common Mallow. The generic name, Althaea, is derived from the Greek, altho (to cure), from its healing properties. The name of the order, Malvaceae, is derived from the Greek, malake (soft), from the special qualities of the Mallows in softening and healing. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most of the Mallows have been used as food, and are mentioned by early classic writers in this connexion. Mallow was an esculent vegetable among the Romans, a dish of Marsh Mallow was one of their delicacies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Chinese use some sort of Mallow in their food, and Prosper Alpinus stated (in 1592) that a plant of the Mallow kind was eaten by the Egyptians. Many of the poorer inhabitants of Syria, especially the Fellahs, Greeks and Armenians, subsist for weeks on herbs, of which Marsh Mallow is one of the most common. When boiled first and fried with onions and butter, the roots are said to form a palatable dish, and in times of scarcity consequent upon the failure of the crops, this plant, which fortunately grows there in great abundance, is much collected for food. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Job XXX. 4 we read of Mallow being eaten in time of famine, but it is doubtful whether this was really a true mallow. Canon Tristram thinks it was some saline plant; perhaps the Orache, or Sea-Purslane. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Horace and Martial mention the laxative properties of the Marsh Mallow leaves and root, and Virgil tells us of the fondness of goats for the foliage of the Mallow. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dioscorides extols it as a remedy, and in ancient days it was not only valued as a medicine, but was used, especially the Musk Mallow, to decorate the graves of friends. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pliny said: 'Whosoever shall take a spoonful of the Mallows shall that day be free from all diseases that may come to him.' All Mallows contain abundant mucilage, and the Arab physicians in early times used the leaves as a poultice to suppress inflammation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Preparations of Marsh Mallow, on account of their soothing qualities, are still much used by country people for inflammation, outwardly and inwardly, and are used for lozenge-making. French druggists and English sweetmeat-makers prepare a confectionary paste (Pâét de Guimauve) from the roots of Marsh Mallow, which is emollient and soothing to a sore chest, and valuable in coughs and hoarseness. The 'Marsh Mallows' usually sold by confectioners here are a mixture of flour, gum, egg-albumin, etc., and contain no mallow. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In France, the young tops and tender leaves of Marsh Mallow are eaten uncooked, in spring salads, for their property in stimulating the kidneys, a syrup being made from the roots for the same purpose. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Cultivation---&lt;/strong&gt;Marsh Mallow used always to be cultivated in gardens on account of its medicinal qualities. It is said to have been introduced by the Romans. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It can be raised from seed, sown in spring, but cuttings will do well, and offsets of the root, carefully divided in autumn, when the stalks decay, are satisfactory, and will grow of their own accord. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Plant about 2 feet apart. It will thrive in any soil or situation, but grows larger in moist than in dry land, and could well be cultivated on unused ground in damp localities near ditches or streams. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpFXV7Upa6I/AAAAAAAAEAo/MR2Z87y6L4c/s1600-h/marshmallow3ld9.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpFXV7Upa6I/AAAAAAAAEAo/MR2Z87y6L4c/s320/marshmallow3ld9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373171864642874274" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Parts Used---&lt;/strong&gt;Leaves, root and flowers. The leaves are picked in August, when the flowers are just coming into bloom. They should be stripped off singly and gathered only on a fine day, in the morning, after the dew has been dried off by the sun. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Constituents---&lt;/strong&gt;Marsh Mallow contains starch, mucilage, pectin, oil, sugar, asparagin, phosphate of lime, glutinous matter and cellulose. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Medicinal Action and Uses---&lt;/strong&gt;The great demulcent and emollient properties of Marsh Mallow make it useful in inflammation and irritation of the alimentary canal, and of the urinary and respiratory organs. The dry roots boiled in water give out half their weight of a gummy matter like starch. Decoctions of the plant, especially of the root, are very useful where the natural mucus has been abraded from the coats of the intestines, The decoction can be made by adding 5 pints of water to 1/4 lb. of dried root, boiling down to 3 pints and straining: it should not be made too thick and viscid. It is excellent in painful complaints of the urinary organs, exerting a relaxing effect upon the passages, as well as acting curatively. This decoction is also effective in curing bruises, sprains or any ache in the muscles or sinews. In haemorrhage from the urinary organs and in dysentery, it has been recommended to use the powdered root boiled in milk. The action of Marsh Mallow root upon the bowels is unaccompanied by any astringency. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Boiled in wine or milk, Marsh Mallow will relieve diseases of the chest, constituting a popular remedy for coughs, bronchitis, whooping-cough, etc., generally in combination with other remedies. It is frequently given in the form of a syrup, which is best adapted to infants and children&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-6532660403877382257?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/MyNVyDtCdz4" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/MyNVyDtCdz4/mallow-marsh.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpFW-flozPI/AAAAAAAAEAg/eQUid4Q9eOo/s72-c/marsh.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/mallow-marsh.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-1033412060655508476</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:18:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-22T16:23:25.209-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Butea monosperma</category><title>Butea monosperma</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/oUlg7OqsjUZf2SYBUVU2bP8t2Qw/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/oUlg7OqsjUZf2SYBUVU2bP8t2Qw/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/oUlg7OqsjUZf2SYBUVU2bP8t2Qw/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/oUlg7OqsjUZf2SYBUVU2bP8t2Qw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpB9ax4FOYI/AAAAAAAAEAQ/xXwxMAgqCm8/s1600-h/800px-STS_001_Butea_monosperma.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpB9ax4FOYI/AAAAAAAAEAQ/xXwxMAgqCm8/s320/800px-STS_001_Butea_monosperma.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372932254471633282" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Butea monosperma (syn. Butea frondosa, Erythrina monosperma, Plaso monosperma; Kingshuk, Palash, Dhak, Flame of the Forest, Bastard Teak or Parrot Tree), is a species of Butea native to tropical southern Asia, from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia.Also known as kesudo in Gujurati.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is a medium sized dry season-deciduous tree, growing to 15 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, with an 8-16 cm petiole and three leaflets, each leaflet 10-20 cm long. The flowers are 2.5 cm long, bright orange-red, and produced in racemes up to 15 cm long. The fruit is a pod 15-20 cm long and 4-5 cm broad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is used for timber, resin, fodder, medicine, and dye. The gum from the tree, called kamarkas in Hindi, is used in certain food dishes. The gum is also known as Bengal Kino, and is considered valuable by druggists because of its astringent qualities, and by leather workers because of its tannin.The wood is dirty white and soft and, being durable under water, is used for well-curbs and water scoops. Good charcoal can be made from it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In West Bengal it is associated with Spring (season), especially through the poems and songs of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who likened its bright orange flame-like flower to fire. In Santiniketan, where Tagore lived, this flower has become an indispensable part of the celebration of spring. The plant has lent its name to the town of Palashi, famous for the historic Battle of Plassey fought there.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is said that the tree is a form of Agnidev, God of Fire. It was a punishment given to Him by Goddess Parvati for disturbing Her and Lord Shiva's privacy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh these flowers are specially used in the worship of Lord Shiva on occasion of Shivratri. In Telugu this tree is called Modugu chettu.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In Kerala this is called 'plasu' and 'chamata'. Chamata is the vernacular version of Sanskrit word 'Samidha', small piece of wood that use for 'agnihotra' or fire ritual. In most of the old namboodiri (Kerala brahmin)houses one can find this tree because this is widely use for their fire ritual.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Other names&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Flame of the Forest | Bastard Teak, Parrot Tree (Eng.), Chichra tesu, desuka jhad, dhak, palas, chalcha, kankrei (Hindi), Palashpapra (Urdu), Muthuga (Can.), Kingshuk, Polash, Polashi (Beng.), Pauk (Burmese), Polash (Polax) in Assamese, Porasum, Parasu (Tam.), Muriku, Shamata (Mal.), Modugu (Telugu), Khakda (Guj.), Kela (Sinh.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?8177"&gt;Butea monosperma&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-1033412060655508476?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/XRjWXuSlaCU" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/XRjWXuSlaCU/butea-monosperma.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/SpB9ax4FOYI/AAAAAAAAEAQ/xXwxMAgqCm8/s72-c/800px-STS_001_Butea_monosperma.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/butea-monosperma.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-5954828127228600046</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-22T01:00:30.327-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Milletti  Kityana</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Craib</category><title>Milletti  Kityana,  Craib</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VB5VppbG5e_PB_hrLDRO9dtknKs/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VB5VppbG5e_PB_hrLDRO9dtknKs/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VB5VppbG5e_PB_hrLDRO9dtknKs/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/VB5VppbG5e_PB_hrLDRO9dtknKs/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So-kg1IImdI/AAAAAAAAEAI/DG28rqTkjvI/s1600-h/rangjead.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So-kg1IImdI/AAAAAAAAEAI/DG28rqTkjvI/s320/rangjead.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372693764400257490" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Scientist name  :  Milletti  Kityana,  Craib&lt;br /&gt;Family  :  LEGUMINOSAE&lt;br /&gt;Common name  :  ทั่วไปภาคกลางเรียก  รางจืด  ทางพายัพเรียก  ฮางจืดเคลือเข้าเย็น                  &lt;br /&gt; Feature  :        ต้นรางจืด  เป็นไม้เถาเนื้อแข็ง  เลื้อยพาดพันไปตามต้นไม้อื่นๆตามปกติ&lt;br /&gt;                        จะถือว่าเป็นได้ทั้งไม้ดอกและไม้ใบหรือไม้ร่มก็ได้  ใบสดหนาแข็ง  สีเขียวแก่&lt;br /&gt;                       คล้ายใบหญ้านางหรือใบสะค้าน  ดอกใหญ่เขื่องเป็นช่อสีม่วง อ่อนๆ  มีตาเหลือง &lt;br /&gt;                       กลางกลีบมนออกเป็นช่อดอก และในระหว่างใบที่เขียวแก่  กลางกลีบมน   &lt;br /&gt;                        สวยงาม เป็นช่อดี&lt;br /&gt;    Growth  :  มีเกิดตามป่าชื้น  ป่าราบทางภาคเหนือและภาคกลาง  ขึ้นได้ในดินธรรมดา&lt;br /&gt;                              ใบมีรสเย็น  ใช้ปรุงเป็นยาเขียว  ทำเป็นยาถอนพิษและยาเบื่อเมาทำให้ลดความ&lt;br /&gt;                                ร้อนในร่างกาย แก้ไข้พิษสำแดง  กระทุ้งพิษไข้หัว  รากและเถา&lt;br /&gt;                               รับประทานเป็นยาแก้ร้อนในกระหายน้ำ  แก้พิษทั้งปวง&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-5954828127228600046?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/sEKC7Bg7cNY" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/sEKC7Bg7cNY/milletti-kityana-craib.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So-kg1IImdI/AAAAAAAAEAI/DG28rqTkjvI/s72-c/rangjead.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/milletti-kityana-craib.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-4159375918402397272</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:48:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-22T00:52:28.339-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Minosa  Pudica</category><title>Minosa  Pudica</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/iyzx-i1e1DDl93B8_s2AjkrIS6c/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/iyzx-i1e1DDl93B8_s2AjkrIS6c/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/iyzx-i1e1DDl93B8_s2AjkrIS6c/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/iyzx-i1e1DDl93B8_s2AjkrIS6c/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So-js9u4lJI/AAAAAAAAEAA/_H_pvuX218E/s1600-h/Minosa++Pudicar.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So-js9u4lJI/AAAAAAAAEAA/_H_pvuX218E/s320/Minosa++Pudicar.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372692873357071506" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ชื่อทางพฤกษศาสตร์  :  Minosa  Pudica&lt;br /&gt;วงศ์  :  LEGUMINOSAE&lt;br /&gt;ชื่อที่เรียก  :  ทั่วไปเรียก  ไมยราพ,  ไวยราพ,  ระงับ  ทางพายัพเรียก  หญ้าจิยอบ&lt;br /&gt;                   จันทบุรีเรียก  หนามหญ้าราบ&lt;br /&gt;ลักษณะ  :   ต้นไมยราพ  เป็นต้นไม้ล้มลุกต้นเล็กๆ  เนื้ออ่อนจำพวกหญ้า  ใบเล็กๆ&lt;br /&gt;                  เป็นฝอยคล้ายกับใบผักกระเฉด  ต้นและกิ่งมีสีแดงเป็นขนและมีหนาม&lt;br /&gt;                  แหลมคมทั้งต้น  จะสูงประมาณ  1  ฟุตเศษดอกมีลักษณะเหมือนดอก&lt;br /&gt;                  ของผักกระเฉด แต่มีสีแดงออ่นชมพู&lt;br /&gt;การเจริญเติบโต  เป็นไม้ที่เจริญงอกงามตามรกร้างทั่วไป  ตามพื้นดิน  ตามถนนเล็กๆ&lt;br /&gt;                          ขยายพันธุ์เร็ว   &lt;br /&gt;สรรพคุณ    ใช้ได้ทั้งต้นนำมาปรุงยาขับปัสสาวะ&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-4159375918402397272?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/iNqOaIdD0dg" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/iNqOaIdD0dg/minosa-pudica.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So-js9u4lJI/AAAAAAAAEAA/_H_pvuX218E/s72-c/Minosa++Pudicar.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">0</thr:total><feedburner:origLink>http://herbal-thai.blogspot.com/2009/08/minosa-pudica.html</feedburner:origLink></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8683473918316016084.post-3668083179109184224</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-20T20:32:00.582-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Garlic</category><title>Garlic</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kBU7kJhwAbkzBQZtoP0ytymwFhA/0/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kBU7kJhwAbkzBQZtoP0ytymwFhA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kBU7kJhwAbkzBQZtoP0ytymwFhA/1/da"&gt;&lt;img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kBU7kJhwAbkzBQZtoP0ytymwFhA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"&gt;&lt;/img&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So4RAkMfUhI/AAAAAAAAD_o/IUq-aLu5OjI/s1600-h/garlic02.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So4RAkMfUhI/AAAAAAAAD_o/IUq-aLu5OjI/s320/garlic02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372250106913313298" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Medicinal use and health benefits&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In test tube studies garlic has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. However, these actions are less clear in humans and do not suggest that garlic is a substitute for antibiotics or antifungal medications. Garlic is also claimed to help prevent heart disease (including atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure) and cancer.Animal studies, and some early investigational studies in humans, have suggested possible cardiovascular benefits of garlic. A Czech study found that garlic supplementation reduced accumulation of cholesterol on the vascular walls of animals.Another study had similar results, with garlic supplementation significantly reducing aortic plaque deposits of cholesterol-fed rabbits. Another study showed that supplementation with garlic extract inhibited vascular calcification in human patients with high blood cholesterol.The known vasodilative effect of garlic is possibly caused by catabolism of garlic-derived polysulfides to hydrogen sulfide in red blood cells, a reaction that is dependent on reduced thiols in or on the RBC membrane. Hydrogen sulfide is an endogenous cardioprotective vascular cell-signaling molecule.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although these studies showed protective vascular changes in garlic-fed subjects, a randomized clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2007 found that the consumption of garlic in any form did not reduce blood cholesterol levels in patients with moderately high baseline cholesterol levels.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“ Despite decades of research suggesting that garlic can improve cholesterol profiles, a new NIH-funded trial found absolutely no effects of raw garlic or garlic supplements on LDL, HDL, or triglycerides… The findings underscore the hazards of meta-analyses made up of small, flawed studies and the value of rigorously studying popular herbal remedies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are critics of the NIH, and its pharmaceutical lobby, who believe their study intended to confuse those prior findings that had shown protective vascular changes for withstanding high cholesterol levels (and not, as in the NIH study, the cholesterol levels themselves).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 2007, the BBC reported that Allium sativum may have other beneficial properties, such as preventing and fighting the common cold.This assertion has the backing of long tradition in herbal medicine, which has used garlic for hoarseness and coughs.The Cherokee also used it as an expectorant for coughs and croup.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Allium sativum has been found to reduce platelet aggregation and hyperlipidemia.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Garlic is also alleged to help regulate blood sugar levels. Regular and prolonged use of therapeutic amounts of aged garlic extracts lower blood homocysteine levels and has shown to prevent some complications of diabetes mellitus. People taking insulin should not consume medicinal amounts of garlic without consulting a physician.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 1858, Louis Pasteur observed garlic's antibacterial activity, and it was used as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene during World War I and World War II. More recently, it has been found from a clinical trial that a mouthwash containing 2.5% fresh garlic shows good antimicrobial activity, although the majority of the participants reported an unpleasant taste and halitosis.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In modern naturopathy, garlic is used as a treatment for intestinal worms and other intestinal parasites, both orally and as an anal suppository. Garlic cloves are used as a remedy for infections (especially chest problems), digestive disorders, and fungal infections such as thrush.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Garlic has been used reasonably successfully in AIDS patients to treat cryptosporidium in an uncontrolled study in China.[38] It has also been used by at least one AIDS patient to treat toxoplasmosis, another protozoal disease.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Garlic supplementation in rats, along with a high protein diet, has been shown to boost testosterone levels&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Side effects&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Garlic is known for causing halitosis as well as causing sweat to have a pungent 'garlicky' smell which is caused by Allyl methyl sulfide (AMS). AMS is a gas which is absorbed into the blood during the metabolism of garlic; from the blood it travels to the lungs (and from there to the mouth causing bad breath) and skin where it is exuded through skin pores. Washing the skin with soap is only a partial and imperfect solution to the smell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Raw garlic is more potent and therefore cooking garlic reduces the effect. The green dry 'folds' in the center of the garlic clove are especially pungent. The sulfur compound allicin, produced by crushing or chewing fresh garlic produces other sulfur compounds: ajoene, allyl sulfides, and vinyldithiins. Aged garlic lack allicin, but may have some activity due to the presence of S-allylcysteine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/z5-S0sraB4I&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/z5-S0sraB4I&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Garlic, raw&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) &lt;br /&gt;Energy 150 kcal   620 kJ &lt;br /&gt;Carbohydrates     33.06 g &lt;br /&gt;- Sugars  1.00g &lt;br /&gt;- Dietary fiber  2.1 g   &lt;br /&gt;Fat 0.5 g &lt;br /&gt;Protein 6.39 g &lt;br /&gt;- beta-carotene  5 μg  0% &lt;br /&gt;Thiamine (Vit. B1)  0.2 mg   15% &lt;br /&gt;Riboflavin (Vit. B2)  0.11 mg   7% &lt;br /&gt;Niacin (Vit. B3)  0.7 mg   5% &lt;br /&gt;Pantothenic acid (B5)  0.596 mg  12% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin B6  1.235 mg 95% &lt;br /&gt;Folate (Vit. B9)  3 μg  1% &lt;br /&gt;Vitamin C  31.2 mg 52% &lt;br /&gt;Calcium  181 mg 18% &lt;br /&gt;Iron  1.7 mg 14% &lt;br /&gt;Magnesium  25 mg 7%  &lt;br /&gt;Phosphorus  153 mg 22% &lt;br /&gt;Potassium  401 mg   9% &lt;br /&gt;Sodium  17 mg 1% &lt;br /&gt;Zinc  1.16 mg 12% &lt;br /&gt;Manganese 1.672 mg  &lt;br /&gt;Selenium 14.2 mcg  &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Percentages are relative to US&lt;br /&gt;recommendations for adults.&lt;br /&gt;Source: &lt;a href="http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/"&gt;USDA&lt;/a&gt; Nutrient database&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8683473918316016084-3668083179109184224?l=herbal-thai.blogspot.com'/&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~4/m0qMsO4wEjc" height="1" width="1"/&gt;</description><link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~3/m0qMsO4wEjc/garlic.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</author><media:thumbnail url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SGngLwk62gY/So4RAkMfUhI/AAAAAAAAD_o/IUq-aLu5OjI/s72-c/garlic02.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0">2</thr:total><media:content url="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HerbalInThailand/~5/8DTpj_IBhTc/z5-S0sraB4I&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" fileSize="1012" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><itunes:subtitle> Medicinal use and health benefits In test tube studies garlic has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. However, these actions are less clear in humans and do not suggest that garlic is a substitute for antibiotics or anti</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>noreply@blogger.com (Julong)</itunes:author><itunes:summary> Medicinal use and health benefits In test tube studies garlic has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. However, these actions are less clear in humans and do not suggest that garlic is a substitute for antibiotics or antifungal medications. Garlic is also claimed to help prevent heart disease (including atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure) and cancer.Animal studies, and some early investigational studies in humans, have suggested possible cardiovascular benefits of garlic. A Czech study found that garlic supplementation reduced accumulation of cholesterol on the vascular walls of animals.Another study had similar results, with garlic supplementation significantly reducing aortic plaque deposits of cholesterol-fed rabbits. Another study showed that supplementation with garlic extract inhibited vascular calcification in human patients with high blood cholesterol.The known vasodilative effect of garlic is possibly caused by catabolism of garlic-derived polysulfides to hydrogen sulfide in red blood cells, a reaction that is dependent on reduced thiols in or on the RBC membrane. Hydrogen sulfide is an endogenous cardioprotective vascular cell-signaling molecule. Although these studies showed protective vascular changes in garlic-fed subjects, a randomized clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2007 found that the consumption of garlic in any form did not reduce blood cholesterol levels in patients with moderately high baseline cholesterol levels. “ Despite decades of research suggesting that garlic can improve cholesterol profiles, a new NIH-funded trial found absolutely no effects of raw garlic or garlic supplements on LDL, HDL, or triglycerides… The findings underscore the hazards of meta-analyses made up of small, flawed studies and the value of rigorously studying popular herbal remedies. There are critics of the NIH, and its pharmaceutical lobby, who believe their study intended to confuse those prior findings that had shown protective vascular changes for withstanding high cholesterol levels (and not, as in the NIH study, the cholesterol levels themselves). In 2007, the BBC reported that Allium sativum may have other beneficial properties, such as preventing and fighting the common cold.This assertion has the backing of long tradition in herbal medicine, which has used garlic for hoarseness and coughs.The Cherokee also used it as an expectorant for coughs and croup. Allium sativum has been found to reduce platelet aggregation and hyperlipidemia. Garlic is also alleged to help regulate blood sugar levels. Regular and prolonged use of therapeutic amounts of aged garlic extracts lower blood homocysteine levels and has shown to prevent some complications of diabetes mellitus. People taking insulin should not consume medicinal amounts of garlic without consulting a physician. In 1858, Louis Pasteur observed garlic's antibacterial activity, and it was used as an antiseptic to prevent gangrene during World War I and World War II. More recently, it has been found from a clinical trial that a mouthwash containing 2.5% fresh garlic shows good antimicrobial activity, although the majority of the participants reported an unpleasant taste and halitosis. In modern naturopathy, garlic is used as a treatment for intestinal worms and other intestinal parasites, both orally and as an anal suppository. Garlic cloves are used as a remedy for infections (especially chest problems), digestive disorders, and fungal infections such as thrush. Garlic has been used reasonably successfully in AIDS patients to treat cryptosporidium in an uncontrolled study in China.[38] It has also been used by at least one AIDS patient to treat toxoplasmosis, another protozoal disease. 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