Cassia Angustifolia LeavesStemsPods

Purgative
Available in whole or powder form
Local Names:   Senna, Sonamuki.

Cassia angustifolia (Senna) is the most widely used anthropoid drug today and has been used for centuries in Western and Eastern systems of medicine as a laxative. Usually Cassia angustifolia is taken as a tea or swallowed in powdered form. Besides its wide use in conventional Western medicine. Cassia angustifolia (Senna) leaf remains an important drug used in traditional Chinese medicine and traditional indial Ayurvedic and Unani medicine. Cassia angustifolia’s medical use was first described in the writings of Arabian Physicians Serapion and Mesue in the ninth century C.E. Today, Senna leaf and fruit are official in national pharmacopoeias worldwide, including those of Austria, China, France, Germany, greatbritain, Hungary, India, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, the United States, the European Pharmacopoeia, and many others.

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Carica Papaya Leaves

Anthelmatic, emmenagogue, saponaceous
Available in whole or powder form
Local Names:    Papaya, Pergai, Papita.

Carica papaya (papaya) has remarkable medicinal virtues which were fully recognized even in ancient times. Carica papaya is not only one of the most easily digested fruits, but it also aids the digestion of other foods. Ripe papaya is excellent tonic for growing children, and nursing mothers. Carica papaya is an energy giving food. Modern scientific investigations into the properties of the papaya have confirmed many of the ancient beliefs in its virtues. The most important of these virtues is the discovery of a proteindigesting enzyme in the milky juice or latex, which is carried in a network of vessels throughout the plant. The enzyme is similar to pepsin in its digestive action and is reputed to be so powerful that it can digest 200 times its own weight in protein. Its effect is to assist the body's own enzymes in assimilating the maximum nutritional value from food to provide energy and body building materials. Papain in the raw papaya is highly beneficial in the deficiency of gastric juice, excess of unhealthy mucus in the stomach, in dyspepsia and intestinal irritation. The ripe fruit of Carica papaya, if eaten regularly, corrects habitual constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhea. The juice of the papaya seeds is also useful in dyspepsia and bleeding piles. The digestive enzyme, papain in the milky juice of the unripe roundworms. A tablespoonful of the fresh juice and equal quantity of honey should be mixed with three to four tablespoonful of hot water and taken as a dose by an adult. This dose should be followed two hours later by a dose of 30 to 60 ml. of castor oil mixed in 250-375 ml. of luke warm milk. This treatment should be repeated for two days, if necessary. For children of 7 to 10 years, half the above doses should be given. For children under three years. a teaspoonful is sufficient. Papaya seeds are also useful for this purpose, they are rich in a substance called caricin which is a very effective medicine for expelling roundworms. The alkaloid carpaine found in the leaves has also the power to destroy or expel intestinal worms. They are given with honey. The juice of the raw papaya, being an irritant, is useful in several skin disorders. Carica papaya is applied with beneficial results to swellings to prevent pus formation or suppuration and to corns,warts, pimples horn, an excrescence or an abnormal outgrowth of the skin and other skin diseases. The juice of Carica papaya as a cosmetic removes freckles or brown spots due to exposure to sunlight and makes the skin smooth and delicate. A paste of the papaya seeds is applied in skin diseases like ringworm. The unripe papaya helps the contraction of the muscle fibres of the womb and is thus beneficial in securing proper menstrual flow. It is especially helpful in case of cessation of menstruation due to exposure to the cold or due to fright in young unmarried girls. Black seeds of papaya are highly beneficial in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism, malnutrition etc. A tablespoonful of juice obtained by grinding the seeds, mixed with ten drops of fresh lime juice, should be gIVen once or twice daily for about a month as a medicine for this diseases. Fresh juice of raw papaya mixed with honey can be applied with beneficial results over inflamed tonsils for diphtheria and other throat disorders. It dissolves the membrane and prevents infection from spreading. Ripe papaya is highly valuable in enlargement of the spleen. The fruit should be skimi.ed, cut into pieces and immersed in vinegar for a week. About 20 grams of the fruit thus preserved should be consumed twice with meals in the treatment of this disease.4 Slices of peeled raw fruit with cumin seeds and pepper can also be used once daily to cure enlargement of the spleen due to malaria.

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Cassia Tora Seeds

Nucilaginous, aperient. Externally germicide & antiparasitic
Available in whole or powder form
Local Names:    Tagara, Foetid cassia, Tora.

Traditional Cassia tora is used as tonic, carminative and stimulant. Cassia tora’s leaves, seeds, and roots are used medicinally, primarily in Asia. Cassia tora is believed to posses a laxative effect, as well as to be beneficial for the eyes. As a folk remedy, the seeds of Cassia tora are often roasted, then boiled in water to produce a tea. Roasted and ground, the seeds have also been used as a substitute for coffee. According to Ayurveda the leaves and seeds of Cassia tora are acrid, laxative, antiperiodic, anthelmintic, ophthalmic, liver tonic, cardiotonic and expectorant. The leaves and seeds are useful in leprosy,ringworm,flatulence, colic,dyspepsia,constipation,cough,bronchitis,cardiac disorders. Cassia tora powder made from cassia tora seeds and cassia tora splits are some ancient natural ingredients. In India, cassia tora is used as a natural pesticide in organic farms. Roasted seeds are substituted for coffee, like tephrosia seeds. Cassia tora powder is most popularly used in the pet-food industry. It is mix with guar gum for use in mining and other industrial application. According to Chinese Materia Medica,it promotes blood circulation, and its cold nature makes it effective in the treatment of heat syndromes. Seed tarts ailments due heat such as blindness, conjunctivitis, hyperdacryosis, and others.

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Coleus Forskohlii Roots

Cardiotonic, hypertension, anti ageing
Available in whole or powder form
Local Names:   Coleus, Mainmul, Gurmal.

Forskolin, a chemical found in coleus, has been found to activate the enzyme adenylate cyclase. This enzyme is a turnkey compound that initiates a cascade of critical events within every cell of the body. Adenylate cyclase and the chemicals it activates comprise a “second messenger” system that is responsible for carrying out the complex and powerful effects of hormones in the body. Stimulation of the second messenger system by forskolin leads to blood vessel dilation, inhibition of allergic reactions, and an increase in thyroid hormone secretion. Forskolin has other properties as well, including inhibition of a pro-inflammatory substance known as platelet-activating factor (PAF) and inhibition of the spread of cancer cells. Research into coleus’ other constituents has been sparse. Study found that forskolin in coleus, when inhaled, could decrease lung spasms in asthmatics compared to placebo. Coleus forskohlii may help dilate blood vessels and improve the forcefulness with which the heart pumps blood. Recent clinical studies indicate that Coleus forskohlii improves heart function in persons with cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure An uncontrolled study found that forskolin reduced blood pressure and improved heart function in people with cardiomyopathy. These trials have used intravenous infusions of isolated forskolin. Studies in healthy humans, including at least one double-blind study, have repeatedly shown that direct application of an ophthalmic preparation of forskolin to the eyes lowers pressure in them, thus reducing the risk of glaucoma. Coleus forskohlii has modern references to use of the herb coleus for weight loss. In India Coleus has been used in Pickels sinces ages. Its popularly known as Mainmul Pickel.

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