Eastern Hemlock Tree Medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat

Blog 243-365

Scientific Name Tsuga canadensis

Favoured: Moist-Wet soil,sand, loam, partial shade to full shade,

Maximum Height: 30 m

Provides food & shelter for wildlife

The eastern hemlock can live for up to 800 years.

Eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis)are shade tolerant and thrive in acidic soils in moist, cool environments (Rooney et al, 2000). They can be found in certain areas across the United States including northern Michigan, New England, New York, and Eastern Canada including most of the maritime provinces and Quebec (Godman & Lancaster, n.d.). Its presence has been noted as diminished in the Great lakes, St-Lawrence and Acadian regions (Fuller 1998). This species has an extremely slow growth rate and individual trees are long-lived. 

Eastern hemlock grows from sea level to about 730 m (2,400 ft) in elevation in the northeastern and northern portions of the range. Most commonly it is found on benches, flats, and swamp borders, provided the peat and muck soils are shallow (Aquic Haplorthods or Aerie Haplaquods). On the Allegheny

Plateau, especially in New York and Pennsylvania, most of the hemlock grows between 300 and 910 m (1,000 and 3,000 ft) (35). In the southern Appalachians the most frequent occurrences are at elevations of 610 to 1520 m (2,000 to 5,000 ft) and often are restricted to north and east slopes, coves, or cool, moist valleys (35). Outliers tend to be severely restricted by a combination of edaphic and climatic factors.

Medicinal Uses

First Nations people also harvested parts of eastern hemlock for traditional medicine. The inner bark was used to make poultice for wounds and the vitamin C rich leaves were used for tea (Nesom, 2012).

Leaves
Twigs with many needles used in tea to treat kidney ailments. Steam from tea used to treat rheumatism, colds, and coughs.

BarkUsed in tea to treat colds, fevers, diarrhea, coughs, and scurvy. Also has astringent properties. Bark poultice used for treating bleeding wounds.

NotesTannins in the twigs and leaves are believed to be responsible for all medicinal effects. Hemlock leaves contain some vitamin C. Bark may also be useful for tanning leather.

Ecological Significance of Eastern Hemlock

The Eastern Hemlock is an important component of the eastern deciduous and mixed forests. Individual trees are long-lived and have impacts on the structure, function and composition of a forest (Fuller 1998). It has effects on the hydrological process within a forest as it has year-round transpiration rates that are highest during the spring (Ford & Vose 2007). This affects the water flow through a forest ecosystem. In the winter months, the canopy of the tree shields the ground below from the snow, and provides a habitat for ruffed grouse, wild turkey and larger browsing fauna such as white-tailed deer.

Seedling Development

Despite the high frequency of cone crops and the long duration of cone production by individual trees, the viability of eastern hemlock seed is usually low. Germinative capacity commonly is less than 25 percent (36). In one locality only 2.1 viable seeds were produced per cone, 2.2 were destroyed by insects, and the remaining 8.0 seeds were empty (29)

Official State Tree of Pennsylvania

The hemlock (Tsunga canadensis) was designated official state tree of Pennsylvania in 1931.

White Willow Bark and Leaves - Natural Pain Relief

by Liliana Usvat
Blog 212 -365

History

The use of willow bark dates back thousands of years, to the time of Hippocrates (400 BC) when patients were advised to chew on the bark to reduce fever and inflammation.

Willow bark has been used throughout the centuries in China and Europe, and continues to be used today for the treatment of pain (particularly low back pain and osteoarthritis), headache, and inflammatory conditions, such as bursitis and tendinitis.

Hippocrates, Galen, Pliny the Elder and others knew willow bark could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers. It has long been used in Europe and China for the treatment of these conditions.This remedy is also mentioned in texts from ancient Egypt, Sumer, and Assyria.
 
The Reverend Edmund Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, England, noted in 1763 that willow bark was effective in reducing a fever. The bark is often macerated in ethanol to produce a tincture.

In an article published in 1652, Nicholas Culpeper had suggested that physicians use the burnt residues of the white willow bark blended with vinegar to remove warts, corns as well as unnecessary flesh from the body.

How to Use

 
White Willow Bark: A Natural Alternative to Aspirin for Pain Relief

WHITE WILLOW tea- Natural Pain Relief 15-20 cups White Willow bark has been used for many many years as a pain reliever. Willow contains glucoside.
 
White willow bark contains salicylic acid that is also found in aspirin. It is recommended that one drink 3 to 4 cups of this tea to benefit from its use. Although the tea may be slower acting than aspirin, it has longer lasting effects.

Start by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of white willow bark to 8 ounces of water.
 

Allow this to boil for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once it has boiled, turn off the heat and allow it to steep between 20 and 30 minutes. You will notice the herbs drop down to the bottom of the pan and the tea is taking on a beautiful red color.
 
Add cinnamon and honey to your steeped white willow bark for a better tasting tea.

Once the bark is done steeping, strain the bark out and compost it. 

Common Name
White Willow
Other Known Names
Cartkins Willow, European Willow, Pussywillow, Willow, Withe Withy
Botanical Name
Salix alba

Whats it look like
Willows range in size from the statuesque weeping willow tree to plants barely 2 inches high. The many varieties of willow—close to 500—are now considered interchangeable for medicinal use. Its bark has a spicy scent and a bitter flavor.

What part of the plant is used
Bark, leaves
Properties

• Anti-inflammatory
• Expectorant
• Antiseptic
• Analgesic
• Astringent

Uses

• Bronchitis
• Coughs
• Headaches
• Fevers
• Rheumatism
• Gout
• Diarrhea
• Dysentery
• Neuralgia
• Gastrointestinal distress
• Pain
• Osteoarthritis
• Menstrual cramps
• Flu
• Tendonitis
• Bursitis

Cautions-Adverse Reactions-Side Effects
Do not take if you have a bleeding disorder


Headache
Willow bark has been shown to relieve headaches. There is some evidence that it is less likely to cause gastrointestinal side effects than other pain relievers, such as ibuprofen (Advil) and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, do.

Low back pain
Willow bark appears to be effective for back pain. People who received higher doses of willow bark (240 mg salicin) had more significant pain relief than those who received low doses (120 mg salicin).

Hot Flashes and sweating

White willow is also useful for women as the herb helps in lowering night sweating and hot flashes through menopause period.

Dosage and Administration Adult

General dosing guidelines for willow bark are as follows:

• Dried herb (used to make tea): boil 1 - 2 tsp of dried bark in 8 oz of water and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes; let steep for ½ hour; drink 3 - 4 cups daily.
• Powdered herb or liquid: 60 - 240 mg of standardized salicin per day;
• Tincture (1:5, 30% alcohol): 4 - 6 mL 3 times per day. 

Leaves

INFUSION - infusions prepared from white willow leaves can be consumed following meals with a view to cure digestive problems as well as enhance the digestive process.

Chase-away-your-pain aperitif

• 3 cups (750 ml) Sweet white wine (Alsatian Muscat, Muscadet)
• 3 T (50 g) Willow bark, dried and crushed

Macerate month. Strain. Drink 2 T (30 ml) during attacks.

Habitat and cultivation

Basically indigenous to European countries, white willow is now found abundantly in North America as well as in Asia.

The tree best thrives in humid areas like riverbanks and can be grown from partially matured cuttings during the summer or from hard wood cuttings during the winter.

 Normally, the white willow trees are often pollarded and the bark of the tree is shredded during spring from branches of trees that are two to five years old.

Cerasee for Diabetis

By Liliana Usvat
174-365

A tea made of the vine is used for diabetes, hypertension, worms, dysentery, malaria and as a general tonic and blood purifier. It is also very effective to relieve constipation and colds and fevers in children.

Women in Latin American use the leaf for menstrual problems to promote discharge after childbirth.

The tea is taken for 9 days after giving birth to clean out and tone up all the organs involved in the delivery. Cerasee is also used as a natural method of birth control, by taking two cups each day after intercourse, for three days. It is said that women who drink Cerasee daily will not conceive during that time.
As a wash, the tea is used externally for sores, rashes, skin ulcers and all skin problems. A Cerasee bath is good for arthritis, rheumatism, gout and other similar ailments.
 
  Cerasee comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.  The Cerasee more typical of India has a narrower shape with pointed ends, and a surface covered with jagged, triangular "teeth" and ridges. It is green to white in color. Some bear miniature fruit of only 6–10 cm in length, which may be served individually as stuffed vegetables. These miniature fruit are popular in India and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

The flesh on the cerasee seeds are edible and sweet in taste. The pods found all over the cerasee vine, are first green, then turn orange when ripe.

Around the World 

  In Trinidad and Tobago, Cerasee are usually sautéed with onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper until almost crisp, while in Jamaica it is consumed exclusively by drinking.

Cerasee is a significant ingredient in Okinawan cuisine, and is increasingly used in mainland Japan. It is popularly credited with Okinawan life expectancies being higher than the already long Japanese ones.In the Philippines, Cerasee may be stir-fried with ground beef and oyster sauce, or with eggs and diced tomato. 
 
The dish pinakbet, popular in the Ilocos region of Luzon, consists mainly of Cerasee, eggplant, okra, string beans, tomatoes, lima beans, and other various regional vegetables altogether stewed with a little bagoong-based stock.

Cerasee can be consumed in two ways, sauteed or boiled, and drink as tea, or chilled, and serve as a refreshing drink. The young shoots and leaves of Cerasee may also be eaten as greens.Cerasee is often used in Chinese Cuisine for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea. It has also been used in place of hops as the bitter ingredient in some Chinese beers.It is very popular throughout South Asia.
 
 In Northern India, it is often prepared with potatoes and served with yogurt on the side to offset the bitterness, or used in sabji. In North Indian cuisine it is stuffed with spices and then cooked in oil. In Southern India it is used in the dishes thoran/thuvaran (mixed with grated coconut), theeyal (cooked with roasted coconut) and pachadi (which is considered a medicinal food for diabetics). 

Other popular recipes include preparations with curry, deep fried with peanuts or other ground nuts, and pachi pulusu, a soup with fried onions and other spices.  

In Tamil Nadu a special preparation in Brahmins' cuisine called 'pagarkai pitla' is a kind of sour 'Koottu' , variety is very popular. Also popular is ' kattu a curry stuffed with onions,cooked lentil and grated coconut mix, tied with thread and fried in oil. 

In Pakistan and Bangladesh, Cerasee is often cooked with onions, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, and a pinch of cumin seeds. Another dish in Pakistan calls for whole, unpeeled Cerasee to be boiled, and then stuffed with cooked ground beef, served with either hot tandoori bread, naan, chappati, or with khichri (a mixture of lentils and rice). 

Cerasee is widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, and drink, is among the bitterest of all fruits. Cerasee is very common here in Central Florida, but very few people really know the value of this very important herb. This herb may hold the key to a lot of the health problems we face. 

Medicinal Uses 
 
Today folks in the Caribbean still use cerasee as a blood cleanser; bush bath for beautiful skin; and for diabetes, cancer and other infectious diseases. We also use it for all types of stomach complaints including griping or pain in the stomach, amoebas and intestinal parasites and as a laxative. Research confirms these benefits by documenting the anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic properties within cerasee.

Cerasee has been used in various Asian and African traditional medicine systems for a long time. In Turkey it has been used as a folk remedy for a variety of ailments, particularly stomach complaints. The fruit is broken up and soaked in either olive oil or honey.The plant contains several biologically active compounds, chiefly momordicin I and II, and cucurbitacin B.

The plants contains also several bioactive glycosides (including momordin, charantin, charantosides, goyaglycosides, momordicosides) and other terpenoid compounds (including momordicin-28, momordicinin, momordicilin, momordenol, and momordol). It also contains cytotoxic (ribosome-inactivating) proteins such as momorcharin and momordin.
 
Diabetes:
                       In 1962, Lolitkar and Rao extracted from the plant a substance, which they called charantin, which had hypoglycaemic effect on normal and diabetic rabbits. Another principle, active only on diabetic rabbits, was isolated by Visarata and Ungsurungsie in 1981. Cerasee has been found to increase insulin sensitivity. In 2007, a study by the Philippine Department of Health determined that a daily dose of 100 mg per kilogram of body weight is comparable to 2.5 mg/kg of the anti-diabetes drug glibenclamide taken twice per day. Tablets of Bitter Melon extract are sold in the Philippines as a food supplement and exported to many countries.Other compounds in Cerasee have been found to activate the AMPK, the protein that regulates glucose uptake (a process which is impaired in diabetics).
                  
  Cerasee also contains a lectin that has insulin-like activity due to its non-protein-specific linking together to insulin receptors. This lectin lowers blood glucose concentrations by acting on peripheral tissues and, similar to insulin's effects in the brain, suppressing appetite. This lectin is likely a major contributor to the hypoglycemic effect that develops after eating Bitter Melon.

Anti malarial:
                    
 Cerasee is traditionally regarded in Asia as useful for preventing and treating malaria. Tea from its leaves is used for this purpose also in Panama and Colombia. In Guyana, Cerasee are boiled and stir-fried with garlic and onions. This popular side dish known as corilla is served to prevent malaria. Laboratory studies have confirmed that species related to Cerasee have anti-malarial activity, though human studies have not yet been published.
Anti Cancer:
                     Researchers at Saint Louis University claims that an extract from Cerasee, commonly eaten and known as karela in India, causes a chain of events which helps to kill breast cancer cells and prevents them from multiplying.
Cerasee has been used in traditional medicine for several other ailments, including dysentery, colic, fevers, burns, painful menstruation, scabies and other skin problems. It has also been used as abortifacient, (no ideas please) for birth control, and to help childbirth.

Anti viral:
                 
In Togo the plant is traditionally used against viral diseases such as chickenpox and measles. Tests with leaf extracts have shown in vitro activity against the herpes simplex type 1 virus, apparently due to unidentified compounds other than the momordicins.                

Laboratory tests suggest that compounds in Cerasee might be effective for treating HIV infection. As most compounds isolated from Cerasee that impact HIV have either been proteins or lectins, neither of which are well-absorbed, it is unlikely that oral intake of Cerasee will slow HIV in infected people. It is possible oral ingestion of Cerasee could offset negative effects of anti-HIV drugs, if a test tube study can be shown to be applicable to people.

Cardio protective:
                 
 Studies in mice indicate that Cerasee seed may have a cardio protective effect by down-regulating the NF-κB inflammatory pathway.
Cerasee has been used in traditional medicine for several other ailments, including dysentery, colic, fevers, burns, painful menstruation, scabies and other skin problems. It has also been used as abortifacient, for birth control, and to help childbirth.

Propagation

Propagated by cuttings, which, is planted on a bed on light earth, during any of the summer months.