Categories
Herbs & Plants

Solanum Xanthocarpum

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Botanical Name:Solanum Xanthocarpum
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species: S. virginianum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Solanales

Synonyms: Solanum virginianum
Popular Name: Yellow-Berried Nightshade, Choti Katheri, Kantkari, Kantakari, Kateli
Common Name : Yellow-berried Nightshade
Other Names: Choti Katheri, Kantkari, Kantakari, Kateli

Parts Used: Stems, roots, flowers, fruit

Habitat: Throughout India

Description: It is a very prickly perennial herb somewhat with woody base. Stem branched much and younger ones clothed with dense, stellate and tomentose hairs. Prickles are compressed straight, glabrous and shining, often 1 to 3 cm long. Leaves ovate or elliptic, sinuate or subpinnatifid, obtuse or subacute, stellately hairy on both sides, armed on the midrib and often on the nerves with long yellow sharp prickles. Petiole is long, stellately hairy and prickly. Flowers are in cymes or some times reduced as solitary. Calyx tube is short, globose and lobes linear-lanceolate, acute, densely hairy and prickly. Corolla purple, lobes deltoid, acute, and hairy outside. Anther filament is long, glabrous and anthers open by a pore. Ovary is ovoid and glabrous. Berry yellow, green-blotched and sorrounded by enlarged calyx. Seeds are glabrous.

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Flowers are typically conical or funnel form with five petals, usually fused. The leaves are alternate, often with a hairy or clammy surface.

This plant is  used in Ayurvedic practice. Traditionally used as a carminative, diuretic, expectorant and fever reducer. It is also used to treat asthma. The powdered fruit is mixed with honey to make a cough syrup. Produces beautiful inch long fruits. Not Hardy. Zone

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Cultivation
Propagule  Various Pollination method    Planting style    Crop spacing    Row spacing    Cold frame  Planting period    Harvesting period    Frost tolerance    Heat requirement    Fertilizer  Typical Time to harvest

Special qualities
Tolerates drought  no Tolerates high humidity  no Tolerates seaside conditions  no Insect resistant  no Disease resistant  no Deer resistant  no Best uses    Symbiosis  Attracts butterflies  no Attracts hummingbirds  no Autumn foliage  no Colorful berries  no Desirable qualities    Other interest    Other interest color  Other interest period

Uses:Fruits eaten as an anthelmintic and for indigestion. Root is an expectorant, used in Ayurvedic medicine for cough, asthma and chest pain. Also used for flatulence, sore throat, and toothache. Has high concentration of solasodine, a starting material for the manufacture of cortisone and sex hormones. It cures asthma, cough, bronchspasm, sore throat, constipation, an effective expectorant and diuretic.

Bhavamisra, an ancient physician, mentions it as promoting conception in females. Given with honey, tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), datura (Datura metal), and black pepper it can be effective in cases of bronchial asthma. Stem, flowers and fruits are bitter and carminative and are prescribed for relief in burning sensation in the feet.
Leaves are applied locally to relieve pain.

Medicinal Properties :-
Action

Herb: alterative, anthelmintic, aperient, astringent, bitter, digestive, diuretic,  expectorant, stomachic

Stems, fruits, flowers-bitter, carminative

Root- diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, anodyne

The whole herb is useful for the treatment of fevers, coughs, asthma, flatulence, dropsy, heart disease, pain the chest and gonorrhea.

The roots from this herb (in the form of decoction of confection) are frequently recommended for coughs, dysuria, stone in the bladder, dropsy, asthma, catarrhal fever, pain in the chest. It is also useful for the enlargement of the liver and spleen.

This herb is one of the dashamul roots (ten roots) in ayurveda. So, it is one of the important herbs in Indian Medicine.

Herbal medicine
Medicinal properties  carminative   expectorant   decongestant Medicinal parts  Leaves   Seeds   Root Has medicinal uses  yes Do not self-administer  yes Do no use if pregnant  no Legally restricted  no Toxicity precautions  Medicinal notes  Solanum xanthocarpum is considered by some to be an herbal remedy. It’s used as a carminative, an expectorant or a decongestant. Kantakari is only to be administered with proper professional knowledge. The leaves together with the seeds and the root are considered to be the valuable parts by the herbalist.

As per Ayurveda:
The plant is bitter, acrid, thermogenic, anthelmintic.
anti-inflammatory, anodyne, digestive, carminative, appetiser, stomach depurative, sudorific, febrifuge, expectorant, laxative, stimulant, dime, rejuvenating, emmenagogue and aphrodisiac.

It is useful in vitiated conditions of velta and kapha, helminthiasis, dental caries, inflammatio arthralgia, flatulence, colic, constipation, dyspepsia, anorexia, leprosy, .skin diseases, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, fever, cough, asthma. bronchitis, pharyngitis, hiccough, strangury, urolithiasis, amenorrhoea. dysmenorrhoea, lumbago, haemorrhoids, cardiac disorders, rhinopathy : epilepsy and catarrh.

The root is pungent, bitter, heating; appetiser, laxative, stomachic, anthelmintic; useful in bronchitis, asthma, fever, “vata “, and” kapha”, ozrena, strangury, lumbago, pains, piles, thirst, urinary concretions, and diseases of the heart.-

The fruit is bitter, digestible; improves the appetite;. good in diseases of the heart, pruritus, asthma, fever; anthelmintic, anaphrodisiac; causes biliousness .

The root is an aphrodisiac.

The leaves are a good application for piles.

The fruit has a bitter bad taste; laxative; good in inflammations, chronic bronchitis, asthma, biliousness, fevers, muscular pains, dysuria, stone in the bladder, sterility in women.

The seeds are anthelmintic;’ good for boils, scabies, asthma, and cough

The root is much esteemed as an expectorant, and is used in cough, asthma, catarrhal fever and pain in the chest. Kantikari is used in medicine in various forms, such as decoction, electuary, ghrita, etc.

A decoction of the root is given with the addition of long pepper and honey, in cough and catarrh, and with rock salt and assafretida in spasmodic cough.

The roots beaten up and mixed with wine are given to check vomiting. The juice of berry is also useful in sore throat.

The stems, flowers and fruit are bitter and carminative, and are prescribed in those forms of the burning of the feet , which are attended with a vesicular, watery eruption.

Fumigations with the vapour of the burning seeds of this plant are in high repute in the cure of toothache. It acts as a powerful sialogogue, and by this means probably relief is obtained.
In the Ayurvedic tradition, kantakari leaves are taken to treat gas and constipation, and are made into a gargle for throat and gum disorders. The expectorant, anticongestive seeds may be taken to relieve asthma and to clear bronchial mucus. The root is used to treat snake scorpion bites

Traditional uses
Parts used  Traditional uses  Contemporary uses  Fragrance  Fragrance parts  Fragrance intensity    Fragrance category    Dye parts  Dye color

Adverse factors
Common pests  Poisonous parts  Poisonous indications  Internal poison  no Dermatologic poison  no Livestock poison  no Mechanical injury  no Hay fever pollen    Hay fever season    Adverse qualities

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-herbs/solanum-xanthocarpum.html
http://www.motherherbs.com/solanum-xanthocarpum.html
http://www.crescentbloom.com/plants/specimen/SO/Solanum%20xanthocarpum.htm
http://www.holisticonline.com/Herbal-Med/_Herbs/h160.htm
http://www.crimson-sage.com/shop/?shop=1&itemid=84
http://www.impgc.com/plantinfo_A.php?id=76&bc=Raw%20Herbs%20»%20Plant

http://www.ayurvedakalamandiram.com/herbs.htm#kanchanara

http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_IJK.htm

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Categories
Exercise

Limber up Shoulders, Back and Abdominals

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This simple exercise  will help you become more limber, with a trimmer midsection. This move targets your shoulders, back and abdominals.
Step 1. Sit on a sturdy chair. Place your feet flat on the floor at hips-width apart. Be sure your ankles are directly below your knees. Extend your arms overhead with your palms facing in and your shoulders relaxed. Pull your abs in toward your spine. Inhale.
Step 2. On the exhale, twist your upper body to the right. At the same time, lower your arms to shoulder height and stretch them to the side. Focus on reaching your fingertips away from you. Pause for three seconds, reminding yourself to pull up through your middle and to sit as tall as possible. Return to the start and switch sides. Continue alternating sides until you’ve done 10 moves on each side.

Sources: Los Angeles Times

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Categories
Featured

Three Cups of Tea a Day Slashes Your Breast Cancer Risk

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Just three cups of tea a day can reduce the risk of breast cancer in young women. New research shows that the chances of developing a tumor drop by around 37 percent in women under 50 who drank tea at least three times daily.

Older women who consumed similar amounts did not see a the same benefit; researchers theorized that the anti-cancer properties of tea may have a more potent effect on the types of tumors that tend to grow in younger women.

Although the health benefits of tea are well known, they have long been considered to mostly affect heart disease. A study last year showed four cups a day could reduce your risk of a heart attack. However, other recent studies have suggested that tea can protect against skin cancer, ovarian cancer and even weak bones.

Sources:The Daily Mail January 21, 2009

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Categories
Positive thinking

Learning From The Picture of Life

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Cycle Of Life :
As we walk through the world, the people we encounter appear so different from one another. We see babies, old men, pregnant women, and teenaged boys. We know couples on the verge of marriage and lonely widows. We interact with toddlers and the terminally ill. As different as each person seems, they are all living the human experience. They are just at different places in the cycle that begins with birth and ends with death. Every phase of the cycle of life has its gifts and its challenges. Each stage is temporary and ultimately gives way to a new phase. This ephemeral quality makes each phase precious, because it will never last.

One of the wonderful qualities possessed by babies and young children is that they are unaware that a cycle of life even exists. They simply are present to wherever they happen to be right now, and they don’t give much thought to the past or future. Being around them reminds us of the joy that comes from living fully in the moment. On the opposite end of life’s cycle are our elderly role models. They are a reminder that each phase of life should be treasured. Time does pass, and we all change and grow older.

Being aware of the cycle of life and our place in it makes us wiser. As we develop a true appreciation for the phase we are in, we can savor it more. A new mother going through a difficult time with her infant can more easily embrace her challenges because she knows that her child will grow up, and she will long for this time again. Difficult and challenging periods are inevitable, but – like everything that is a part of the cycle of life – they are temporary. When we are fully engaged with life, we get to savor and grow from each phase, and we are ready for the next one when it arrives. Fully embracing wherever you are in the cycle of life is the very essence to happiness.

Sources: Daily Om

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Shankapushpi

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Botanical Name: Canscora Decussata
Family Name: Gentianaceae
Popular Name: Sankh Pushpi, Shankhini, Kambumalini, Samkhapushpi, Sankaphuli
English Name:Aloeweed
Latin   Name:Evolvolus alsinoides,Convolvolus Puricalis
Sanskrit: Sankapushpi
Hindi : Shankhini
Parts Used: Entire plant and juice,each part has different therapetic value and must be prepared in it’s own way of maximum benefits.
Habitat: This herb is found in India and Burma

Description: Shankhapushpi is a morning glory like perennial herb. The branches of the Shankhapushpi are spread on the ground and can be more than 30 cm long. The flowers are blue in color (5mm) and the leaves, which are elliptic in shape (2mm), are located at alternate positions with branches or flowers.

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Uses: Primarily, Shankhapushpi is used as a brain tonic. Shankhapushpi is one of the best and prominent natural medicines, which helps in improving memory. Whole plant of Shankhapushpi is used in medical treatment. Various chemical compositions such as glucose, sucrose, glycosides, alkaloids and various acids etc. are found in the plant. Shankhapushpi is also used as one of the most important ingredient in treatment of disorders/syndromes such as hypertension, hypotension, anxiety neurosis, stresses etc.

Popularly known to treat sleep disorders – stress and anxiety, Shankapushpi is quoted in Charaka to be the single greatest herb for enhancing all three aspects of mind power — learning (Dhi), memory (Driti), and recall (Smriti). Thus it is called the greatest Medhya Rasayana (that which enhances the mind). It helps the quality of sleep by improving mind-body coordination. Shankapushpi is very beneficial for the nervous system, enhancing the quality of bone marrow and nerve tissue.

In Ayurveda, anxiousness and mood changes are said to be a result of Vata or Pitta imbalances. This product pacifies Vata and Pitta Doshas. Shankhpushpi has been used safely in India for several centuries. It is suggest that Shankapushpi should  not be used if you are pregnant or nursing. Please do not use while consuming alchohol or prior to driving or operating machinery as drowsiness may occur.

Resources:
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-herbs/shankapushpi.html
http://www.indiaoz.com.au/health/ayurveda/h_r/herbs_Shankapushpi.shtml
http://www.allayurveda.com/topic_month_march2004.htm
http://www.parasherbocare.com/herbs.htm

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