Mimusops elengi

In Sinhalese Munamal,in English Bullet wood tree, in Malay Tanjong. Medium size big tree growing on tropical forests in South Asia,South east Asia & Northern Australia. Leaves are glossy, dark green, oval shaped, 5-14 cm long and 2.5-6 cm wide. Flowers are cream. hairy and scented.Bark is dark brownish black or grayish black caller thick bark.Hight is 30 - 60 ft tall & 1 meter circumference.

The bark, flowers, fruits and seeds are astringent, cooling, anthelmintic, tonic, and febrifuge. It is mainly used in dental ailments like bleeding gum's, pyorrhea, dental caries and loose teeth.

Extract of flowers used against heart diseases, leucorrhoea, menorrhagia and act as antiduretic in polyuria and antitoxin. The snuff made from the dried and powdered flowers used in a disease called Ahwa in which strong fever, headache and pain in the neck, shoulders and other parts of the body occurs.

Ripened fruits facilitates in burning urination. The ripe fruit pounded and mixed with water is given to promote delivery in childbirth. Powder of dried flowers is a brain tonic and useful as a snuff to relieve cephalalgia. Decoration of bark is used to wash the wounds.

Other uses

• The edible fruit is softly hairy becoming smooth, ovoid, bright red-orange when ripe.

• Mimusops elengi wood is luxurious wood.It is extremely hard,strong & tough timber.heart wood is sharply defined from sapwood.Rich deep red in caller.Works easily & takes beautiful polish.Weight is 63 lbs per cubic foot.

the stem bark is dark gry in colour with striations & few cracks on the surface.

Roselle (plant)

The Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of hibiscus native to the Old World tropics. It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to 2–2.5 m tall. The leaves are deeply three- to five-lobed, 8–15 cm long, arranged alternately on the stems.

The flowers are 8–10 cm in diameter, white to pale yellow with a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a stout fleshy calyx at the base, 1.5–2 cm wide, enlarging to 3–3.5 cm, fleshy and bright red as the fruit matures. It is an annual plant, and takes about six months to mature.

Uses

The plant is considered to have antihypertensive properties. Primarily, the plant is cultivated for the production for bast fibre from the stem of the plant. The fibre may be used as a substitute for jute in making burlap . Hibiscus, specifically Roselle, has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic, mild laxative, and treatment for cardiac and nerve diseases and cancer.

The red calyces of the plant are increasingly exported to America and Europe, where they are used as food colourings. Germany is the main importer. It can also be found in markets (as flowers or syrup) in some places such as France, where there are Senegalese immigrant communities. The green leaves are used like a spicy version of spinach. They give flavour to the Senegalese fish and rice dish thiéboudieune. Proper records are not kept, but the Senegalese government estimates national production and consumption at 700 metric tons per year. Also in Myanmar their green leaves are the main ingredient in making chin baung kyaw curry.

In East Africa, the calyx infusion, called "Sudan tea", is taken to relieve coughs. Roselle juice, with salt, pepper, asafetida and molasses, is taken as a remedy for biliousness.

The heated leaves are applied to cracks in the feet and on boils and ulcers to speed maturation. A lotion made from leaves is used on sores and wounds. The seeds are said to be diuretic and tonic in action and the brownish-yellow seed oil is claimed to heal sores on camels. In India, a decoction of the seeds is given to relieve dysuria, strangury and mild cases of dyspepsia. Brazilians attribute stomachic, emollient and resolutive properties to the bitter roots.

Tea

In Africa, especially the Sahel, roselle is commonly used to make a sugary herbal tea that is commonly sold on the street. The dried flowers can be found in every market. In the Caribbean the drink is made from the fresh fruit, and it is considered an integral part of Christmas celebrations. The Carib Brewery Trinidad Limited, a Trinidad and Tobago brewery, produces a Shandy Sorrel in which the tea is combined with beer.

In Thailand, Roselle is drunk as a tea, believed to also reduce cholesterol. It can also be made into a delicious wine - especially if combined with Chinese tea leaves - in the ratio of 1:4 by weight (1/5 Chinese tea).

Hibiscus flowers are commonly found in commercial herbal teas, especially teas advertised as berry-flavoured, as they give a bright red colouring to the drink.

Beverage

A roselle drink

In the Caribean sorrel drink is made from calyces of the roselle. In Malaysia, roselle calyces are harvested fresh to produce pro-health drink due to high contents of vitamin C and anthocyanins. In Mexico, 'agua de Jamaica' (water of roselle) is most often homemade. It is prepared by boiling the dried flowers of the Jamaica plant in water for 8 to 10 minutes (or until the water turns red), then adding sugar. It is often served chilled. The drink is one of several inexpensive beverages (aguas frescas) commonly consumed in Mexico and Central America, and they are typically made from fresh fruits, juices or extracts. A similar thing is done in Jamaica but additional flavor is added by using ginger and rum, it is a popular drink of the country at Christmas time. In Mali,Senegal, The Gambia, Burkina Faso and Benin calyces are used to prepare cold, sweet drinks popular in social events, often mixed with mint leaves, dissolved menthol candy, and/or various fruit flavors.

With the advent in the U.S. of interest in south-of-the-border cuisine, the calyces are sold in bags usually labeled "Flor de Jamaica" and have long been available in health food stores in the U.S. for making a tea that is high in vitamin C. This drink is particularly good for people who have a tendency, temporary or otherwise, toward water retention: it is a mild diuretic.

In addition to being a popular homemade drink, Jarritos, a popular brand of Mexican soft drinks, makes a Jamaica flavored carbonated beverage. Imported Jarritos can be readily found in the U.S.

Medicinal uses

Many parts of the plant are also claimed to have various medicinal values. They have been used for such purposes ranging from Mexico through Africa and India to Thailand. Roselle is associated with traditional medicine and is reported to be used as treatment for several diseases such as hypertension and urinary tract infections.

Honey

Honey is a sweet aliment produced by honey bees (and some other species) and derived from the nectar of flowers.Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose and has approximately the same relative sweetness as that of granulated sugar (97% of the sweetness of sucrose, a disaccharide).

Honey is created by bees as a food source. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy. By contriving for bee swarms to nest in artificial hives, people have been able to semi-domesticate the insects, and harvest excess honey. In the hive there are three types of bee: a single female queen bee, a seasonally variable number of male drone bees to fertilize new queens, and some 20,000 to 40,000 female worker bees. The worker bees raise larvae and collect the nectar that will become honey in the hive. Leaving the hive, they collect sugar-rich flower nectar and return. In the process, they release Nasonov pheromones. These pheromones lead other bees to rich nectar sites by "smell". Honeybees also release Nasonov pheromones at the entrance to the hive, which enables returning bees to return to the proper hive.

In the hive the bees use their "honey stomachs" to ingest and regurgitate the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested.The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion until the product reaches a desired quality. It is then stored in honeycomb cells. After the final regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. However, the nectar is still high in both water content and natural yeasts which, unchecked, would cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment. The process continues as bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb which enhances evaporation of much of the water from the nectar. This reduction in water content raises the sugar concentration and prevents fermentation. Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by a beekeeper, has a long shelf life and will not ferment if properly sealed.

Nutrition

Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. With respect to carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38.5%) and glucose (about 31.0%), making it similar to the synthetically produced inverted sugar syrup which is approximately 48% fructose, 47% glucose, and 5% sucrose. Honey's remaining carbohydrates include maltose, sucrose, and other complex carbohydrates. Honey contains trace amounts of several vitamins and minerals. As with all nutritive sweeteners, honey is mostly sugars and is not a significant source of vitamins or minerals Honey also contains tiny amounts of several compounds thought to function as antioxidants, including chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase, and pinocembrin.The specific composition of any batch of honey will depend largely on the mix of flowers available to the bees that produced the honey.

Modern Uses

As a food and in cooking

The main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, as a spread on breads, and as an addition to various beverages such as tea and as a sweetener in commercial beverages such as Sprecher's root beer.

Honey is the main ingredient in the alcoholic beverage mead, which is also known as "honey wine" or "honey beer" (although it is neither wine nor beer). It is also used as an adjunct in beer.

Its glycemic index ranges from 31 to 78 depending on the variety.

Vegans and honey

During early vegan movements in the 1940s, The Vegan Society in England defined veganism as "the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals." (emphasis added) Following this, some vegans do not eat honey as it is considered an animal product.However, there is active debate in the vegan community on the status of honey as an animal product and its appropriateness for human consumption.



In medicine

For at least 2700 years, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained.

Wound Gels that contain antibacterial honey and have regulatory approval for wound care are now available to help conventional medicine in the battle against drug resistant strains of bacteria MRSA. As an antimicrobial agent honey may have the potential for treating a variety of ailments. One New Zealand researcher says a particular type of honey may be useful in treating MRSA infections. Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide effect, and high acidity.

Honey appears to be effective in killing drug-resistant biofilms which are implicated in chronic rhinosinusitis.

ALOE VERA

Aloe vera, also known as the Medicinal Aloe, is a species of succulent plant that probably originated in Northern Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula. Aloe vera grows in arid climates and is widely distributed in Africa and other arid areas. The species is frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine.


There have been many scientific studies of the use aloe vera, some of it conflicting. Despite these limitations, there is some preliminary evidence that A. vera extracts may be useful in the treatment of diabetes and elevated blood lipids in humans. These positive effects are thought to be due to the presence of compounds such as polysaccharides, mannans, anthraquinones and lectins.

Aloe vera is a stemless or very short-stemmed succulent plant growing to 60–100 cm (24–39 in) tall, spreading by offsets. The stems are thick and fleshy, green to grey-green, with some varieties showing white flecks on the upper and lower stem surfaces. The margin of the stem is serrated and has small white teeth. The flowers are produced in summer on a spike up to 90 cm (35 in) tall, each flower pendulous, with a yellow tubular corolla 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) long. Like other Aloe species, A. vera forms arbuscular mycorrhiza, a symbiosis that allows the plant better access to mineral nutrients in soil.

Scientific evidence for the cosmetic and therapeutic effectiveness of Aloe vera is limited and when present is typically contradictory. Despite this, the cosmetic and alternative medicine industries regularly make claims regarding the soothing, moisturising and healing properties of Aloe vera. Aloe vera gel is used as an ingredient in commercially available lotion,yogurt, beverages and some desserts. Aloe vera juice is used for consumption and relief of digestive issues. It is common practice for cosmetic companies to add sap or other derivatives from Aloe vera to products such as makeup, tissues, moisturizers, soaps, sunscreens, incense, razors and shampoos. It has also been suggested that biofuels could be obtained from Aloe vera seeds. Other uses for extracts of Aloe vera include the dilution of semen for the artificial fertilization of sheep, use as fresh food preservative, and use in water conservation in small farms.

Labu Kayu /Bignoniaceae

The Bignoniaceae, or Trumpet Creeper Family, is a family of flowering plants comprising of about 650-750 species in 116-120 genera. Members of the family are mostly trees and shrubs, and more rarely lianas (Podranea and Macfadyena) and herbaceous plants in 116-120 genera. As shrubs, they are twine climbers or tendril climbers, and rarely root climbers.

Other common names for this family include jacaranda family, bignonia family or catalpa family. This family is commonly found as ornamental plants due to their large and often colorful flowers. Important members include the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete) and many genera cultivated in horticulture: Campsis, Catalpa, Jacaranda, Kigelia, Pandorea, Spathodea, and Tabebuia.

The family, cosmopolitan, is present in both the Old World and the New World, with Catalpa the only genus common to both. Members are distributed mostly in the Tropics and subtropics, with the center of diversity in South America. A number of temperate species are found, mainly in North America and East Asia. 13 species in 8 genera (including 2 naturalised) are present in southern Africa. 12 genera and 35 species are present in China, 21 of which are endemic to China. In Australia, 10 genera and 17 species are present, only in the mainland states. In India, the family is represented by 15 genera and 40 species, which mostly occur in Western and Southern India and a few species in the Himalayas.

Uses

Besides their use as ornamental plants, some members also provide timber, such as roble de sabana (Tabebuia rosea), Catalpa, Oroxylum, Haplophragma, Spathodea, Meliosma, Stereospermum. Fruit from the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete) is used in the tropics as a water container. The fruit of the sausage tree (Kigelia africana) is used in Africa as a laxative and for dysentery. The jacaranda is common as an avenue tree.

GAMAT- sea cucumber

The word Gamat, the Malay word for sea cucumber, refers to medicinal remedies derived from several species of the Holothuroidea family. The golden sea cucumber (Stichopus horrens) is commonly used. Gamat is usually the dried, powdered bodies of sea cucumbers made into a lotion or other topical salve. It is sometimes mixed into clay and applied as a facial mask, or put in tea and consumed for stomach complaints. Users believe that a solution of sea cucumbers can heal cuts, skin eruptions, and ulcers, and claim that it has a beneficial effect on the immune system.

Sea cucumbers in the waters of Malaysia have been over-harvested to supply consumers of the folk remedy, and as a result the animal and its products are becoming scarce. Efforts to restock the fishery have not generally been successful. Recently, a sea cucumber aquaculture operation was opened on the shores of several Malaysian islands to increase the gamat supply.

Aquaculture is the farming of freshwater and saltwater organisms including molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Unlike fishing, aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, implies the cultivation of aquatic populations under controlled conditions. Mariculture refers to aquaculture practiced in marine environments. Particular kinds of aquaculture include algaculture (the production of kelp/seaweed and other algae), fish farming, shrimp farming, oyster farming, and the growing of cultured pearls. Particular methods include aquaponics, which integrates fish farming and plant farming.

Holothuroidea are a class of marine animals (phylum Echinodermata) with an elongated body and leathery skin, which is found on the sea floor worldwide. Many holothurian species and genera, informally known as sea cucumbers, are targeted for human consumption. The harvested product is also known as trepang, bêche-de-mer, balate, or sea slug. The body contains a single, branched gonad. Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton just below the skin, calcified structures that are usually reduced to isolated microscopic ossicles (or sclerietes) joined by connective tissue.

Holothuroidea are generally scavengers, feeding on debris in the benthic zone of the ocean. Exceptions include pelagic cucumbers and the species Rynkatropa pawsoni, which has a commensal relationship with deep-sea anglerfish. The diet of most cucumbers consists of plankton and decaying organic matter found in the sea. Some sea cucumbers position themselves in currents and catch food that flows by with their open tentacles.These incredible creatures communicate with each other through sending hormone signals through the water which others pick up.

Holothurians as food and medicine

Some varieties of sea cucumber (known as gamat in Malaysia or trepang in Indonesia) are said to have excellent healing properties. There are pharmaceutical companies being built based on this gamat product. Extracts are prepared and made into oil, cream or cosmetics. Some products are intended to be taken internally. The effectiveness of sea cucumber extract in tissue repair has been the subject of serious study. It is believed that the sea cucumber contains all the fatty acids necessary to play an active role in tissue repair.

Some Holothuroidea are believed to be endowed with aphrodisiac powers in the Far East. The reason for this belief is the peculiar reaction of the creature on being kneaded or disturbed slightly with fingers. It swells and stiffens and a jet of water is released from one end. This behaviour is similar to the erection and subsequent ejaculation of the male human penis. After releasing the jet, which is a defensive mechanism and contains irritants, the creature then goes flaccid.

In particular, these creatures have the remarkable ability to live for months, often up to half a year, without feeding. It is very common for these creatures to be introduced into a system that can't support them, and for the owners to have no idea that they are slowly starving to death. When this happens, the sea cucumber will slowly shrink as it digests its own body mass to survive.

In order to be sure a cucumber is feeding one must watch it at work. It will use the feeding tentacles around its mouth to pick up and swallow sand from the bottom of the aquarium. Particles too big will be of no use to the cucumber, so it is important to watch it to make sure it's feeding, and that it's regularly producing castings of excreted substrate.

In addition to the unusual feeding requirements of sea cucumbers, they release highly toxic compounds when injured. In particular, the filter feeding sea cucumbers, known as "Sea Apples" in the aquarium trade, are exceedingly lethal to the other tank inhabitants should they be injured. All powerheads and pumps should be covered as the cucumbers can squeeze into spaces much smaller than their body. Should a sea apple become injured it must be immediately removed from the aquarium, a major water change needs to be performed, and fresh activated carbon will need to be added if there is to be any hope of saving the other inhabitants.

Oak Gall/manjakani-How does it work ?

Women in Asia have traditionally been using Oak Gall after giving birth to tighten their vaginal tissue and strengthen the womb for better sex after childbirth.

How does it work ? The Oak Gall extract can tighten the erectile tissue layers of the vagina and at the same time, restore suppleness and rejuvenates the nerves in the vagina, hence increasing sexual pleasures and ultimately resulted in better intimate sex.

The unique properties of oak galls are extremely beneficial to women. Its strong astringent properties give instant tightening effects on vaginal walls. Its ability to fight free radicals helps to tone up vaginal walls and helps reverse loss of elasticity caused by ageing, hormonal changes and childbirth.

It also helps to ward off unwanted microorganisms.

Pueraria Mirifica
This tuber contains exceptionally high concentrations of phyto-estrogens, and is excellent for stimulating the "Bartholon" glands to release estrogen and restore a woman's natural lubrication. Phyto-estrogen increase blood flow to the vagina and introduce estrogen-like biologiocal effects. Regular use of Pueraria mirifica may restore vaginal tissue growth, strength and elasticity.

Nature's Gift to Women
As women age, the vaginal lining thins, causing irritation, painful intercourse, increased risk of yeast and bacterial infections. "Manjakani" (oak gall) has been proven to help restore the health of the mucosal tissue, reducing these problems. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, manjakani also aids in healing external tissue damage after childbirth. It can be used externally to reduce swelling and bruises caused by minor injuries in the vaginal area. Clinical trials have demonstrated that it also enhances sexual responsiveness and intimacy.

Research has also shown that Manjakani extract has natural antiseptic properties that are effective in eliminating bacterial, yeast and fungal infection, the main causes of itching and unpleasant odors in the intimate area. Its astringent properties assist in reducing excessive discharge.

Frequent bacterial or fungal infections and the use of harsh soaps can cause discoloration (darkening) of the delicate skin in the intimate area. Manjakani helps to maintain the natural color of this area. It also contains unique antioxidant properties that are effective in reducing melanin formation and preventing discoloration.

What is Manjakani?

Oak Gall (manjakani in the Malay language) is not a type of fruit or from any part of a tree. It is actually round-shaped abnormal growth found only on a few species of trees in the world. Oak Gall is the result of natural chemical reaction between the tree's bark and secretion from various insects that use parts of the tree to lay its eggs.

The metamorphosis process that takes place on the hatched insect's eggs produce enzymes that stimulates food supply on the leaves' cells, and a hard round "ball" is formed. It is neither part of the insect nor tree. This "ball" is known as Oak Gall.

Oak Gall is known as a natural astringent that contains antiseptic materials and anti- oxidants: a truly generous gift from Mother Nature to women. Studies have shown that manjakani is rich in tannins, vitamin A and C, calcium, gallic acid, fiber, protein and carbohydrates. Oaks galls possess a unique kind of astrigency which acts to restore health, tone and vigor in the vagina. Well-known since ancient times, Arabs, Persians, Indians, Chinese and Malays have traditionally used oak galls for treatmeant after childbirth, as well as to treat vaginal discharge and related infections.

bunga kantan/ Ginger Flower

Also known as torch ginger. The showy pink flowers of a tall perennial look almost too pretty to eat but their flavour is an essential ingredient in some dishes. Difficult to procure outside Asia at present, they will probably soon be grown and sold the way other Asian herbs are in large Western cities.

Vietnamese mint has a remarkably similar fragrance and pungency and may be substituted. Some of the popular laksa soups feature a sprinkling of finely shredded ginger bud, while others use laksa leaf. The Malaysian name for ginger flower is bunga kantan or bunga siantan. In Thailand, young shoots and flowers are served raw with nam prik.

Flowers kantan property contains a quite simple. In each 100gm can be eaten portion contains water, protein, fat, fiber, calcium, carbohydrate, fosforus, ferum, natrium, potassium and vitamins.

Iron-star fruit Good for high blood

Almost all people know akan fruit star fruit. Plants, the
possibility comes from the island of Sri Lanka or South East Asia
notably Malaysia and indonesia, there are two types of
which is real sweet, star fruit and vegetables star fruit (star fruit bamboo).
Yang akan perkatakan us in this article is the sweet star fruit
iron, or star fruit (Averrhoa carambola).

In the English called this fruit as starfruit due
similar shapes when the stars cross dihiris. It is
sweet and refreshing flavor with a unique taste mebangunkan.
Iron star fruit has a high economic value. While young
young fruit is green and the colors to be changed after
old. Type of star fruit diungguli characteristic of iron-characteristics is
large shapes, interesting colors, fine fiber, very bersari
taste sweet and fresh.

Kebiasaanya, star fruit fruit eaten iron segar.Sebahagiannya
processed and used as various types of beverage products such as fresh
and kordial, jelly, sugar, fruit sugar, fruit sauce, fruit, dry, mix
hirisan in fruit juice or shingle, halwa, and so forth. Fruit
may be a young star fruit orange. In addition to the source as
good nutrition, iron, young fruit star fruit is also used to
therapy and even prevention of various types of diseases, among others
useful in:

blood pressure-lowering
anti-kanser
-smooth digestion
lower-kolestrol
-clean the bowel.

Fruit star fruit is a source of iron, vitamin C is good, as well as substance
kapur.Belimbing iron and oxygen can be used as an anti-oxide which
work to prevent the spread of cell kanser.
Metal star fruit-Good for high blood pesakit-source Women's Weekly
April04

In the cell wall there is a star fruit pectin which is a material
forming gel in the gel has usus.Terbentuknya
reduce the influence of kolestrol. In this case, the pectin binding
kolestrol and asid hempedu in the intestine and encourage expenditure.

Star fruit also works as ubat blood tinggi.Air perahan fruit
star fruit can prevent high blood pressure to always be
in normal circumstances. People with high blood pressure may
drink water grated fruit star fruit every once duahari. I
fruit star fruit that is large enough and the half-cooked shredded
smooth, then diperah of water every one gelas.Minumlah
morning for a one month bulan.Setelah drinking water star fruit
two days once.

It is said high blood pressure will become normal when someone
the diligent star fruit drink water. But that must be remembered, jengan
On the compound with water perahan star fruit sugar
shingle or because it will cause the impression otherwise.

In India the fruit is ripe star fruit is used to stop
bleeding. While the fruit has been used to dry
reduce the fever heat. Fruit that has been used by the diawet
india community to mitigate sediment and bottom-drunk because
of excessive alcohol. Oil from the fruit diektrak
ubat mengubati made eye disease. Brazil is also in the State,
pesakit problems that have fruit belt and urinating often earthen jar to hold water
dinasihatkan to take the fruit star fruit. Society state that
also believe that the fruit is good for people with ekzema.

Chinese materia states that have medical stew the fruit and leaves
elegant star fruit drink to overcome vomiting-muntah.Daunnya
diramas and placed on the forehead to remove the headache.
Meanwhile, shoots and leaves that were placed on the smallpox
and ringworm (scab).