DEVIL'S HORSEWHIP -PLANT WITH LOTS OF POTENTIAL: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF DEVIL'S HORSEWHIP

DEVIL’S HORSEWHIP, ACHYRANTHES ASPERA 

Devil’s Horsewhip or Prickly (Chaff) Flower has been used since time immemorial in the Indian subcontinent for a number of ailments. It has edible leaves and seeds, and as the plant is an amaranth, like Elephant’s Head or Kang Kong, it can be used as a substitute for spinach which is in the same family. It has been naturalized in southern Europe and grows in East Asia through to Australia.

  The whole plant is used medicinally and is an important medicinal plant in Nepal where it is used for eye complaints including night blindness among other health problems. It is believed to be efficacious due to its triterpenoid saponins which may account for its astringent, diuretic and antispasmodic properties.

  It is widely used for stomach complaints, including diarrhoea and dysentery, as a laxative and purgative as well as an emetic, and the smoke from the burnt plant is inhaled for asthma and coughs. The powdered root and seeds are also burned and inhaled for the same purposes. The seeds taken with milk are said to be good if you want to lose weight; to reduce fat in the organs, the expressed juice of the leaves is mixed and heated in sesame oil and placed on the skin over the parts where fat needs to be removed. This is also used for many skin problems.

   The powdered seeds are mixed with powdered salt and used to whiten the teeth and stop bleeding gums. The stems of the plant may also be used as toothbrushes. With pepper and garlic the leaves, ground to a paste are made into pea sized balls and dried and given to reduce fever, while the crushed leaves mixed into an ointment with ghee are used for piles.

  The seeds may be eaten and are rich in protein, and the plant is a food crop in China. The leaf is sometimes used as a pot herb to flavour dishes.

  The plant contains betaine and achyranthine an alkaloid, along with tannin, glycosides and triterpenoid saponins (mentioned above) and yields essential oil. Scientific studies have found that the plant has anti-inflammatory, analgesic antibiotic, anti-fungal, cholesterol-lowering, immuno-stimulatory, wound healing, and anti-bacterial properties. It also is anti-allergenic, supports the kidneys’ functions, is spermicidal and anti-parasitical.  It also seems to kill mosquito larvae.

   It is used for snake bites and those of poisonous insects and bites from rabid dogs. A decoction of the powdered leaves mixed with honey or gur is given for diarrhoea and dysentery, and the roots are used in the treatment of cancer, bladder stones, and stomach problems. The seeds are used for leprosy and bronchial problems and for the kidneys, and he crushed plant boiled in water is used for pneumonia. The flowering tops or seeds are used for snake bites night blindness and ground into a paste with water for application to skin problems. The root is ground into a paste with water and applied to snake bites, or given internally to produce vomiting.

  Clearly it is a beneficial plant to grow although it is not necessary to cultivate it in the Indian subcontinent as it grows profusely on wasteland. More scientific studies are needed before the medical world accepts the usefulness of this plant, but studies so far have supported many of the traditional uses of this plant.

BABUL TREE - ONE SOURCE OF GUM ARABIC: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF BABUL

BABUL, GUM ARABIC TREE, EGYPTIAN THORN, ACACIA NILOTICA 

The babul tree is a close relative of kikar (Acacia nilotica subspecies indica) and quite prolific in the Punjab region of Pakistan. It is a native of the Indian subcontinent and Egypt going through the African continent to South Africa where it is called lekkerruikpeul or the scented thorn, into the Arabian Peninsula through to Myanmar. It has a fairly slender trunk about 20 – 30 centimetres in diameter and is a slow-growing but reasonable long-lived tree. It is a pioneer species which can regenerate waste land as the seeds with their hard outer husks can germinate within two weeks.

  It is a source of gum Arabic, used as an emulsifier and in the cloth manufacturing industry and in the manufacturing of paper. It is also used in the production of matches, ink and candles. True gum Arabic comes from Acacia Senegal, but the red gum from the babul is of good quality. The gum will exude spontaneously from the trunk for about five weeks, but the process of harvesting it is helped by making incisions into it. The gum from this tree is red while gum Arabic is white. The gum hardens into ‘tears’ the size of a pigeon’s egg.  

  It is thought that this was the burning bush of Moses mentioned in Exodus chapter 3 of the Bible, with the fire supplied by the parasites which feed off it, Loranthus acaciae.

  This tree has many uses; it is a nitrogen fixer and helps make the soil in which it grows fertile, and the twigs and bark are used in Pakistan as tooth brushes. This can also be chewed to prevent vitamin C deficiency and to strengthen teeth and help fix them if they are loose. The inner bark contains tannin and is used for tanning and dyeing in the leather industry. (It dyes leather black.)

  Shamans use the bark to drive away evil spirits and a more mundane use is fodder for livestock which appreciate the leaves and pods. Goats will climb to reach the lower leaves and brave the thorns to get at them. (I have witnessed this.) Because of the thorns it makes a useful live hedge to prevent wild animals getting into fields.

  The flowers contain various flavonoids, among them catechin and quercetin (also found in apples and many other plants) which are currently being investigated as they have potent antioxidant properties so can help prevent healthy cells being damaged by scavenging free-radicals which can cause cancer.

  The wood is used as firewood and charcoal, as well as for boat-building, water pipes and so on, as its sapwood is water resistant. It is also used to make carts and wheel spokes as well as other agricultural implements, and has uses in the construction industry as it is sturdy and durable.

  The various parts of the tree have been used in traditional medicine wherever it is a native, and Dioscorides (c.40-90AD) wrote about it in his “Materia Medica” calling it akakia meaning spiny, which is where the genus Acacia gets its name from.  The ancient Egyptians carved statues and made furniture from it.

  It has astringent properties making it useful for the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery and is a standard medication for diarrhoea in Nigeria. In Lebanon the gum mixed with orange-flower water is given to people recovering from typhoid fever. In Pakistan the bark and the bark of the mango tree is used in a decoction for tonsillitis.

  In South Africa the Masai have used Babul for courage and they believe it cures impotence. It is also regarded as an aphrodisiac especially preparations of the pods and flowers, in the Indian subcontinent.

  The leaves can be used in poultices and put on ulcers and wounds to help them heal faster. On the island of Tonga the tree is believed to help diabetics eat anything including sugars and starch, in large quantities.

 The bark has been used to treat gonorrhea and leprosy as well as being made into an infusion as an expectorant to stop coughing. The leaves are used for eye problems while the bark is used for asthma and skin diseases either in a decoction or infusion and sometimes made into an ointment with ghee. The pods are used for urogenital problems, and given in infusions for upset stomachs. The leaves, young shoots and pods are given to animals to increase milk production, so the tree has benefits for us in a variety of ways.

  Studies into the babul tree and its properties indicate that it has antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory properties and can help lower high blood pressure as well as constricting veins. It also has anti-platelet aggregating actions in vitro.

  It would seem that many of the uses of this tree in folk medicine may be proved scientifically in the future.

WATER SOLDIER - NOW RARE IN BRITAIN: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF WATER SOLDIER

WATER SOLDIER, STRATIOTEA ALOIDES 

As its name suggests the water soldier is an aquatic plant in the Hydrocharitaceae family. It has the distinction of being the only one of its genus which is native to the British Isles, although it is debatable as to whether it is a native of County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland where it grows prolifically. In Britain it is no longer as common as it once was, as in the 17^th century Nicholas Culpeper the English herbalist wrote that it grew in the Lincolnshire fens, where it is no longer found. It has also disappeared from Yorkshire and grows in the greatest numbers in East Norfolk. However it is classed as a noxious weed in some states in the US where it is an introduced species, as its native habitat is Europe, extending to Turkey, and Siberia, in Asia.

  Water Soldier is called by this name because Stratiotea comes from the Greek word for soldier, while aloides signifies aloes. It is also known as Crab’s Claws, because of the shape of the leaves when they start to appear above the water.

  It grows to heights of one metre by one metre, and it only rises above the water’s surface when it is ready to flower, after that, by autumn when the seeds ripen it is weighed down by the calcium carbonate in its leaves and the seeds (which rarely appear in Britain) ripen under water in the muddy bottoms of the ponds, fens, marshes and ditches and other waterways which are its habitat. The parent plant sends out trailing buds of leaves at the end of long runners so new plants form, and the seeds ripened also form the basis for new parent plants.

  When the Water soldier has populated water it can takeover and stunt the growth of other aquatic plants. It can completely take over a ditch or small pond, and although the white flowers look attractive in the flowering months of June to August, it can cause havoc with an ecosystem.

  The leaves look like floating pineapple tops or aloe vera plants. Unfortunately the water soldier’s decline in the UK has been attributed to human activity and the increase in the concentration of chemicals found in the plant’s former habitats.

  In the Lodz region of Poland there is a reference to this plant being eaten in times of famine, although this is the only recorded information about its being eaten.

  Culpeper refers to two types of Sengreen which he called this plant, one being rather like a houseleek, he writes. He has this to say of Water Sengreen:

   “It is a plant under the dominion of Venus, and therefore a great strengthener of the reins (kidneys); it is excellent good in that inflammation which is commonly called Saint Anthony’s fire, it assuageth all inflammations and swellings in wounds; and an ointment made of it is excellent good to heal them; there is scarce a better remedy growing than this for such as have bruised their kidneys, and upon that account pissing blood. A drachm of powder of the herb taken every morning, is a good remedy to stop the terms.”

 

 

  

KUSUM, CEYLON OAK, OR MACASSAR OIL TREE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF SCHLEICHERA OLEOSA

CEYLON OAK, HONEY TREE, INDIAN LAC TREE, KUSUM, SCHLEICHERA OLEOSA 

This tree can grow up to 45 feet although some are even taller and they grow around the foothills of the Himalayas and are native to Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Thailand and its islands and Sri-Lanka and has naturalized on the Indonesian islands particularly on Bali and Java. It is a member of the Sapindaceae family so is a relative of the soapnut tree (reetha), lychee and rambutan trees, the hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa), and many others. Like the dhak tree, or Flame of the Forest tree, it plays host to the lac insect which secretes resin on its bark to protect itself and its offspring, and which is used in varnishes and also has other industrial uses.

  It is generally found in the Indian subcontinent in mixed deciduous forests and in Java it is found in natural teak forests. It is now being considered as a source of biofuel, and has long been used as fodder for cattle. They are fed its leaves and the seed cake which remains after the seeds have had their oil extracted from them. This oil is known as Macassar oil and another name for this tree is the Macassar oil tree. This oil is used in hairdressing and to promote hair growth. The oil can also be used for cooking and lighting, and is used medicinally in traditional medicine systems for skin problems such as acne, itching, and burns. It is used as massage oil to relieve the pain of rheumatism.

  The oil is also added to bath water and perfumes, and on Java it is used in the batik industry. The powdered seeds are used on the wounds and ulcers of cattle to get rid of maggots in them.

  The oil contains oleic, stearic, gadoleic and arachidic acid and the cyanogenic compounds have to be removed for human consumption.

  The bark of the tree has astringent properties and is used in decoctions and infusions for inflamed skin and ulcers, and to protect against malaria. The bark also yields dye and tannin used in the leather industry. It also contains an analgesic compound, lupeol and betulin and betulic acid, both of which are believed to have anti-cancer properties.

  The heartwood of the tree is used for agricultural implements, cartwheels and spokes, in heavy construction work, for boat building, oil presses, ploughs and has a variety of other uses. It is said that the shellac obtained from the lac insects on this tree is superior to other yields on other trees.

  The stem bark is used for menstrual problems and taken in an infusion. The extracts from the tree bark have antioxidant properties and may help in our fight against certain cancers, although research is still ongoing. The triterpenoids which have been extracted from the bark have been shown in one study undertaken by P. Ghosh et al, 2011, Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.73 (2) pp. 231-33, “Triterpenoids from Schleichera oleosa of Darjeeling foothills and their microbial activity” showed antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial activities.

  There have only been a few studies done on this tree, but it seems that it may have many benefits for us including use as biofuel.