WHAT IS EPHEDRA DISTACHYA? SEA GRAPE - HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS

SEA GRAPE, EPHEDRA DISTACHYA

The sea grape is native to Central and Eastern Europe, although other species of Ephedra grow in Asia , eastern and North Africa, Europe and both North and South America, in arid zones. It likes sandy places, hence the name sea grape, which is the same in Turkish, deniz usumu and French, raisin de mer. It has needle-like leaves which are the stems on which the usually yellow flowers and edible red fruit grow. Its seeds are dark brown, glossy, smooth and oval, with 2 per fruit. The evergreen stems may be erect or recumbent, and grow to between 25 and 100 cm long or tall, and can be harvested and dried for later use at any time of year.

  In China and the Indian subcontinent Ephedra species have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, for bronchial complaints, asthma and allergies such as hay fever. Dioscorides also used Ephedra and it was used in traditional medicine in Europe during the 15^th to the 19^th century.  The German Commission E has approved the use of Ephedra for mild bronchiospasms and related problems.

  Ephedra contains ephedrine which has similar effects to amphetamines and to the adrenaline naturally produced by the body. Its use has been prohibited in all international sporting events as it is considered a performance-enhancer. Ephedrine can cross the blood-brain barrier and triggers the brain to release dopamine, so stimulating the central nervous system. In the short term this enhances moods and improves alertness, while decreasing feelings of fatigue and increasing physical activity. Ephedrine, which is an alkaloid, was given to Japanese kamikaze pilots in World War II, reportedly.

  Ephedra has had some fame as a weight loss herb, although alone it is not terribly effective; combined with caffeine or aspirin its effects are enhanced. In fact it works better for allergies when used in combination with other herbs such as Thymus vulgaris (thyme), Primula veris (cowslip), Hyssopus officinalis, (Hyssop), Urtica dioicea (nettles) or Chamaemelum nobile (Roman chamomile).

  In Ayurvedic medicine Ephedra is used for arthritis and edema, principally.

  It should only be taken on a doctor’s advice and should not be used with monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibiters and people with high blood pressure, angina, glaucoma, prostate diseases and hyperthyroid problems should avoid it.

  

JUPITER'S SAGE - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES

JUPITER’S SAGE, SALVIA GLUTINOSA

Jupiter’s Sage, or Jupiter’s Distaff or Staff is a member of the sage family and is a Lamiaceae or Labiatae. It has both culinary and medicinal uses, although these are not well documented. It is native to Central and Eastern Europe and West Asia, growing in damp places and in deciduous forests. It has aromatic leaves which are or were, at least used in country wines. It produces a sticky, edible gum and this gives rise to other names for the plant which include Sticky Sage and Glutinous Sage.

  It has heart-shaped green leaves and yellow flowers which are dotted with maroon or red-brown marks. Not much research has been done on this plant although what has been done suggests that it could be useful medicinally.

  The gum contains triterpenes, which include friedelin, β-amyrin, 11a-hydroxy- β-amyrin and epialauserol; 15 diterpenoids have been isolated from the dried roots of this plant, among them isotanshinone which is a new natural product. Eleven new compounds were also found.

  The plant also contains linalool which is used in perfumery, is a natural insecticide and comes form various plants including lemons and bergamot; also nonanal and β-Ocimene. The essential oil proved in lab tests to be effective against E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus so it has antibacterial properties. This leads one to believe that it is useful against some gastro-intestinal problems, so perhaps this is how it is used in folk medicine in places where it is indigenous. However this is purely speculation.

  Researchers think that it might be useful in preparations with antiepileptic, antiarhythmic, analgesic and spasmolytic effects.

  It also contains the bioflavonoids which are actually flavones, apeginin and luteolin. The latter has antioxidant properties as well as anti-inflammatory ones and is believed to be an immune system modulator. Scientists also believe that it has cancer preventing properties.

Although some research has been done on Jupiter’s Sage, more needs to be done so that scientists can discover what the new substances they have found in this plant can do to keep us healthy.

  The pictures are from Luirig altervista.com which has some wonderful plant pictures of many plants.

 

MACADAMIA NUTS - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES: BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH MACADAMIA NUT TOPPING RECIPE

MACADAMIA NUTS

The Macadamia nut trees are native to Australia and indigenous to the rainforests of south eastern Queensland and New South Wales. They were a staple food of the Aborigines for thousands of years before they were found by the “white fella” in the shape of Allan Cunningham in 1828.  They were named after John Macadam, a chemist and member of the legislative Assembly for Castlemaine, Victoria. (Yes, the 4X Castlemaine) as he was largely responsible for them being cultivated.

  The two types of macadamia nut trees that grow in Australia are the Macadamia integrifolia or the smooth-shelled macadamia nut and Macadamia tetraphylia, the rough-skinned nut. Where their territories meet there are hybrids of these trees.

  They can grow to height of between 30 and 40 feet and can spread almost as wide, so they are not small trees. The very hard seed casing is covered in a green husk which splits open as the nut ripens. M .integrifolia has creamy white flowers, while M. tetraphylia has cream to pink flowers, none of which have petals; they are more like the male catkins of the hazel tree.

  The macadamia tree was introduced into Hawaii in 1881 and was used for ornamental purposes and reforestation. It can produce fruit after five years of being planted although it is generally not commercially viable until the tenth year. The nuts take 6 to 7 months to mature after the flowers drop and have to be left to ripen on the trees; they are then dried to produce the nuts we buy.

  The shells can be used as mulch as can the husks, which also make good fertilizer, so nothing of the nut is wasted.

  You can eat them as snacks in the same way the Greeks eat pumpkin seeds or passé tempo, or they can be used in cooking, for desserts, or main meals. They were once marketed in something called “almond coffee” although now hazel nut coffee is more popular. Unfortunately if you have an allergy to other nuts, such as walnuts, pistachios and pecans you should avoid macadamia nuts too. They can be used for ice creams, salads, roasts and casseroles and the dish below is a good starter or vegetarian main course with a baked potato and broccoli.

  They are full of vitamins and minerals and contain all 8 essential amino acids, as well as non-essential ones, and have particularly potent antioxidant properties. They help balance the Omega-6 and -3 fatty acids in the body and are rich in potassium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium and calcium, and also contain selenium, zinc, and copper. As for vitamins they have some B-complex ones, vitamin A and a little vitamin C. They contain tocopherols and tocotrienols which are derivatives of vitamin E, as well as phytosterols, for example sitosterol.

  Because they are high in fibre, they help prevent constipation, diverticular diseases, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, piles and reduce the risk of bowel cancer. They have the highest known level of palmitoleic fatty acid, which is found in beneficial fish oils such as that from salmon and mackerel, and which is at an even higher level than in olive oil.

  The Australians have done and are doing several research projects on the health benefits of the nuts, including a dietary trial to measure the part they can play in the reduction of the risk of heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, cancer and related diseases. One project is investigating their antioxidant potential and another is trying to determine the effect of the nuts in protecting the brachial arterial wall which is associated with arteriosclerosis. They can act as modulators of the immune system and they may reduce the incidence of heart disease, according to earlier trials. They can also lower blood cholesterol levels.

  For some reason they are not as popular in Britain as they are in Australia, South Africa, the US and the rest of Europe, although I remember eating them as a child and loving their taste.

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BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH MACADAMIA NUT TOPPING

Ingredients

1 cup double cream

2 tbsps sage, finely shredded

1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced and cut into three pieces

6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

6 oz mozzarella, grated

½ cup freshly chopped macadamia nuts

Method

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 3/ 325° F / 165° C.

Grease a deep oven proof dish.

Whisk together the double cream, sage, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper.

Layer half the feta and a third of the mozzarella in the bottom of the dish, and then put a layer of squash and again the rest of the feta and another third of the mozzarella.

Now add another layer of squash and pour the cream mixture over it. Top this with the rest of the mozzarella and put in the oven.

Cook for 45 mins or until the squash can be pierced with a skewer or knife.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

 

WORMWOOD HERB - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES: HOW TO MAKE WORMWOOD TISANE

COMMON WORMWOOD, ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM, AFSANTIN IN URDU

Common wormwood is, like rue one of the bitterest herbs and has gone down in literature as a synonym for bitterness or something which is disagreeable in the extreme. It gets the name Artemesium from the goddess Artemis who was also the Roman goddess Diana. Legend has it that she found the Artemisia herbs and gave them to Chiron the centaur so that he could practise medicine. The Greek word ‘apsinthon’ means without pleasure, which is probably a reference to wormwood’s bitterness.

  The plant has a tall flowering stem which can grow to 2½ feet tall and has silky white hairs on it and green-yellow flowers in July through to October. It likes shady places and is native to Britain, unlike the Roman Wormwood. Of all the wormwoods this Common one is the strongest and most bitter. It’s best to gather the tops when they are in flower and make a tisane with them, so you don’t become nauseous as you can if you make an infusion with the large leaves at the base of the plant. You can dry these flowering tops and store them for later use.

  Wormwood has been used in medicine for thousands of years and is mentioned in the Eber’s Papyrus, one of the oldest existing Egyptian herbals, dating from about 1552 BC. The ancient Egyptians used it for menstrual problems, for fevers, as a tonic and antiseptic. It was used by both Pliny and Dioscorides, who employed it to get rid of internal worms and for the digestion. In the Middle Ages in Europe it was used to remove tapeworms from the gastrointestinal tract. It is still used in parts of Italy today to stimulate the appetite, and in Pakistan it is used by the traditional healers, or hakims for liver problems, including hepatitis, to purify the blood, for jaundice, diabetes, skin diseases, to cure allergies, nausea and vomiting as well as a remedy for tetanus and as a brain tonic.

  The flowering tops have been preferred through the ages as they are not as strong or bitter as the rest of the plant, although the whole plant can be used. The base leaves which form before the stalk appears make a strong potion, and some of the old herbalists recommended these leaves for their infusions and tinctures. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that wormwood was an antidote for poisoning by toadstools, hemlock and bites from Sea Dragons. It is also supposed to be good for flatulence, and epilepsy as well as a wonderful digestive aid.

  There has been quite a lot of research done on A. absinthium, perhaps because of the notoriety it had in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries when it was used to make absinthe, the liqueuer that was subsequently banned in many countries. However it would seem that this infamy was undeserved, as it is neither a hallucogen nor addictive. However if you take an infusion of it the recommended daily dose is low, three wineglassfuls a day. It contains thujone which has a recommended daily dose of 3 milligrams and it should only be taken for a maximum of two weeks. Like the oil of the Chaste Tree, it contains pinene too.

  It may help patients with Crohn’s Disease, as it was reported in one small study that it has a “steroid-sparing effect” and improved the mood and quality of life of patients with that disease. It has potent antioxidant activities, and so research is underway to see if it can be used as a base for anti-cancer drugs. The freshly extracted volatile oil from the plant has anti-bacterial effects on some strains of bacteria, and it is effective against candida or thrush.

  It was believed that if wormwood was carried around the waist it would protect against harm, and it was used in psychic and spiritual work, to invoke benign spirits. The Physicians of Myddfai used it, mainly in combination with other herbs for a number of illnesses. Here are some of their remedies. The first is for fevers.

  “There are four kinds of fevers, deriving their origin from the summer, viz. latent fever, intermittent fever, ephemeral fever, and inflammatory fever. The fifth fever is typhus, and this kind proceeds from the brain. A latent fever is relieved by an emetic, a cordial, and cauteries. Thus it originates; from the over generating of tough humor in the stomach, from which results a distaste for food, and lassitude during summer. 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.

 Thy also believed in fasting and had different advice for each month; here is their advice for 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.”

They also thought that it would be beneficial as an antidote to a snake bite, (adders are the only native British snake)

 “For the bite of an adder. Mix the juice of the fennel, of radish, rue or wormwood, with oil, let the patient drink the same, or eat it.”

 The next remedy was for “ague” or fever, but the prayer or pater noster was to be said, perhaps in case the remedy didn’t work.

  “Drink the juice of rue in wine, swallow three grains of coriander, drink celery (apnium) in water, (sweetened,) and collect plantain whilst saying your pater noster, and drink it infused in wine and pepper. Take the juice of the mugwort bruised, the juice of the wormwood, and tepid oil. Then anoint your whole body on one side three days successively, and it will cure the ague for you cheap.”

  Apart from being used in the making of absinthe, which is seeing a revival in the 21^st century, it is used in Italian Vermouth and in bitters which are used to aid digestion and cure hangovers. It was also used before hops for brewing beer.

  Some superstitions about wormwood were about seeing your future spouse if you took marigold flowers, a sprig of marjoram, thyme and a little wormwood, dried them in front of a fire and ground them together to a fine powder which was sifted through a piece of lawn, then mixed this with virgin honey and vinegar, and anointed yourself with it before going to bed on Saint Luke’s day, invoking the saint with these lines

   “St Luke, St Luke be kind to me,

     In dreams let me my true love see.”

You would see your “true love.”

  It is an effective insect repellant, and this verse from Tusser’s “July’s Husbandry” (1557) illustrates this well.

  “While wormwood hath seeds get a handful or twaine

    To save against March, to make flea to refraine;

    Where chamber is sweeped and wormwood is strewne

    What saver is better (if physick be true)

    For places infected, than wormwood or rue?”

   If you put sprigs of wormwood in cloth in drawers or wardrobes, your garments won’t be attacked by moths or other insects.

  Wormwood has gone down in literature and is found in the Bible in the Book of Lamentations, Chapter 3 verse 19 as well as elsewhere, and is synonymous with bitterness and misery with gall so we get the phrase “wormwood and gall” in later literature. For example, Hamlet hears this speech of the actor laying the queen in the play within a play

  Player Queen: “O confound the rest!

                           Such love must needs be treason in my breast;

                           In second husband let me be accurst!

                           None wed the second but who kills the first!” 

Hamlet:            “That’s wormwood!” (Act 3 scene 2)

Dickens writing in the 19^th century also uses the phrase in “Martin Chuzzlewit” chapter 55 “I have summoned you here to witness your own work… because I know it will be gall and wormwood to you.”

  Wormwood preparations should not be used for young children, pregnant or lactating women, or people with severe liver or kidney diseases.

 

WORMWOOD TISANE

Ingredients

1 oz of the flowering tops of wormwood

1½ pints boiling water

Method

Put the herb in a pan and cover with the boiling water. Leave to steep for 10 minutes then strain and set some aside for later use.

Drink only a wineglassful for digestion, or to calm down. You might want to add honey or other herbs to this, as it is bitter, but warming and aromatic. 

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).