Herbal explorations

Every family has its own storehouse of herbal remedies useful for treating different ailments. SHEELA RANI CHUNKATH selects seven herbs common in urban areas. These can either be used in the traditional way by boiling the leaves, extracted as juice or applied as paste.

IT is a damp, chilly day and you have the beginnings of a cold. But it need not be an ordeal if you try herbal inhalation and the remedies given below. You will feel a lot better.

Take a handful of Adhatoda zeylanica, Vitex negundo, Leucas aspera, Ocimum sanctum, Acalypha indica, Anisochilus carnosus and Azadirachta indica ... If these sound like Greek and Latin to you, that is what they are: these are Latin (botanical) names.

In rural South India, it is easy to locate the plants listed here. In case you are in a metropolis you will have to search. It happened to me. Once I started looking, I found a few places in and around Besant Nagar, Chennai, where I could get Nochi and Adhathodai leaves. Neem, Kuppaimeni and Thumbai grow wild in Chennai, unless of course the Corporation of Chennai has struck and cemented them out of existence. Thulasi and Omavalli are grown in many homes.

Do not be too worried if you miss a herb or two. Once you get going and even start talking to the elderly, you can come up with your own remedies to be used in inhalation by adapting the ones given here or those that have been used by family and friends. The good thing about herbal remedies is that each family has its own recipes, many of which work very well and have no harmful side-effects.

For the inhalation, take a stainless steel vessel (preferably a vessel with a wide mouth) fill it half with water and add the herbs. After boiling it for a while, remove it from the fire and cover it. Drop a small piece of heated brick (the size of a cricket ball) into the vessel. The water continues to boil and you will be able to have a real steam inhalation. It will clear your sinuses. It works best if you try the inhalation before going to bed. (The brick can be heated on a stove for about 10 to 15 minutes till it becomes red hot. Use a pair of tongs or a wide ladle to drop it into the vessel. Exercise care to avoid an accident.

If you want to do it the traditional way, boil the leaves in a mud vessel (the kind that is used in Tamil Nadu to cook curry) with a wide mouth. The muddy earthy fragrance is pleasant.

For a proper inhalation cover your head and your upper body with a thick bedsheet or a large towel. With your face not too close to the vessel, inhale deeply through your mouth and nose. Breathe properly. An inhalation with herbs once a week keeps those colds at bay.

After the procedure, pour the water into a bucket, mix it with cold water and have a bath. It relieves body pain.

Inhalation helps one learn a little more about these herbs. About 500 medicinal herbs have been listed in the Siddha Materia Medica and have been in use in Tamil Nadu for years.

This article will focus on seven herbs which are some of the more commonly available types found in South India.

Adhatoda zeylanica (or Adhathodai in Tamil), a common hedge plant found all over South India and in Bengal, grows to a height of four to 10 feet. Its leaves are like those of the mango tree. It has white flowers. As its name suggests, goats and other animals do not eat its leaves (the name Adhathodai literally means "untouched by goats"). The plant is extremely useful in treating coughs, colds, wheezing and fevers. The juice and decoction can be taken internally.

The next time you have a cold, try this remedy. Take a few leaves of the Adhathodai. Put them in a blender with a little water and extract the juice. Extract the juice of fresh ginger. To one part of Adhathodai juice add 1/2 part of ginger juice. Mix together and consume about a spoonful. This can be had three to four times a day. Honey can be substituted or added with the ginger juice. Honey works better when it is a wet cough. In case of a dry cough, do not use honey. The juice tastes bitter. These are excellent remedies which I can personally vouch for.

The next remedy requires you to make a decoction of the leaves. Boil Adhathodai leaves in water. In case of a dry cough, boil a few leaves in a cup of water till it evaporates to half the volume. Drink half a cup thrice daily for about a week. In case of a wet cough, add two parts of roughly powdered pippali (Piper nigrum), two or three roughly powdered peppercorns, a small piece of dry ginger and proceed as before.

If you want to start a herbal garden but are unsure how to go about it, the Adhathodai is a good plant to begin with as it is easy to grow. (The Adhathodai is used in commercial cough syrups.)

Semi-hard cuttings of the plant, as thick as a pencil can be planted directly or in polybags or pots for propagation. The best season is April to June. The leaves can be harvested in four months time.

Vites negundo or (Nochi in Tamil) is a large aromatic shrub, with small bluish pruple flowers, found throughout India. There are three types - Venn Nochi, Karu Nochi and Nir Nochi. Venn Nochi is the more commonly seen tree. Nir Nochi is found on the banks of the Thamiraparani river in Tamil Nadu. The Nochi tree is a nice tree to have in the garden. It is easy to propagate from cuttings about two cm thick. It grows wild in rural Tamil Nadu.

A decoction of Nochi leaves is useful in treating disorders of the neuro-skeletal and muscular systems. If you have general body pain due to vata disorders, boil the leaves and have a bath. It relieves body pain with continuous use. A decoction of Nochi leaves and jaggery taken internally relieves vata disorders.

A paste made of Nochi leaves and an inch of dried ginger when applied on the forehead relieves headaches. Oil made from Nochi juice relieves chronic headaches associated with sinusitis. The oil can be applied on the head and a bath taken an hour or so later. The leaves can be heated in a kadai and used in fomentation to relieve muscular pain.

Take equal portions of the juice of Nochi and Thulasi leaves. Add powdered caraway seeds (called omam in Tamil and ajwain in Hindi). A spoonful can be given to children to relieve colic. There are no side-effects and can be used in treating "non- specific" colds, coughs and pains. Wrap four peppercorns, a clove and three small cloves of garlic in two leaves of Nochi. Chew it like paan and swallow slowly. It will relieve breathlessness associated with asthma. Continuous use will also help in ameliorating asthma.

Leucas aspera or (Thumbe in English) is a weed. The English name closely resembles the Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam versions and is probably an adaptation. The plant grows to a height of 15 to 60 cm. The flowers are small and pure white.

The leaves and flowers can be used in inhalation. In addition, two drops of the juice of the flowers is useful as a nasal drop. If taken internally it helps relieve sinus headaches. The leaves can be cooked with tamarind and are effective in relieving body pain, and fatigue. Many people can recognise the Thumbai plant but most do not realise that it is edible.

Thumbai flowers can be boiled in sesame oil and used on the hair before a bath. It is effective against migraines and nasal blocks.

Ocimum sanctum or Thulasi is common in India. The plant grows to a height of three feet. There are different species, especially in Tamil Nadu, called Karunthulasi, Senthulasi, Naithulasi, Nilathulasi, Kalthulasi and Multhulasi.

The leaves are fragrant and an expectorant. Eating them raw helps to relieve runny noses and brings down body heat. It is an important herb in both the Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicine and is regarded as a protector against Kapha diseases.

The juice of the leaves of Anisochilus carnosus or (Karpooravalli in Tamil) is an expectorant. The juice should be boiled till all the water evaporates. Adults can take about a teaspoonful. Children can be given about a quarter teaspoon of the juice with palm sugar. The juice can also be boiled with sesame oil and applied on the head to prevent cold.

Acalypha indica or Kuppaimeni is a weed. It is an annual herb with numerous ascending branches and grows to about 90 cm. It has small green flowers. All parts of the plant can be used in inhalation. The roots and leaves are used to treat skin diseases, constipation, ulcers and bronchitis. Take a handful of the leaves, grind with a pinch of salt and a piece of turmeric. Apply and leave on the body for a while before a bath. It is an anti- bacterial.

The neem tree (Vembu in Tamil) is a symbol of India's and the world's fight against the bio-piracy of Third World resources. It is found throughout India and is easily recognisable. All parts of the tree have medicinal properties.

Besides being used for inhalation, the leaves are used in medical preparations. Powder the dried leaves (both tender and ripe). To one part add 1/2 part of powdered caraway seeds with a little salt. Grind to a paste. It gets rid of skin infections.

The flowers of the tree are a stimulant and an excellent tonic having rejuvenative properties. A chutney can be made from the dried flowers. Take a handful of dried flowers of the last season (you can get this from a traditional medicine store. Clean before use). Fry it with a little ghee. Fry a few red chillies also. Take a small quantity of old tamarind (the size of half a gooseberry) and roast it on the fire. Grind everything with a sprig of curry leaves and salt. You can change the quantity of ingredients according to taste. The chutney can be eaten with rice and ghee or as a side-dish. The dried flowers improve the appetite, reducing body pain due to vata and get rid of worms.

The time to start using herbal remedies is when you first suspect that you are likely to get a cold or a cough. A slight itching sensation in the throat, a few sneezes and a headache are indications. Herbal remedies work in helping to strengthen the immune system.

The first few times you start you may find that the remedies may work less effectively than you hoped they would. Give yourself time. Once you stop taking toxic drugs and work on improving your resistance, simple remedies will start becoming effective.

The medicinal herbs and uses referred to in this article are listed in the Siddha And Ayurveda Materia Medica and are all well documented in the Government Of India's The Wealth Of India series.

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