Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Siddha Home Remedies: Moringa Oleifora Drumstick

Moringa oleifera or Murungai is regarded as an aphrodisiac in Tamil Nadu. In order to seduce the hero, the heroine in the film ‘”Mundhanai Mudichu” would prepare dishes made of murungai leaves and drumstick. Some say that the very tender murungai kai should be eaten raw for this purpose. But there are no records to testify this.

The moringa leaf is rich in beta-carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, protein, iron, and potassium. The tree can cure malnutrition in children and lactating mothers of the third world. It grows well in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, Central America and Africa.

There are a number of folk remedies that have the moringa as their main component. All parts of the moringa tree have medicinal value. Dishes made of moringa flower are nutritious as well as tasty. Fresh flowers are collected and allowed to soak in honey for a week or so. These honey soaked flowers are used in treating cough. The bark of the tree has immense medicinal value too and its decoction is used in treating worm infestation. It is also used to treat hemorrhoids. For this purpose, the patient uses a sitz bath with decoction of the moringa bark.

Dishes made with the leaves are useful in treating mouth ulcers. Frequent intake of the leaves in various forms should decrease the severity of the ulcers and gradually heal them. The leaves can bring down swelling and inflammation. For this, the leaves are ground to a fine paste and mixed with sesame oil and applied on swellings and inflamed areas.

The drumstick takes care of digestive disorders. The drumstick grows to a length of 30 to 40 cm and in some cases even 60 cm. The drumstick or murungai kai sambar is a very well known dish of South India.

The juice of murungai leaves and honey mixed together can be applied on acne, black spots etc for a quick cure. It brings back the skin’s radiance with regular use.



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