Murraya KoenigiiRutaceaeSan: Kalasakh, KaidaryahHin: Mithinim, KatnimBen: BarsungaMal: Kariveppu, KaruveppuTam: Kariveppilai, KaruveppuKan: Kari BaevaTel: KarivepakuAss: Narasingha, BishahariImportance: Curry leaf, a plant of homestead gardens has gained importance as a commercial crop and is cultivated for its culinary and medicinal value. The plant is highly esteemed for its leaves which promote appetite and digestion and destroy pathogenic organisms. It is reported to be useful in emaciation, skin diseases, hemopathy, worm troubles, neurosis and poisons. They are useful in vitiated conditions of kapha and pitta, hyperdipna, colic, flatulence, diarrhoea, dysentery, vomiting, inflammations and foul ulcers. “Kaidaryah” drug is prepared using this plant which improves voice, stimulates digestion and destroys concocted poisons in the system. The important preparations using the drug are Kalasadi kasayam, Pamantaka tailam, Jatyadi tailam, Jatyadi ghrtam, etc (Sivarajan et al,1994).Distribution: Curry leaf is seen in the foot of the Himalaya and Bashahi eastwards to Sikkim and Peninsular India, upto 1700m. It is also found in Sri Lanka, Burma, Indo-China, South China and Hainan. Commercial cultivation in India is limited to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states.Botany: The genus Murraya of the family Rutaceae includes the following species:M. Koenigii (Linn.) Spreng. syn. Bergera koenigii Linn.M. Exotica Linn. syn. M. paniculata (Linn.) Jack.Murraya koenigii is a small aromatic tree with dark grey bark and closely crowded spreading dark green foliage. Leaves are imparipinnate and alternate. Leaflets are alternate, obliquely ovate or somewhat rhomboid, gland dotted and strongly aromatic. Flowers are white, arranged in much branched terminal corymbose cymes and fragrant. Fruits are subglobose or ellipsoid berries, purplish black when ripe and 2-seeded (Warrier et al, 1995).Agrotechnology: Curry leaf tree does not choose a specific climate and can come up even in dry climate too. In places where minimum temperature goes below 13 C, the growth of the shoot will be slightly affected. It comes up well in light textured red soils. DWD-1 and DWD-2 are two improved varieties released from UAS, Dharwad. Curry leaf is propagated by seed. Main field is to be ploughed repeatedly. A spacing of 90-120cm is followed on either side. Pits of size 30cm3 are dug out one month before planting and filled with top soil mixed with well decomposed FYM at the time of planting. Healthy seedlings are planted in the centre of the pits. Then long furrows are formed connecting all the pits to facilitate easy irrigation. The seedlings are irrigated once in 5-7 days upto 3 years and once in 15 days afterwards. The field should be kept free from weeds. Plants may be trained and pruned to maintain a bush of 1m in height. For better growth and yield, each plant is fertilised with 20kg of FYM besides 150:25:50g of N, P2O5, K2O/ year. Attack of aphids in the vegetative stage can be controlled by spraying of dimethoate at 2ml/l of water. Leaves from such sprayed plants should be harvested only after 10 days. Spraying carbendazim at 1g/l can take care of leaf spot diseases. The crop comes to first harvest at the end of first year. The yield of leaves account to 400kg/ha at the end of first year, 2000 to 2200kg/ha in the second and third year harvested at an interval of four months and 2500kg/ha in the fourth year harvested at three months interval. From fifth year onwards it is harvested at 2.5-3 months interval giving an yield of 3500-5000kg/ha (Kumar et al, 1997).Properties and activity: All parts of the plant, especially the leaves are rich in carbazole alkaloids. These include members with (i) C13 - skeleton -murrayanin, mukoeic acid, mukonine and mukonidine; (ii) C18 - skeleton including gerinimbine, koenimbine, murrayacine, koenigine and koenigicine (koenidine); and (iii) C23- skeleton containing mahanimbine, mahanimbicine, iso- mahanimbicine, mahanine, mahanimbinine, murrayayazoline, murrayazolinine, murrayazolidine, cyclomahanimbine and bicyclomahanimbicine. Other carbazole bases include mukoline, mukolidine (C13 group, from roots), mukonicine (C18 from leaves), the biogenetically significant mukonal (C13, stem-bark), mahanimboline (C23, root-bark), iso- murrayazoline (C23, stem-bark). The leaves gave a coumarin glucoside, scopolin also. Essential oil from leaves contained -caryophylline, -gurjunene, -elemene, - phellandrene, -thujene as major constituents.The roots, bark and leaves are bitter, acrid, astringent, cooling, aromatic, demulcent, depurative, anthelmintic, febrifuge, stomachic, appetising, carminative, antiinflammatory and antiseptic. Aerial part is spasmolytic and antiprotozoal. Root is antiprotozoal, CVS active and has effect on nictitating membrane. Leaf is hypoglycaemic (Hussain et al,1992).
Peumus boldus
FAMILY: Monimiaceae
SYNONYMS: Boldu boldus, Boldoa fragrans, boldus, boldu.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: An evergreen shrub or small tree up to 6 metres high, with slender branches, sessile coarse leaves and bearing yellowish-green fruit; when dried the leaves turn a deep reddish-brown colour. The whole plant is aromatic.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to Chile; naturalized in the Mediterranean region. Some essential oil is produced in Nepal and Vietnam.
OTHER SPECIES: The Australian tree Monimia rotundifolia contains a similar oil, which has been used as a substitute. The oil of chenopodium or wormseed is also chemically related.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The bark is used for tanning, the wood utilized in charcoal making and the fruit eaten by locals. In South America it has long been recognized as a valuable cure for gonorrhoea. In Western herbalism, the dried leaves are used for genito-urinary inflammation, gallstones, liver or gall bladder pain, cystitis and rheumatism. The dried leaves are current in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia as a specific for cholelithiasis with pain.
ACTIONS: Antiseptic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, hepatic, sedative, tonic, urinary demulcent.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation of the leaves.
CHARACTERISTICS: A yellow liquid with a powerful spicy-camphoraceous, disagreeable odour.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Cymene, ascaridole, cineol, linalol.
SAFETY DATA: Extremely toxic. ‘The oil has powerful therapeutic effects, and it can be considered harmful to the human organism even when used in very small doses … should not be used in therapy, either internally or externally.’.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE None.
OTHER USES: Used in pharmaceuticals in minute amounts for its therapeutic properties.... boldo leaf
If you want to drink a special type of tea, try Olive Leaf Tea! It has an aromatic flavor, similar to green tea, but a bit sweeter, which makes for a pleasant cup of tea. Also, it has many benefits which help you stay healthy. Read to find out more!
About Olive Leaf Tea
Olive leaf tea is made from the leaves of the olive tree. We can find these trees on the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin (including areas from Europe, Asia and Africa), as well as in northern Iran and northern Iraq.
The leaves of the olive tree have a silvery green color. They are oblong, measuring 4-10cm long and 1-3 cm wide. The olive leaves are well-known for their many health benefits. Also, olive leaf extract is used for various soaps and skin creams.
How to make Olive Leaf Tea
Olive leaf teacan be bought either in loose leaf form or in tea bag form. In both cases, it is quite easy to prepare a cup of olive leaf tea.
A teaspoon of olive leaves, or a teabag, is enough for one cup of olive leaf tea. Pour boiling water in the cup and let it steep for about 15 minutes. Once the steeping time is done, either remove the teabag or strain to remove the olive leaves.
Also, if you’ve got olive trees around, you can make your own olive leaf tea. First, pick the healthy-looking leaves from the tree. Wash the leaves carefully; then, dry them in the oven, at a temperature below 65°C or 150°F. You can air-dry the leaves, too, but don’t leave them in direct sunlight, as that might reduce their health benefits. Once the leaves are dry, crush the leaves by hand, remove the stalks and store the dried herbs in paper packets. For a cup of olive leaf tea, just follow the simple steps mentioned above.
Components of Olive Leaf Tea
Olive leaves have many components which are good for our body. Seeing as the leaves are the main ingredient for the tea, the components are also transferred to the olive leaf tea.Some of the important ones include various antioxidants, polyphenols, and flavonoids. Olive leaves, as well as olive leaf tea, also have Vitamin C.
Olive leaf tea doesn’t contain caffeine, so you don’t have to worry about getting any side effects caused by caffeine.
Olive Leaf Tea Benefits
Considering its many components, it’s not a lie when we say that a cup of olive leaf tea brings you many health benefits.
First of all, olive leaf tea helps lower both LDL “bad” cholesterol levels and blood pressure. It also increases the blood flow by relaxing the arteries. Because of this, olive leaf tea is considered an important heart tonic. Olive leaf tea can also help you if you’ve got diabetes, as it lowers the blood sugar levels.
Drinking olive leaf tea during winter can help you strengthen your immune system, and also fight against colds and the flu. It helps you relax, and it can count as an energy booster if you drink a lot of olive leaf tea.
Olive leaf tea may also help you prevent the appearance of cancer or tumors. Plus, it is used in the treatment for viral infections, such as the Epstein-Barr disease, herpes, shingles, and malaria. It is also useful in healing inflammations of the bladder, as well as alienating arthritic pain and swelling.
Olive Leaf Tea side effects
If you know you’ve got a low blood pressure, don’t drink too much olive leaf tea. It will lower your blood pressure even more, and that might make you feel dizzy. In this case, be careful with the amount of olive leaf tea you drink.
Some people might experience Herxheimers reaction when drinking olive leaf tea. Herxheimers reaction is an immune response to the release of toxins from pathogens which have been destroyed. It is a normal and good reaction, as that means the olive leaf tea is doing you good. The symptoms include headaches, muscle and joint pain, fever, nausea, sore throat, and vaginal irritation. Reduce the amount of tea you drink, and also drink a large quantity of water daily to help the body eliminate the toxins. With this, the symptoms should disappear after a few days.
Be careful if you’re taking any other medication. Olive leaf tea might interfere with the usual actions of the medication you’re taking. Before including olive leaf tea in your daily diet, make sure you talk to your doctor.
If you’re pregnant or breast feeding, it is best to avoid drinking olive leaf tea. While it is not sure how harmful it can be in this case, it is best not to take a risk, in case it might cause miscarriages or affect the baby.
Also, don›t drink more than six cups of olive leaf tea a day. It will lead to more side effects rather than to help you stay healthy. If you drink too much tea, the symptoms you might get are the following: headaches, dizziness, insomnia, irregular heartbeats, vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite. Make sure to reduce the amount of olive leaf tea you drink, if you get any of these.
Not only does olive leaf tea have a pleasant taste, but one cup brings many health benefits with it. As long as you make sure you won’t get any side effects from consumption of olive leaf tea, you can easily include it in your daily diet. You definitely won’t regret it!... olive leaf tea
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