Siddha Home Remedies: Brinjal Flower

Most of the flowers found in nature have medicinal value. You can find flower buds, petals, full blown flowers used in preparing various traditional and folk remedies. There are many not so well known flowers that possess excellent medicinal properties. And one such is brinjal flower or eggplant flower.

The sight of a full blown brinjal flower is soothing to the eye. This flower has the potential to pacify the imbalance of pitta dosha. People suffering from anemia can benefit from taking milk that is mixed with paste of eggplant flower and mango flower. For this purpose equal quantity of these flowers are taken and made to a marble sized fine paste and mixed in a glass of cow’s milk. This is taken before going to bed.

For those suffering from ‘body heat’, one remedy is taking a paste made of brinjal flower and fenugreek seeds. This paste needs to be taken a couple of days to get the desired result. And once you experience a reduction in the ‘body heat’, you can stop taking the paste further.

In case of vitiated pitta, one way of pacifying it would be to take a paste made of brinjal flower and dry ladies finger seeds. This is found to relieve most of the pitta related diseases.

For poisonous bites, people in villages make a thick paste of brinjal flower, small onions and turmeric and place it on the affected area. This is very effective in neutralizing the poison.

One remedy for headache is to prepare a paste of ginger and brinjal flower and apply a thick layer of this paste on the temple, forehead etc.

In case of tuberculosis couple of brinjal flowers are steeped in boiled water and taken regularly. This is a complementary treatment found to be very effective. This is also found to help heart problems.

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Siddha Home Remedies: Medicinal Uses of Ladies Finger Flower

Ladies finger flower has more medicinal value than the plain ladies finger vegetable. Ladies finger is helpful in bringing sugar levels under control in a diabetic patient. For this purpose 10 numbers of ladies finger along with 20 numbers of cluster beans and 10 numbers of small onions (sambar onions) are cut to small pieces. Eight glasses of water is added to these and boiled. Reduce it to 2 glasses. Take one glass of this preparation in the mornings and evenings. Regular intake for two to three days will bring the sugar to manageable levels.

Now for the medicinal uses of ladies finger flowers.

• Consumption of raw flower is said to strengthen the nerves.

• In case of gas in stomach, the flower is taken with jaggery.

• Saute the ladies finger flowers in sesame oil and apply the oil on grazes and cuts. This will cure them very rapidly.

• The flower is ground with Turkey berry to a fine paste. It is added to rice along with a little ghee. This is an excellent natural deworming remedy. It helps in elimination of worms through feces.

• Soak a couple of flowers in virgin coconut oil the previous night. Apply it on scalp and body the next day morning and let it soak for 30 minutes. Follow it up with a warm water bath. This helps in improving and maintaining good skin texture.

• The flowers are ground to a fine paste and added to tomato juice. This is an excellent remedy to cool the body in hot summer.

• Ladies finger flowers are ground along with palm jaggery and taken in small marble size. This is said to strengthen the body and muscles.

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Siddha Home Remedies: Medicinal Use of Plantain flower

Plantain is the third of the ‘mukkanis’ of Tamil Nadu, the other two fruits being mango and jackfruit. Plantain fruit or banana flower is the main ingredient of some of the tastiest dishes of Tamil Nadu. The whole plantain tree has medicinal properties. The plantain pith is an excellent detoxifier. People with burns are made to lie on big plantain leaves. Food served in banana leaves has a distinct flavor. Bananas taste good as well help in preventing constipation. People in South India take couple of plantains after food to aid easy digestion as well as elimination.

Some of the medicinal preparations as well as benefits of plantain flower are given below.

Plantain flower is generally cool in nature. Cooked pulse and plantain flower are ground to a coarse paste and taken with rice. This helps to cure stomach ulcers.

Drinking plantain flower soup mixed with cumin seed powder can cure inflammation of eyes.

Regular intake of dishes made of plantain flowers help in treating eye afflictions.

Plantain flowers cut to small pieces and sauté in sesame oil can be taken for treating throat ulcers, phlegm in chest etc.

Plantain flowers dried and powdered and taken with honey can help in treating vata diseases. When taken with buttermilk it cures nervous debilities.

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Jackfruit Flowers: Home Remedy for Hydrocele & Boils

Photo courtesy flickr, peregrin@

Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh. It is the second of the top three tastiest and nutritious foods, according to the Tamil literature, the first being mango. Experts are of the opinion that the name jackfruit originated from the Malayalam word chakka. It is also the largest tree borne fruit. Jackfruit flower has a wonderful smell and has excellent medicinal qualities.

Jackfruit grows well in tropical lowlands. It has been cultivated in India some 5000 to 6000 years ago. It is grown in Brazil, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines too.

Jackfruit is rich in vitamin A and anti-oxidants. It also has B-complex group of vitamins. It has potassium, manganese, magnesium and iron. The flesh of ripe jackfruit bulb is very delicious and nutritious.

Now for the benefits of jackfruit flowers.

Women suffering from irregular menstrual cycles can prepare a kashayam of jackfruit flowers and take it regularly. To prepare the kashayam, a handful of the flowers are boiled in 8 glasses of water and reduced to four glasses. The water is then cooled down and taken early in the morning on empty stomach. This helps in regulating irregular menstrual cycles.

The flowers can be ground to a fine paste and then mixed with honey and taken orally. This is found to benefit digestive disorders.

Jackfruit flower is useful in treating hydrocele. Handful of the flowers is collected and ground to a paste and this paste is applied over the affected area. Regular application is found to have brought down the swelling.

Steam boiled jackfruit flowers are helpful in treating boils. For this the steam boiled flowers are kept on the affected areas and then dressed over. The boils subside after a few applications.

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Mango Flower for Mouth Ulcers and Throat Problems

Tamil culture regards mango, jackfruit and banana as ‘mukkani’ or ‘the three best fruits’ in terms of their taste and nutritional value. The flowers of mango, jackfruit and banana are also valuable medicinally and nutritionally. Siddha texts as well as local folklore recommend preparations made using these flowers to treat various ailments that afflict us. I will share with you tips on various flowers and their medicinal uses in my subsequent posts. To start with I will dwell upon the medicinal uses of mango flower.

Mango is indigenous to India and grows well in tropical and sub tropical areas. It is the national fruit of India. People in villages use the tender mango leaves to clean their teeth. Unripe mango has a sour taste and is used for making pickles. The kernel of mango seed has immense medicinal value.

In India, mango trees flower during the January - April period. Raw mangoes start arriving in the market in February, March followed by ripe mangoes from April to June, July etc.

Mango Flower for Throat Problems

Collect mango flowers and clean them thoroughly in pure water. Boil them in pure water for a few minutes. Collect the water after filtering out the flowers. Mix lemon juice to this water. This can be used as mouth gargle. This cures most of the throat ailments.

Remedy for Diarrhea

Collect handful of dried mango flowers. Add 1-2 teaspoons of cumin seeds to it and powder them. Mix a teaspoon of this powder in a glass of warm water. This is an ideal remedy for loose stools. Another alternative is to mix a teaspoon of dried mango flower powder in yogurt and taken as needed.

Mango Flower for Mouth Ulcers

Mix a spoonful of dried mango flower powder in buttermilk and take this thrice a day for a week. This is an effective remedy for treating mouth ulcers and stomach ulcers. Another method is to fry the flowers in sesame oil and taken as needed.

Strong Gums

Chew fresh mango flowers for strong teeth and gums.

My next post will elaborate on jackfruit flower remedies.




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