Aloe vera

Aloe vera, also known as the true or medicinal aloe, is a species of succulent plant that probably originated in the southern half of the Arabian peninsula, Northern Africa, the Canary islands and Cape Verde. Aloe vera grows in arid climates and is widely distributed in Africa, India and other arid areas. The species is frequently cited as being used in herbal medicine. Many scientific studies of the use of aloe vera have been undertaken, some of them conflicting.[1][2][3][4] Despite these limitations, there is some preliminary evidence that Aloe vera extracts may be useful in the treatment of wound and burn healing, diabetes and elevated blood lipids in humans.[3] These positive effects are thought to be due to the presence of compounds such as polysaccharides, mannans, anthraquinones and lectins.[3][5][6]

Description
Aloe vera is a stemless or very short-stemmed succulent plant growing to 60100 cm (2439 in) tall, spreading by offsets. The leaves are thick and fleshy, green to grey-green, with some varieties showing white flecks on the upper and lower stem surfaces.[7] The margin of the leaf 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 23 cm (0.81.2 in) long.[7][8] Like other Aloe species, Aloe vera forms arbuscular mycorrhiza, a symbiosis that allows the plant better access to mineral nutrients in soil.[

Uses
[edit] Medicinal uses

Scientific evidence for the cosmetic and therapeutic effectiveness of Aloe vera is limited and when present is typically contradictory.[1][2] Despite this, the cosmetic and alternative medicine industries regularly make claims regarding the soothing, moisturising and healing properties of Aloe vera, especially via Internet advertising.[3][39][40][41][42] Aloe vera gel is used as an ingredient in commercially available lotion, yogurt, beverages and some desserts.[43][44][45] Aloe vera juice is used for consumption and relief of digestive issues such as heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome. 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.[43] Other uses for extracts of Aloe vera include the dilution of semen for the artificial fertilization of sheep,[46] use as fresh food preservative,[47] and use in water conservation in small farms.[48] Aloe vera has a long association with herbal medicine, although it is not known when its medical applications were first discovered. Early records of Aloe vera use appear in the Ebers Papyrus from 16th century BCE,[15] in both Dioscorides' De Materia Medica and Pliny the Elder's Natural History written in the mid-first century CE[15] along with the Juliana Anicia Codex produced in 512 CE.[43] Aloe vera is non-toxic, with no known side effects, provided the aloin has been removed by processing. Taking Aloe vera that contains aloin in excess amounts has been associated with various side effects.[3][4][49] However, the species is used widely in the

traditional herbal medicine of China, Japan, Russia, South Africa, the United States, Jamaica and India.[3]
[edit] Commodity uses

Aloe vera is now widely used on face tissues, where it is promoted as a moisturiser and/or antiirritant to reduce chafing of the nose of users who suffer hay-fever or cold.[66] It has also been suggested that biofuels could be obtained from Aloe vera seeds.[67] It can also be used to retwist dreadlocked hair, a favourite agent for vegans and those who prefer natural products. To add Aloe Vera is also used for soothing the skin, and keeping the skin moist while eliminating the risk of flaky scalp and skin in harsh and dry weather.
[edit] Historical uses

Aloin was the common ingredient in OTC laxative products in the United States prior to 2003, when the FDA ruled that aloin was a class III ingredient, therefore banning its use.[68] It should be noted that processed aloe that contains aloin is used primarily as a laxative, whereas processed aloe vera juice that does not contain significant amounts of aloin is used as a digestive healer. Manufacturers commonly remove aloin in processing due to the FDA ruling.
[edit] Culinary uses

Aloe is also used as a foodstuff. Some molecular gastronomists have begun to take advantage of its gelling properties. Perhaps most notably among these is Chef Quique Dacosta's "Oysters Guggenheim," created at El Poblet in Spain.[6

Basil
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) (pronounced /bzl/ or /bezl/), of the family Lamiaceae (mints), is a tender low-growing herb. Basil is a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine, and also plays a major role in the Southeast Asian cuisines of Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The plant tastes somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell. There are many varieties of basil. That which is used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil, lemon basil and holy basil, which are used in Asia. While most common varieties of basil are treated as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, including African Blue and Holy Thai basil. Basil is originally native to Iran, India and other tropical regions of Asia, having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years [citation needed].

Culinary use

Dried basil leaves.

Basil is commonly used fresh in cooked recipes. It is generally added at the last moment, as cooking quickly destroys the flavour. The fresh herb can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water. The dried herb also loses most of its flavour, and what little flavour remains tastes very different, with a weak coumarin flavour, like hay. Basil is one of the main ingredients in pestoa green Italian oil-and-herb sauce. Its other two main ingredients are olive oil and pine nuts. The most commonly used Mediterranean basil cultivars are "Genovese", "Purple Ruffles", "Mammoth", "Cinnamon", "Lemon", "Globe", and "African Blue". The Chinese also use fresh or dried basils in soups and other foods. In Taiwan, people add fresh basil leaves to thick soups (traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: gngtng). They also eat fried chicken with deep-fried basil leaves. Basil (most commonly Thai Basil) is commonly steeped in cream or milk to create an interesting flavor in ice cream or chocolates (such as truffles). Basil is sometimes used with fresh fruit and in fruit jams and saucesin particular with strawberries, but also raspberries or dark-colored plums. Arguably the flat-leaf basil used in Vietnamese cooking, which has a slightly different flavour, is more suitable for use with fruit.
[edit] Basil seeds

When soaked in water the seeds of several basil varieties become gelatinous, and are used in Asian drinks and desserts such as falooda or Sherbet. Such seeds are known variously as sabza, subza, takmaria, tukmaria, tukhamaria, falooda, selasih (Malay/Indonesian) or ht (Vietnamese). They are used for their medicinal properties in Ayurveda, the traditional medicinal system of India and Siddha medicine, a traditional Tamil system of medicine. They are also used as popular drinks in Southeast Asia.

Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus (pronounced /juklpts/[2] ) is a diverse genus of flowering trees (and a few shrubs) in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small number are found in adjacent areas of New Guinea and Indonesia and one as far north as the Philippine archipelago. Only 15 species occur outside Australia, and only 9 do not occur in Australia. Species of Eucalyptus are cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics including the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, China and the Indian Subcontinent. Eucalyptus is one of three similar genera that are commonly referred to as "eucalypts," the others being Corymbia and Angophora. Many, but far from all, are known as gum trees because many species exude copious sap from any break in the bark (e.g. Scribbly Gum). The generic name is derived from the Greek words (eu), meaning "well," and (kalyptos), meaning well "covered," which refers to the operculum on the calyx that initially conceals the flower.[3] Eucalyptus has attracted attention from global development researchers and environmentalists. It is a fast-growing source of wood, its oil can be used for cleaning and functions as a natural insecticide, and it is sometimes used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria. Outside their natural ranges, eucalypts are both lauded for their beneficial economic impact on poor populations[4][5]:22 and derided for being invasive water-suckers,[6] leading to controversy over their total impact.[7]

Cultivation, uses, and environmental effects

Eucalyptus niphophila in Namadgi National Park

Eucalypts have many uses which have made them economically important trees, and have become a cash crop in poor areas such as Timbuktu, Africa[5]:22 and the Peruvian Andes,[4] despite concerns that the trees are invasive in some countries like South Africa.[6] Best-known are perhaps the varieties Karri and Yellow box. Due to their fast growth, the foremost benefit of these trees is their wood. They can be chopped off at the root and grow back again. They provide many desirable characteristics for use as ornament, timber, firewood and pulpwood. Eucalyptus

is considered the worlds top quality pulping species due to its high fibre yields. It is also used in a number of industries, from fence posts and charcoal to cellulose extraction for biofuels. Fast growth also makes eucalypts suitable as windbreaks and to reduce erosion. Eucalypts draw a tremendous amount of water from the soil through the process of transpiration. They have been planted (or re-planted) in some places to lower the water table and reduce soil salination. Eucalypts have also been used as a way of reducing malaria by draining the soil in Algeria, Lebanon, Sicily,[11], elsewhere in Europe, and California.[12] Drainage removes swamps which provide a habitat for mosquito larvae, but can also destroy ecologically productive areas. This drainage is limited to the soil surface only, because the eucalyptus roots have up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) length, not reaching the phreatic zone; thus rain or irrigation can wet the soil again. Eucalyptus oil is readily steam distilled from the leaves and can be used for cleaning, deodorising, and in very small quantities in food supplements, especially sweets, cough drops and decongestants. It also has insect repellent properties (Jahn 1991 a, b; 1992), and is an active ingredient in some commercial mosquito repellents (Fradin & Day 2002).[13] The nectar of some eucalypts produces high-quality monofloral honey. Eucalypt wood is also commonly used to make digeridoos, a traditional Australian Aboriginal wind instrument. The trunk of the tree is hollowed out by termites, and then cut down if the bore of is the correct size and shape. All parts of Eucalyptus may be used to make dyes that are substantive on protein fibres such as (silk and wool), simply by processing the plant part with water. Colours to be achieved range from yellow and orange through green, tan, chocolate and deep rust red.[14] The material remaining after processing can be safely used as mulch or fertiliser.[citation needed]

Solanaceae
Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains a number of important agricultural crops as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear. Most likely, the name comes from the perceived resemblance that some of the flowers bear to the sun and its rays, and in fact a species of Solanum (Solanum nigrum) is known as the sunberry. Alternatively, it has been suggested the name originates from the Latin verb solari, meaning "to soothe". This presumably refers to alleged soothing pharmacological properties of some of the psychoactive species of the family. The family is also informally known as the nightshade- or potato family. The family includes Datura (Jimson weed), Mandragora (mandrake), belladonna (deadly nightshade), Capsicum (paprika, chili pepper), Solanum (potato, tomato, aubergine or eggplant), Nicotiana (tobacco), and Petunia (petunia). With the exception of tobacco (Nicotianoideae) and petunia (Petunioideae) most of the economically-important genera are contained in the sub-family Solanoideae.

The Solanaceae family is characteristically ethnobotanical, that is, extensively utilized by humans. It is an important source of food, spice and medicine. However, Solanaceae species are often rich in alkaloids whose toxicity to humans and animals ranges from mildly irritating to fatal in small quantities.

Nutritional importance
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Many species of Solanaceae are used as food, most commonly the fruit of the plant. These include:

Chili pepper Eggplant Garden huckleberry Goji berry Ground cherry Potato Sweet pepper Tamarillo Tomatillo Tomato

The most important species of this family for the global diet is the potato or Solanum tuberosum, whose carbohydrate-rich tubers have been a staple food in many times and places, and which is one of the most grown crops today. Some people experience sensitivity or allergy-like symptoms in response to nightshade plants.

Neem
Neem (Azadirachta indica) is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Pakistan, growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Other vernacular names include Neem (Hindi, Urdu and Bengali), Nimm (Punjabi), Arya Veppu (Malayalam), Azad Dirakht (Persian), Nimba (Sanskrit and Marathi), DogonYaro (in some Nigerian languages), Margosa, Neeb (Arabic), Nimtree, Vepu, Vempu, Vepa (Telugu), Bevu (Kannada), Kohomba (Sinhala), Vembu (Tamil), Tamar (Burmese), su u, xoan n (Vietnamese), Paraiso (Spanish), and Indian Lilac (English). In East Africa it is also known as Muarubaini (Swahili), which means the tree of the 40, as it is said to treat 40 different diseases. Neem is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of 1520 m (about 5065 feet), rarely to 35 40 m (115131 feet). It is evergreen, but in severe drought it may shed most or nearly all of its

leaves. The branches are wide spread. The fairly dense crown is roundish or oval and may reach the diameter of 1520 m in old, free-standing specimens.

Uses
In India, the tree is variously known as "Sacred Tree," "Heal All," "Nature's Drugstore," "Village Pharmacy" and "Panacea for all diseases." Products made from neem tree have been used in India for over two millennia for their medicinal properties: Neem products have been observed to be anthelmintic, antifungal, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiviral, contraceptive and sedative.[1] Neem products are also used in selectively controlling pests in plants. It is considered a major component in Ayurvedic medicine and is particularly prescribed for skin disease.

All parts of the tree have medicinal properties (seeds, leaves, flowers and bark) and are used for preparing many different medical preparations. Part of the Neem tree can be used as a spermicide[2] Neem oil is used for preparing cosmetics (soap, shampoo, balms and creams, for example Margo soap), and is useful for skin care such as acne treatment, and keeping skin elasticity. Neem oil has been found to be an effective mosquito repellent. Neem derivatives neutralise nearly 500 pests worldwide, including insects, mites, ticks, and nematodes, by affecting their behaviour and physiology. Neem does not normally kill pests right away, rather it repels them and affects their growth. As neem products are cheap and non-toxic to higher animals and most beneficial insects, they are well-suited for pest control in rural areas. Besides its use in traditional Indian medicine the neem tree is of great importance for its antidesertification properties and possibly as a good carbon dioxide sink. Practitioners of traditional Indian medicine recommend that patients suffering from chicken pox sleep on neem leaves. Neem gum is used as a bulking agent and for the preparation of special purpose food (for diabetics). Aqueous extracts of neem leaves have demonstrated significant antidiabetic potential. Traditionally, slender neem branches were chewed in order to clean one's teeth. Neem twigs are still collected and sold in markets for this use, and in India one often sees youngsters in the streets chewing on neem twigs. A decoction prepared from neem roots is ingested to relieve fever in traditional Indian medicine. Neem leaf paste is applied to the skin to treat acne. Neem blossoms are used in Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka to prepare Ugadi pachhadi. Actually, "bevina hoovina gojju" (a type of curry prepared with neem blossoms) is common in Karnataka throughout the year. Dried blossoms are used when fresh blossoms are not available. In Tamilnadu, a rasam (veppam poo rasam) made with neem blossoms is a culinary speciality. A mixture of neem flowers and bella (jaggery or unrefined brown sugar) is prepared and offered to friends and relatives, symbolic of sweet and bitter events in the upcoming new year.

Extract of neem leaves is thought to be helpful as malaria prophylaxis despite the fact that no comprehensive clinical studies are yet available. In several cases, private initiatives in Senegal were successful in preventing malaria.[3] However, major NGOs such as USAID are not

supposed to use neem tree extracts unless the medical benefit has been proved with clinical studies.

Heena
Henna dyes hair, skin, and fabric organically, similar to a black tea dye. Henna is extracted from a tree by drying and grinding leaves and stems. The greenish powder, when mixed with an acidic liquid, makes a temporary red, brown, or orange design on a porous surface. People use henna in ritual skin painting, called Mehndi, for birth and marriage celebrations. Western cultures have adopted henna to make temporary tattoos and organic hair dye. The henna tree, Lawsonia inermis, grows in hot, arid regions like North Africa and India. For centuries, people ground the foliage of the plant into a powder to dye cloth and skin. The strong pigment, lawsone, actually temporarily stains the skin. Lawsone is a tannin; tannins are also found in wine and tea. They infuse porous surfaces with a darker pigment, but do not chemically alter the surface permanently

Gooseberry
The gooseberry (pronounced /zbri/;[1] Ribes uva-crispa, syn. R. grossularia) is a species of Ribes, native to Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia. It is one of several similar species in the subgenus Grossularia; for the other related species (e.g., North American Gooseberry Ribes hirtellum), see the genus page Ribes. Although usually placed as a subgenus within Ribes, a few taxonomists treat Grossularia as a separate genus, although hybrids between gooseberry and blackcurrant (e.g., the Jostaberry) are possible. The subgenus Grossularia differs somewhat from currants, chiefly in their spiny stems, and in that their flowers grow one to three together on short stems, not in racemes. Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit and are grown on both a commercial and domestic basis.

Culinary uses
Gooseberries are best known for their use in desserts such as Gooseberry Fool and Gooseberry Crumble. In some countries, like Portugal, gooseberries are very appreciated as a beverage, being mostly used mixed with soda, water or even milk.

[edit] Etymology
The "goose" in "gooseberry" has usually been seen as a corruption of either the Dutch word Kruisbezie or the allied German Krausbeere, or of the earlier forms of the French groseille. Alternatively the word has been connected to the Middle High German krus (curl, crisped), in Latin as grossularia. However, the Oxford English Dictionary takes the obvious derivation from

goose and berry as probable; the grounds on which plants and fruits have received names associating them with animals are so often inexplicable that the inappropriateness in the meaning does not necessarily give good grounds for believing that the word is an etymological corruption.
Large berries can be produced by heavy composting, especially if the majority of the fruit is picked off while small to allow room for a few berries to continue to grow. Grafting of gooseberry vines onto ornamental golden currants (Ribes aurum) or other Ribes species can be helpful for this purpose. Some 19th- and early 20th-century cultivators produced single gooseberries near to two ounces in weight, but, as with many varieties of fruit, larger sizes of gooseberry proved to have weaker flavor.

Sapindus
Sapindus is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the Lychee family, Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions in both the Old World and New World. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Common names include soapberry and soapnut, both names referring to the use of the crushed seeds to make soap. The leaves are alternate, 1540 cm (5.916 in) long, pinnate, with 14-30 leaflets, the terminal leaflet often absent. The flowers form in large panicles, each flower small, creamy white. The fruit, called a soap nut, is a small leathery-skinned drupe 12 cm (0.390.79 in) in diameter, yellow ripening blackish, containing one to three seeds. Soap nuts contain saponins, a natural surfactant. They have been used for washing for thousands of years by various peoples, such as the Native Americans.[3] Today, soapberries are being considered for commercial use in cosmetics and detergents, among many other products

Uses
Sapindus emarginatus leaves in Hyderabad, India

Soap nuts have historically been used in folk remedies as a mucolytic agent[5], emetic[6], contraceptive[7], and for treatment of excessive salivation[5], epilepsy[5][8], and to treat chlorosis[5]. The effectiveness of some of these folk-remedy treatments have not been subject to extensive scientific scrutiny. However, modern scientific medical research has investigated the use of soap nuts in treating migraines.[8][6] Investigation of the contraceptive capability of plant saponins have shown some spermicidal capacity for certain extracts.[9][7] While the Sapindus saponins cause less irritation, they are less potent bactericidal agents than modern chemical alternatives. The medical implications of these findings are not clear.[10] Soap nuts, such as those of Sapindus mukorossi, are among the list of herbs and minerals in Ayurveda. They are a popular ingredient in Ayurvedic shampoos and cleansers. They are used in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for eczema, psoriasis, and for removing freckles. Soap nuts have gentle insecticidal properties and are traditionally used for removing lice from the scalp.

Sapindus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) species including Endoclita malabaricus. Dodders any leafless, twining, parasitic plant in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). The genus contains about 145 twining species that are widely distributed throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the world. Many species have been introduced with their host plants into new areas. The dodder contains no chlorophyll and instead absorbs food through haustoria; these are rootlike organs that penetrate the tissue of a host plant and may kill it. The slender, stringlike stems of the dodder may be yellow, orange, pink, or brown in colour. The dodders flowers, in nodulelike clusters, are made up of tiny yellow or white bell-like, lobed corollas (united petals). Its leaves are reduced to minute scales. The dodders seed germinates, forming an anchoring root, and then sends up a slender stem that grows in a spiral fashion until it reaches a host plant. It then twines around the stem of the host plant and throws out haustoria, which penetrate it. Water is drawn through the haustoria from the host plants stem and xylem, and nutriments are drawn from its phloem. Meanwhile, the root of the dodder rots away after stem contact has been made with a host plant. As the dodder grows, it sends out new haustoria and establishes itself very firmly on the host plant. After growing in a few spirals around one host shoot, the dodder finds its way to another, and it continues to twine and branch until it resembles a fine, densely tangled web of thin stems enveloping the host plant. Dodder can do great damage to crops of clover, alfalfa, flax, hops, and beans. It is mainly controlled by the hand removal of the plants from fields and by preventing the plants accidental introduction.