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Herbs & Plants

Lemon Thyme

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Botanical Name: Thymus citriodorus
Family:Lamiaceae
Kingdom :Plantae
Division :Magnoliophyta
Class :Magnoliopsida
Order :Lamiales
Genus :Thymus

SynonymsThymus serpyllum var. albus ,   Thymus serpyllum ssp. chamaedrys

Common Names:  Lemon Thyme, Creeping Lemon Thyme, Lemon-Scented Thyme
Habitat:It is not  native to USA but introduced and now grows in Connecticut (CT), Delaware (DE), Maine (ME), Maryland (MD), Massachusetts (MA), Michigan (MI), New Hampshire (NH), New York (NY), Oregon (OR), Pennsylvania (PA), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT), Virginia (VA) and Washington (WA) .

Description: The lemon thyme is generally described as a Perennial Subshrub or Shrub.It is a compact, upright shrub that grows to a height of 8 to 12 inches. The leaves are tiny and heart shaped, ringed with a splash of yellow. As the name implies, lemon thyme has a bit of a citrus tang, but is milder than most other thyme. This makes it a natural choice for seasoning seafood dishes and even sweets. The citrus flavor also helps to lighten fatty dishes.
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Bees are attracted to lemon thyme and it gives honey a good flavor. It grows on dry, well drained soil. It produces dark pink flowers which bloom in late summer and it is the small green leaves that smell strongly of lemon. It is not as hardy as other thymes so may need protecting in winter with a layer of leaf mold or straw. This is a good variety for growing in containers. The dried, scented leaves make a useful, fragrant addition to pot pourri or scented sachets.

Cultivation :
Landscape Uses:Border, Container, Ground cover, Rock garden. Requires a light well-drained preferably calcareous soil in a sunny position. Succeeds in dry soils. Thymes dislike wet conditions, especially in the winter. A layer of gravel on the soil around them will help protect the foliage from wet soils. Plants are hardy to about -15°c. This is a very difficult genus taxonomically, the species hybridize freely with each other and often intergrade into each other. Often cultivated in the herb garden for its leaves, there are some named varieties. The flowers are rich in nectar and are very attractive to honey bees. A good companion for most plants. Special Features:Edible, Fragrant foliage, Not North American native, Suitable for dried flowers.
Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Seed can also be sown in autumn in a greenhouse. Surface sow or barely cover the seed. Germination can be erratic. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. This species is a hybrid and will not breed true from seed. Division in spring or autumn. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring. Cuttings of young shoots, 5 – 8cm with a heel, May/June in a frame. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 – 8cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Layering.

Edible Uses : Leaves – raw in salads or added as a flavouring to cooked foods. A delicious lemon flavour. If the leaves are to be dried, the plants should be harvested in early and late summer just before the flowers open and the leaves should be dried quickly. An aromatic tea is made from the leaves. It has a pleasant lemon-like flavour and is very refreshing

Its light perfume fills the air as it hangs drying from hooks.Both grilled fish dishes and creamy potato gratins are perfect blank canvases for lemon thyme. This wonderful, aromatic herb is also amazing with chicken.

A sweetly scented, evergreen herb and a cultivated form of wild thyme. It is a popular culinary herb due to its mild citrus flavor and is often used in stuffings, with chicken dishes or added to fruit salads and jellies.

Medicinal Uses: Herbal tea made from thyme is said to help speed recovery from a hangover.
Used to make pediatric oral preparations that are tasty and sweet to relieve an “upset tummy”.  It is also in ointments and in “sleep pillows”.
The natural, volatile oils also work as a digestive aid. These same pungent oils make lemon thyme a favorite in aroma therapy for the treatment of asthma. – Sally’s Place.

The leaves, and especially the essential oil contained in them, are strongly antiseptic, deodorant and disinfectant. The plant can be used fresh at any time of the year, or it can be harvested as it comes into flower and either be distilled for the oil or dried for later use. The leaves contain an antioxidant and regular use of the raw leaves has been shown to increase average life expectancy by about 10%. The essential oil obtained from this plant is thought to be less irritant than other thyme oils .

Other Uses :  The essential oil obtained from the leaves and flowering stems is used in perfumery, as a mouth wash, medicinally etc. The aromatic leaves are dried and used in pot-pourri and herbal pillows. The plant makes an attractive ground cover for a sunny position. They are best spaced about 30cm apart each way[

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.piam.com/mms_garden/plants.html
http://www.liketocook.com/50226711/weekend_herb_blogging_lemon_thyme.php
http://www.info-galaxy.com/Herbs/General_Index/Filter/Lemon_Thyme/lemon_thyme.html

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Thymus+x+citriodorus

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News on Health & Science

To Beat Insomnia, Spend Less Time in Bed

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Can’t get to sleep? Well, then stay up, say researchers at Auckland University who have discovered a potential breakthrough treatment  for insomnia.
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According to scientists, the key to sleeplessness is to force bad sleepers to spend less time in bed. First, insomniacs are told to keep a detailed diary of the time they spend in bed asleep and awake. Then, they are asked to change their habits, reducing the time they spend in bed each night by the number of hours they would spend lying awake.

After a couple of weeks, many patients discovered that they were tired enough to start sleeping better. When the insomniacs in the study underwent the therapy, 80% to 90% said their insomnia had improved.

Sources: The Times Of India

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News on Health & Science

Some Fruit Juices Lower Drug Effect

Grapefruit, orange and apple juices can harm the body’s ability to absorb certain medications and make the drugs less effective, said a study.

The research showed that these juices can decrease the effectiveness of certain drugs used to treat heart disease, cancer, organ-transplant rejection and infection, “potentially wiping out their beneficial effects”, it said.

David Bailey, a professor of clinical pharmacology with the University of Western Ontario and leader of the study, was the first researcher to identify grapefruit juice‘s potential to increase the absorption of certain drugs two decades ago, possibly turning some doses toxic.

The new findings came as part of his continuing research on the subject, and were presented at the 236th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Recently, we discovered that grapefruit and these other fruit juices substantially decrease the oral absorption of certain drugs undergoing intestinal uptake transport,” said Bailey. “The concern is loss of benefit of medications essential for the treatment of serious medical conditions.”

Healthy volunteers took fexofenadine, an antihistamine used to fight allergies, along with either a glass of grapefruit juice, a glass of water with naringin (which gives the bitter taste to grapefruit juice), or plain water.

Those who drank the grapefruit juice absorbed only half the amount of fexofenadine, compared to those who drank plain water.

Researchers said the water with naringin served to block “a key drug uptake transporter, called OATP1A2, involved in shuttling drugs from the small intestine to the bloodstream”.

Among the drugs affected by consumption of grapefruit, orange and apple juices are: etoposide, an anticancer agent; beta blockers used to treat high blood pressure and prevent heart attacks; and certain antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, itraconazole).

The drug-lowering interaction also affected cyclosporine, a drug taken to prevent rejection of transplanted organs, and more drugs were expected to be added to the list as the research continued.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Herbs & Plants

Kedzu

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Botanical Name: Pueraria lobata
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Phaseoleae
Genus: Pueraria
Species: P. lobata
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
syn.Names: P. montana, P. thunbergiana

Common Name : Kudzu

Habitat: . It is native to southern Japan and southeast China in eastern Asia. The name comes from the Japanese word for this plant, kuzu. The other species of Pueraria occur in southeast Asia, further south.

Description:
Kudzu is a climbing, woody or semi-woody, perennial vine capable of reaching heights of 20–30 m (66-98 ft) in trees, but also scrambles extensively over lower vegetation. The leaves are deciduous, alternate and compound, with a petiole (leaf stem) 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long and three broad leaflets 14–18 cm (6–7 in) long and 10 cm (4 in) broad. The leaflets may be entire or deeply 2–3 lobed, and are pubescent underneath with hairy margins.

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Silver spotted skipper on kudzuThe flowers are borne in long panicles 10–25 cm (about 4–10 in) long with about 30–80 individual blooms at nodes on the stems (see image).

Each flower is about 1–1.5 cm (about 0.4–0.6 in) long, purple, and highly fragrant. The flowers are copious nectar producers and are visited by many species of insects, including bees, butterflies and moths. Flowering occurs in late summer and is followed by production of brown, hairy, flattened seed pods in October and November, each of which contains three to ten hard seeds. Seeds, however, are only produced on plants that are draped over vegetation, fences, and other objects. Only one or two viable seeds are produced in a cluster of seed pods.

Once established, these plants grow rapidly, extending as much as 20 m (60 ft) per season at a rate of about 30 cm (12 in) per day. This vigorous vine may extend 10–30 m (30–100 ft) in length, with basal stems 1–10 cm (1–4 inches) in diameter. Kudzu roots are fleshy, with massive tap roots 10–20 cm (4–8 in) or more in diameter, reaching depths of up to 12 feet (3.7 m) in older patches, and weighing as much as 180 kg. As many as thirty stems may grow from a single root crown.

Kudzu grows well under a wide range of conditions and in most soil types. Preferred habitats are forest edges, abandoned fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas, where sunlight is abundant. Kudzu grows best where winters do not drop below ?15 °C (5 °F), average summer temperatures are regularly above 27 °C (80 °F), and annual rainfall is 1000 mm (40 in) or more. This fast growing plant does not do as well in less temperate areas.

Genaral Use:
Food:The non-woody parts of the plant are edible. The young leaves can be used for salad or cooked as a leaf vegetable, the flowers battered and fried (like squash flowers), and the starchy tuberous roots can be prepared as any root vegetable. The starchy roots are ground into a fine powder, known as kuzu, and used for varieties of Wagashi and herbal medicines. When added to water and heated, kudzu powder becomes clear and adds stickiness to the food. It is sometimes known as “Japanese arrowroot”, due to the similar culinary effect it produces.

Its leaves are high in vitamins A and C, as well as calcium and protein. Its roots are rich in starch and its flowers are an excellent honey source.

The name Kudzu appeared first in Kojiki and Nihonshoki as a type of vine or Kazura used commonly by the people who lived in Kuzu, an area around present-day Yoshino, Nara prefecture. It is unclear whether the name was taken from the people or the name of the plant was applied to the people. Kudzu has been used for over 1300 years and it is speculated its use goes back even further. Records from the Nara and Heian era indicate that kudzu was collected and sent as a part of tax. Even today, “Yoshino Kudzu” has the best image of kudzu powder. The Kagoshima prefecture is the largest producer of kudzu products.

Jelly
The purple flowers of Kudzu are also used to make a sweet jelly. This jelly is well known in the southern United States. This jelly has been described as tasting like either a cross between apple jelly and peach jelly or bubblegum.The viscous substance has a golden yellow color.

Soil improvement and preservation
Kudzu has been used as a form of erosion control and also to enhance the soil. As a legume, it increases the nitrogen in the soil via a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil.   Its deep tap roots also transfer valuable minerals from the subsoil to the topsoil, thereby improving the topsoil. In the deforested section of the Central Amazon Basin in Brazil, it has been used to improve the soil pore-space in clay latosols and thus freeing even more water for plants than in the soil prior to deforestation. .

Animal feed
Kudzu can be used by grazing animals as it is high in quality as a forage and greatly enjoyed by livestock. It can be enjoyed up until frost and even slightly after. Kudzu hay typically has a 15–18% crude protein content and over 60% total digestible nutrient value. The quality of it decreases, however, as vine content increases relative to the leaf content. Kudzu also has low forage yields despite its great deal of growth, yielding around two to four tons of dry matter per acre annually. It is also difficult to bale due to its vining growth and its slowness in shedding water. This makes it necessary to place kudzu hay under sheltered protection after being baled. Kudzu is readily consumed by all types of grazing animals, yet frequent grazing over 3 to 4 years can ruin stands. Thus kudzu only serves well as a grazing crop on a temporary basis.

Other uses
In the Southern United States, where the plant has been introduced with devastating environmental consequences, kudzu is used to make soaps, lotions, jelly, and compost. It has even been suggested that kudzu may become a valuable asset for the production of cellulosic ethanol.

Medicinal Uses:
Studies have shown that kudzu can reduce both hangovers and alcohol cravings. Persons who take kudzu will still drink alcohol; however, they will consume less than if they had not taken kudzu. The mechanism for this is not yet established, but it may have to do with both alcohol metabolism and the reward circuits in the brain. The Harvard Medical School is studying kudzu as a possible way to treat alcoholic cravings, by turning an extracted compound from the herb into a medical drug.

Kudzu also contains a number of useful isoflavones, including daidzein (an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent), daidzin (a cancer preventive) and genistein (an antileukemic agent). Kudzu is a unique source of the isoflavone puerarin. Kudzu root compounds can affect neurotransmitters (including serotonin, GABA, and glutamate) and it has shown value in treating migraine and cluster headache.

In traditional Chinese medicine, where it is known as gé g?n , kudzu is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It is used to treat tinnitus, vertigo, and Wei syndrome (superficial heat close to the surface).

Kudzu is a nourishing herb used to alleviate diarrhea, allay thirst, and treat colds and can be effective added to ginger tea to alleviate nausea. It is also used to help relax stiff muscles. An extract from kudzu may reduce alcohol craving according to some modern clinical reports and laboratory tests. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the herb is used to hasten recovery from measles and to treat symptoms of hypertension such as headache, dizziness, and ringing in the ears. Kudzu contains substantial amounts of the dietary phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein, which have shown benefits for relieving hot flashes and slowing bone loss during and after menopause. These compounds are receiving increased interest for their cancer-protective and cardiovascular-protective effects. Kudzu has a taste of SWEET, ACRID and a temperature of COOL.

Indicated for colds, fever and chills with attendant aches in shoulders, neck and back; dry throat and stomach.  The root is good for most external, acute conditions and is particularly useful in relieving stiff neck and muscular tension due to  wind-heat  injury,  as well as in treating colds, flu, headache and diarrhea.  Because of its mild tonic properties and its ability to replenish body fluids, it may be used for the treatment of diabetes and hypoglycemia.  Plant has long been used in Chinese medicine to treat alcohol abuse and has recently been publicized as a potentially safe and effective treatment.  The chemicals daidzin and daidzein in both roots and flowers suppress the appetite for alcohol.  For measles it is often used in combination with sheng ma.  Chinese studies indicate that kudzu increases cerebral blood flow in patients with arteriosclerosis, and eases neck pain and stiffness.Roots: counter poisons; induce sweating; treat fever, vomiting, dysentery, diarrhea, chicken pox, influenza, diabetes, typhoid fever, excessive gas in the system.  Dry pan roasted, it is very good for spleen deficient diarrhea and loose bowls. Flowers: treat excessive influence of alcoholic drinks, dysentery, gas in the intestine. Vine (without the leaves): treats coughs, general weakness

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.

You may click to see:->Kudzu To Help Stop Smoking

>Kudzu Reduces Alcohol Consumption

>Herbs Kudzu and St. John’s Wort and Alcohol Intake

>Recent Research on Kedzu and alcoholism

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu
http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/blossoms.html
http://www.altmd.com/Articles/Kudzu-Herbal-Remedies

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

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An Hour Exercise for 5 Days a Week to Loose Weight

Women who want to lose weight and keep it off need to exercise for almost an hour, five days a week, according to a new study from the University of Pittsburgh.

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Researchers found that a 55-minute regime was the minimum needed to maintain a 10 percent drop in weight.

During the four-year study, 200 overweight and obese women were told to eat between 1,200 and 1,500 calories a day, and do one of four different exercise programs, which varied in intensity and variety.

After six months, all of the women lost up to 10 percent of their body weight, but only a small percentage was able to maintain it. Those who did keep the weight off were those doing more exercise — about 275 minutes a week, on average.

Research points to a combination of exercise and calorie control as having the best chance of success in weight loss. This latest research once again confirms that plenty of exercise is a key ingredient.

Sources:
BBC News July 29, 2008
Archives of Internal Medicine July 28, 2008;168(14):1550-1559

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