PETTY SPURGE- APPARENTLY CURES SKIN CANCER: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF PETTY SPURGE

PETTY SPURGE, EUPHOBIA PEPLUS

Petty spurge is a very common weed in Britain and the rest of Europe. It has spread through introduction to most areas of the world, including North America and Australia. I know this plant by another name, milkweed, which is given to it because of its milky sap or latex which exudes from the stem when it is broken.

  It is a member of the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family which makes it a relation of poinsettia, the Candlenut tree, jamalgota (Croton tiglium), the castor bean tree, yucca, and both French and Dog’s mercury.                                                                    

  In the past the milky latex was used to get rid of warts, and callouses, but it should be used with care as it can cause dermatitis, as it is an irritant. The seeds and powdered roots were used as mild laxatives, in similar ways that other members of the family have been employed, for example the castor bean tree from which castor oil is produced.

  If you use the latex for any reason, you should wash you hands thoroughly afterwards, and should not touch your eyes, as the latex may cause blindness (rather like that of aak).

  Nicholas Culpeper had this to say of the little plant: -

“It flowers in June. The root is used, and of that the bark only.

Virtues. It is a strong cathartic, working violently by vomit and stool, but is very offensive to the stomach and bowels by reason of its sharp corrosive quality, and therefore ought to be used with caution.”

  What he didn’t know was that this plant may be very useful in curing lesions caused by skin cancer.

  On 25^th January 2011, the BBC reporter, Michelle Roberts in the article “Common weed petty spurge 'could treat' skin cancer” reports a trial that was then in the stage II phase. Thirty-six patients with non-melanoma skin cancer with a total of 48 lesions between them were treated with petty spurge extracts. After one month, 41 of the 48 lesions had disappeared and did not show evidence for their existence in medical examinations. It was a small study and ongoing as patients had to be monitored in case the cancer re-occurred. However it seems that this common little weed may have far more uses than could have been imagined in Culpeper’s day.                         

  The plant is also known by the names Radium Weed, Wart Weed and Cancer weed, reflecting its uses.

  It is thought that the active principle in the fight against skin cancer is Ingenol-3-angelate, which activates the protein, Kinase C, which is believed to be effective in treating cancer, particularly leukaemia. (There has been a study carried out on lab mice which suggests this.)

  Clearly more research is needed to discover exactly what the mechanism is that causes the plant to eradicate cancerous lesions on the skin.

CANDLENUT TREE: USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE CANDLENUT TREE

CANDLENUT TREE, ALEURITES MOLUCCANA

The candlenut tree is known by many other names, including the Indian walnut tree, the varnish tree and candleberry. In Hawaiian it is known as kukui. It is a member of the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family of plants, and so is related to petty spurge, Sun spurge and so on, as well as to French and Dog’s Mercury, poinsettia, the castor bean tree, yucca and Croton tiglium (the jamalgota producer).

  It is native to the Pacific Islands and is sometimes used in agroforestry to protect avocado trees, mango trees and others from inclement weather. It can grow to heights of 66 feet, although is usually a little smaller. It is also native to the Indian subcontinent, Myanmar and parts of South East Asia. It was introduced to the Caribbean islands, the US, the Virgin Islands and Sri Lanka, among other countries. It is useful as a windbreak and can be pruned so that it forms a living hedge.

  The Hawaiian name for this plant means lighting and this is what the oil from the candlenut has traditionally been used for. It seems that no part of this tree goes to waste, as the husks are used to produce a black dye used in tattooing, or used for decorative items, for example filled with home-made candles. The shell contains seeds which are fleshy to leathery in texture, and it feels a little like a walnut shell. The husks and seeds are woven into traditional leis (garlands) in Hawaii and the flowers and leaves may also be included in these. It is the official state tree of Hawaii.       

  The name of the genus, Aleurites means “flowery” in Greek and this is a reference to the young leaves and flower buds, which look as though they have a fine dusting of flour over them. The flowers usually bloom in spring, although in some places they bloom at any time of year.

  The oil can be used like linseed oil (from flax seeds) and is used to oil surfboards in Hawaii. This oil was useful when the early people of that island used the latex from the breadfruit tree to trap birds, so that they could pluck feathers from them to make their ceremonial cloaks. After they had taken the feathers they needed, they would remove the sticky gum from the birds’ feet with oil from the candlenut tree and release them.

  All parts of the tree are toxic, but the bark, seed, leaves and flowers are all used in traditional systems of medicines in areas where the tree grows. The raw seeds are toxic and have a purgative effect, but the seeds may be roasted and powdered to use as a condiment mixed with salt, seaweed, and chilli peppers. This is called “inamona” in Hawaiian.

  The shells and seeds are also used to make jewellery, and may be varnished or unpolished. The oil is used in the cosmetics industry and can also be used as fuel in diesel engines after chemical modification. It is also used as a base for paint and varnish. The trunks of the trees are made into canoes, which are short-lived as the wood is not very durable. Another use for the wood is to make fishing net floats. After the oil has been extracted from the seeds, the leftover seed cake is used as animal fodder.               

  The oil from the candlenut is an irritant and is used on the scalp to promote hair growth. The pulped seed kernels are used in poultices to relieve headaches, fevers, swollen joints and sores and ulcers on the skin. In Java the bark decoction is given for dysentery, while the hot leaves are used for headaches and gonorrhoea for which purposes they are applied topically to the body.

  The leaves and bark have been found to have antiviral and antibacterial properties, while the methanol extract of the leaves has hypolipidemic effects. The leaves have pain-killing properties believed to be due to their flavonoids content.

  The nuts from the tree may be used in cooking as a substitute for macadamia nuts, but should not be eaten raw as they contain saponins and other toxic substances.

  

BREADFRUIT - UNDER-USED FRUIT: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF BREADFRUIT

BREADFRUIT, ARTOCARPUS ALTILIS  

Breadfruit is thought to have originated in New Guinea, and scientists have been able to trace human migration between the Pacific Islands, by studying the breadfruit trees. They now grow throughout the Pacific, except that they do not grow on New Zealand’s islands or on Easter Island. They are grown throughout South East Asia and are cultivated in many parts of the world. Breadfruit has been a staple crop in these islands for over 3,000 years.

  They get their name because of their starchiness and the fact that when they have been roasted they smell like freshly baked bread, and taste like it too, or perhaps like potatoes. Like bread they are served with butter and salt and pepper on some islands. Even the genus name describes the fruit well - artos means bread in ancient Greek and carpus fruit, while altilis means fat; so the botanical name describes the fruit of the tree, fat breadfruit.                                                                              

  The breadfruit is a close relation of the Jackfruit, and is a member of the Moraceae family of plants, making it more distantly related to mulberries, shahtoot mulberries, the European and Punjabi fig, the tropical fig, peepal and banyan trees, and the Toothbrush or Sandpaper tree, among others.

   There are varieties of breadfruit which have seeds, and some which are seedless. Some can be eaten raw, and some need to be roasted or boiled twice, and the water discarded, as they can have purgative effects.

  They can be eaten roasted or boiled as a vegetable, usually if they are under-ripe, like plantains, or used mashed, as a dessert, flavoured with cinnamon, rose water and nutmeg, sherry or brandy, with sugar and two beaten eggs. They can also be roasted and stuffed with meat or coconut, so are very versatile.

  They may also be fried in a syrup or in palm sugar (toddy) until they are crisp and brown.

   The roasted seeds taste like a cross between peanuts and chestnuts, and are packed full of minerals and amino acids, plus vitamin C and the B-complex vitamins B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin). These can be eaten raw or roasted and ground to a flour for baking.

  The breadfruit itself is very nutritious, and if used as food would help the world food shortage. It was introduced into the Caribbean in the late 1700s and was used to feed slaves on the colonial sugar plantations. Today it is regarded as food for the poor and not generally eaten in the Caribbean. It is packed with carbohydrates and a good source of dietary fibre, containing the minerals, calcium, potassium, magnesium, with small amounts of BI, B2 and B3 vitamins and larger amounts of vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid. The fruit also contains 16 amino acids. The yellow fleshed variety is a good source of provitamin A in the form of carotenoids.                                                                                             

   The trees can be propagated by air layering or suckers. This explains, in a way, the Hawaiian legend about the god Ku, who buried himself in the earth, so that the breadfruit tree sprouted from him, thus saving his village from famine. Villagers were exhorted to plant the shoots or suckers that sprang up around the tree, so that they would never go hungry.

  Early Hawaiians used the latex from the tree to catch birds. The birds got their feet stuck in the latex and the islanders plucked their feathers for ceremonial cloaks, and then cleaned the sticky latex from the birds’ feet using oil from the candlenut (Aleurites moluccana) or sugar cane juice and then set them free.

  The latex is now diluted and used as a remedy for diarrhoea. It is also used to treat skin infections, and may be bandaged onto the spine to relieve sciatica.

  The leaves are used for animal feed and as a tisane or decoction to lower blood pressure and help with asthma, while the leaf juice is used as ear-drops for earache. The powdered, roasted leaves are used as a remedy for an enlarged spleen, and the ashes of burned leaves are put on skin infections. Toasted flowers (which begin creamy yellow and then turn brown), are rubbed on gums around a sore tooth for pain relief. The leaves and latex have anti-fungal properties.

  The tree is used on some islands in the construction of houses, for boats and the wood is light, so prized for surfboards. The inner bark of the tree is used to make rope and cloth, and the latex is used for glue and to caulk boats. The trees are fast-growing and begin to produce breadfruit when they are between 3 and five years old. They can then go on to produce fruit for decades. They can grow up to 26 metres high- that’s approximately 85 feet tall, and the large leaves can be 30 centimetres long, and split like a Swiss Cheese plant. The fruit itself is interesting as it is a syncarp, meaning that it is composed of multiple fruit from many flowers, which have stuck together to form a single fruit. The rind may be yellow-green, yellow, green or even lavender, and I believe there is also a pink one. Synonyms for this tree include Artocarpus communis and Artocarpus incisus.                                                                              

  The breadfruit is exported to North America and Europe in small amounts due to the emigration of ethnic peoples, and in some quarters it is considered a gourmet food. It is canned for export as well as being sent fresh in limited quantities.

  There is some history behind the introduction of the breadfruit trees into the Caribbean. They were first noted by Captain James Cook, in the 18^th century and when he returned to London, the Admiralty sent Captain Bligh to Tahiti to get some saplings and transport them to the Caribbean, His first attempt to do this in 1787 failed due to the mutiny on his ship the Bounty as his crew had succumbed to the allure of Tahiti and its women. His second attempt was more successful in 1782, and some of the suckers from the original trees are still in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Botanic Gardens in Kingston, St. Vincent.

  The breadfruit is a largely overlooked fruit which could use a makeover (like the soursop) if it is to feed more people.

FIRECRACKER, FOUNTAIN PLANT, CORAL BUSH: HEALTH BENEFITS OF FIRECRACKER

FIRECRACKER, FOUNTAIN PLANT, CORAL PLANT, RUSSELIA EQUISETIFORMIS

This plant is native to Mexico, although it has naturalized in Florida, Hawaii and the Caribbean, as well as other countries with hot climates. It was formerly classed as one of the figwort or Scrophulariaceae family, although it has recently been moved to the Plantaginaceae family. This makes it a relative of the white turtlehead (Chelone glabra), speedwell (Veronica officinalis), the plantains, French psyllium, foxgloves, brahmi or water hyssop (Bacopa monnieri), snapdragons, and brooklime or the water pimpernel.

  This shrub grows to heights of five feet and has a similar spread. It flowers from early spring to autumn, when it starts to get frosty. It has tubular red or coral flowers which attract hummingbirds and butterflies and it looks rather like a spectacular floral fountain, cascading when in bloom. This is why it has the name Fountain plant or bush.                      

  In south west Nigeria the plant is used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes and leukaemia and in traditional medicine it is also said to promote hair growth. It is also used to treat malaria and inflammatory diseases.

  Recently it has been the subject of a few research studies, which have generally borne out the traditional uses of the plant. However these have not been replicated outside Nigeria.

  O. T. Kolawole and S. O. Kolawole published a research paper in 2010 which concludes “chronic use of Russelia equisetiformis could “impair normal liver function and therefore should be used with care.” (Biology and Medicine Vol2 (3) pp38-41) So this plant comes with a health warning.

  O. T. Kolawole et al also published another paper in the Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences 2007 Vol22 (1-2) pp. 50-63, “Central nervous system depressant activity of Russelia equisetiformis” In which they state the “methanol extract possesses central nervous system depressant activities” and further research has shown that the extracts of the whole plant has anti-nociceptive effects.

  The latest research “Anti-inflammatory activity of Russelia equisetiformis Schlect and Cham: identification of its active constituents” published in the Journal of Intercultural Ethnopharmacology, 2012 Vol. 1 (1) pp.25-29, by Awe Emmanuel Olorunju et al. states “lupeol isolated from extract of Russelia equisetiformis possesses anti-inflammatory activity in acute and certain aspects of chronic inflammation.”

  From these studies, it would appear that this beautiful plant could be hiding some medicinal properties that we can all benefit from.

WHITE TURTLE HEAD: NATIVE AMERICANS KNEW THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF WHITE TURTLEHEAD

WHITE TURTLE HEAD, CHELONE GLABRA 

The white turtlehead is native to the eastern parts of North America. It lives in watery places such as bogs, on the edges of streams and rivers and in moist woodland. It gets the name turtlehead because the flowers (which resemble snapdragons a little) are rather fancifully believed to look like a tortoise or turtle’s head.

  Chelone (the genus name) was one of the nymphs in Greek mythology who dared to cast aspersions on the marriage of Zeus and Hera. For her impertinence she was turned into a tortoise so condemning her to eternal silence. Her name means tortoise in ancient Greek.                           

  The Chelone genus comprises only four species and a few subspecies, and this one is known by different botanical synonyms which include: Chelone montana and Chelone obliqua alba. It also has different English names, including balmony, snakehead, Turtlebloom, shellflower and others.

  The white turtlehead’s flowers may be white, or tinged with pink or pale yellow, and these are in bloom between July and October. They can grow to heights of two to three feet, with a similar spread.  If they are harvested, it is best to do this when they are blooming and dry them for later use, or use fresh.

  These turtleheads were formerly in the figwort or Scrophulariaceae family but have recently been moved to the Plantaginaceae family, making them relatives of Speedwell (Veronica officinalis), the snapdragon, French psyllium (Plantago arenaria)  and the plantains (Plantago minor and P. ovata) foxgloves, brahmi or water hyssop (Bacopa monnieri), brooklime or water pimpernel, and many others.

  Native Americans used these turtleheads in their traditional medicine systems, using the plant as a mild laxative, like senna rather than the drastic purgative, jamalgota. It is considered a bitter herb, like white horehound, and faintly tastes like tea. A decoction of the whole herb (2 ounces of fresh herb to 1 pint of water, with the herb and water mixture being boiled down to half the quantity of liquid) and used as a drink for consumption, gall bladder problems, including gallstones, liver complaints including jaundice, for nausea and vomiting and colic. It was considered an anti-depressant and said to stimulate the appetite, which might make it a good herb to treat anorexia nervosa.                                                              

  The plant was used externally in ointment to apply to piles, inflamed breasts, tumours, ulcers and other skin inflammations.

  The Baltimore Checker spot butterfly uses this plant to lay its eggs on, so it is an important conservation plant.

  Despite it being used traditionally for centuries very little research has been done into verifying or contradicting its value in medicine as yet.

THE GREEK STRAWBERRY TREE: INFORMATION AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF GREEK STRAWBERRY TREE

GREEK STRAWBERRY TREE, ARBUTUS UNEDO

The Greek strawberry tree is very similar to the strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, and naturally crosses with it in the Mediterranean and Middle East where these trees are native. In Greek it is called Αγριοκουμαριά (field koumaria), Elafokoumaria' (wild koumaria) or 'Andraklos. It is a member of the Ericaceae family so is a relation of bilberries, blueberries and cranberries. It has similar properties to the strawberry tree.

  The bark of this evergreen tree peels off annually and can be used as a decoction for sore throats as a gargle and the infusion can be used as a tisane for the same ailment. An infusion of the leaves may be used for a cold, and the berries themselves are said to aid digestion and improve the appetite.

  This tree was described by Thomas Wright in his book, Early Travels in Palestine, published in 1845. He has this description of what is believed to be the Greek strawberry tree.                          

  “There was on the road a small tree bearing a fruit somewhat bigger than our cherries, and of the shape and taste of strawberries, but a little acid. It is pleasant to eat, but if a great quantity be eaten, it mounts to the head, and intoxication. It is ripe in November and December.”

  It was first reported as having flowered in England by Peter Collinson (1694-1768), an English botanist who must have seen it at Dr John Fothergill’s (1712-1780) botanical gardens and greenhouses at Upton House, in Essex, England.

  The fruit of the tree may be used in pies and baking, and can also be eaten raw. Different parts of the tree have been used to treat arthritis, eczema, rheumatism and lumbago.

  The fruit contains vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, has antioxidant properties and is said to be a good source of phenolics. The fruit also contains malic acid, fructose, glucose and sucrose, the natural sugars.

  Very little research has been carried out into the possible health benefits of this tree.

EUROPEAN WILD CHERRY: SUPERSTITIONS, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF WILD CHERRY TREES

EUROPEAN WILD CHERRY, PRUNUS AVIUM  

The European wild cherry tree is the ancestor of all the cultivated cherry trees. It is different in many ways to its American cousin, Prunus serotina, as it is smaller, the flowers are completely different and the fruit is ripe when red (and sweet). It is a member of the Rosaceae or rose family making it a relative of apricots, peaches, plums, loquats, strawberries, raspberries, apples, pears, quinces, crab apples, almonds, silverweed, cinquefoil, Alpine Lady’s Mantle, avens, water avens and a whole host of other plants.

  The wild cherries have been eaten for millennia and some cherry stones have been carbon-dated to 2077BC, so our ancestors were familiar with the fruit. The tree bears flowers in early April, before the leaves have formed, and this makes it a spectacular sight. The fruit is ripe in mid-summer, in June and July and the birds love to eat it. The hawksbill is especially good at breaking open the cherry stone to get at the edible almondy kernel.

  The fruit can be either sweet or sour, but never acidic and is used for making jellies, jam, preserves and wine.

  A sticky resin exudes from the tree when the bark is cut and this sweet gum can be chewed like chewing gum. In traditional medicine it is given for persistent coughs, and is also believed to improve eyesight and give you a healthy flawless complexion.

  Perhaps surprisingly it is the fruit stalks and bark (as well as the resin) that are used in medicine. The stalks are astringent, diuretic and used as a tonic. They have been used to treat diarrhoea, cystitis and other bladder infections, oedema, bronchial problems and anaemia. The bark only contains a small percentage (16 per cent approximately) of tannin, so is used in medicine in combination with the fruit stalks.

  All cherry trees contain prunasin and amygdalen which convert to hydrocyanic acid (cyanide or prussic acid) in water. However in small doses this can stimulate the respiratory system, improve digestion and give an enhanced feeling of well-being. However in large doses it can prove fatal so is best left alone.

  The fruit gives a grey-green dye, while the leaves produce a green one. The cherry tree wood is a rich red-brown which polishes well and is valued for furniture, musical instruments, carving and turnery.

  In Britain there are two superstitions surrounding cherries, and the general one is that if you want to know when you will marry you count the stones on the plate in this way:-“This year, next year, sometime, never” and whatever you say when you get to the last stone tells you your fate.                           

  Another superstition only in Kent, is that if you visit a cherry orchard and do not rub your shoes with cherry leaves, you will die of suffocation from a cherry stone.

  There is a superstition in Switzerland which says that if the first fruit a cherry tree produces is eaten by a woman who has just had her first child, it will produce fruit in abundance throughout its life.

  In the Ardennes region in France, children used to carry lighted torches into fruit orchards on the first Sunday of Lent and chant:-

     “Bear apples, bear pears,

       And cherries all black

       To Scouvion!”

This is known in Britain as wassailing the fruit, but there it was only done with apple trees.

  Nicholas Culpeper, the English herbalist, writing his Herball in the 17^th century, had this to say of cherry trees: -

“Government and virtues. It is a tree of Venus. Cherries, as they are of different tastes, so they are of different qualities. The sweet pass through the stomach and the belly more speedily, but are of little nourishment; the tart or sour are more pleasing to an hot stomach, procure appetite to meat, and help to cut tough phlegm and gross humours; but when these are dried, they are more binding to the belly than when they are fresh, being cooling in hot diseases, and welcome to the stomach, and provoke urine. The gum of the cherry-tree, dissolved in wine, is good for a cold, cough, and hoarseness of the throat; mendeth the colour in the face, sharpeneth the eyesight, provoketh appetite, and helpeth to break and expel the stone; the black cherries bruised with the stones, and dissolved, the water thereof is much used to break the stone, and to expel gravel and wind.”