Fam: Cupressaceae
Juniper is widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and its birthplace is obscure. It is found in Europe, North Africa, North America and northern Asia. The main commercial producers are Hungary and southern Europe, especially Italy. The berries were known to Greek, Roman and early Arab physicians as a medicinal fruit and are mentioned in the Bible. In the Renaissance, they were recommended against snake bite, and plague and pestilence. Because of its air-cleansing piney fragrance, the foliage was used as a strewing herb to freshen stale air and the Swiss burned the berries with heating fuel in winter to sanitize stale air. Gin, the alcoholic drink that gets its unique flavour from juniper berries, is named from an adaptation of the Dutch word for juniper, "geneva".
Spice Description
Initially hard and pale green, juniper berries ripen to blue-black, become fleshy and contain three sticky, hard, brown seeds. When dried, the berries remain soft but if broken open one will find the pith surrounding the seeds is easily crumbled.
Bouquet: Fragrant and flowery, combining the aromas of gin and turpentine.
Flavour:Aromatic, bittersweet and piny.
Hotness Scale: 1
Preparation and Storage
Juniper berries are at their best when they are still moist and soft to the touch, squashing fairly easily between one's fingers. It is possible to make a purée from juniper berries or to extract the flavour and aroma by macerating them in hot water, but as all parts are edible and the texture is agreeable, it is usually just as well to use the entire fruit, split or crushed. The berries are quite powerful, one heaped teaspoon of crushed fruits serving for a dish for four people. Store in a cool place in an airtight container.
Culinary Uses
Juniper berries perform a quite unique role, by contributing as much to the character of food through their 'freshening' ability, as they do by way of their specific taste profile. As well as flavouring a dish, juniper cuts the gaminess of game, reduces the fatty effect of duck and pork and perks up a bread stuffing. The strong hearty flavour of juniper goes well with strong meats, such as game. Pork chops, roast leg of lamb, veal, rabbit, venison and wild boar are all enlivened with a hint of juniper. Juniper berries blend well with other herbs and spices, especially thyme, sage, oregano, marjoram, bay leaves, allspice and onions and garlic. One application I am particularly fond of is in a simple chicken casserole, It can effectively be added to wine marinades for meats, and is used with coriander in smoking meat. It seasons pâtés and sauces and in Sweden. Goulash and Sauerkraut often feature a juniper taste, as do some home-pickled meats like salt beef, salt pork and ham. Generally juniper can well be used in any dish requiring alcohol. Fruit dishes, such as apple tart and pickled peaches, also harmonize with this flavour.
Anamu is a perennial herb plant of family Phytolaccaceae Genus Petiveria and Species alliacea. It grows up to one meter in height.
It is native to the Amazon rainforest and tropical areas of Central and South America ,Africa and the Caribbean. It yields dark green color, leathery leaves that lie close to the soil. It also has tall spikes lined with small white flowers. It is sometimes called garlic weed, because the plant, and especially the roots, have a strong garlic smell.
It is called by some scientific names like P. foetida, P. graveolens, P. hexandria, P. corrientina, P. paraguayensis, Mapa graveolens.
In Brazilian herbal medicine, it is considered as diuretic, antispasmodic, menstrual promoter, sweat promoter, and stimulant.Health practitioners use it for arthritis, malaria, edema, edema, poor memory, rheumatism. They also use it as a topical analgesic and anti-inflammatory for skin conditions.
The research published on this plant reveals that it has a broad range of therapeutic properties, including anti-leukemic, anti-tumorous, and anti-cancer activities against various types of cancer cells.It was found out that water extracts and ethanol extracts of Anamu plant retard the growth of the leukemia cells and several other strains of cancerous tumor cells in an in vitro study by Italian researchers in 1990.
Anamu extracts were resistant to a number of bacterial and fungal strains.
Two of the phytochemical compounds in the anamu plant dibenzyl trisulphate and astilbin are believed to destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
Taditional use of anamu as a treatment for cold and flu symptoms
Its extracts can even relieve pain and inflammation when applied to the skin.
Natural choice for people suffering from arthritis and rheumatism
One study showed that blood sugar dropped by as much as 60%.
Botanical extracts are the secret ingredients lo the wondrous beauty products specifically skin and hair care products. It is the presence of botanical extracts that makes these products so indispensable to the customer. Our botanical Products are 100% natural and are a healthy natural alternative to some of the synthetic ingredients currently in use.
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The Herbal Extracts division is engaged in extracting and marketing standardized Herbal Extracts of the highest quality for domestic and international customers. It meets the growing needs of the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, ayurvedic and food industries. Aqueous and alcohol extracts of herbs are processed to specific strengths and supplied in the form of soft extract or dry extract powders to customers' specifications. We also undertake customized extraction on confidential contract, basis. Our Products include
General Information - Cinnamomum camphora is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. The leaves have a glossy, waxy appearance and smell of camphor when crushed. In spring, it produces bright green foliage with masses of small white flowers. It produces clusters of black, berry-like fruit around 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter. Its pale bark is very rough and fissured vertically.
Phytochemicals - "The species contains volatile chemical compounds in all plant parts, and the wood and leaves are steam distilled for the essential oils. Camphor laurel has six different chemical variants called chemotypes, which are camphor, linalool, 1,8-cineole, nerolidol, safrole, and borneol. In China, field workers avoid mixing chemotypes when harvesting by their odour.[5][6] The cineole fraction of camphor laurel is used in China to manufacture fake ""eucalyptus oil"".[7]
The chemical variants (or chemotypes) seem dependent upon the country of origin of the tree. e.g., C. camphora grown in Taiwan and Japan is normally very high in linalool, often between 80 and 85%. In India and Sri Lanka, the high camphor variety/chemotype remains dominant. C. camphora grown in Madagascar, though, is high in 1,8-cineole (averaging between 40 and 50%). The essential oil from the Madagascar trees is commercially known as ravintsara.["
Botanical Name - Phyllanthus niruri/Phyllanthus amarus
Category - Medicinal
Form - Dry
Part Used - Leaves
General Information - Phyllanthus species are being in constant used in traditional medications to cure an array of human diseases (constipation, inhalation related, arthritis, loss of appetite, injuries, conjunctivitis, diarrhoea, running nose, common cold, malaria, blennorrhagia, colic, diabetes mellitus, dysentery, indigestion, fever, gout, gonorrheal diseases of males and females, skin itching, jaundice, hepatic disorders, leucorrhea, vaginitis, menstrual irregularities, obesity, stomach pains, and tumors), confectionaries, food industry, and in some pesticides.
Phytochemicals - Phyllanthus species are rich in diversity of phytochemicals e.g., tannins, terpenes, alkaloids, glycosidic compounds, saponins, and flavones etc. More in depth studies are a direly needed to identify more compounds with specific cellular functions to treat various ailments.
Botanical Name - Balanites aegyptica/Balanites roxburghii
Category - Medicinal
Form - Dry
Part Used - Leaves, Seed, Bark, Fruit
General Information - Balanites aegyptiaca Del., also known as Desert date in English, a member of the family Zygophyllaceae, is one of the most common but neglected wild plant species of the dry land areas of Africa and South Asia. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East. In India, it is particularly found in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Deccan. This is one of the most common trees in Senegal. It can be found in many kinds of habitat, tolerating a wide variety of soil types, from sand to heavy clay, and climatic moisture levels
Phytochemicals - "Leaves
It contains saponin, furanocoumarin, and flavonoid namely quercetin 3-glucoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside; 3-glucoside, 3-rutinoside, 3-7-diglucoside and 3-rhamnogalactoside of isorhamnetin.[40,41]
Fruit
Mesocarp of fruit contains 1.2 to 1.5% protein and 35 to 37% sugars, 15% organic acids, other constituents like 3-rutinoside and 3-rhamnogalactoside,[42] diosgenin;[43]
Root
It is reported to contain steroidal saponin about 1% glycosides and major sapogenin is yamogenin"
Fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum, is an herbaceous annual plant in the family Fabaceae grown for its leaves and seeds which are used as a herb or spice. The plant produces solitary pale white or purplish flowers and a straight or occasionally curved yellow pod which houses the seeds.
