SEVILLE ORANGES OR BITTER ORANGES - FACTS: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF BITTER ORANGES

SEVILLE ORANGES, BITTER ORANGES, CITRUS AURANTIUM

If you’ve ever been to the Spanish city of Seville or Athens, Greece, then you will have seen these bitter oranges trees lining the streets. Unfortunately although they look edible, you have a nasty shock if you eat them, as Norah Jones found out on her trip to Athens to sing at the Herodion in 2008. They are mainly used for making marmalade and the peel is used for its oil, as are the flowers, which is valuable to the food and perfume industry.

  Bitter oranges have become popular as a herbal remedy since 2004 when the US Food and Drug Administration banned Ephedra sinica products. It will no doubt come as a relief to the industry that in March 2011 HerbalGram, the quarterly Journal of the American Botany Council. A not for profit research and educational organization announced “based on current research as well as the extensive ingestion of bitter oranges and p-synephrine…the data demonstrate that bitter orange extract is safe for human consumption.” The press had seemingly confused m-synephrine which can have adverse effects on the cardiovascular system with the p form; m-synephrine is not present in bitter oranges.

  Bitter oranges are also called sour oranges and bigerades, and it is believed that they originated in South East Asia  and at some time in prehistory found their way to the Pacific Islands, notably Fiji, Samoa and Guam. The Arabs took them to the Arabian Peninsula and from there they found their way into Europe. They were being cultivated on the Italian island of Sicily by 1002 AD and were being grown in southern Spain by the 12^th century. One tree dating back to 1421 is still growing in a tub at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, and in Seville, in Spain there are trees that are reputedly 600 years old. The trees are evergreen and in the Rutaceae family along with lemons, kinnow, citron and other citrus fruits. For 500 years they were the only orange trees that were grown in Europe. The Spaniards took them to North America where they were adopted readily by the Native Americans in the Florida region, and by 1763 they were being exported from Saint Augustine to Britain, where they had failed to thrive due to the cold weather. The orange known as the Bergamot orange is one of these bitter orange varieties.

  Seville oranges are most usually found in marmalade but in Spain they are used in sauces to go with such dishes as suckling pig, as the citrus taste cuts through the fat of the young pig, and with salt cod. In Mexico these oranges are cut in half and salted then spread with a paste made with chilli peppers and eaten. They are also used in cordials and in Yucátan, Mexico they are used like vinegar. In the Pacific Islands, the crushed fruit and macerated leaves are used as a substitute for soap to wash clothes and for shampoo. Petitgrain oil is used to enhance the flavours of other fruit such as apricots, blackcurrants, gooseberries and peaches in food products. Neroli oil and “orange flower absolute” is used in the perfume industry and the fruit is also used in the making of liqueurs such as orange curaçao and Triple Sec. The honey from the nectar of these orange flowers is delicious and the wood is valuable in carpentry and turning. In Cuba baseball bats are made from it.

Athens, Greece

  In traditional Chinese medicine the small, dried, immature fruit are used for ailments which include indigestion, diarrhea, dysentery, constipation and as an expectorant. In Africa the cut fruit is applied to sores and ulcers on the skin and research seems to have shown that the fruit and leaves have antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, although more research needs to be done. In folk medicines the leaves have been used for centuries as antispasmodics, for stomach problems and as a general tonic.  The flowers are often boiled to a syrup and used as a sedative to promote sleep in people suffering from nervous disorders. An infusion of the flowers, an ounce of flowers to a pint of boiling water left to steep for some hours, is said to be a mild stimulant. The oil from the peel has been used in cases of chronic bronchitis, and the dried powdered peel is considered a general tonic.

  The leaves have a high vitamin C content in the form of ascorbic acid, and the fruit is full of this too. The fruit also contains flavonoid-glycosides such as aldehytes, ketone-free acids, esters, coumarins and tetranotriterpenoids (limonin). Synephrine is the main chemical constituent in the fruit flavones naringin and neohesperidin. The fruit contains vitamin A and some B-complex vitamins, with the minerals calcium, iron and phosphorous; amino acids are also present.

  Below is a recipe for orange and ginger marmalade which is one of my favourites.

SPICY SEVILLE ORANGE MARMELADE

Ingredients

16 Seville oranges, finely sliced

5 large lemons, finely sliced

4 inch piece of ginger root finely minced

2 sticks of cinnamon

16 cloves

sugar

24 cups water

Method

Put the fruit into a non-corrosive pan along with the spices and simmer until tender, for about ½ an hour.

Measure the fruit and juice in cups and add 1 cup of sugar to each cup of fruit and liquid.

Pour everything into the pan again and cook the boiling mixture until it reaches setting point. This is reached when two big drops slide together and hang from a metal spoon (rather like honey does).

Pour the marmalade into sterilized jars and seal.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

BLACKBERRIES OR BRAMBLES - SUPERSTITIONS, FOLK REMEDIES AND HEALTH BENEFITS: BLACKBERRY AND APPLE CRUMBLE RECIPE

BLACKBERRIES OR BRAMBLES, RUBUS FRUTICOSUS

Blackberries or brambles grow on thorny bushes wild throughout the UK. If you’ve never picked blackberries then you can’t imagine how good they are when you’ve been pricked by the thorns on the bushes because you just had to get at the ripe, plump, juicy blackberry that was almost out of your reach. To go home and make your own pie, tart or crumble and have it with double cream, ice cream or custard is a wonderful experience and one to be recommended. However, these days with all the pollution around, you need to wash them thoroughly before eating unless you have a wood near you which is “far from the madding crowd”. Apart from the thorns, you should be careful not to get the juice on your clothes as it stains badly - wear old ones to go brambling. The fruit, like that of raspberries is made up of small fruitlets, each bearing a seed.

   Blackberries are close relations of raspberries (the same Rubus name) and are in the rose family so are related more distantly to loquats, quinces, plums, peaches, strawberries, apples and pears. The brambles flower from May to September and the berries are ripe from August through to November, but are best picked early in the season despite a superstition in some parts of England that they shouldn’t be gathered before St. Michael’s Day which is late in September (29^th). Country folk once believed that when the Devil was cast out of Paradise, he fell into a bramble bush and cursed it. If you ate the fruit before the Saints Day it was cursed. In Ireland it is said that the Devil stamps on the bush and throws his cloak over them so that they are inedible after the 19^th of October, which is when you can see the slimy marks of a parasite which attacks them in the autumn. In fact there are other superstitions surrounding blackberries, such as one in Cornwall in the south-west of England that children could be cured of ruptures and hernias if they were passed through a looped bramble. This is formed when a barren shoot curls away from the plant and then goes back to the ground and roots. In the same county this was also believed to be a cure for warts. To heal scalds and burns 9 blackberry leaves had to be dipped in spring water and then this charm was said three times, “There came three angels out of the East. One brought fire, and two brought frost, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” It was also believed that warts could be cured with the first blackberries of the season, whether these were eaten or the juice was rubbed on the warts I’m not sure. If blackberries flower early, then this is supposed to be a sign of an early harvest.

  At one time it was believed that the berries could drive away snakes, and if you dreamed of going through a blackberry thicket, or a place that was covered with brambles, then misfortune would befall. If you were pricked by their thorns in your dream, this would mean that your reputation would be damaged, and if you bled you would lose money. If you got through the bramble patch unscathed though, you would triumph in your current endeavours.

  Blackberries are black because of the anthocyanins present in them and these are also present in the black or Virginian raspberry, blackcurrants and wimberries. These have powerful antioxidant properties and help, along with those of vitamins C and E and the polyphenols present in blackberries, to make the berry one of the top fruits in the antioxidant stakes. This means that they can help prevent some cancers, including colon cancer, and the stave off the risk of strokes and heart disease. As for minerals, they contain calcium, manganese, iron, phosphorous and magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper and traces of selenium. Some of the B-complex vitamins are also present as is vitamins K.

  In traditional medicine blackberry leaves and roots have been used for their astringency to help in diarrhea and dysentery, the dried fruit, reduced to a powder is also useful for these complaints. Make a tisane with 1 oz of dried leaves crumbled and pour a pint of boiling water over them. Leave this to infuse until it is cold, then strain and drink cold, one tea cup at a time every 2 or 3 hours for dysentery. You can dry blackberries in a moderate oven and then crumble the berries and save in an airtight jar. An ounce of the bruised root can be infused in 1½ pints of boiling water and left to steep until cold, then drunk as above. Apart from being good for diarrhea, this is good for spasms from whooping-cough.

  A rather tasty general tonic can be made by pressing the juice from the berries and adding a pound of sugar to every pint of juice, ½ oz of grated nutmeg and the same of cloves. Put all these ingredients into a non-corrosive pan and boil gently for 15 minutes, removing any scum as it rises to the surface. Leave the liquid to cool and then add brandy to taste ¼ bottle to 2 pints should be fine.

  Blackberry vinegar is also good for colds and mild fevers, and to make this you steep blackberries in enough malt vinegar to cover them in a non-corrosive pan for 3 days to draw the juice out of the blackberries. Strain the blackberries through a nylon sieve or muslin and leave them to drip for the day. Measure the juice and add a pound of sugar to each pint. Boil in the pan gently for 5 minutes then leave to cool, and bottle with a tight top. One teaspoon in a glass of water will quench your thirst and is excellent during fevers.

   At one time the whole plant was used medicinally for a variety of ailments and as a charm to ward off evil. It was believed that if blackberries were picked at an auspicious time of the moon, they would protect from evil spells and charms. The flowers and fruit were used for poisonous bites, and the young green shoots were eaten as salad vegetables, although I think they may have had to be blanched before eating. They were also said to fasten loose teeth in the gums, although John Gerard (writing in the 16^th century) rather judiciously points out that they should be boiled with a little alum for this purpose. He regarded the plant as being valuable for its astringent qualities both eaten and the juice used on the skin to treat piles, sore mouths and throats and diarrhea and small kidney and bladder stones. The ancient Greeks believed that blackberries were effective for gout, and Pliny refers to them as Rubus rusticanus a bramble of the countryside.

  These days of course you can buy cultivated blackberries in supermarkets, but the fun of making a blackberry pie or jam is to pick them yourself in the countryside.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE CRUMBLE

Ingredients

8 ozs-1 lb blackberries, cleaned and washed

1 or 2 cooking apples depending on the size, peeled and sliced

2 tbsps sugar

Topping

5 ozs flour

3½ ozs butter

a little extra butter

5 ozs sugar

2 ozs rolled oats or crushed almonds

Method

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180°C.

In a mixing bowl mix together the flour, butter and sugar until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the oats or almonds and mix well. You can do this in a food processor or blender.

Put the blackberries mixed with the apple slices in a high cake tin or equivalent and pour over the topping. Dot with a little extra butter and bake for 40 mins.

Serve hot or cold with custard, whipped cream or ice-cream.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

AMALTAS ( GOLDEN SHOWER TREE) - HISTORY, SIGNIFICANCE AND HEALTH BENEFITS

INDIAN LABURNUM, AMALTAS, CASSIA FISTULA

The Indian laburnum is a spectacular sight when in bloom around April in Pakistan. The blossoms range in colour from yellow to orange and sepia, and are more prolific than those of its cousin the British laburnum which destroys the vegetation under it. This tree is the producer of the national flower of Thailand which is the symbol of Thai royalty. It is also the state flower of Kerala, India, where it is one of the central elements of Vishu the Malayalees New Year festival celebrated in March - April. It is part of the Kani Kannal preparations (meaning lucky sight or gift). Before morning prayers are sung or said the women of the household prepare the lucky sight, which is a large pot (uruli) made of bell-iron, in which is placed the flowers of the Indian laburnum tree, a palm-leaf manuscript (grantha) a gold ornament, coins in a silver cup, new cloth, two halves of a coconut, a cucumber, mangoes and a jackfruit. The pot is placed in front of a mirror and a statue of Krishna, decorated with garlands, with two burning oil lamps on either side with a chair facing it. Members of the family are then led blindfolded into the room so that the first thing they see is the lucky sight of the pot. This sight will bring good fortune for the rest of the year it is believed. The elders present bless the younger members of the family and give them money.

  The tree was much loved by the Mughuls who used to wear the flowers on their wrists as bracelets and it is still a much-loved tree. Its other English name is the Golden Shower tree, but I think I’ll stick to calling it the Indian Laburnum!

   It is one of the most widespread trees on the Indian subcontinent and a member of the Leguminoseae family. This makes it a member of the bean family and a relative of green beans and other trees which have long seed pods, such as the carob and kachnar, or Mountain Orchid tree. The Indian Laburnum is used for many ailments, and all parts are used. Monkeys are particularly fond of the sweet pulp around the seeds and are responsible for spreading the trees. In Hindi it’s called the Monkey Stick tree, Bandarlathi, a reference to the size of the pods which can grow to 90 centimetres long. In Urdu it is called Amlatas, and this tree figures in many romances and was one of the trees planted in the Mughals’ gardens, so there are some of them in the Shalimar gardens in Lahore. It has been planted along the roadsides, making them look wonderful in spring.

 The seeds are poisonous but the flesh isn’t and the blossoms have a delightful pungent smell. The pods start soft and green and then turn brown and black and hard. The pulp from the pods was used to flavour tobacco and is a potent laxative which should not be consumed in large doses. Interestingly, cattle and goats seem to avoid the flowers and leaves of this tree, which is god for the hakims (traditional healers) who harvest all parts for traditional medicinal preparations.  The wood makes good firewood and charcoal and the trunk wood is strong and durable so fence posts and agricultural implements are made from it.

  Traditionally the roots are used to cure skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema, and the root bark extracts have been tested in clinical trials and this use is borne out. Modern research has also shown that an extract from the tree can protect the liver and trials are underway to see how effective it can be against HIV/AIDS. The pulp around the seeds has one of the highest calcium contents in any fruits, 827milligrams in every 100 grams of dry matter. It is also a good source of other minerals, namely manganese and iron. The pulp also contains amino acids such as lysine and glutamine. The fruit could be an important source of nutrients and energy for us which at present are underused. It has more nutrients than apples, apricots, peaches, pears and oranges.

  The stem bark has potent antioxidant properties as do the leaves and the flowers and pulp to a lesser extent. Extracts of the bark have been used in creams for piles in the West as it seems it is good for the veins and blood flow.

  In traditional medicine in the subcontinent the roots are used for skin diseases, to alleviate burning sensations, and to cure syphilis. The bark is rich in tannins, and so is used for boils, leprosy, ringworm, and colic, to relieve constipation and diarrhea, as well as dyspepsia and heart problems. The leaves are also used for the skin dry coughs, bronchitis and burning sensations; the fruits are used for flatulence, dyspepsia, colic, inflammation and intermittent fevers. The flowers are said to be good for skin diseases, purging the body of toxins, and also as coolants and skin complaints.

  Generally the parts of the tree are used for heart diseases, tumours in the stomach, glands, liver and throat. It is also believed that the tree can cure delirium, convulsions and gravel in the body’s organs.

  Science has found that parts of the tree possess potent antioxidant properties, are antibacterial, antiviral and cholesterol lowering. It also has pain-relieving properties as well as being useful to treat fevers and to reduce blood pressure. However no part can be taken in large doses as they provoke vomiting, nausea and stomach pains and cramps.

  I think I am just content to look at this tree; others such as the neem are as beneficial.

RUSCUS HYPOPHYLLUM - A WONDERFUL PLANT ON EARTH - USES AND BENEFITS

 RUSCUS HYPOPHYLLUM , BROAD LEAFED BUTCHER’S BROOM

 Ruscus hypophyllum is indigenous to Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province (formerly the North West Frontier Province) as well as to the Canary Isles, Turkey, Sicily, Malta and Gozo, south west Spain, and parts of North Africa. It is closely related to Butcher’s Broom which grows in Britain, and also to asparagus. There are two other Ruscus species which grow in Europe, these being Ruscus hypoglossum (big tongue) and Ruscus aculeata. These plants are used for their green foliage and the novelty value of their berries which appear to grow on their leaves. The truth is that the leaves are not true ones, but are cladodes, which are flattened leaf-like shoots. They have white through to blue flowers which also look as though they are growing on leaves. It is an unusual plant.

  In Pakistan they are not used for their medicinal properties, but are wasted, and this at a time when the West has woken up to the benefits of the ruscogenins found in the rhizomes of the Ruscus genus of plants. They are used for animal fodder and duel, but the rhizomes of the European species of Ruscus are used in herbal medicines because they have anti-inflammatory properties and are vein constrictors. They are useful in the treatment of varicose veins and piles and research is ongoing to discover what other properties they may have.

  So far seven steroidal saponins have been isolated from Ruscus hypophyllum (which means broad or big leaved) rhizomes, plus one known glycoside. It seems that this plant along with the others in this Ruscus group can be of great benefit to us. The cultivation of this plant could help Pakistan’s rural economy if the plants were cultivated for the health market.