MEDICINAL HERBS

I am sure if you have been following the posts that I do for this blog, you'd noticed that besides Feng Shui and Chinese culture, another of my interests is herbs. Today I will like to share with you pictures of more herbs from my school Herb Garden and their uses in traditional medicine.

Lengkuas (Alpinia Galanga stuntz) is used as an appetizer. It is believed to help clean the blood and to clear phlegm. In traditional Malay medicine, it is regarded as an aphrodisiac.

Sirih (Piper betle L.) leaves has been proven scientifically to contain medicinal oils that can treat white discharge, bad breath, body odour and coughs.

Derhaka Mertua (Plumbago Indica). The part that is mostly used for medicinal purposes is the root. It is used to treat period pains. One just needs to drink an infusion of roots boiled in water as a cure. It is also used as a natural method to abort an unwanted foetus.

Jarak pagar (Jatropha curcas) or jarak cina is used to treat problems of hair loss. One needs to use the oil from the fruit of this plant on the scalp to induce hair growth and also make the roots of the hair stronger. There are more traditional uses for this plant. One of which is the use of the leaves to wrap a heated stone that is used as a compress on the stomach of a lady in confinement. It helps to rid the body of wind.

Putat (Barringtonia racemosa (L.) Spreng). The extract of the putat seeds has been proven scientifically to have anti cancer properties. It can be eaten as ulam.

Lemuni (Vitex Trifolia var Negundo). The roots of this plant can be boiled and the infusion can be drunk by ladies in confinement. We can use the leaves to treat burns. All we need to do is to heat the leaf and then apply it to the burn. This must be done 2 to 3 times a day. Do you suffer from headaches? One traditional cure is to sleep on a pillow made from lemuni leaves.