Curry Leaves

The scientific name for Curry Leaves is Murraya Koenigii.

Medicinal Uses

Curry leaves can help with constipation and diarrhea. People use it to cure problems such as piles, to allay heat of the body and it is useful in leucoderma and blood disorders.

Curry leaves can cure nausea, treat skin infections and strenghten the function of the stomach and promote its actions. The leaves may be taken mixed with other mild tasting herbs. Curry leaves can help prevent hereditary diabetes. It also cures diabetes due to obesity.

Curry leaves can help prevent greying of hair, can be used to treat burns. bruises and skin eruptions. They should be applied as a poultice oner the affected areas. Fresh juice of curry leaves suffused in the eyes makes them look bright. It also prevents the early development of cataract.

Cosmetic Uses

Curry leaves can be a hair colourant with little damage and maximum benefit to weak hair. A mixture of tumeric and curry leaves as a face wash can reduce black spots.

Culinary/Aromatic Uses

In cooking, it is best to use fresh curry leaves, fried in hot oil and ghee for the aroma. People can use curry leaves as a seasoning.

Chemical Components

2.6% oil, beta-caryophyllene, beta-gurjenene, beta-elemene, beta-phellandrene, beta-thujene, alpha-selinene, beta-bisabolene, beta-transocimene, beta-cadinene.

Background History

The use of curry leaves as a flavouring for vegetables is described in early Tamil literature dating back to the 1st to 4th Centuries AD. Its use is also mentioned a few centuries later in Kannada literature. Curry leaves are still closely associated with South India where the word 'curry' originates from the Tamil 'kari' for spiced sauces. An alternative name for curry leaf throughout India is kari-pattha. Today curry leaves are cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and in Africa as a food flavouring.

Credits

Wikipedia.org

http://www.asiafood.org/glossary_2.cfm?wordid=3260

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-16-2004-57909.asp

http://www.patheticcosmetic.co.uk/

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/herbs-health/curry-leaves-healing-properties.php

http://www.nandyala.org/

schools.moe.edu.sg

Pandan Leaves

The scientific name for Pandan Leaves is Pandanus Amaryllifolius.

Medicinal Uses
Pandan has a cooling effect, which helps to maintain the heart and liver in good condition and also help relieve fever and soothe sore throats. It is also good for the treatment of internal inflammations, urinary infections, colds, coughs, measles, bleeding gums and skin diseases.

In folklore, a decoction of the tips of fresh or dried prop roots is used as a diuretic. Poultices of fresh leaves mixed with oil are used for headaches, while pulverized dried leaves are used to facilitate wound healing and its oil is considered a stimulant, antispasmodic and antiseptic.

The pandan leaves contain essential oils, alkaloids, glycosides and tannin.

Cosmetic Uses
Pandan is used in tea, which can help in nourishing the body. Pandan has also been used in soap, which gives out a fragrant scent.

Aromatic Uses
Pandan is said to be a restorative, deodorant, indolent and phylactic, promoting a feeling of wellbeing and acting as a counter to tropical lassitude. It may be chewed as a breath sweetener or used as a preservative on foods.

Cockroaches tends to dislike the smell of pandan leaves. In Asia, a car infested with cockroaches can generally be rid of the cockroaches by leaving a handful of fresh pandan leaves overnight in the vehicle.

Mid-eastern Indians use the flower of this plant in making perfume, while in Thailand, the leaves are often used as flavourful wrappers for morsels of food, as the leaves will leave their aroma in the food – though the leaves themselves are too tough for eating.

Culinary Uses
In cooking, the leaf is used in Pandan cake, which is similar to the American sponge cake. The Pandan leaf has also been used in rice and making different type of curries. Pandan leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking to add a distinct aroma to rice and curry dishes such as nasi lemak, kaya preserves, and desserts such as pandan cake. For festive holidays and ceremonies, Pandan is used with the essences of rose to flavour spicy rice dishes such as biryani.

Pandan leaf is used in flavouring sweet desserts and ricedishes in Southeast Asian cuisines. The leaf is wilted before use—dried,it does not retain its flavour and fresh leaves do not have sufficientconcentrations of flavours. Wilting concentrates the flavouring componentsso that it can be imparted to the food.
Chemical Components
The best candidate is 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which was found in pandanus leaves at levels of about 1ppm and which also occurs in aromatic rice cultivars; another possibility is ethyl formiate, which is also common to both rice and pandanus leaves.

Background History
In ancient times, the leaves were used for making house thatching and women’s grass skirts. Strips of the leaves are used in making woven baskets, which are used to serve rice or other food items.

Pandanus trees provide materials for housing, clothing and textiles, food, medication, decorations, fishing, religious uses and the manufacture of carrying bags. Most important are the mats, which are handwoven from the dried leaves.

Credits
http://sc.essortment.com/pandanleaf_pga.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus
http://rehsonline.com/REHS_Newsletter/3_herb_of_the_month/
http://www.gazlannathai.com/HomAroi/Traditional_medicine.htm
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/pandan.html
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Pand_ama.html
http://www.stuartxchange.org/Pandan.html

www.kurma.net

www.healthychineserecipes.com

Holy Basil

The scientific name for Holy Basil is Ocimum Tenuifolium.

Medicinal Uses

The essential oil extracted from Holy Basil is mostly used for medicinal purposes and in herbal toiletry.

The medicinal uses of holy basil are mostly for common colds, headaches, stomach disorders, inflammation, heart disease, various forms of poisoning, and malaria. It is also used to treat many skin conditions as well as coughs, bronchitis and diabetes. Another usage is to kill germs such as bacteria.

Studies have also shown holy basil are effective for diabetes by reducing blood glucose levels. The same study also shows significant reduction in total cholesterol levels with holy basil.

The reason why holy basil’s beneficial effect on blood glucose levels is due to its antioxidant properties.

Cosmetic Uses
Ursolic acid is one of the constituents of holy basil, which has anti ageing properties. The treatment improves the health of skin and hair.

Aromatic Uses
For centuries, the dried leaves of holy basil have been mixed with stored grains to repel insects.

Culinary Uses
Holy basil is can be taken as a drink with lemon juice or cardamom.
Occasionally in Europe and Thailand, the leaves are used to flavour savoury dishes and as a condiment in salads.

Chemical Components
Recent studies suggest that holy basil may be a COX-2 inhibitor, like many modern painkillers, due to its significant amount of eugenol which has an antiseptic nature. (1-hydroxy-2-methoxy-4-allylbenzene).
Rosmarinic acid found in holy basil has an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity.
Ursolic acid is a compound that can also provide some protection to enzymes in the liver that deal with the breakdown of fat in our diet.

Background History
Many Hindus — along with the ancient tradition of Ayurveda — believe that the healing properties of sacred herbs such as holy basil were given by the Lord himself, and can be used as a medicine out of reverence. This could be the main reason why Hindus use holy basil.
Marked by its strong aroma and astringent taste, it is regarded as a kind of "elixir of life" and believed to promote longevity.
The Ayurvedic literature indicates that it is very effective in the treatment of snake bites.

Credits
http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/holy_basil_landing.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_basil

http://www.naturalcosmeticsupplies.com/holy-basil-extracts.html

www.goorganic.com.sg

oldvegiepatch1972.googlepages.com