GARDEN CRESS- SALAD HERB: HEALTH BENEFITS OF GARDEN CRESS

GARDEN CRESS, LEPIDIUM SATIVA 

Garden cress has naturalized in Britain, but may have originated in Iran. It is cultivated across south Asia and is used both as food and medicine. It is a member of the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae family of plants and so is related to savoy cabbage, mustard, cauliflower, red cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, watercress, nasturtiums, field penny cress, broccoli, turnips, swede, horseradish, shepherd’s purse, scurvy-grass and flixweed and many other plants.

  Along with scurvy-grass it is antiscorbutic with a high vitamin C content and also contains good amounts of vitamin A. It also contains the minerals iron and calcium and three of the B-complex vitamins, B1 (thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin) and B3 (niacin).

  It tastes peppery a bit like a peppery parsley, or watercress, and is useful if added to salads in small amounts. The fruits of the plant look a little like capers.         

  It has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of asthma and bronchitis which are two traditional uses for the seeds, which contain oil which is edible and can be used for lighting. Studies have shown that the plant has analgesic (mild pain relief) and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as helping to lower blood pressure. A paste made from the seeds has been used for centuries for relief from rheumatic pains when applied externally on joints. The same paste is used for skin problems.

  In Ayurvedic medicine it is to prevent post-partum problems, and to increase the milk flow in breast-feeding mothers. However the seeds should not be use during pregnancy. In Arabic the herb is known as “Hab–al-Rashood” or “Thufa” and a cold infusion of the seeds is used in some Arab countries to relieve asthma and bronchitis.

     The seeds are also reputed to have aphrodisiac qualities and to improve the quality of a man’s sperm. The plant has diuretic properties and is an expectorant. The woody root has been used to treat secondary syphilis traditionally in Asia.

  One study by F. Kassie published in 2002 showed that the juice or sap of the plant had chemopreventive effects, and it was said that the amounts of the juice needed for these effects to be felt was the same as the amount in the herb used in a salad and eaten in normal amounts.

  There have been several studies of this plant and some are ongoing as they have prove of interest to the medical fraternity.

  The fresh or dried seed pods of the plant may be eaten and used as a condiment or as a flavouring for soups and sauces. The seeds can also be sprouted and used in salads. This may be a good addition to a garden!

BEAR'S BREECHES OR OYSTER PLANT: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF ACANTHUS MOLLIS

BEAR’S BREECHES, OYSTER PLANT, ACANTHUS MOLLIS 

Bear’s breeches is a fanciful name given to this plant which has flowers rather like those of snapdragons. They are pollinated by bees which have to force their way between the top and bottom parts of the flower. They are not relations of snapdragons however, as these are in the Acanthaceae family of plants, so are related to the Marsh Barbel among others.

   Bear’s breeches are native to the Mediterranean region and are cultivated in Britain, although some appear to have naturalized in Cornwall. In the 17^th century, these were called Brank-ursine, meaning bear’s claws, which referred, possibly, to the shape of the flowers. They contain mucilage and tannin, which makes or rather made them useful in traditional medicine systems in Europe.                                                                           

  The plant has been used as a wound healer and internally taken to soothe the mucous membranes in the digestive and urinary tracts. The crushed leaves have been used in poultices and placed on burns or scalds to relieve the pain. The plant has astringent qualities and has been used to treat diarrhea and to heal wounds, as well as being used to clean wounds. It has been taken internally to purify the blood and to calm the stomach. It is also said to have expectorant properties.

  The 17^th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper has this to say of the plant he called Brank-ursine: -

“Government and virtues. It is an excellent plant under the dominion of the Moon; I could wish such as are studious would labour to keep it in their gardens. Its leaves being boiled, and used in clysters, is excellent good to mollify the belly, and make the passage slippery; the decoction, drunk, is excellent good for the bloody flux: the leaves being bruised, or rather boiled and applied like a poultice, are exceeding good to unite broken bones, and strengthen joints that have been put out; the decoction of either the leaves or roots being drunk, and the decocted leaves applied to the place, is excellent good for the king's evil that is broken and runneth, for by the influence of the Moon it reviveth the ends of the veins which are relaxed; there is scarcely a better remedy to be applied to such places as are burnt with fire than this is; for it fetcheth out the fire, and healeth it without a scar; it is also an excellent remedy for such as are bursten, being either taken inwardly, or applied to the place; in like manner used, it helps the cramp and the gout; it is excellent good in hectic fevers, and restores radical moisture to such as are in consumptions.“

  Perhaps this plant’s claim to fame is as a motif at the top of Corinthian columns. Vitruvius write in his treatise “On Architecture” that there was a maiden from Corinth who died of a disease. Her grieving family had a monument made to her and her nurse took a basket, filled with the goblets she had loved in life to her grave. She inadvertently placed the basket with a tile covering it to protect the goblets from the ravages of the weather, on a root of Acanthus (mollis or spinosis), so in spring, the plants put forth its leaves and twined them around the basket. The people who passed remarked on the beauty of this and praise the architect who was thus inspired to make other columns for the Corinthians and so the fashion for such columns and their distinctive motif was begun.

  Inspired by these columns the artists of the Renaissance incorporated the leaf from the columns into some of their sculptures and architecture too. Bear’s Breeches thus is important in the history of architecture.

SHIITAKE MUSHROOM - ONE OF THE HEALTHIEST: HEALTH BENEFITS OF SHIITAKE

SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS, LENTINULA EDODES

Shiitake mushrooms have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for thousands of years, and so are classed as medicinal mushrooms rather than culinary ones. They have become a symbol of longevity in Asia because of their health-giving properties.

  They can be used in much the same way as the ubiquitous white mushroom you find on every supermarket shelf, but they have a meaty texture, somewhat like chanterelles and oyster mushrooms but they are highly-prized in Asia, much as we prize truffles and morels in the West. They are relatively small when compared to the Giant puffball.

  Shiitake means wood mushroom, or rather Shii refers to the tree in Japan on which these mushrooms grow naturally, and take means mushroom in Japanese. These mushrooms are also known as “Black Forest mushrooms” as they also grow there in Europe. You can now buy logs impregnated with shiitake spores and grow your own. If you buy fried shiitake you should soak them in hot water to reconstitute them before cooking them or putting them in salads - you can eat them raw.                                                                                     

  Shiitake contain several B-complex vitamins- B2, B3, B5 and B6, and the minerals, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, selenium, copper and zinc, along with all the 8 essential amino acids, protein and dietary fibre.

  Perhaps the best way of eating these meaty mushrooms is to sauté them for 7 minutes in olive oil to bring out their best flavour and maximize the health-giving nutrients. You can try the side dish recipe below.

  The American Cancer Society has said that lentinam, which is found in shiitake mushrooms, can reduce and slow the growth of some cancer cells and at the same time it boosts the immune system to combat these unwelcome cells too. More trials on humans are needed for us to discover if shiitake mushrooms and their constituents can help in our fight against cancer.

  Selenium, zinc and manganese all have antioxidant properties as do some of the other constituents of these mushrooms, and these combat the scavenging free radicals which can turn cells cancerous. These mushrooms may offer protection from breast, prostate and colon cancers.

  Extracts from the mushrooms have been found to possess antifungal, antibacterial and anti-virus (including HIV-1) properties.

  Shiitake mushrooms can also help prevent rheumatoid arthritis according to one study, and others have shown that they might help with lowering blood cholesterol levels and cardio-vascular diseases, perhaps helping to prevent atherosclerosis.

  Lentin, a protein found in these mushrooms has anti-fungal properties and helps to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. L-ergothioneine found in these has potent antioxidant properties.

  If you have gout or kidney problems, be careful - these mushrooms contain purines - you should not eat very many of them in your diet.

SHIITAKE SIDE DISH                                                      

Ingredients

250 gr fresh shiitake sliced,

1 large onion thinly sliced,

3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped,

freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Chilli powder and 150 gr fresh tomatoes, chopped, handful of fresh parsley optional

Olive oil or sunflower oil for frying (or a mixture of both)

Method

Heat the oil(s) in a pan and then add the onions (with the chilli powder if using). Cook over a high heat for 2 minutes then lower the heat, stir and let them sweat, covered for 5-10 minutes.

Add the garlic and mushrooms and fry for a further 2 minutes or until the onions are soft. Season to taste.

(If using the other optional ingredients add them after 2 minutes of putting the garlic and mushrooms in the pan.)

Serve as a side dish with any meat or game.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

FICUS NOTA, TIBIG: USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF FICUS NOTA

TIBIG, WILD PHILIPPINO FIG TREE, FICUS NOTA 

Tibig is the name of this tree in the Philippines, to which it is native; it is also a native of Borneo. It has been introduced to the Hawaiian Islands where it has been cultivated, but it is now seen as an invasive species on some islands. In the Philippines Tibig trees are being planted so that they do not become threatened.

  Tibig is a member of the Ficus genus making it a close relation of the European fig, the tropical fig (Ficus septica), and of course the wild Punjabi fig. It is also related to the peepal tree and the bohar or banyan.As a member of the Moraceae family of plants it is related more distantly to the mulberry and Shahtoot mulberry, the toothbrush or sandpaper tree and to jackfruit.                                                                             

  It is a useful tree as it can be used as hedging as a living fence and because it is a fast-growing evergreen, it is a useful nurse tree for saplings. This tree can grow to 20 metres tall in its native habitat, although they usually grow to around half this size, and is a pioneer species used for reforestation.

  The fruit grows on short stems from the branches and stem of the tree, and is edible, although reportedly the figs are eaten with sugar. The tree is used for firewood and for making charcoal and is also used medicinally in the Philippines. Its white flowers are very small and hard to see.

  When the stem or trunk is cut watery sap exudes from it which is potable, and this is drunk three times a day for fevers, or applied to relieve muscle pains. It would seem that the fruit is not used medicinally, although, no doubt it has laxative properties as do other figs.