The more common home grown plants are Ginger , Saffron, Kuturumurunga, Plantain, Papaw ,Sugarcane and King coconut. Today many of these are grown on a commercial scale and even the cultivators themselves od not know their medicinal value.
Ginger is known as Mahausadi in Ayuverdic circles. Besides,
it has 20 epithets when in the raw from and 24 when dry. The Ayurveda
books describes it as acrid and digestive and ,as an ingredient in
medicine for costiveness, nausea cough, colic, and palpitation of the heart.But
dry ginger should not be used by those who are suffering from skin
diseases, anemia, kidney compliant and high fever. A person suffering from
acute diarrhea and vomiting is generally liable to catch a chill. A piece of
ginger, a piece of equal size of the bark of the
murunga tree, and a few bulbs 0f garlic all crushed and rubbed on the palms and
sole of the foot and also a little of it tide on the two big toes would warm
him up. For diarrhea and colic, the liquid extracted by crushing
together row ginger, Iriveriya and Undupiyali and mixed with
at ablespoon of lime juice and bee’honey is good .
Iriveriya(Plectranthus zatarhendi var) is
another plant found in gardens. It is aromatic and grows easly and is used in
many prescription for fever anddiarrhoea. The Ayurveda books
gives details of how to use Iriveriya in various stages of diarrhea
.
Sugarcane is another plant
found in the back garden of some homes and now grown in large plantations.
There are two varieties – the yellow and black . the black variety has a
lower sugar content and a higher mineral content than the yellow. Sugar
cane is considered indigenous to Sri Lanka ,and is the type used in
medicine. In case of continued fever, except enteric fever, a drink made
from sugar cane syrup, King coconut water and powdered Bulu seeds keepsthe
patient comfortable. Sugar cane is also the chief ingredient for a
decoction for bleeding piles when used in combination with kooratampala and the
yam of the plantain tree.
The ash plantain is another useful plant. Every
parts of it has some
medicinal use. The juice extracted from yam , the trunk
and flower is used in decoction for bleeding piles and female disorders. The
unripe fruit has astringent properties and is used in case of dysentery and
diabetes. The juice extracted from the trunk is generally the first thing given
in case of poisonous snake bites. The ripe ash plantain is a sure rededy for
constipation. The stem of the fruit burnt down to shh together with slacked
lime is the treatment of gangrenous wounds.
Ash pumkin is mainly water but it has many
minerals in solution which
gives it good medical value. It has peculiar action
on the circulatory system in that it rapidly stop hemorrhage. Hence
it has been found very useful in the treatment of hemorrhage from the
alimentary canal.
The root of the puhul creeper with that of the Komadu(which
is also the pulul family) made a paste by rubbing them on s stone can be
applied on carbuncles. For severe burns a drink of puhul juice mixed with Kitul
jaggery is the first thing to be given to the patient. Puhul is also applied on
the burnt area of skin.
Ripe papaw(carica papaya) will keep down
enlargement of the spleen. Here is a word of advice to those who regularly take
alcoholic beverages. Take papaw regularly and keep your liver happy. To those
affected with enlarge prostate glands there is relief to be found in half
boiled and eaten in the morning.
