Philippine Medicinal Plant: Cucumber

10 Medicinal Plant Uses of Cucumber  or Cucumis sativus also known as Pipino.

                                               Medicinal Plant Uses: Cucumber

1. A good source of vitamin B. it is also good as antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties

2. Cucumber are 95% water keeping the body hydrated while helping the body eliminates toxins.

3. The cucumber skin can be used for skin irritations and sunburns. Due to the large amount of ascorbic acid in cucumbers when they are placed under the eyes for 20 minutes they can decrease water retention and thus reduce puffiness overall. The cooling effect of cucumber is a natural and gentle way to soothe your skin and speed up the healing process.

4. Cucumber are known to contain lariciresinols, pinoresinols, and secoisolaric iresinol known to reduce risk of several cancer types and cardiovascular diseases.

5. Cucumber relieves bad breath. take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth.

6. Cucumber helps reduce hangover and headaches. eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed. cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes.

Medicinal Plant: Cucumber

7. Cucumber aids in weight loss and digestion. the high water content and dietary fiber in cucumber are very effective in ridding the body of toxins from digestive system, aiding digestion.

8. Cures diabetes, reduce cholesterol and controls blood pressure. cucumber contains a hormone which is needed by the cells of the pancreas for producing insulin which has been found to be beneficial to diabetic patients. compound called sterols in cucumber may help reduce cholesterol levels. cucumbers contain a lot of potassium, magnesium and fiber.

9. Promotes joint health, relieves gout and arthritis. Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, which is known to help promotes joint health by strengthening the connective tissues. They are also rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C & D, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. When mixed with carrot juice, they can relieve gout and arthritis pain by lowering the uric acid levels

10. Improves complexion. when cucumber juice is mixed with a few drops of fresh lemon juice and applied as a facial mask it has the ability to leave your skin glowing by fading scars and pigmentation.

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Philippine Medicinal Plant: Pili

      This is a large tree reaches a height of about 35m and is a meter or more in diameter.  The leaves are alternate, pinnate and about 30cm long with usually tree pairs of opposite leaflets and a terminal leaflets. The leaflets are ovate-oblong, 12-20 cm long and 3-7 cm wide, smooth and shiny on both sides, pointed at the apex and rounded or obtusely pointed at the base.

Medicinal value:

- The "saheng" (oleoresin) is used as a stimulant (is a drug that increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and produces a sense of euphoria of the feeling of being more awake); a rubefacient (an external skin application causing redness of the skin, as a medical application); and an antirheumatic when applied externally.

- Poultices of brea (soft resin) are used externally for swelling of the legs.
- Oleoresin (mixture of oil & resin), prepared in the form of ointment, is applied on indolent ulcers.


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Philippine Medicinal Plant: Ipil-ipil (Lead Tree)

Ipil-ipil is a small tree growing up to 8 meters high. It has a compounded leaves with hairy rachis. Flowers are shitish, in dense globue heads. Fruits is an oblong or linear pod, strap-shaped, 12-18 centimeters long. Papery green turning to brown and splitting open along two edges when mature.

Roasted seeds used as emollient, intestinal parasitism, ascaris and trichinosis. It is also used to get rid of roundworms.

Medicinal Plant: Ipil-ipil

For intestinal parasitism: ascaris and trichinosis.

Adults: 1 teaspoon of powdered dried seeds, alon or mixed with condensed milk and followed by half a water, taken as a single dose 2 hours after a meal repeated after one week as needed.

Philippine Medicinal Plant: Ginger or Luya

Scientific name: Zingiber officinale Roscoe; English: Ginger; Tagalog: Luya

History proves that Ginger or luya is a very effective medicinal plant. it is used in treating:

Ginger or Luya

1. Cold and flu
2. It enhances the heart helping to regulate its function to beat more strongly and slowly and that blood pressure lowers by 10 to 15 points after its ingestion. A component of ginger has a balancing effect, lowering high blood pressure and raising low blood pressure.
3. It proves to remove cholesterol from both the blood and liver.It also helps prevent rise in blood choilesterol levels that accompanies cholesterol-rich meals.
4. It also soth the stomach, helping digestion, it facilitates the breakdown of fod in the stomach and the absorption of food in the small intestine.
5. It helps prevent nausea both due to postoperative and chemotheraphy as well as motion sickness. it also reduced nausea caused by pregnancy. Daily intake of ginger will not stimulate uterine contraction.
6. It is found to be useful in treatment of migraine.
7. It also act as natural aphrodisiac
8. It also help boost weight loss by increasing the calorie you can burn.
9. It also releives sore throat.
For  sore throat medications: wash and peel a small piece of ginger. Chew slowly for a few minutes. swallow the juice. or, keep a small piece in the mouthm chewing it little by little.

Medicinal Plant: Carrot

Medicinal Plant: Carrot

Carrot belongs to the family of Apiaceae. Carrots contains numerous vitamins and minerals.

It has been found that carrot root juice is very rich in carotene, which in turn is converted to vitamin A by our liver, and is one of the vitamins that the body needs. Regular intake of carrot roots, in any manner, though recommended to be taken in juice form, improves eyesight. Particular substances that are contained in the roots have been discovered to be anti-cancer. The roots of the carrot plant, when roasted, are also being used as a substitute for coffee.

Carrots have been known to have medicinal properties that allow it to be used as an astringent and antiseptic substance. Carrot has been used as a cleansing medicine, because of its activities which basically helps the kidney in the removal of waste in the body. It also aids in the stimulation of one’s menstruation because of the same properties. For children, raw carrot roots are a safe and recommended treatment for threadworms. In the same manner, regular intake of cultivated carrot roots allows the stimulation of urine flow. It manifests activities that help the skin, by virtue of its anti-oxidant contents.

Carrot Health Benefits:

- Body cleanser, and is a medication for kidney problems

- Treatment for cough and chest pains

- Anti-inflammatory and antiseptic function helps solve burns, ulcer and infected wounds

- cleanse the intestine and to be diuretic

- Remineralizing

- antidiarrheal

- an overtonic and antianemic

- It is rich in alkaline elements which purify and revitalize the blood

- They nourish the entire system and help in the maintenance of acid-alkaline balance in the body.

-Helps maintain good eyesight.

Preparation & Use:

• Boil with milk, and drink for cough

• Poultice of carrots may be applied to infected wounds and to the chest, in case it is going to be used to aid in an individual’s chest pains

• Ground seeds of the plant may be taken as tea, in order to increase urine flow

Medicinal Plant: Garlic

Medicinal Plant: Garlic (Allium sativum)

Bawang or Garlic (Allium sativum). Garlic has been a medicine in many cultures for thousands of years. This herb is one of the most widely used herbal medicines in the Philippines.Its medicinal properties have been proven during World War II when it was used to treat wounds and infections of soldiers. Garlic’s antibacterial compound known as allicin, prevented the wounds from being infected and developing into gangrene by extracting the juice of bawang or garlic and applying to the wounds.

Bawang or garlic is know as nature's antibiotic. Its juices inhibit the growth of fungi and viruses thus, prevent viral, yeast, and infections. This medicinal herb showed some positive results in the treatment of AIDS. Several clinical tests that followed and published studies have shown the efficacy of garlic in lowering cholesterol in the blood and is beneficial to the circulatory system of the body. Today, as more research is done on garlic, more medicinal and therapeutic properties become more evident. As of the present time, lowering of the blood pressure, reduction of platelet aggregation, and the boosting of fibrinolytic activities are among the list of herbal functions of garlic, which is supported by medical findings. Although more clinical studies are needed to support the contention stronger, marked improvements in benign breast diseases have been traced to make progress because of the regular intake of supplements, of which the primary ingredient is garlic.

The department of Heath has endoresed garlic as one of the top ten Philippine herbs with therapeutic value.

Garlic is rich in antioxidants, which help destroy free radicals -- particles that can damage cell membranes, interact with genetic material, and possibly contribute to the aging process as well as the development of a number of conditions, including heart disease and cancer. Free radicals occur naturally in the body, but environmental toxins (including ultraviolet light, radiation, cigarette smoke, and air pollution) can also increase the number of these damaging particles. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause over time.

Health Benefits of Bawang-Garlic:

• Good for the heart

• Helps lower bad cholesterol levels (LDL)

• Aids in lowering blood pressure

• Remedy for arteriosclerosis

• May help prevent certain types of cancer

• Boosts immune system to fight infection

• With antioxidant & antibacterial properties

• Cough and cold remedy

• Relives sore throat

• Aids in the treatment of tuberculosis

• Helps relieve rheumatism pain

• Relief of toothaches

• Kills skin fungus i.e. athlete’s foot

• With anticoagulant properties

- Cancer (colorectal malignancies & gastric cancer)

- Bledding cases (surgeries & dental activities)

Preparation of Bawang-Garlic:

• For disinfecting wound, crush and juice the garlic bulb and apply. You may cover the afflicted area with a gauze and bandage.

• For sore throat, peal the skin and chew for several minutes. Swallow the juice.

• For toothaches, crush then bite garlic.

• For athlete’s foot, soak feet in salty water then apply garlic juice. Do this 3X day for a week.

• Cloves of garlic may be crushed and applied to affected areas to reduce the pain caused by arthritis, toothache, headache, and rheumatism.

• Decoction of the bawang bulbs and leaves are used as treatment for fever.

• For nasal congestion, steam and inhale: vinegar, chopped garlic, and water.

- Juice extracted from garlic bulbs can be used as tick and mosquito repellant when applied to skin.