MYRRH:THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF MYRRH: USES OF MYRRH: HISTORY OF MYRRH

Myrrh Tree

MYRRH

Myrrh is known throughout the world as one of the gifts the Magi gave to the infant Jesus. The others were gold and frankincense, although the gold may not have been the metal but an even more precious oil. The name myrrh comes from the Hebrew, mur or maror which both mean bitter.

  Myrrh, like frankincense is an oleo-gum-resin which today comes from Somalia and Ethiopia where the Commiphora myrrha is a native plant. Frankincense trees and myrrh bushes (they grow to around 9 feet) grow together usually and the Arabian myrrh comes from the Balsamodendron species of myrrh-bearing plants. Myrrh either exudes from the bark of the tree spontaneously or is helped by cutting the bark. When the myrrh gum dries it forms tear drop shapes and this gave rise to several Greek myths about why it formed tear drops.

Myrrh Gum

   One of these myths is related to the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite and the daughter of the king of Syria, Theias. The daughter’s name was Smyrna (now the Greek name for Izmir in Turkey) or Myrrha. She refused to worship Aphrodite who was so furious that she made Smyrna lust after her father. She, with the help of her nurse, had intercourse with her father for twelve nights. He had no idea that the woman was his daughter. When he discovered what had happened he drew his sword and was going to kill the fleeing Smyrna. She prayed to the gods to be made invisible and they took pity on her and turned her into either a myrtle tree or the myrrh tree according the myths. After nine months, Adonis her baby, emerged from the split tree, and was later to take revenge on Aphrodite. The tear drop resin is symbolic of Smyrna or Myrrha’s grief when she realized the enormity of her acts.

   The ancient Greeks used myrrh in a perfume called megaleion, and as an antidote to poison. Myrrh was thought to protect from the plague, but after the Black Death in London in 1665, it was proved that it had no effect so it fell out of favour.

Myrrh Resin

    Myrrh is a reddish-brown colour unlike frankincense which is much paler and often white. It has been used as part of religious ceremonies since ancient times and was used by the Egyptians both in medicine and in religious rites. The Greeks warriors took it into battle with them to heal wounds and prevent the spread of gangrene. It was burned at funerals as an incense until the 15^th century.

   The emperor Nero (who fiddled while Rome burned according to legend) burned a whole year’s supply of the costly myrrh at the funeral of his wife, Poppea Sabina in 65 AD.

   It has been used to alleviate ulcers, sores, chapped skin, athlete’s foot, ringworm and to smooth and rejuvenate the ageing facial skin. It was commonly found in tooth powders in the 19^th century and is used in mouth washes, as it prevents halitosis. The smoke from burning myrrh can be inhaled to ease congestion of the nasal and bronchial passages.

   It has antifungal, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, astringent and stimulating properties, and can be used as an emmenogogue, to induce a woman’s menstrual flow. Because of this property, pregnant women should not use it. It has also been used to aid digestion as it stimulates the appetite and gastric juices. It can also be used as an astringent wash.

   In 1998 two icons depicting Saint Nicholas the miracle worker, once owned by Czar Nicholas II were reported to have produced flowing tears of myrrh.

Myrrh Bush

  Recently researchers have found two compounds in myrrh which are potent painkillers and one compound that helps to lower cholesterol levels. It is also believed that myrrh might prove to be a potent anti-cancer agent and has potential in cases of prostate and breast cancer.

  In Germany the use of powdered myrrh and tincture of myrrh has been approved for the treatment of minor oral inflammation and pharyngeal mucosa.

   Traditionally it has been used in childbirth to ease labour pains and encourage uterine contractions.

   It is an ingredient of Fernet Branca, the Italian drink which is sometimes used as a hangover cure, but which was created in 1845 by Maria Scala as a medicine. Today it is a popular drink mixed with cola in Argentina and San Francisco.

   In Somalia, when a baby is born, myrrh is placed under his/her bed until he/she is a year old, a tradition which has continued for at least 2500 years. It is believed that the myrrh will help shape the child’s future so that it will be a good one.

  

WHAT IS LOQUATS? LOKAT , ERIOBOTRYA JAPONICA: LOQUATS HEALTH BENEFITS, USES AND HISTORY: HOW TO MAKE LOQUAT TISANE

LOQUATS, LOKAT, ERIOBOTRYA JAPONICA

Loquats are originally native to southeastern China, but were introduced to Japan and the Indian subcontinent so long ago that they have become naturalized there. They grow in the Punjab province of Pakistan and in Khyber-Pakhtoonkwa (formerly the North West Frontier province). They grow in Greece and Turkey where they are called Yeni Gun or New Day. In Pakistan they are called lokat. The name comes from the Cantonese, luh kwat which literally means “rush orange”. Chinese immigrants are believed to have taken them to Hawaii.

   They were first described to the western world in 1690 by Kaempfer a botanist, and Thunberg elaborated on his description after a visit to Japan in 1712. The trees were planted in the National Gardens in Paris in 1784 and plants were transported from Canton to London to be planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in 1787. By the 1870s they were common in California where they were planted as ornamental small-fruited trees.

 By 1818 they were being grown in greenhouses in England and can be grown outside in sunnier places such as Cornwall.

Loquat tree

   The fruit are rich in potassium, iron and calcium and the seeds contain amygdalin which is also in the skin, linoleic, palmitic, and oleic acids. The leaves contain traces of arsenic, tannins, triterpenes, vitamin B and ascorbic acid, and the young leaves contain saponins. (You should use these in tisanes so that they will help lift your mood.)

   The fruit acts as a sedative and can stop vomiting and prevent thirst, while infusions of the dried, powdered leaves, relieve diarrhoea, depression, and counteract intoxication from alcohol. You can make hot leaf poultices for swellings such as tennis elbow and sprains. The tisane can be used for skin diseases, or a paste can be made from the leaves and applied to the skin to get rid of rashes, pimples and irritation. However the main uses of the tisane are to relieve coughs, warm the body and help ease sore throats.

  You can make strawberry and loquat sauce, by just hulling the strawberries and peeling and stoning the loquats then liquidizing them adding a liqueur of your choice to taste if the sauce is too thick for your purposes. You can make a crumble with them too, simmering the peeled stoned fruit with a little water and sugar for 10 mins then transferring it to an oven-proof dish and topping with 4-6 oz flour mixed with 2-3 oz butter and rubbed together until they become breadcrumb like; then add a little sugar. Mix and pour over the fruit. Cook in a moderate oven until golden brown on top (about 20-30 mins) and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

 

LOQUAT LEAF TISANE

Ingredients

15 gr dried loquat leaves or 60 gr. fresh young leaves,

gur or jaggery to taste

3 cups water

Method

Wrap the leaves in muslin or a piece of thin cotton, put in a pan with the water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 30 mins.

Add the gur or jaggery and simmer until this has melted.

Drink a cup a day to get rid of a cough, cold or ease a sore throat. It’s also good for the stomach and lungs (apparently), if taken regularly.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

CAPERS - KABER - CAPPARIS SPINOSA BENEFITS, USES AND HISTORY: PIQUANT CHICKEN WITH CAPERS RECIPE

CAPERS, KABER, (CAPPARIS SPINOSA)

The name caper comes from the Latin, capra meaning goat, so either this is because they smell strongly or goats like them. Maybe it’s a combination of both as capers are pungent and astringent. Spinosa means spiny as the bush they grow on has thorns. They are believed to have originated in dry areas of West or central Asia, but they grow in abundance in the Mediterranean region. It could be that the name capparis comes for Kypros the Greek name for the island of Cyprus where they grow prolifically.

   They are the edible bud of the caper bush picked immediately before they flower and preserved in oil, vinegar or brine. Like the buds of the kachnar tree, they taste very good. The fruits or berries can be eaten too, and tender young shoots including the immature small leaves can be eaten as a cooked vegetable. The mature fruits can also be cooked and eaten as a vegetable, but the capers we generally eat are the flower buds, bought in a jar from the supermarket.

  I have picked wild capers in the Sibylline hills in Italy and eaten the fresh leaves and shoots, and this was close to where the Sibyl was supposed to have lived; in the Marche region close to Tuscany.

   Pliny mentioned capers, (23-79 AD), writing that the best ones in the Roman Empire came from near the Sea of Galilee. Dioscorides also mentions them remarking that they were a cash crop for the Greeks. Some of the best capers I have tasted came from the Cycladic Island of Santorini or Thera.

   The fruit are edible and eaten raw in the Eastern parts of India as an appetizer. We can use them as appetizers too, as they are great deep fried for 30 seconds and served with black Kalamata olives with drinks.

   The dried rind from the fruits has antiseptic properties and is used in the subcontinent to polish silver and gold items and in Ayurvedic medicine parts of the caper fruit and bark are used to cure flatulence, improve liver functions and as an anti-rheumatic. Infusions and decoctions of the root bark are used to treat anaemia, arthritis and gout. Traditionally the caper bush parts have also been used to improve kidney functioning and in the treatment of osteoporosis.

   The oil from the seeds contains mainly oleic acid linoleic acid and smaller amounts of palmitic and steoric acid. Capers have antioxidant properties and are believed to be hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and phyto-protective, so they are very good for us, even though they can only be eaten in small quantities.

   There is some evidence that capers have been used in cookery since before the times of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt. They are good in rocket salads and some people have used marsh marigold buds as a substitute for them, but the best substitute is nasturtium buds, although they are not really as good as capers. You can use them as an edible garnish for dishes and they go well in piquant fish and meat sauces, and are a good addition to a potato salad.  There are many recipes using them with fresh and smoked salmon too. You can also add them to relishes and pickles. Rinse them before using them when you get them out of the jar though.

PIQUANT CHICKEN WITH CAPERS

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 halves of chicken breasts, pounded until very thin

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 glass white wine

2 tbsps lemon juice

2 tbsps capers

2 oz butter

olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

salt to taste

Method

Put flour, black pepper, oregano and a little salt in a plastic bag and shake to mix, then add chicken a piece at a time and coat evenly with the flour mixture.

Melt butter with the oil and fry the chicken pieces for 3 mins each side or until they are golden brown.

Remove chicken pieces and add onion and garlic to the pan and fry until cooked. Then add the liquids and stir so that all the brown bits are incorporated into the liquid. Cook for 2 mins then serve over the chicken and pasta of your choice.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

WHAT IS LUBAN? FRANKINCENSE ( BOSWELLIA CARTERII / SERRATA): FRANKINCENSE USES AND HISTORY

FRANKINCENSE, LUBAN (BOSWELLIA CARTERII / SERRATA)

Frankincense is the dried gum of the frankincense tree, Boswellia carterii, or serrata, (the Indian frankincense tree).These are the main trees of the Boswellia genus used for their sweet-smelling gum which, when dried, pounded and burned makes incense as used by Hindus and the Roman Catholic church in their rituals. It was highly prized in the ancient world and was more valuable than gold. It is probably best known because the Three Wise Men or Magi, of Kings, took gold, frankincense and myrrh as gifts to the new-born Jesus. It seems that academics are now wondering if the ‘gold’ described in the Bible was in fact Balsam oil which was “more expensive than gold” in the ancient world. It would make sense if the baby had been presented with precious oil as well as the two other resins which were so valuable in the ancient world. It seems that balsam trees are now extinct though, so we may never discover the truth of the gift of ‘gold’ as given to Jesus.

Frankincense tree

  However this is about frankincense or Olibanum as it is also known, so I’ll try not to get distracted. The Urdu word for frankincense, luban clearly comes the Arabic al-luban meaning ‘the milk’ which refers to the colour of the highest quality frankincense, which is milky tree sap which exudes from the cut bark of the frankincense tree and allowed to dry onto the tree before it is collected. By that time it is a hard resin. It comes in different shades which depend on the season in which it is gathered. It is whiter in autumn, and gets darker as the season changes to spring. It can be a pale lemon colour, or pale green and pale or dark amber. It is harvested two or three times a year and the best frankincense comes from young trees.      

   As for the English word frankincense there is some debate surrounding its origins. It was believed to mean the incense of the Franks, and they were reputed to have taken it back to Europe with them after the crusades. It may mean pure kindling as franc means pure or abundant in Old French, and the Latin, incensus means to kindle or begin to burn.

  It is and was native to Oman, Somalia and Yemen, and it is still cultivated in those countries today. It doesn’t need much soil to grow, is more of a large shrub than a tree, and grows out of marble rocks on the Somali coast. The frankincense tree-growing area in Wadi Dawkah and the remains of the caravan oasis of Sisr/ Wubar, with the affiliated ports of Khor Rori and Al-Baleed in Oman were very important trading posts and routes in the ancient and mediaeval world. The ports and oasis are outstanding examples of mediaeval fortified settlements in the Persian Gulf area and were listed by UNESCO in November 2000 and are on the World Heritage list.

 The best frankincense is still said to come from Oman and Yemen .In 300 BC frankincense was much more valuable than gold (the metal) and it has been used for over 5000 years for spiritual healing. In ancient Egypt it was used in the embalming process, and was used in religious rituals especially in the worship of Ra the sun god and Utchat the sacred, primeval all-seeing eye that burned with judgment. The Egyptians imported the trees in 1480 BC in attempts to grow them in Egypt, but they didn’t flourish because of the rain, which they do not enjoy. They get their water from moisture in the air.

   Frankincense was used in the homes of the ancient Greeks and Romans to perfume the air. The Assyrians and the Babylonians also used it in their religious ceremonies, and later it was adopted by the Jews, and of course the Roman Catholic Church. In ancient Rome, myrrh was 5 times, more expensive than frankincense, which was much more popular and used in religious and state ceremonies. Pliny mentions that frankincense was an antidote for hemlock but knowing that didn’t help Socrates.

   In Iran in the 10^th century Ibn Sina (Avicenna to Westerners) says that it was used for a variety of ailments including vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and tumours. In China today it is still used to treat leprosy, gonorrhea, and other illnesses. It is also used there as incense as it is elsewhere.

  Like sandalwood its aroma has soothing properties and it is used to treat anxiety, paranoia, feelings of guilt and confusion and the grief of mourning. It contains sesquiterpenes which help stimulate the brain’s limbic system and the hypothalamus (which controls the release of some hormones into the body). These are the primitive parts of the brain which are associated with emotions. In Europe frankincense is being investigated to discover if it assists in bone growth.

   It is mentioned in the Bible many times and this extract is from The Song of Solomon”:-

       “Who is this coming up from the wilderness

          Like palm-trees of smoke,

         Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense?”

        “Till the day doth break forth,

           And the shadows have fled away,

           I will get me unto the mountain of myrrh,

          And unto the hill of frankincense.”

Herodotus who lived in the 5^th century BC said this: -

          Arabia is the only country which produces frankincense, myrrh, cassia and   cinnamon…the trees bearing the frankincense are guarded by winged serpents of small size and various colours.”

 But Herodotus loved a good tale and believed in the phoenix and other mythical beasts. We know that frankincense was traded in the Middle East at least since 1500 BC and then found its way to China, where it was first mentioned in 500 AD in the Mingyi Bielu (miscellaneous records of famous physicians) saying that it was used for mourning the dead. It was also mentioned in the Ebers papyrus dating from the 6^th century BC in prescriptions and recipes for them.

   It was and is used in Egypt as kohl, with women using the charred resin from frankincense to blacken their eyes. They also used it as a depilatory and make a paste from it and other ingredients to perfume their hands. It is also widely used in perfumes and in toiletries for men. The Roman Catholic Church use this recipe for their incense: - 10 ounces of frankincense, 4 ounces of benzoin and 1 ounce of storax chopped into small pieces, mixed together and burned.

    Frankincense can be made into pastilles and chewed to sweeten the breath and an inhalation of the steam can be used to help bronchitis and laryngitis. It also has many other medical uses and has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries to cure ulcerative colitis and asthma. In Arab nations it is chewed as a gum and if you suck on a granule of Olibanum it will relieve nausea. You can soak two or three small lumps of the resin in water, and then drink the strained liquid to help with stomach disorders, ulcers and inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. It has been used in folk medicine as a uterine tonic in pregnancy and during labour. However when ingested there might be side effects which can include diarrhoea, skin rashes and nausea, but this would only happen if you ingested a large quantity of frankincense. If you inhale the smoke, or just the perfume, you will be able to breathe more deeply and feel the claming benefits of the incense. It is said in a legend that God gave Adam gold, frankincense and myrrh as compensation for being kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

   Modern medical research has found that “The evidence for the effectiveness of Boswellia serrata extracts is encouraging, but not compelling.” This means that Professor E Ernst was not prepared in 2008 to say definitely that frankincense is useful for treating asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, osteoporosis or collagenous colitis. However in the same year it was reported in the Arthritis Research and Therapy Journal that osteoarthritis sufferers’ pain decreased after 7 days of being treated with enriched extract of Olibanum or Frankincense. It probably can assist in the diseases it has been used for treating for centuries, but modern medical research has been slow to undertake trials to prove that it can work. They do say that it seems safe though, although it could make some people feel nauseous, and could cause a mild stomach upset.

  It certainly smells good and can lift your mood, so buy a few incense sticks and waft them around your home this winter!