HART'S TONGUE FERN - INFORMATION: BENEFITS AND USES OF HART'S TONGUE FERN HERB

HART”S TONGUE FERN, SCOLOPENDRIUM VULGARIS, OR ASPLENIUM SCOLOPENDRIUM (LINN) OR PHYLLITIS SCOLOPENDRIUM

The Hart’s Tongue Fern is native to Europe and there is a variety of it in North America, Phyllitis scolopendrium var.americana which is smaller than the European variety. It’s a member of the spleenwort family, Aspleniaceae and grows in Asia too and parts of North Africa, and prefers moist, shady places. It can grow in woods and along river banks, as well as in walls. I have a vague memory of the leaves not having a pleasant smell when bruised, and I avoided the fern as a child because I didn’t like the waxy feel of its leaves which are shaped like the tongue of the red deer, or so it was thought, hence its name. Perhaps I didn’t appreciate it because it grew on damp walls on buildings I didn’t particularly like, such as public toilets.

   It was known to the ancient Greek physician Galen (c 130-210 AD) who is deemed to be second only of the ancient Greek physicians to Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. He used it in remedies for dysentery and diarrhoea because of its astringent qualities, in an infusion, made from 2 ounces of the leaves to 1 pint of water. This was later used by medieval physicians to remove obstructions of the spleen and liver.

  Dioscorides, writing his Materia Medica in 1 AD remarked that the leaves tasted bitter, and recommended it being drunk with wine as an antidote to snake bites and for diarrhoea and dysentery.

   The fronds can be harvested in summer and dried for later use. If dried, it can be made into an ointment for scalds, burns and piles. It was one of the five great capillary herbs along with the maidenhair fern which is a common house plant in often growing in pots in British bathrooms.

  The mediaeval herbalists called it lingua cervina or deer’s tongue in their old herbals. Culpeper writing later, in the 17^th century says “It is a good remedy for the liver” and goes on to include its benefits to the spleen and “the heat of the stomach.” He continues: -

  “The distilled water is very good against the passion of the heart, to stay hiccough, to help the falling of the palate and to stay bleeding of the gums by gargling with it.”

  It has been used to ease gout, clear the eyes, heal fresh wounds (juice from the leaves) reduce fevers and to get rid of warts and pistules in early European traditional medicinal systems. It is mentioned in Michael Drayton’s (1563-1631) poem, Poly-Olbion, Song XIII, referring to its use for removing stones and gravel from internal organs, “hart’s tongue for the stone.”

  It has been the subject of some clinical trials which suggest that it may be effective for digestive disorders as Culpeper thought, and that it may increase production of urine as well as soften stools (as senna does) and it may stimulate the bowel to contract and empty (in which case it would be good for constipation and piles perhaps).

  The physicians of Myddfai had this recipe for remaining chaste, (not involving the chaste berry), presumably for a woman rather than a man.

  “If you would always be chaste, eat daily some of the herb called hart's tongue, and you will never assent to the suggestions of impurity.”

   Apart from having remedies for ailments, these old physicians also gave dietary advice and here is what they had to say for the

“Month of May. Do not eat sheep's head or trotters, use warm drink. Eat twice daily of hart's tongue, fasting. Take a gentle emetic. Use cold whey. Drink of the juice of fennel and wormwood.” It isn’t clear whether this refers to the herb or the deer’s tongue, but whichever, it wouldn’t have made much of a meal; an austere diet, to be sure, but one that was perhaps followed by the adherents of the physicians of Myddfai in Wales.

WATER SMARTWEED ( AMPHIBIOUS PERSICARIA) - USEFUL HERB: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF WATER SMARTWEED HERB

AMPHIBIOUS PERSICARIA, WATER SMARTWEED, POLYGONUM AMPHIBIUM OR PERSICARIA AMPHIBIA

Amphibia persicaria is also known as Water Smartweed, Amphibious knotweed, and Amphibious bistort. It is a flowering plant in the knotweed family of Polygonaceae, and can grow in water as much as 8 feet deep, although it is found in much shallower water normally. The thick stems grow from the plant’s rhizomes and it has a cluster of pink flowers at the top of the stem (sometimes these grow to 3 metres long), which are 5 lobed and pointed. It flowers in the months of July and August, and then produces small, shiny, brown seeds.

  Native Americans used to eat the young shoots as a relish, and used it in medicine and as hunting medicine. They would use the flower heads as bait when trout fishing and the smoke from the leaves of the plant was thought to attract deer to hunters. A poultice of freshly gathered roots was used on mouth ulcers, and an infusion of the dried roots was given as a remedy for chest colds. Interestingly, Dioscorides, in 1 AD thought that the roots were useless. He attributed cooling and astringent properties to the plant and said that they were used in much the same ways as the persicaria that grows in fields. He used the plants as a diuretic, for excessive menstruation, to get rid of sores and their pus in ears, and boiled in wine for ulcers on the genitals. He put the leaves on fresh wounds, used them internally for burning sensations in the stomach and for herpes and other inflammations.

  Amphibious persicaria is native to both Europe and Asia as well as to North America. In other countries it has been introduced and has, in some of these, become a noxious, invasive species, taking over ponds and lakes.

  It is related to the Water pepper, and should not be confused with it. (Polygonum hydropiper)

   The Welsh physicians of Myddfai used it in remedies for fever, such as these two; -

   “The mugwort, madder, meadow sweet, milfoil, hemp, red cabbage, and the tutsan, all these seven herbs enter into the composition of the medicine required. Whosoever obtains them all, will not languish long from a wounded lung, or need fear for his life. Any of the following herbs may be added thereto, butcher's broom, agrimony, tutsan, dwarf elder, amphibious persicaria, centaury, round birth wort, field scabious, pepper mint, daisy, knap weed, roots of the red nettle, crake berry, St. John's wort, privet, wood betony, the roots of the yellow goat's beard, heath, water avens, woodruff, leaves of the earth nut, agrimony, wormwood, the bastard balm, small burdock, and the orpine.”

 “Another treatment for an intermittent fever: Take the mugwort, dwarf elder, tutsan, amphibious persicaria, pimpernel, butcher's broom, elder bark, and the mallow, and boiling them together as well as possible in a pot, or cauldron. Then take the water and herbs, and add them to the bath.”

The following was used as a cure for stones or gravel in the kidneys: -

“If the disease be gravel, make a medicine of the following herbs, macerated in strong clear wheat ale, viz. water pimpernel, tutsan, meadow sweet, St. John's wort, ground ivy, agrimony, milfoil, birch, common burnet, columbine, motherwort, laurel, gromwel, betony, borage, dandelion, little field madder, amphibious persicaria, liverwort.”

HAZEL NUTS - SEEDS OF WISDOM: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF HAZEL NUTS: COURGETTES WITH HAZEL NUT STUFFING RECIPE

HAZEL NUTS

Hazel nuts come from the hazel tree Corylus avellana and are also known as filberts and cobnuts. They are a common sight in Britain’s woods, making a feast for the grey squirrels, wood mice and dormice. They are good to eat straight from the tree, and come with a little frilly green “cape” on their tops. You peel this off, and eat the green-white kernel, which doesn’t have a nutty taste at this stage, but more of a vegetable one. If you pick them fresh you can keep them for a few months and they will dry in a warm place-not hot- to be eaten at the winter festivals such as Christmas and New Year.

  The name Filbert comes from Saint Philibert, whose day is when the cultivated nuts are harvested, in August. The hazel nut has been used for food since prehistoric times, and our hunter-gatherer ancestors must have looked forward to the hazel nut season, as I used to. My grandfather would take me for walks up the mountains near our home and feed me fresh hazel nuts which I found delicious.

  For Celts hazelnuts symbolized concentrated wisdom and poetic inspiration and these were known in Gaelic as cnocach, cno meaning wisdom. The salmon revered by the Druids ate the nuts and they got the bright spots on their skin according to how many nuts they had consumed.

  Hazel nuts are probably the best nuts to consume as they are tasty and very versatile. Among the class of Superfoods, they are one of the highest, as they contain Proanthocyanidin (PAC) and are the nuts which have the second highest antioxidant activity. They contain folic acid, B-complex vitamins, are a rich source of vitamin E and have, along with pine nuts and almonds, the lowest percentage of saturated fats of all nuts. They are high in dietary fibre and contain the minerals phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron, bioflavonoids including quercetin, amino acids, and Omega-3 fatty acid.

  Removing the skin decreases the benefits that can be obtained from the nuts, so you can crush them with their skins on and use them in cooking. The phenolic compounds they possess appear to be found in the skin and not the flesh of the nut. You can roast them whole with their skin on but if you can’t take the skin, you can easily peel it off after roasting by using a tea-towel or other thin cloth so that you don’t burn your fingers.

   Hazel nuts have valuable antioxidant properties, as well as being good for our mental health, as they are regarded as good for the brain. Because of the B-complex vitamins they contain. They help to prevent the formation of cataracts in the eye (vitamin E) and help to regulate blood pressure. The oil which is contained in the nuts is used for cooking and is particularly good for salad dressing. It can also be applied to the skin and used on acne. It is, in some countries, massaged into babies’ chests to prevent respiratory problems occurring. The oil can be found in some sunscreen products as it protects the skin from ultraviolet radiation.

  Hazel nut coffee is good too, and you can make your own by powdering the nuts and adding to your coffee. In America, June 1^st is National Hazelnut Cake Day, and it has to be said that these nuts combine very well with chocolate as stated in the 1960s jingle for hazelnut chocolate, “Nuts-whole hazelnuts, Cadbury’s take them and cover them in chocolate.” (You have to imagine this sung to a kind of Calypso beat.)

  The recipe below is for a healthy meal with hazel nuts, which should have their skins left on.

 

COURGETTES WITH HAZEL NUT STUFFING

Ingredients

4 courgettes, trimmed and cut into four equal parts

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Stuffing

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion very finely chopped

3 red peppers, roasted and skins removed

3½ - 4 ozs cream cheese

1 tbsp fresh tarragon or oregano, finely shredded

1 tbsp hazel nuts, crushed

Dressing

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4 or 180 ° C.

Scoop out the middle of the courgettes and drizzle a little olive oil in each cavity, then season and roast on a greased baking tray for 10-12 minutes or until the courgette quarters are soft.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for a few minutes until it is soft.

Blend the onion and peppers to a puree then mix in the cream cheese and tarragon or oregano.

Put the mixture into the courgette cavities, sprinkle with the crushed nuts.

To serve, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

HAZEL TREE - DIVINING RODS FOR WATER AND THIEVES: HISTORY, LEGENDS, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF HAZEL TREE

HAZEL TREE, CORYLUS AVELLANA

The hazel is a common sight in British woodlands and in old hedgerows as its young shoots are pliable and lend themselves to coppicing. It is a member of the Betulaceae family of the order Fagalis and related to the birch tree, native to Europe and western Asia. It was a source of food for prehistoric people and was utilized for making small hunting spears for rabbits and hares and for making thatch; it could be bent into U shapes and was useful to hold down thatch on roofs. It has been used to make barrel hoops and to make shepherds crooks and walking sticks. Hazel rods were the wands of the Druids and it is said that Saint Patrick used a hazel rod to banish the snakes from Ireland. The rods were used as symbols of authority by the ancient Celts, and there are many legends surrounding the hazel tree which was one of the sacred trees of the Druids, along with the Mountain Ash and the Oak. Hazel trees are often found in woods of oak and beech.

  Shepherds’ crooks were also made from hazel but they were shaped while still growing on the tree. Fishing poles and spits for roasting over a fire were also made from hazel branches.

  There are many old legends about the hazel tree which was the Tree of Knowledge for Celts. One is about the Irish hero Finn mac Cumhaill who is said to have gained his prophetic abilities and wisdom after his encounter with a Salmon of Wisdom. The Celts believed that there was a well in the Otherworld, or perhaps at the source of one of several rivers in Ireland. This was the Well of Wisdom in which swam the sacred salmon (sacred to the Druids). Around the well were the Nine Hazel Trees of Wisdom and these sprouted nuts, flowers and leaves at the same time. The nuts dropped into the well and produced bubbles which spread out into the worlds and the waters and bubbles from the well were drunk by poets, artists and other creative people. The nuts were eaten by the salmon, which had brown spots on its skin, which recorded how many nuts it had eaten. The salmon with the most spots was the wisest, and Finn’s tutor had caught the wisest salmon. He put Finn to watch it while it cooked, and some of the hot stock fell on his thumb, so of course he put it into his mouth to ease the pain, and thus acquired his wisdom and powers of prophecy.

male and female flowers

   The hazel nut symbolized the path of wisdom for the Druids, as they believed that knowledge came from within, and the nut has to be cracked in order to get at the sweet meat inside it.

  The hazel has also provided water divining rods and at one time in Ireland these rods were used (up until the 16^th century) to detect thieves. The young branches can be woven into baskets, and were made into collars for horses to protect them from malignant faeries. The wattles (young stems) were used to make huts and houses and were the wattles of wattle and daub structures. There is evidence of this use as early as 6,000 BC.

  In ancient Irish laws, a half shell of a hazel nut was the smallest measure of liquid, used to measure blood paid to victims in compensation for the crimes they had suffered. The half shell was said to be a measure of five drops of blood.

male flowers, catkins

  In traditional medicine, the leaves of the hazel tree can be made into an infusion to purify the blood, and pollen from the flowers was used to treat epilepsy. Decoctions of the bark were used for skin problems, either internally or externally, applied directly onto the skin. Sap from the branches was used directly on the skin to treat eczema, ringworm and other skin problems.

  W.B. Yeats, (1865-1939) the Irish poet and playwright, wrote these lines at the beginning of his poem, “Mongam Thinks of His Past Greatness When a Part of the Constellations of Heaven”: -

   “I have drunk ale from the Country of the Young

    And weep because I know all things now:

    I have been a hazel tree and they hung

    The Pilot Star and the Crooked Plough

female flowers

    Among my leaves in times out of mind.”

  The nuts are food for squirrels, wood mice and dormice and the tree produces both male and female flowers. The male ones are the catkins or “lamb’s tails” that hang from the branches, while the female ones look like small red buds, and it is these which develop into nuts. The male flowers sprout in late October / early November but don’t release their pollen until February – April. The flowers appear before the leaves, but these are the first to appear in spring and the last to fall in autumn. They have been used as cattle fodder in the past.

 

HAZEL LEAF TISANE

Ingredients

2 oz fresh hazel leaves, shredded

250 ml boiling water

Method

Put the shredded leaves into a cup and pour the boiling water over them.

Leave them to steep for 10-15 minutes, then strain and drink.

You may want to add a little honey to sweeten the tisane.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

WHAT IS ISHQ PECHAAN BAIL? TRUMPET VINE - INFORMATION: BENEFITS AND USES OF TRUMPET VINE

TRUMPET VINES, CAMPSIS GRANDIFLORA AND ISHQ PECHAAN IN URDU

Trumpet vines are quite spectacular when in flower, from May to September in Pakistan. At the moment walls are ablaze with orange flower screens, and at first sight the trumpet-shaped flowers look a little like hibiscus, without the long stamen. These flowers attract honeybees and hummingbirds which feast on their nectar, stored deep inside the flowers, and so help pollinate the plants as the birds and bees get pollen on their heads and backs as they dive into the flower to reach the nectar. Trumpet vines are members of the Bignoniaceae family of plants and these are between 650 and 750 species around the worlds, with about 120 different genera.

  The Chinese Trumpet Vine (Campsis grandiflora) has bigger flowers than other trumpet vines, as its Latin name suggests, and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a number of ailments for more than 2000 years. Extracts from the flowers and leaves have been subject to clinical trials and has been found to have antioxidative effects and this may not have come as a surprise to researchers as in traditional medicine it has been used to stimulate blood circulation and to cure diseases caused by sluggish circulation. The flower extract also has an anti-inflammatory action on the skin. Triterpenoids from the flowers may be beneficial in treating diabetes and they may also have cholesterol–lowering effects.

  There is a blue trumpet vine in the Indian subcontinent, although the flowers are not so obviously trumpet-shaped. This one is Thunbergia laurifolia, which, as a non-native species is considered an invasive pest in north and south-east Queensland, Australia, where it is invading the rainforest.

  Trumpet vines grow naturally in sub-tropical zones around the world, and the Campsis radicans is native to the Americas; it has yellow, orange or red flowers, and can grow to a height of 30 feet if it has a tall enough host to climb on. Normally trumpet vines are pruned so that they cover a wide area rather than growing tall. If they don’t have a wall or trellis or tree to climb, they will look like low shrubs. It has aerial rootlets which cling to the plant or structure it is climbing on, rather like Common or English ivy. It is sometimes called “Cow Itch” as both animals and humans can get dermatitis from it if the skin comes into contact with the leaves, in the same way as with Poison ivy, or Yellow Sage (Lantana camara).

  Cape honeysuckle is an African indigenous species and has orange blossoms. This is used in traditional medicine as a pain-killer and to cure insomnia.

  Trumpet vines are pretty to look at, but they can cause irritation to the skin, and modern medical science has yet to prove them effective against any disease. However, it is possible that new drugs can be developed from them.

WHAT IS AMAR BAEL? DODDER: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND HISTORICAL USES OF DODDER

DODDER, SOME OF THE CUSCUTA SPECIES

Dodder grows just about everywhere and was formerly placed in the Convolvulaceae family of plants, although now it is more often than not grouped in a species of its own, Cuscuta with a sub-group of grammica. You will probably have seen it as it tends to smother other vegetation, as it is a parasite. It has no leaves as such, just vine-like tendrils and stems which take nourishment from the host plant, which is whatever is nearest for it to climb on and cling to when its seeds germinate. It begins life with roots, but when it is firmly clinging to a host plant these die and it is solely nourished by the host. There are more than 150 species of dodder worldwide, and they come in a range of colours from white through to rust-orange, some tinged with red and purple. In Urdu it is called amar bael meaning the vine that lives forever, or everlasting vine.

In the UK alone there are several species among them the Lesser Dodder, Cuscuta epithymium, which was once used as a herbal remedy, and is the most common of the British dodders, preferring to live on gorse. It hides its host more or less completely with its red thread-like stems. The waxy flowers are pink-white and after it flowers, it dies back in winter having released its seeds which will germinate in the following spring.

  The 17^th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper favoured the dodder that grew on thyme, because, he thought it took on the properties of the plant on which it grows. He says “…We confess Thyme is of the hottest herb it usually grows upon and therefore that which grows on thyme is hotter than that which grows upon a colder herb, for it draws nourishment from what it grows upon…”

He believed that it helped diseases of the “head and brain” such as “trembling of the heart, faintings and swoonings.” Along with herbalists from other countries including the Chinese herbalists and those from the Indian subcontinent (Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. synonym Cassytha filiforma Linn) he believed that it was also good for the spleen, kidneys and liver. It is a diuretic which is quite potent and an infusion was made of the stems of dodder. These are used in Western medicine, whereas the seeds are more commonly used in Eastern medicine, especially as an aphrodisiac with Cnidium seeds which were believed to cure impotency and other erectile dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation. It is used especially to cure jaundice in these traditional systems of medicine.

  Culpeper states that the dodder which grew on nettles took on their properties and was an excellent diuretic and cured any complaint of the urinary tract. An infusion is made from the whole plant in the usual way for a tisane, with 1 -2 ounces of fresh dodder to one pint of boiling water, which you should allow to steep for 10-15 minutes, to use as a purgative like senna and jamalgota. As it tastes bitter it is best used as a decoction, and boiled with ginger root and allspice to disguise the taste of the dodder.

  The Greater or Common Dodder (Cuscuta europaea) prefers to grow on nettles and thistles, and this one has red or yellow curling stems and has pale orange flowers. There is also Flax Dodder (Cuscuta epilinum), Cuscuta trifolii, which is clover dodder, and Cuscuta Hassiaca which prefers Lucerne to be its host. The plant seems to contain a little chlorophyll in its flower buds, fruits and stems, but doesn’t need it to survive as plants generally do. The dodder fruit has papery walls with 1 – 4 brown or black seeds inside it.

  Japanese dodder is used for a number of different ailments such as for vaginal discharge, diarrhoea, constipation and impotence, for the liver and a general health tonic. For these ailments a decoction is made from the seeds.

   In the Indian subcontinent Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. is used for jaundice as a mild laxative, to boost the immune system, for muscle pains and coughs. It also has useful antioxidant properties. In Chinese medicine Cuscuta chiniensis is used for all kinds of ailments including fever, headaches, oedema, skin problems and paralysis. The seeds are the parts used but they should not be taken over a prolonged period and it is thought that you can overdose on them, so best avoided!

  Very little research has been done into dodder’s possible medicinal properties, although what has been carried out suggests that it can help the liver.

  Dodder has been popular in Arabian medicine for centuries and here is one old remedy (for interest’s sake only).

 "It is for elephantiasis, mange, dandruff, and exfoliation of the skin. It disperses phlegmatic and atrabilious humors, purifies the body, clarifies the complexion, is useful for a red face, pimples, and leprosy.

"One takes ten dirhams each of Indian and Kabul myrobalan* without the stones, five dirhams each of common polypody, Cretan cuscutus, Meccan senna, lavender, and Syrian borage, twelve dirhams each of dry, red raisins without the pips, three dirhams each of seed of endive (meaning chicory the herb rather than the endive vegetable), pulverized seed of fumitory, and stripped licorice root, a dirham of cuscuta seed, a mithqâl of roses without stems and a dirham of fennel seeds. It is all cooked in 400 dirhams of pure water until it is reduced to a quarter. It is sieved. Then there is macerated in it seven dirhams each of cassia and manna. It is filtered again and on it is thrown a dirham of sieved agaric, a quarter of a dirham of salt, and a spoonful of almond oil, and ten dirhams of sugar. It may be used.”

* myrobalan is a cherry plum and can also refer to hareer or Terminalia chebula.

CHINESE LANTERN PLANT - NOT JUST FOR DECORATION: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF CHINESE LANTERN PLANT

CHINESE LANTERN PLANT, PHYSALIS ALKEKENGI

This plant is aptly named as the calyx which surrounds the small cherry-like fruit looks like a decorative Chinese lantern. It is closely related to the Cape gooseberry and Tomatillo and in the same Solanaceae (nightshade) family as the potato, aubergine, and the Nipple fruit. You usually see it in November as it makes its presence felt in early November, and is used in floral decorations. Most people think that this is all it is useful for, but of course they are wrong. It is also called the winter cherry, but should not be confused with Ashwagandha, and the bladder cherry.

  The plant was first found in Japan, and was adopted into the Chinese medicine system as it has some amazing medical properties. If you want to grow one, it seems that they are relatively easy to grow and prefer to have lily-of-the-valley as companions. Historically they have been used to reduce fevers, help stop coughs, as an expectorant, as a diuretic for gout sufferers and to disperse stones and gravel in the kidneys. They also have anti-inflammatory properties and in Iran they were used to induce labour. The juice from the berries or fruit has diuretic properties, but the whole plant above ground can be used. In traditional medicine in Iran they have been used for centuries to stop constipation, to ease the pain of arthritis and rheumatism, and to inhibit female fertility.

   Modern research has shown that extracts from the plant have antioxidant activities as well as anti-microbial and antifungal ones. In rats they proved to have anti-fertility effects probably because they inhibit the egg from attaching itself to the womb, although this is not conclusive. The husks are a source of zeoxanthin (sadly lacking in Western diets generally) as does cayenne pepper, sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) paprika and dried wolfberries. This helps to prevent the onset of age-related loss of vision, as does lutein. The fruit contains twice as much vitamin C as lemons do.

  So next time you see one of these decorative plants, you will be aware of the medicinal value they have – they are not just easy on the eye.

WHAT IS SALAJEET OR SHILAJIT? ASPHALTUM OR MINERAL PITCH - ELIXIR OF LIFE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF SALAJEET

SALAJEET, SHILAJIT, MINERAL PITCH, ASPHALTUM

Salajeet is the Urdu name for this mineral pitch and shilajit is the name in Hindi. It is the concentrated plant matter from prehistoric plants that were trapped in mountain ranges when tectonic plates collided to give birth to the mountains. (In the same way a s an ancient sea was trapped when the Himalayas formed, which is why we get Himalayan sea salt.) In the Himalayas this tar-like substance oozes from the rocks during spring and summer and local people gather it for medicinal use. It is fed to Pathan children in milk to make them strong and healthy, and the mountain people and hakims swear by it for all ills. It contains so many minerals that it is good for bone, muscle and tissue growth, and one man we know, who is a local book seller, says that his hand was beginning to get crooked and hook-like, so he took salajeet which he gathered himself as he didn’t trust anyone else to give him the unadulterated stuff, for 15 days and now is hand is back to normal.

Black Salajeet

  An Englishman found it in the 1870s in the Himalayas and noticed that the monkeys that fed on it were not bald at 10 years of age as were their relatives in the plains. He attributed this to the sticky black substance they ate and this is how the West first heard of salajeet, which has been used in medicine in the Indian subcontinent since before 6 BC when the first extant medical texts were written.

   Shilajit means “rock-like” and this attests to its virtues of making the body as firm as a rock and able to slow the ageing process and withstand the ravages of time on the body. In the Charak Samhita which is one of the earliest medical texts on internal medicine still in existence, and used by Ayurvedic practitioners even today, there is a reference to shilajit which says that without it there can be no cure for any illness, although it can be mixed with other natural substances to effect a cure.

  In Ayurvedic medicine it is used for numerous ailments including chronic bronchitis, digestive disorders, kidney and bladder problems, nervous diseases, anaemia, fractured bones and arthritis. It is also used in the treatment of diabetes, for insulin resistance, for liver problems such as jaundice and to rid the body of internal parasites. It is, according to the ancient medical treatises, the “conqueror of mountains and destroyer of weakness” and is known as the Indian Viagra as it is said to rejuvenate a man’s sexual prowess and stop erectile dysfunctions and cure impotency.

  Some traditional healers purify it before using it by putting it in cow’s milk and dissolving it, then straining it through muslin several times to get rid of impurities. It is then dried in the milk in the sun. When you use it you have to drink a lot of cow’s milk, they say.

  It is black-brown and varies in consistency, and probably in the minerals it contains, depending on where it comes from. Its effectiveness is also said to depend on its place of origin. It is said that it is not only found in the Himalayas but also in the Urals, Caucasus Mountains, Tien-Shan, Pamir, the Northern Pollack range in Australia and in the Hindu Kush.

  Paul Flechsig of the Department of Neurochemistry in the Institute of Brain Research at Leipzig University found in his study that mineral pitch enhanced cognition and memory in Alzheimer’s sufferers.

  It is said to have the abilities to reduce stress induced ulcers in vivo in the lab, and to help the body’s cells grow and become rejuvenated, thus slowing the aging process, which is why some call it the elixir of life. It may regulate blood pressure without significantly changing the heart rate, and speeds up the regeneration of muscles, nerves and bones. It has analgesic (pain-killing) and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as antiseptic ones (because it is thought of the benzoic acid it contains). It may also help the liver and cure anaemia.

  It contains the minerals aluminium, antimony, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, lithium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorous, silica, sodium, zinc and the lippuric, benzoic, fulvic, chebulic and tannic acids, plus resins, gums, albuminoids and glycosides. Several of its constituents rarely occur in a natural form.

  However, before you rush out to buy capsules etc which are said to contain mineral pitch or asphaltum as it is known in Latin, remember the book seller who didn’t trust anyone else to sell him the real thing. Also, if you suffer from gout you should not take mineral pitch as it produces uric acid in the body.

CAPE GOOSEBERRY - INFORMATION, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS: CAPE GOOSEBERRIES DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE RECIPE

CAPE GOOSEBERRY, GOLDEN BERRY, PHYSALIS PERUVIANA L. OR PHYSALIS EDULIS SIMS

The Cape Gooseberry, looks a little like a tomatillo, to which it is closely related and has the same kind of husk around its fruit. It is a member of the Solanaceae or Nightshade family of plants and so is related to the more common potato, tomato, aubergine and the rather unusual Nipple fruit. As the name peruviana suggests it is native to South America, although it seems not to be clear where it actually originated with best guesses being Chile and Peru, or perhaps Brazil. It also grows wild in the Andes in Venezuela.

   It is a cherry-sized berry that is around 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres in diameter, with yellow flesh which is loosely (more loosely than a tomatillo) enclosed in a papery husk, another of Nature’s pre-packaged foods. These fruits are actually berries as they contain seeds, and they can be orange or golden yellow. It tastes like a gooseberry, perhaps more like an Indian gooseberry (Amla) than the European one. They can be used in salads with tender young greens, such as watercress, spinach, or lettuce, with a vinaigrette dressing (olive oil and white wine vinegar with tarragon or oregano perhaps). You can add them to your breakfast muesli or other cereal, and below is a recipe for a dessert made with them. They can be put in pies, used to make jams and sauces, and are usually displayed in supermarkets with other berry fruits such as raspberries, strawberries or blackberries or with grapes and pomegranates. You can add them to fruit salads, or have them with ice cream, pickle them, and you’ll find the husk helpful if you want to coat them in icing sugar. In Colombia they are stewed with honey and used as a dessert. The ripe fruit are rich in pectin and vitamin P as well as containing some B-complex vitamins, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and some vitamin A precursors as well as Beta-carotene. They are rich in phosphorous, and also contain the minerals calcium, iron and copper. Unripe fruits are toxic and shouldn’t be eaten.

  The plants were taken to Africa and planted in the Cape of Good Hope in the 19^th century and then they went from there to Australia which is why and where it got the English name. In fact it has naturalized in New South Wales, where the early settlers had little choice of fresh fruit at first, so they were glad of the advent of the Cape gooseberry. It is also naturalized in the Philippines and was once extensively cultivated on Hawaii. In fact it is said that it will grow wherever the tomato can flourish, so it grows in many countries around the world.

  The husk contains a minor steroidal constituent, physalolactone C which is a blood purifier. The fruit possesses strong antioxidant properties and has been used in the past to treat cancer, malaria, asthma, hepatitis, dermatitis and rheumatism. In Colombia, in traditional medicine, the leaves are made into a decoction which is used for asthma and as a diuretic. In South Africa a poultice is made with heated leaves and applied to inflamed areas. The Zulus use an infusion of the leaves for children with stomach complaints.

 

CAPE GOOSEBERRIES DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE

Ingredients

Cape gooseberries, fresh or canned

Bar of chocolate (white, dark or milk depending on taste)

Method

Melt the chocolate carefully so that it doesn’t burn in a non-stick pan.

Remove from the heat when the chocolate is melted and dip each Cape gooseberry in it.

Chill and serve alone or with ice cream or whipped cream.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

KAVA KAVA, PEPPER FAMILY MEMBER WITH A KICK! INFORMATION

KAVA KAVA, PIPER METHYSTICUM

Kava, or kava kava, is a member of the pepper family and is related to the long pepper as well as to black pepper. It is native to the Pacific Islands where it is used in a ceremonial drink served to honoured guests following a centuries old tradition. It has the same effects as alcohol, so it should be of little surprise that it can, apparently cause liver damage especially if taken in large quantities. There are more than a hundred varieties of kava kava, or yaqona root, and many of these grow on Vanuatu and Fiji where it was first domesticated thousands of years ago. It is a valuable cash crop on these islands and in Hawaii where it is called Awa.

  Recently the French hair care company L’Oreal took out a patent on kava to use in a product which will promote hair growth and stop hair loss, they say. This is a far cry from the times when shamans used a beverage from the root to go into trances. The beverage is not a true hallucinogen, neither is it alcoholic, although it has similar effects to both types of drug. Like alcohol it has been linked to liver damage too.

  In traditional medicine in the Pacific region, kava is used to alleviate anxiety and as a sedative, as it has relaxing properties, and has been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years.  However more than 30 cases of liver damage have been reported in Europe which have been linked to the consumption of kava, so in March 2002 the USFDA issued an advisory notice about the ‘rare’ incidence of liver damage possibly caused by kava intake. It is not known whether the reports of liver damage were in people who mixed kava with alcohol or other herbs, drugs or medications; combining kava with anything else is not advised.

  The beverage is made from the roots of the kava shrub which are dug up and dried in the sun then pounded to a powder and mixed with cold water. Clinical trials have been conducted on kava root and it has been found to relieve anxiety but because of the potential dangers of liver damage, it is safer to use other herbal preparations for anxiety, such as olive leaf tisane. A study conducted on kava in 2004 showed that 300mg of kava may improve cognitive performance and enhance the mood. This is a point in its favour, as drugs like Valium which are used to treat anxiety decrease cognitive performance overall. It seems from research that kava can improve sleep quality and help in cases of insomnia, although more research is needed. In lab animals extracts of kava root have been found to relax muscles, promote sleep and reduce convulsions. The roots also have pain-killing properties and when kava is chewed there is a tingling sensation and numbness which is temporary, on the tongue. Its active ingredients include methysticum, kawain and dihydrokawain, which are kavalactones.

   In Europe kava kava has been used to treat a variety of illnesses for more than 150 years, some of the treatments were for gonorrhea, vaginitis, night time incontinence and problems with the gastrointestinal tract. It is said to be an effective diuretic and good for rheumatism, gout, bronchial problems, and ailments resulting from cardiac problems. It has also been used as a local anaesthetic to relieve pain and is said to have an antiseptic effect on urinary tract disorders.

  If you want to try out kava, you should have between 2 and 4 grams and make this into a decoction by boiling it in water and reducing the amount of water by half. This amount can be consumed up to three times a day, for anxiety or stress. It will take perhaps 4 weeks for you to notice a difference.

  There is a ceremony in Tonga for drinking kava from a communal bowl and this spread to Fiji in the 17^th century. The whole of a village could participate rather than just the shamans. It is traditionally drunk from halves of coconut shells.

  Researchers do not yet understand how kava works, and you should be aware that it is banned in some countries, so if you order it online check to see that you can get it legally through customs before buying any. It is not banned in the US as the evidence against is patchy, and it has been used for centuries without Pacific Islanders seeming to have a high incidence of liver problems.

TOMATILLO - HUSKY GREEN TOMATO: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF TOMATILLO: MEXICAN SALSA VERDE EASY RECIPE

TOMATILLO, PHYSALIS PHILADELPHICA, PHYSALIS IXOCARPA-BROT

As you might expect from the name, the tomatillo is related to the tomato as they are both members of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family of plants, which means the tomatillo is also related to the potato, aubergine  and Nipple Fruit. It is native to the South American continent and is widely cultivated in Mexico and Guatemala where the wild and domesticated versions can be found. The wild variety often grows between cultivated crops of maize (corn), beans and gourds, such as the ash gourd or petha. The wild fruit is picked and sold locally.

  It is a fruit with seeds, which grows inside a calyx, so it comes off the plant prepackaged. If you buy the fruit before it is fully ripe it can be stored in its calyx (the husk which covers it) for up to a year. It tastes a little like a gooseberry, although more like the Indian gooseberry than the European one and is related to the Cape gooseberry, Physalis peruviana. Because of the calyx it is also called the husk tomato and is known as tomate verde (green tomato) in Spanish. It is used with chillies in various salsas (sauces) as it takes away some of their hotness. It contains quite a lot of pectin, so is often used to thicken soups and sauces to give them a thicker consistency. The name comes from the Nahuatl “tomatl” which is a generic word that is used for fruits that are watery, round and seed-bearing, and which are sometimes enclosed in a calyx. They come in a variety of colours ranging from green to yellow and through to purple, although this one has been given a separate name, Physalis ixocarpa- BROT, presumably because it contains ixocarpalactoneA, which is a withanolide, in its stem and leaves. This purple tomatillo is mainly consumed in western Mexico. It has been found to be a good safe source of antioxidants and has been subjected to much research. It has antibacterial activity against respiratory infections caused by Staphylococcus bacteria and has potential for developing an anti-cancer drug. It contains carotene, vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid some B-complex vitamins and the minerals calcium and iron and copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, selenium and Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids.. The raw fruit also contains vitamins A, E and K as well as flavonoids,

  In folk medicine, the juice from the fruit is used as eyewash, and in Guatemala it is used for gastrointestinal problems and respiratory disease. The husk is not always discarded as it can be made into an infusion which is used in tamale dough to give it a spongy consistency and to give flavour to white rice; the infusion is also used to tenderize red meat.

  The tomatillo has been cultivated in Mexico and Guatemala for centuries and it is believed that its first cultivation began in Mexico, certainly before the arrival of the Spaniards, who were probably responsible for taking the tomatillo to the Caribbean where it is cultivated. It was taken to Spain and cultivated, but this was stopped as the tomato became much more popular.

MEXICAN SALSA VERDE

Ingredients

1 lb tomatillos, husks removed

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced

2 green chillies, very finely chopped

2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves, shredded

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped or 1 tsp dried

½ tsp cumin seeds, dry fried and ground

salt to taste

2 cups water

Method

Put everything in a pan and bring to a boil over a high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 mins or until the tomatillos are soft.

Puree in batches in a blender.

Serve as a dip or side dish to give some extra flavour to chicken or meat dishes.

This has Taste and is a Treat.