Strychnos nux vomica belonging to Loganiaceae family is a medicinal toxic plant which is also known as poison nut, nux vomica has various clinical as well as therapeutic applications. Commercially cultivated in different parts of world such as European Union, United States, Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, Guangxi, Taiwan, North Australia and throughout tropical Africa. It is a deciduous tree which is native to Southeast Asia and India. It is a medium sized tree which grows in open habitats. Leaves are ovate measuring 2–3.5 inches (5.1–8.9 cm) in size. The various parts of plant especially seeds and bark contains various indications in…

One big reason the collective American waistline has continued to expand is that we simply eat too much. Not too much salad or salmon but too much high-calorie fare with little or no nutritional value, like French Fries and mega-burgers. We eat out more than we used to, and restaurant serving sizes have become two to five times heftier than they were in the 1970s. As a result, our calorie intake is out of whack with the number of calories we burn. The number of calories you need to eat each day depends largely on your size and activity level.…

Runeala plum is the species which is cultivated around villages and naturalized throughout tropical regions especially in East Africa and tropical Asia. It is naturalized in primary and secondary rainforest up to 1500 m altitude. It is commonly found in Southeast Asia, Southern China, Eastern Malaya and also in Philippines. It prefers well-drained fertile soils and full sun. It is sensitive to frost. Flacourtia Jangomas is inherent to African and Asian tropics and subtropics. It is well known among Caribbean as locals utilize the fruits in dishes and drinks. Runeala plum, Flacourtia jangomas, is a lowland and mountain rain forest…

Shankhapushpi with scientific name as Convolvulus pluriculis, is a prostrate and spreading perennial wild herb which could be found on sandy or rockyground under xerophytic conditions in Northern India and belongs to Convolvulaceae family. It is a horizontal spreading and perennial wild herb found commonly on sandy or rocky land under xerophytic conditions and is found extensively on wasteland in plains of Punjab, Chhota Nagpur and Bihar in India. The plant is found everywhere in sandy and stony areas in India and prefers dry climate. It is found in various places including sandy and rocky surfaces in North India. It…

Turpeth, Operculina turpethum, is also known from other names such as Indian Jalap, Turpeth root (in English), Nisoth, Panila, Turpeth, Pithori (in Hindi), Trivrit (in Sanskrit), Tegada (in Telugu), Triputa, Trikolpakkonna, Sivata (in Malayalam), Sigade (in Kannada) and Kumbham, Sivatai (in Tamil). The herb belongs to Convolvulaceae family. It is found on roadsides across India upto 1000 square feet and also cultivated as an ornament in gardens. The plant is distributed in tropical regions of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, China, Madagascar, Bangladesh, Africa and Mauritania. It is scattered in Australia, Africa, Pacific, Asia and Asia-Temperate. Moreover, it is naturalized…

Solanum virginianum, a prickly herb, commonly known as Yellow Fruit Nightshade has been used in Ayurveda and folklore medicine since time immemorial. It belongs to Solanaceae family. It is found in most parts of Asia and Australia of the world. This plant is cultivated in Himalayas, Australia, South-East Malaysia and Polynesia region. It is also found in India often in roadsides, in waste places and in open space. The perennial herb grows to 1.2 meters tall with woody base and profusely branched stem. Young ones are clothed with dense tomentose and stellate hairs. Stems are green when young and brownish…

The next time when you want to try something new or switch the salad, consider the best superfoods for the body. The cancer fighting broccoli sprouts or brain boosting blueberries are great for health besides its delicious taste. Berries Berries, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and goji and acai berries, are considered superfoods because of their naturally high antioxidant content. While these berries do have some differences in terms of the amounts and types of nutrients they provide, they do have a few things in common – for example, their vibrant colour can be attributed to high levels of anthocyanins,…

Wheatgrass with scientific name as Triticum aesticum belongs to family Poaceae. Agopyron cristatum, Bambusa textilis, Poa annua, Cynodon dactylon, Zea mays, Aristida purpurea, etc. also belongs to this family. It refers to the young grass which is freshly dried and dried into powder for consumption. Wheatgrass are hollow, pithy, simple and glabrous about 1.2 m tall which possess leaves usually flat, narrow about 20-38 cm long and 1.3 cm broad. Spikes are slender, long, flattened and dorsally compressed. It is loaded with nutrients such as 18.5 mg chlorophyll, 860 mg protein, 38 mg lysine, 15 mg calcium, 7.5 mg vitamin…

Wheatgrass is a young grass of common wheat plant scientifically known as Triticum aestivum. It is loaded with vitamins and nutrients required for the human body. Wheatgrass contains enzymes such as cytochrome, protease, lipase, amylase, super oxide dismutase and transhydrogenase. It also encompasses essential amino acids such as asparatic acid, alanine, arginine, glutamic acid and serine which offers adequate protein in the body that builds and repair tissues. It has flavonoids and chlorophyll in good amounts. It incorporates vitamins such as Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin E along with minerals such as calcium, iron and magnesium. It builds red…

Aloe belonging to Alliaceae family is a succulent herb that reaches 80 to 100 cm in height and matures in 4 to 6 years. The plant lives for 50 years under favorable conditions. Aloe Vera is biologically active and native to southern and eastern Africa along upper Nile in the Sudan and eventually introduced to Northern Africa. The plant is naturalized in Mediterranean region and other countries across the globe. It is cultivated commercially in Aruba, Haiti, Bonaire, India, United States of America, South Africa and Venezuela. The finest aloe is found in desert of Southern California. This plant is…

For more than a thousand years, concentrated extractions of plants—bitters—have been used to support health and well-being, to add flavor, and to stimulate the senses all over the world. The earliest use of bitters was for medicine to treat a wide range of ailments from digestive issues to the common cold. By the early 1800s, the use of bitters evolved to become a key ingredient of cocktails. Every plant has its own unique properties and intriguing flavors, and their preparation varies widely. Botanical bitters can involve using bark, roots, seeds, flowers, fruits, or even the entire plant. The results can…

Sonapatha (Broken Bones Plant) is grown in India, South China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Celebes and Philippines. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek word oros which means mountain and xylon which means wood. It refers to the mountain areas where it is present. The tree is small to medium sized deciduous tree that measures 12 meters high with soft and light brown bark having corky lenticels. It is a night bloomer with pinnate leaves which are about 1 meter long and wide borne on petioles or stalks upto 2 meters long. Flowers are followed by enormous seed…

Stereospermum chelonoides known as Patala is a medicinal herb which is used for treating health ailments such as rheumatism, infections, inflammation and cancer. It is bitter, cardiotonic, astringent, diuretic, cooling and tonic. It provides relief from three dosas, difficulty in breathing, anorexia, vomiting, piles, thirst and hiccough. Fruits are used for bleeding diseases. The white variety increases appetite, purifies blood, cure oedema, hiccough, vata and morbid kapha. Wood is used for construction work, beam, planks, carriage, carts, furniture, wagons, tool handles and cabinet work. In Theravada Buddhism, the plant is used as tree for achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi by third…

Pea pumpkin is an annual scandant or trailing herb that grows upto 4 m long of not forested, localities throughout West African region and is widely spread in tropical Africa, Australia and Asia. It is common in village hedges and other open habitats as well as disturbed sites of semi-evergreen and deciduous forests. It is administered throughout the tropics and subtropics of Old World where various parts of plant are used for health care needs of human beings. Tender shoots and leaves are used as the part of South Indian cuisine. Animal experiments have shown various traditional or folkloric medicinal…

Agnimantha scientifically known as Premna serratifolia is a large and thorny deciduous shrub or tree that reaches 9 meters high along Indian and Andamans coast. It occurs in the plains of Assam and in Khasi hills. Roots and leaves in Ayurveda is used for various health ailments. Roots are regarded to be stimulant, astringent, laxative, liver tonic, antibacterial and carminative. Infusion of leaves with pepper is used for treating cold and fever. Leaf sap is used to alleviate headaches. In Vietnamese traditional medicine, leaves are used for treating dysuria, indigestion and dysentery. Loss of appetite and malabsorption Agnimantha roots act…

Bharangi is a shrub that reaches a height of 0.9 to 2.4 meters. It is scarcely woody and not much branched with stems which are bluntly quadrangular. Leaves are ternate, opposite that reaches 28 cm long usually 12.5 to 14 by 5.7-6.3 cm. Leaves are oblong or elliptic having acute tip with coarsely and sharply serrate margin. Base of the leave is acute and have glabrous texture. Flowers are showy, numerous in a lax pubescent dichotomous cymes having pair of acute bracts. Pedicles are twisted for making large lower corolla. Bracts are 1.3 to 3.8 cm long usually obovate to…

There are many forms of yoga. Most include the same fundamental poses but differ in terms of how quickly you move, how long you hold each pose, how much breathing is emphasized, and how much of a spiritual aspect there is. Some styles offer more modifications to the really bendy and twisty moves, so they’re more accessible to new exercisers and the flexibility-challenged. Others are for people who can already touch their toes with their tongue. If you find that you dig yoga, experiment with some of the different styles. You may find you like one more than the others.…

Commonly known as sea cole, sea kale, crambe and sea colewort, is a species of halophytic flowering plant in Crambe genus of Brassicaceae family which grows wild along the coasts of Europe, from North Atlantic to Black sea. Sea kale can tolerate salty soils and is cultivated for its leaves and shoots which are edible. Young and blanched leaves are cooked and consumed like spinach or kale and shoots are cooked like asparagus. It is a hardy drought tolerant plant which grows well in sandy well-drained soils. Leaves are waxy, coarsely toothed and green leaves which are about 30-90 cm…

Baliospermum montanum also known as red physic nut, wild croton, wild castor and wild sultan seed belongs to Euphorbiaceae family. It is a stout undershrub having numerous flowers. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Himalayan region from Khasi Hills to Kashmir. It is common in Bihar, Peninsular, West Bengal and Central India. In Ayurveda, roots are used as a cure for leucoderma, jaundice and wounds. Leaves are used for treatment of bronchitis, asthma and abdominal tumor. Seeds act as a purgative and helpful for gastric complaints. Stem decoction is used to provide relief from toothache. It has the majority of bioactive…

Scientifically known as Abies Webbiana, belongs to family Pinaceae which is acknowledged as the pine family of conifers. The herb is native to northern temperate regions. Indian Silver Fir is a tall and evergreen tree having strong branches that spread horizontally. It could reach to the height of 60 metres. The plant has rough and brown bark. Young shoots are covered with small, short or brown hairs. Leaves are thin, single, linear, flat and arranged spirally around small branches. It is usually 1-3 inches long and 2 mm broad. The leaves upper part is shining and dark green. An upper…

Miswak scientifically known as Salvadora persica, is a large, evergreen and well-branched shrub or tree that resembles Salvadora oleoides available in the dry and arid regions of India. It displays analgesic, antiplaque, antibacterial, analgesic, antibacterial, anticovulsant, cytotoxic, antimycoctic, deobstruent, antifertility, diuretic, carminative and astringent properties. It is used for over 7000 years ago. It is prevailed in Muslim inhabited areas. It is used in Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Indian subcontinent, parts of Sahel and Southeast Asia. Plant Miswak is a small tree with soft whitish yellow wood and terete, drooping or glabrous branches. Leaves are…

Gurmar also known as Gymnema Sylvestre is a perennial woody vine grown in tropical areas of Africa, India and Australia. It is also known as Australian cowplant, gymnema, Periploca of the woods. It is a staple herb of Ayurvedic apothecary used traditionally to balance the level of blood sugars. It supports pancreas functions. Leaves and extracts possess gymnemic acids which is the major bioactive constituents that interact with taste receptors on the tongue to suppress the taste of sweetness. Plant Gurmar is a climber plant having leaves with soft hairs on the upper surface. Leaves are elongate and oval shaped.…

The process of turning grapes into wine generally starts at the crush pad, where the grapes are brought in from the vineyards. Good winemakers carefully monitor their grapes throughout the year, but their presence is critical at harvest, when ripeness determines the proper day for picking. Once that day arrives, the crush begins. Wineries pick their grapes by machine or by hand, depending on the terrain and the type of grape. Harvesting often takes place at night with the help of powerful floodlights. Why at night? In addition to it being easier on the workers (daytime temperatures often reach 90°F…

Squirting cucumber is a perennial plant with a large fleshy root which raises several round and thick stems, branching and trailing. The name “Ecballium elaterium” is derived from the Greek word “ekballein” which means to throw out and the ejection of the seeds from the fruit as it ripens. It is a fragile vine having small greenish to yellow flowers found in sandy roadsides, marshes and low woods. The stems forms several from same root and cylindrical, without tendrils and prostate. Leaves are alternate, heartshaped. The plant flowers in July. Blooms are symmetrical and bisexual. Male flowers in clusters having…

Anantmool also known as Hemidesmus indicus belongs to Periplocaceae family and also called Periploca indica. It is used in folk medicine and a vital ingredient in Ayurvedic and unani preparations. This climbing vine plant is found in Upper Gangetic plain, eastwards to Bengal, Sundarbans and from Central provinces to South India and Travancore. Roots are aromatic and woody. Stem is slender, numerous, terete and is thickened at nodes. Leaves are short-petioled, opposite, variable, elliptic-oblong to linear-lanceolate. Flowers are greenish outside and purplish inside which is crowded in sub-sessile axillary cymes. The root of Hemidesmus indicus is sweet, demulcent and cooling.…

Momordica cymbalaria belongs to Cucurbitaceae family and originated in tropical regions of India and South East Asia. It is regarded as underutilized vegetable crop. It is not cultivated commercially due to lack of planting materials. It is an abundant source of fiber, vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium and iron content. It possess medicinal properties such as hepatoprotective, anti-diarrhoel, nephroprotective, antidiabetic, antimicrobial and anti-allergic activity. It is a climbing annual and perennial herb having scadent, slender, striate and branched stems. Leaves are deeply cordate at the base, orbicular-reniform in outline and are obtusely lobed having five to seven lobes. Fruits measure…

This being said, the reality is that most people who pose the question “what about my cardio?” couldn’t care less about their blood vessels, arteries, or the health of their hearts. They’re way more interested in losing body fat and have been told that cardio equals aerobic, and aerobic equals fat burning. This is simply a misconception built upon a false assumption. To be sure, there is no such thing as a “fat loss exercise.” Any fat that you see is simply a sign that a surplus of energy has been consumed. And any energy consumed beyond that which the…

Salacia reticulate is an inherent flowering plant of genus salacia (belonging to family Hippocrataceae/ Celastraceae) often cultivated in dry zone forests in Sri Lanka and Southern region of India. Salacia reticulate is a sarmentosa or scandent shrub or small tree. Usually leaves are opposite, coriaceous and petioled. Flowers are small, axillary, extra-axillary, cymose or facicled and hardly solitary followed by an edible and baccate fruit which is 1-3 celled having 1-4 seeded. Pulp is mucilaginous. Seeds are angular with thick testa, cotyledons and conferruminate. Salacia exhibits antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory and anti-obese activities. The plant is over-exploited in India due…

Scoparia dulcis Linn is a substantial ethnomedicinal plant which is commonly known as sweet broom weed is a perennial plant which is distributed widely in subtropical and tropical regions of India, Brazil, America, Myanmar and West Indies. India is blessed with natural resources and ancient knowledge for the judicious utilization. Firstly, humankind utilized material found in environment on empirical basis for curing various health ailments. Plant description It is an erect, much branched, smooth, herbaceous, or half-woody plant belonging to Scrophulariaceae Juss. (Figwort family). The plant normally grows about 25 to 80 centimeters in height. The plant is found growing…

Cardiorespiratory fitness brings about numerous health benefits, most notably a decrease in risk for cardiovascular disease by 30 to 40 percent, stroke by 20 to 27 percent, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers such as colon cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and multiple myeloma cancers. In most cases it can lower blood pressure the same as anti-hypertensive medications. It enhances the immune system, which may result in fewer colds and illnesses and increases the good (HDL) cholesterol in the body. Change body composition and lose body fat One of the most common reasons people engage in cardiorespiratory exercise is to…