Malaysian Herbs------Snake Plant-(64) (Sansevieria trifasciata)-மருள் செடி

google.com, pub-7876390333399498, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com
  மருள் செடி

மருள்- காது பிரச்சனைகளுக்கு உகந்தது. பயங்கரமாக ஜலம் வந்தால் இதனை சிறிது அனலில் காட்டி பிழிந்து இதன் சாறை ஊற்றலாம்.

Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)

Sansevieria trifasciata, also snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue, is a species of Sansevieria, native to tropical West Africa from Nigeria east to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Snake Plant has green banded leaves, while the Mother-in-Law's Tongue features a yellow border. These plants are among the toughest of all houseplants—they can withstand virtually any conditions, from dark to bright. The only way to surely kill them is to over water or never water at all.

It is commonly called the snake plant (not to be confused with the very similarly named "Snakeplant", Nassauvia serpens), because of the shape of its leaves, or mother-in-law's tongue because of their sharpness. In China, it is known as hǔwěilán (虎尾兰, Tiger's Tail Orchid). In Japan, it is called 'Tiger's Tail,(とらのお）'. In Brazil, it is commonly known as espada-de-são-jorge (sword-of-saint-george). In Turkey it is known as Paşa Kılıcı (The Pasha Sword) due to its blade-like shape, it is commonly associated with Ogun, the Orisha of war (usually associated with Saint George), and is used in rituals to remove the evil eye. A yellow-tipped variant is known as espada-de-santa-barbara (sword-of-saint-barbara), and is associated with Iansan/Oya, the female orisha of storms (usually associated with the sword-bearing image of Saint Barbara). In Africa, the plant is used as a protective charm against evil or bewitchment. In Tamil it is called Marul.

Cultivation and uses

In the Bahamas, this plant is called “Mother-In-Law’s Tongue” because once it gets started, you can’t get rid if it! The color pattern on this stemless plant resembles the skin of a snake. Following the “Doctrine of Signatures” this also indicates one of its uses in bush medicine: For snakebite! Rashes and skin sores can be helped by bathing them with water in which the leaves have been boiled. Some people place leaf juice in water for chickens, which helps prevent diseases.

Cultivation and uses

A variegated cultivar of Sansevieria trifasciata

Like some other members of its genus, S. trifasciata yields bowstring hemp, a strong plant fiber once used to make bowstrings.

It is now used predominantly as an ornamental plant, outdoors in warmer climates, and indoors as a houseplant in cooler climates. It is popular as a houseplant as it is tolerant of low light levels and irregular watering; during winter it needs only one watering every couple of months. It will rot easily if overwatered.^[2] A study by NASA found that it is one of the best plants for improving indoor air quality by passively absorbing toxins such as nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde.^[3]

Numerous cultivars have been selected, many of them for variegated foliage with yellow or silvery-white stripes on the leaf margins. Popular cultivars include 'Compacta', 'Goldiana', 'Hahnii', 'Laurentii', 'Silbersee', and 'Silver Hahnii'. 'Hahnii' was discovered in 1939 by William W. Smith, Jr. in the Crescent Nursery Company, New Orleans, Louisiana. The 1941 patent was assigned to Sylvan Frank Hahn, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[4]

It can be propagated by cuttings or by dividing the rhizome. The first method has the disadvantage that the variegation is likely to be lost.

S. trifasciata is considered by some authorities as a potential weed in Australia, although widely used as an ornamental, in both the tropics outdoors in both pots and garden beds and as an indoor plant in temperate areas

Propagation:

Sansevieria can be divided easily during repotting. Alternatively, new shoots, which emerge from the soil as spikes, can be taken and potted independently. They are rapid growers once established. Cuttings can also be taken, but it's much easier to rely on division.

physicianpackiam

http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com

                      (64)

Malaysian Herbs-Ficus racemosa-(63) Atthi அத்தி மரம்

google.com, pub-7876390333399498, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

  http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com    அத்தி மரம்

Roxburgh fig (Ficus auriculata)

அத்திப்பழம் மற்றும் அதிலிருந்து கிடைக்கும் பல பொருட்கள் மருந்தாக பயன்படுகிறது. அத்திப் பழங்களில் 80.8 சதம் நீர், 17 சதம் மாவு பொருட்கள், 13 சதம் புரதம், 0.2 சதம் கொழுப்பு 0.6 சதம் இரும்பு சத்து, 600 மி. கி. புரோட்டீன் போன்ற சத்துக்கள் அடங்கியுள்ளன. அத்திப்பழங்களின் அமைப்பு, உருவம், தோலின் நிறம் மற்றும் சதைப்பற்று போன்றவை சீதோஷ்ண நிலைக்கு ஏற்ப மாறுபடுகின்றன. பழங்கள் முதிர்ச்சியடையும் தருணத்தில் வறட்சியான கால நிலை இருந்தல் நல்லது.

      அத்தி மரத்தில் பூக்கும் பூவானது மனிதர்களின் பார்வைக்கு தென்படுவதற்கு முன்பாகவே அதில் மகரந்த சேர்க்கை ஏற்பட்டு காய் உருவாகி விடுகிறது. எனவே, அத்திமரத்திற்கு பூ கிடையாது என்ற எண்ணம் தோன்றியது. அதனால், ”அத்தி பூத்தார் போல் ”என்ற பழமொழியும் தோன்றியது.

Atthi Maram
Elephant Ear Fig tree" Also called "Gaint Indian Fig"

The genus name Ficus comes from the ancient Latin name for figs and their edible fruit and the specific epithet comes from the Latin word 'auricular', a diminutive of 'auris' meaning "the ear" in reference to the large rounded lobes of the leaves that resemble an ear.
  

Ficus auriculata (Roxburgh Fig) - An evergreen to semi-deciduous, spreading, large shrub or small tree reaching 25 feet tall and as wide with large oval-shaped leaves as large as 15 inches in diameter. The new growth is a deep coppery red color that matures to light green. Large rounded figs 3 inches wide by 1-inch tall form in clusters on the trunk and larger branches (cauliflorous) and remain on the plant for extended periods. It performs best in full sun in a wind-protected area. Water deeply and infrequently. It is hardy to about 25 degrees 


 This tree usually grows in windbreaks of the forest, in forest clearings, or at the edge of rainforests: simply the places where birds frequently roost and leave their droppings behind. 

Ficus auriculata is one the Exotic trees for outdoor ornamental, It bears a lot of fruit and looks exotic. But the fruit taste is not as good  as others common figs in general. The Female Ficus Auriculata could produce edible fruit without pollination figs wasp .,).

The Roxburgh fig tree (Ficus auriculata Lour.) is a perennial evergreen shrub or small tree (up to 12 m high). Leaves are ovate, very large (30-40 cm). They start being red then turn to green. Fruits are pear-shaped and reddish-brown, hanging on peduncles 2.5 cm or longer. Fruits appear on thin branches emerging from the trunk or from the roots. The fruits are edible and are used to make jams, juices, and curries in India. Unripe fruits are also used in Vietnam in salads. Leaves are used as fodder for ruminants 
Native to Asia, it is cultivated from Himalayas to southern China and Hainan, as well as in India, Peninsular Malaysia and Brazil. It thrives on rich organic moist soils and it is sensitive to drying winds .

physicianpackiam
http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com                      (63)

Malaysian Herbs--Oenothera biennis (62)- Evening Prim Rose-மாலை பிரிம் ரோஸ்

google.com, pub-7876390333399498, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

  மாலை பிரிம் ரோஸ்
http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com
 மூத்த பெண்மணிகளுக்கு இது
நன்மை பயக்கவல்லது.

English Common Names
(Yellow) evening primrose. Archaic names: tree primrose, scurvish, scabbish (scabish), king's cureall, nightwillow herb, sundrops, tree primrose, fever plant.

The name evening-primrose is optionally hyphenated. Evening primrose isn't a "primrose," a name best applied to the genus Primula. The "evening" in the name relates to the fact that the flowers of many of the 125 species of Oenothera open in the evening and release a scent that attracts moths for pollination.

French Common Names

Onagre bisannuelle (commune).

The seed pod of this species is very distinctive.  It has four papery "wings" on it that allow the pod to be blown about by the wind, helping to scatter the seeds. 


 This is the seed pod of Missouri Evening Primrose.

Missouri evening primrose is a sprawling, Missouri native plant that occurs on limestone glades and bluffs and rocky prairies in the Ozark region south of the Missouri River. Typically grows 6-12" tall and features very large (3-5" across), solitary, 4-petaled, mildly fragrant, bright yellow flowers which open for only one day (usually open late afternoon and remain open until the following morning). Flowers arise from leaf axils and are generally upward-facing, but sometimes rest on or touch the ground. Long spring to summer bloom period. Flowers are followed by somewhat unique, winged seed pods (2-3" long). Narrow, lance-shaped leaves. This species was formerly called (and is still often listed for sale as) Oenothera missouriensis.

Morphology

Oenothera biennis is a biennial (as the name suggests) or short-lived perennial herb producing strong fleshy roots and a basal rosette of lanceolate leaves in the first year. In the second year, the stem grows to 1-2 m tall and develops a spicate inflorescence of 4-parted, yellow, tubular flowers.
The fruit is a capsule containing many seeds which mature in the fall. The seeds are very small (ca. 0.5 g/1000), but a single plant can easily produce 150,000. The pollen of many, if not all species of Oenothera, is unusual in having protruding apertures and viscin threads.

Classification and Geography

Evening primrose, a native of North America, is found in all provinces of Canada but is more frequent in the east than the west. The species extends south to Florida and Mexico.
Many texts recognize var. canescens T. & G., with dense grayish pubescence, as the predominant plant of western North America, while the eastern plants are referred to as var.biennis. The classification of the transcontinental O. biennis and related species of both North America and Eurasia is, however, very complex. Cytogenetic races of evening primrose are sometimes segregated as distinct species, although these are usually difficult to distinguish morphologically.
Oenothera biennis is a complete translocation complex-heterozygote, with two sets (the"complexes") of seven chromosomes maintained by a system of balanced lethal genes. This type of inheritance is known in a few other genera but was first described in O.biennis, and is the classical example of the phenomenon discussed in evolution and genetics courses. At meiosis, translocations Note[note 1] link the chromosomes into a ring of 14, but zig-zag (alternate) separation of the chromosomes generates the original parental sets.
Lethal factors kill the pollen carrying one of the sets (so that there is 50% pollen fertility), and ovule lethal factors limit survival to the set of chromosomes complementary to that in the pollen. Self-pollination generates offspring with the two chromosome complements found originally in the maternal plant. The permanent hybrid vigor resulting from the combination of two quite different genomes is thought to explain the success of evening primrose as a colonizing species.
While it is clear that O. biennis is the chief Oenothera species that has been grown as a medicinal oilseed, related species have also been cultivated, often unknowingly. Other species from which cultivars have been derived include O. glazioviana Micheli ("O.lamarckiana" of many authors) and O. parviflora Micheli.

Situation Map

Expand:Description - Distribution Map

Ecology

Evening primrose is a frequent weed of roadsides, waste places, and abandoned land, often found in light sandy and gravelly soils. It commonly occurs in association with early successional, biennial and perennial weeds.

Medicinal Uses

Evening primrose extracts were used medicinally by both Indians and early settlers. In Europe during the early 1600s, it was called "King's Cure-all." An infusion of the whole plant was thought to counter asthmatic cough, gastrointestinal disorders, and whooping cough, and to reduce pain. Poultices were used to treat bruises and wounds
Evening primrose has attracted great interest for its seed oil, used medicinally as a nutritional supplement. The health value of the seed oil resides in an unusual polyunsaturated fatty acid, g-linolenic acid (gamma-linolenic acid), or simply GLA. The seeds contain 17-25% oil, of which only 7-10% is GLA, although climate and maturity affect oil content and qualitative composition, as well as overall yield.
GLA is one of the so-called essential fatty acids needed by humans for the maintenance of cell functions. It is a precursor in the biosynthesis of prostaglandins, especially prostaglandin E1, a hormone-like substance that has been clinically shown to regulate metabolic functions in mammals; it affects cholesterol levels, dilates blood vessels, reduces inflammation, and has additional effects.
GLA is thought to be important for the development of brain tissue and other tissue growth, and nature seems to provide for human infants with high levels of GLA in human milk. GLA is a normal conversion product of linoleic acid, a major constituent of most vegetable oils, so it would appear that humans should not experience a shortage.
Nevertheless, some people, perhaps 10-20% of the population, evidently do not have adequate levels, even when receiving large amounts of linoleic acid. The deficiency seems due to the lack of an enzyme that metabolizes GLA from linoleic acid so that there is a deficiency of GLA in the blood.
Useful for treating atopic eczema, GLA has therapeutic promise for premenstrual syndrome, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, alcoholism, inflammation, heart disease, and stroke. Rubbing GLA into the skin is thought to be an alternative route of assimilation, so cosmetic preparations sometimes incorporate GLA.
Pharmaceutical and food companies are developing GLA-containing supplements and specialty foods for infants, the elderly, and people with health problems.

Toxicity

Side effects of consumption of GLA-fortified foods and supplements have been documented, so use should be guided by doctors and pharmacists.

Chemistry

Gamma-linolenic acid, the constituent of chief medicinal interest, is discussed above.

Non-medicinal Uses

There are ornamental forms of Oenothera biennis with attractive habits and flowers. There are also forms with fleshy edible roots, used as a vegetable, which were more commonly grown in the nineteenth century than today. Evening primrose leaves, shoots, roots, and seed pods were consumed by American Indians as food.

Agricultural and Commercial Aspects

The most significant current economic value of the species lies in its use as a diversification crop. Although GLA has been obtained by fermentation of some yeasts and other fungi, and from currants (Ribes species), the chief commercial sources are evening primrose and borage (Borago officinalis L.).
Companies have engaged in a boastful debate about the comparative efficacy of GLA in their preparations made from evening primrose on the one hand, and from borage on the other. Whether borage or evening primrose is more competitive for GLA production depends on climatic and edaphic factors at a particular location.
In Canada, both species are grown. Borage has a higher GLA content, but non-shattering cultivars are not grown in Canada, so harvest is difficult. Borage is much more suitable for the Canadian prairies, where available cultivars of evening primrose do not overwinter reliably.
However, it isn't essential to grow evening primrose as a biennial: in Eastern Canada, it is often started in greenhouses in mid-winter and transplanted to the field where it is grown as an annual.

As a cultivated plant, evening primrose is tolerant of a variety of soil types and a range of pH, but soils that are prone to crusting after rains and waterlogged soils should be avoided. If planted at too high a density (150 plants m2) the plants may not bolt.
Evening primrose crops are raised in temperate areas of northern and eastern Europe, North America, and Australasia. US production is centered in North and South Carolina, Texas, and Oregon.
Canadian production is centered in Nova Scotia and Ontario. Experimental production in Manitoba has been disappointing. Annual world production of seed has increased at least 20-fold in the last 20 years and is currently about 4,000 tonnes.
Combined US and Canadian annual production is less than 200 tonnes. In good market years, several hundred ha of evening primrose may be grown in Canada.

Oenothera biennis
(evening primrose)

Wild evening primrose plants shed their seeds when a pod matures, and since the pods don't mature simultaneously, the harvest of seeds is difficult. Nevertheless, seed is gathered from wild plants in northeast China.
Most modern evening primrose cultivars have non-shedding pods, which has simplified harvest and reduced seed loss. Crop yields of over 2 tonnes/ha have been recorded in Nova Scotia, although much lower yields are frequent. In Ontario, depending on the rather volatile market and variable production, a hectare may result in a gross financial return of $1,000-2,000.
The future of evening primrose as a pharmacological crop in Canada is uncertain because of competition from other countries and the unreliability of the present market. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is attracting considerable interest as a new crop in Canada, to be grown not only for fiber but also for its high-GLA seed oil.
Still, another potential source of competition is the possibility that genetic engineers will splice the capacity to produce GLA into crops such as canola (Brassica species). Certainly, the demand for GLA will continue to grow, and at least from time to time it may be anticipated that evening primrose crops will be grown in Canada on a contracted basis. With respect to climate and native germplasm, Canada is in a good position to develop its share of the evening primrose market.

Myths, Legends, Tales, Folklore, and Interesting Facts

Some evening primrose seeds have been shown to live to 80 years in the soil.

• Hugo de Vries (1848-1935) was a world-famous student of evolution who, at the beginning of the 20th century, theorized that new species arise by spontaneous changes in individuals called mutations (Charles Darwin had earlier learned that such changes (called "sports" at the time) occur, but did not appreciate their importance for the mechanism of evolution). Unfortunately for de Vries, he chose evening primrose to demonstrate his theory. Later, scientists learned that the odd genetic system of evening primrose was responsible for the generation of altered individuals that de Vries was labeling as mutations and that this system did not occur in many other plants. As a result, his theory was discredited, although de Vries did contribute substantially to evolutionary theory.
• 
  
• Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage  An ointment made by boiling the twigs, leaves, and bark, in lard or tallow – or a strong decoction of these – has been found very efficient in curing tetter, milk-scall, and other cutaneous affections of infants. Collect the material when the plant is in flower. In fomentation, or when recent, the bruised leaves form an excellent application to ulcers. Internally, Oenothera has been used for a number of purposes, and its specific field of action seems not too well established. It has, however, been accorded a place in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders of a functional character. Dr. Scudder points out the indications for it, a sallow, dirty skin, with full and expressionless tissues, an expressionless face, an unnatural and large tongue, having the sallow, dirty hue of the skin, and the patient’s mentality is of a gloomy an despondent character. Under these conditions, he has employed it with success in dyspepsia, hepatic torpor, splenic an di mesenteric glandular enlargements, and in female disorders, with torpor and pelvic fullness.
• physicianpackiam

• http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.co                            (62)

Malaysian Herbs----Cinnamonum Zeylanicum(61)-கருவாபட்டை

google.com, pub-7876390333399498, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com
Cinnamon - 


Beautiful ornamental tree with golden red bark that is dried and is the cinnamon spice. New foliage is deep red, and small white flowers are followed by dark-purple fruit.

Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. There are many different species, between 50 and 250, depending on which botanist you choose to believe. The two main varieties are Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum zeylanicum. The first, cassia, we will consider separately in its own section. C. zeylanicum is also known as Ceylon cinnamon (the source of its Latin name, zeylanicum), or ‘true cinnamon’ which is a lighter colour and possesses a sweeter, more delicate flavor than cassia. A native of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) the best cinnamon grows along the coastal strip near Colombo.

In ancient Egypt cinnamon was used medicinally and as a flavoring for beverages, It was also used in embalming, where body cavities were filled with spiced preservatives. In the ancient world, cinnamon was more precious than gold. This is not too surprising though, as in Egypt the abundance of gold made it a fairly common ornamental metal. Nero, emperor of Rome in the first century AD, burned a years supply of cinnamon on his wife’s funeral pyre — an extravagant gesture meant to signify the depth of his loss.

It was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a God: a fine inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus. Though its source was kept mysterious in the Mediterranean world for centuries by the middlemen who handled the spice trade, to protect their monopoly as suppliers, cinnamon is native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malabar Coast of India and Burma.


Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC, but those who report that it had come from China confuse it with cassia.

Medicinal research

A 2003 study shows the benefits of cinnamon in the diet of type 2 diabetics: "Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes".
The compound eugenol, a major component of the essential oil from the leaves of the cinnamon tree, has antiviral properties in vitro, specifically against both the HSV-1 and HSV-2 (Oral and Genital Herpes) viruses according to a 2000 study.

A study conducted in 2007 suggests that specific plant terpenoids contained within cinnamon have potent antiviral properties.

Pharmacological experiments suggest that the cinnamon-derived dietary factor cinnamic aldehyde (cinnamaldehyde) activates the Nrf2-dependent antioxidant response in human epithelial colon cells and may therefore represent an experimental chemopreventive dietary factor targeting colorectal carcinogenesis. Recent research documents the anti-melanoma activity of cinnamic aldehyde observed in cell culture and a mouse model of human melanoma.

Cinnamon bark, a component of the traditional Japanese medicine Mao-to, has been shown in a 2008 study published in the Journal of General Virology to have an antiviral therapeutic effect.

A 2011 study isolated a substance (CEppt) in the cinnamon plant that inhibits the development of Alzheimer's in mice. CEppt, an extract of cinnamon bark, seems to treat a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

A 2012 study suggested that cinnamon supplementation is able to significantly improve blood glucose control in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Uses

Cinnamon barkCinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material. It is used in the preparation of chocolate, especially in Mexico, which is the main importer of cinnamon.It is also used in many dessert recipes, such as apple pie, doughnuts, and cinnamon buns as well as spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa, and liqueurs. True cinnamon, rather than cassia, is more suitable for use in sweet dishes. In the Middle East, it is often used in savoury dishes of chicken and lamb. In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling. Cinnamon bark is one of the few spices that can be consumed directly. Cinnamon powder has long been an important spice in Persian cuisine, used in a variety of thick soups, drinks, and sweets. It is often mixed with rosewater or other spices to make a cinnamon-based curry powder for stews or just sprinkled on sweet treats (most notably Shole-zard, Persian شله زرد). It is also used in sambar powder or BisiBelebath powder in Karnataka, which gives it a rich aroma and tastes unique. It is also used in Turkish cuisine for both sweet and savoury dishes.

Cinnamon has been proposed for use as an insect repellent, although it remains untested. Cinnamon leaf oil has been found to be very effective in killing mosquito larvae. Of the compounds found in the essential oil from cinnamon leaves, cinnamyl acetate, eugenol, and anethole, and in particular, cinnamaldehyde, were found to have the highest effectiveness against mosquito larvae.

Cinnamon, as a warm and dry substance, was believed by doctors in ancient times to cure snakebites, freckles, the common cold, and kidney troubles, among other ailments. Thanks, Wikipedia.physiciapackiam

http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com

                  (61)

Malaysian Herbs-Boswellia Serrata (60) INDIAN OLIBANAM- குங்கிலியமரம்

Boswellia -குங்கிலிய மரம்

http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com

Boswellia is the purified resin made from the gum from the Boswellia serrata or Boswellia carteri trees. For medicinal purposes, the products of these two trees are used in similar ways.

B. serrata is a moderately large branching tree that grows in the hilly regions of India. It grows to a height of about 12 ft (4 m). The sticky resin, or sap, from the tree is also called Indian frankincense, Indian olibanum, dhup, and salai guggul. B. carteri is a related tree that grows in parts of North Africa, especially Somalia, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia. The resin from this tree is called frankincense.

Boswellia sacra   ESSENCIAL oil induces tumor cell-specific apoptosis and suppresses tumor 

Indian Olibanum is a deciduous tree endemic to India and has been recorded on dry hills and slopes, on gravelly soils between an altitude range of 275-900 m. It is a medium sized tree, 3-5 m tall, with ash coloured papery bark. Alternately arranged leaves are pinnate, crowded at the end of branches, 20-40 cm long. There are 8-15 pairs of leaflets, 3-6 cm long, with an odd one at the tip. Leaflets are ovate, with toothed margin. Flowers are tiny, creamy, about 8 mm across, borne in 10-15 cm long racemes in leaf axils. There are 10 stamens with a short style and a 3-lobed stigma. Fruits are 2 cm long, 3-cornered. Indian Olibanum tree, on injury, exudates an oleo-gum-resin known as Salai, Guggal or Indian Frankincense. Flowering: January.
Medicinal uses:Extracts of Indian Olibanum have been clinically studied for osteoarthritis and joint function, particularly for osteoarthritis of the knee. A Boswellia extract marketed under the name Wokvel has undergone human efficacy, comparative, pharmacokinetic studies. Indian Olibanum is used in the manufacture of the supposed anti-wrinkle agent "Boswelox", which has been criticised as being ineffective.

Boswellia is a tree found in the hills of India. Traditionally, the part of tree used for medicine is a sap-like resin, or gummy oleoresin. The resin is made up of essential oils and terpenoids. Boswellic Acid is a terpenoid, the organic chemical that is thought to contain the part of boswellia that works as a medication.

Read more: Boswellia Side Effects | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5389979_boswellia-side-effects.html#ixzz2LFJun9cS

What is boswellia serrata?

A: A reader recently asked The Herb Companion about boswellia serrata. Having never heard of it before, (It looked like a made up word to me) I had to research to find out more. It turns out that this nonsense-word plant is actually very interesting.

Boswellia serrata is a medium-sized tropical tree with ash-colored, papery bark. It’s native to India and other tropical regions of Asia and Africa. When cut, the bark of boswellia yields a gummy resin, or tree sap, that is used for medicinal purposes. This resin, called gugul or salai, is related tofrankincense. It is taken from the frankincense shrub, which is a prime ingredient in incense and oils.

The resin from boswellia has long been used in traditional Indian Siddha Ayurvedic medicine as a remedy for arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, bursitis, diarrhea, dysentery, goiter, liver problems and rheumatism. Today, boswellia is used to help reduce inflammation, stiffness and joint pain. The resin contains boswellic acids, which work to reduce inflammation. Boswellia serrata resin can also help soothe pain caused by minor injuries and is an effective remedy for the chronic pain associated with arthritis.

To burn the resin as an incense you need to have a heat source. Most people use a charcoal disc that is designed specifically for this purpose. The disc should be placed inside a heat resistant container with earth inside if required to shield the strong heat. Once alight the resin can be spooned gently placed onto the charcoal and the resin becomes an incense and the delightful aromas are released. You can then add more resin as required

Frankincense is tapped from the small drought-hardy Boswellia trees by slashing the bark, which is called striping, and allowing the exuded resin to bleed out and harden. These hardened resins are called tears. There are several species and varieties of frankincense trees, each producing a slightly different type of resin. Differences in soil and climate create even more diversity of the resin, even within the same species.

Boswellia Sacra trees are considered unusual for their ability to grow in environments so unforgiving that they sometimes grow out of almost solid rock. Attachment to the rock is accomplished by a bulbous disk-like swelling of the trunk. This feature is slight or absent in trees grown in rocky soil or gravel. The tears from trees growing on rock are considered superior for their more fragrant aroma. [need citation where]

The trees start producing resin when they are about 8 to 10 years old. Tapping is done 2 to 3 times a year with the final taps producing the best tears due to their higher aromatic terpene, sesquiterpene and diterpene content. Generally speaking, the more opaque resins are the best quality. Fine resin is produced in Yemen and along the northern coast ofSomalia, from which the Roman Catholic Church draws its supplies.

Recent studies have indicated that frankincense tree populations are declining, partly due to over-exploitation. Heavily tapped trees produce seeds that germinate at only 16% while seeds of trees that had not been tapped germinate at more than 80%. In addition, burning, grazing, and attacks by the longhorn beetle have reduced the tree population. Conversion (clearing) of frankincense woodlands to agriculture is also a major threat.^{Thanks Wiki}

Boswellia sacra (frankincense)

Frankincense, an oily gum resin from the tree Boswellia sacra and related species, is named in the Bible as one the three gifts given to the baby Jesus by the 'Three Wise Men'. It has been used for thousands of years in many different cultures.

About this species

Boswellia sacra is a tree with papery, peeling bark and leaves clustered at the ends of tangled branches. It is the source of the oleo-gum-resin frankincense, which besides other uses, has long been valued for its sweet-smelling fumes when burnt. The name ‘frankincense’ is derived from the Old French ‘franc encens’, meaning pure incense or, more literally, free lighting. Trade in frankincense, which is produced by various trees in the genus Boswellia, dates back to at least 2000 BC. Up until the 1830s, many Europeans mistakenly believed that frankincense was the resin of a species of Juniperus, a conifer

Trunk of Boswellia sacra showing the peeling bark (Image: Helen Pickering)

Frankincense and olibanum are commonly used names for the oleo-gum-resin of Boswellia trees. Frankincense has long been valued for the sweet-smelling fumes it produces when burnt. The ancient Egyptians used the resin in religious rites, in anointing the mummified bodies of their kings, and to treat wounds and sores. Incense containing frankincense was found in Tutankhamen's tomb. It is still used in religious ceremonies by the Parsees, thought by some to be cultural descendants of the 'Three Wise Men' (Magi) of the Christian tradition.

The earliest recorded account of the use of Arabian frankincense and myrrh by the ancient Greeks comes from Herodotus, suggesting that by 500 BC a well-established trade existed between southern Arabia and Greece. In 295 BC Theophrastus recorded that Alexander the Greek (356-323 BC) sent Anaxicrates to southern Arabia to ascertain the origin of frankincense.

Theophrastus (c. 372-287 BC), the Greek botanist, and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), the Latin naturalist, provided eyewitness accounts of the cultivation and harvesting of frankincense, and the methods remain largely unchanged today. When slashed, the bark exudes an oily gum resin which is either scraped off the tree or collected from the ground as it drips off, a method which produces a better quality resin. The best quality resin is pale in colour, while resin which is scraped off the bark is reddish and considered inferior.

Christmas bad for frankincense trees

Monday, 18 December 2006Helen Carter
ABC

Tapping Boswellia tree for frankincense in Eritrea (Image: Dr Woldeselassie Ogbazghi, Asmara, Eritrea)

Related Stories

• Mum, I snorted the Christmas tree, Science Online, 15 Dec 2004
• Christmas brandy fights free radicals, Science Online, 15 Dec 2005
• Why lovers give dud presents, Science Online, 11 Dec 2006

If Jesus was born today, the three wise men might have had to substitute frankincense for another gift, according to new research suggesting that production of the fragrant substance is in trouble.

Frankincense, an aromatic hardened wood resin obtained by tapping Boswellia trees, has been an ingredient in perfumes and incense for thousands of years.

The Bible says that at Christmas, the magi brought gifts to Jesus of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Now ecologists from the Netherlands and Eritrea warn that current rates of tapping frankincense from Boswellia trees are endangering sustained production of the aromatic resin.

Writing in the December issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology, Professor Frans Bongers of Wageningen University says that over-tapping the trees results in them producing fewer, less viable seeds.

And production, in the Horn of Africa, is declining because Boswellia woodlands are failing to regenerate.

The ecologists hypothesise that poor regeneration, due to intensive tapping, means trees are diverting too much carbohydrate into resin at the expense of reproductive organs such as flowers, fruit and seeds.

They tested the theory by looking at how many seeds were produced by intensively tapped trees in southwestern Eritrea compared with untapped trees, and their germination rates.

"At all study sites, trees subject to experimental tapping produced fewer flowers, fruit and seeds than trees that were exempt from tapping," Bongers says.

"Furthermore tapped trees produced smaller fruits with seeds of lower weight and reduced vitality than non-tapped trees."

The ecologists suggest changing the way trees are tapped, by reducing the number of tapping points per tree and enabling rest periods, would help ensure production is sustainable.

"In order to control the decline in fruit and seed production, less intensive tapping procedures should be developed," they write.

"As our results show that six tapping points per tree are already having a negative impact, we suggest reducing the number of tapping points.

"New tapping regimes should also include rest periods when there is no resin harvesting to allow the trees to recover."

The study is the first to show the fragile relationship between extracting wood exudates and tree regeneration in natural populations.

physicianpackiam

http://www.sidhhaherbs.blogspot.com

        (60)