Steemit Health Contest #4: My Herbal Plants
Good day to everyone on the platform, what a wonderful and educative contest this is wouldn’t you agree? I’m very delighted to participate in it and also share with you some plants that are used for herbal medicine in my town. I’ll want to thank @nadiaturrina and the Steemit Health community for this opportunity given to participate in the contest.
Plants have been the first and foremost sources of medicine treatment even long before our modern system of using synthesis drugs, some plants where discovered long ago and recently to have some treatment abilities to some diseases. Even in our modern days of treatment, some plants that have been discovered to have those treatment abilities are extracted and then synthesis to derive the main component or the functional group of the plant that has this treatment abilities. And therefore scientist are able to reproduce the same functional groups synthetically and then process it into refined drugs for human and animal consumption. And these are better than using raw plants themselves because;
• We able to measure correct doses of the medicine needed of every person unlike using raw plants.
• It is also easier to consume than using plants that might need boiling or needed to be taken with an additive.
• It can be stored longer over a period of time than using raw plants medicine.
• It also much more conducive than using raw plants.
Because of some of these benefits, the use of raw plants or herbal medicine is considered as a traditional or out modern way of medicine and therefore some people abandoned the use of herbal medicine for treatment. Although herbal medicine is still used in some parts of the world including my town, and it’s still effective in treating some diseases and conditions.
Some herbal plants or plants that have herbal effects used in my town that I’ll want to share with you are;
| Botanical Name | Azadirachta indica |
|---|---|
| Part of Plant Used | Leaves, Stalk or branches |
| Herbal Uses | against malaria, mosquito repellant, teeth whitener |
Neem plants or trees have some herbal effects and therefore are used as herbal medicine to treat or manage some conditions, although it is recommended for everyone especially children. Due to the possibility of overdose of the herbal medicine, and this may detrimental to the health of children than adults. And also the herbal concoction is too bitter, even for adults and may induce vomiting.
The leaves of the neem plants are washed in clean water and he cooked overnight over a fair source of heat, the water extracted from it is used to manage conditions of malaria and also some fevers. Which were mostly the main disease conditions in the country over the years, especially malaria. Because of these ability of the neem plant, people use to plant them in their homes in the past because modern malaria drugs weren’t easily accessible or too expensive, and up till now some folks still use it for treatment. The leaves of the neem plant is also used as a repellant to mosquitoes, they are dried and then burnt in rooms to produce these effect.
The stalk or branches of the neem plant is used together with charcoal to aid in whitening teeth and help with bad breath. The bark or covering of the stalk is peeled leaving the whitish part of it that is used, it is really an effective way cleaning the teeth. Most people prefer this method than even using tooth paste to clean the teeth, I personally have used it several times and it really helps.
| Botanical Name | Salix babylonica |
|---|---|
| Part of Plant Used | Leaves |
| Herbal Uses | anti-inflammatory agent, antipyretic agent or fever relief |
The weeping willow plant is another common plant that is used as herbal plant in my town, it is mostly planted by people and does not always grow naturally on its own. The leaves of the plant is what are used to give the herbal effects, it is also boiled mostly and the water is extracted. It has a really bitter taste too and therefore is not adopted again.
It is used to help and manage muscular inflammations or joint pains, and it’s also used to help manage fevers of high temperatures. Due to vast modern drugs present to carter for this drugs in the recent times, this herbal plant is almost no longer used.
These are the two herbal plants that are mostly in used in my town or community, the community people adopted the use of these plants as herbal plants years ago even before the introduction of modern medicine in the country, and have passed the knowledge about it and its use down from generations to generations.
It has been educative sharing these knowledge on herbal plants with you all, thank you all for coming through and also much appreciation to @nadiaturrina and the Steem Health community for this opportunity given to participate in this wonderful contest. I would like to invite @adeljose, @habdallah and @mukka to also participate in this amazing contest through the entry link;
Thank you for sharing good content on Steemit.
Thank you for sharing in the contest. Amazing Ghana wishes you well. Share with @amazing-ghana also. Together we can grow.