Four essential medicinal plants at home

The author disclaims all responsibility for the misuse that could have been made of the remedies proposed in this text. The plants presented should not be consumed excessively, neither in quantity, nor in duration. This advice is not a substitute for medical treatment. Do not stop your treatment without medical advice, and always seek the advice of a doctor before following the advice outlined here. Have a healthy lifestyle, a balanced diet, and regular physical activity. Ask your doctor if you have a chronic condition before using a medicinal plant or essential oil.

1°) Garlic

First mentioned in a 3,500-year-old Egyptian papyrus, garlic has been used for millennia and by multiple peoples for its medicinal benefits.
One of the most consumed plants in the world, garlic is a healthy bulb that is both a condiment and a vegetable. In the young and fresh state (new garlic), the whole plant (including leaves) is consumed, while the preservative garlic consists only of the bulb.

ALLIUM SATIVUM
Other names : common garlic, garlic grow
Familly : Amaryllidacées
Origin : Global
Used parts : bulb, leaves

Its traditionnal uses :
Garlic is used to relieve minor circulatory disorders and improve hyperlipidemia (too high blood lipid levels) and hypertension. It is also used to treat respiratory, gastrointestinal (flatulence, colic, intestinal infections caused by parasitic worms) and to facilitate the evacuation of bile (cholagogue effect). Externally, it is recommended to treat various skin conditions (warts, corns) and to relieve joint, muscle and neuralgic pain. Garlic was also used to prevent and relieve intestinal parasitic infections.

In practice :
Where can I find him?
Garlic is found in all food shops and can be grown.
How to use it?
In infusion or decoction: 1 clove of fresh garlic for 1 cup of tea (15cl) of simmering water, to infuse 5 to 10 minutes. Drink 1 to 3 cups a day. Against intestinal worms: 4 cloves of grated garlic in 1 cup of milk Boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let macerate overnight. Drink 1 cup in the morning on an empty stomach. Renew until the worms are expelled.

Chewable :
1 clove of raw garlic, 1 to 3 times a day. The recommended daily dose is about 4g of fresh garlic and 1.3g of garlic powder.
In the kitchen:
consume between 1 and 4 cloves of fresh garlic per day.

Cardiovascular benefits
Garlic is particularly powerful at the cardiovascular level. it helps lower blood lipid levels and blood pressure. It also decreases blood clotting by reducing platelet aggregation and clotting. If we add its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, we understand why it reduces the risks of atherosclerosis (fat deposits inside the blood vessels) and myocardial infractus (heart attack).

Anti-cancer
The sulfur compounds contained in garlic are at the origin of its powerful protective effect against many cancers.

Degenerative diseases of the nervous system
The antioxidant potential of garlic protects neurons from oxidative stress, particularly involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer or Parkinson.

Diabetes
Garlic is also interesting against diabetes: it effectively lowers blood sugar levels and would prevent complications related to this pathogenesis.

Antimicrobial
It is also very active against bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites.

2°) Turmeric

Turmeric owes its warm golden yellow color to a pigment, curcumin, which is food coloring E100.
Turmeric is the rhizome (swollen souterraine part of the stem) of the same family as gimgembre. It has been used as a spice, tincture and medicinal plant for 3000 years. Previously, available dried and sprayed, it can be found in fresh form in some exotic or organic stores.

CURCUMA LONGA
Familly : Zingibéracées
Origin : Tropical Asia
Used parts : rhizome

Its traditionnal uses :
Turmeric is used to relieve digestive disorders of hepatic and biliary origin (it is used to promote the production of bile and its evacuation). It stimulates the appetite. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory that can relieve inflammation and pain results in many diseases and conditions, including bone and joint pain. It is a powerful anticoagulant that contraindicates with a number of allopathic drugs. In traditional Indian medicine, it is also used to treat skin infections and eczema.

In practice :
Where can I find him?
Turmeric is found in food shops, exotic grocery stores.
How to use it?
In infusion: 1 teaspoon (1.3g) dried rhizome or 1 slice of fresh turmeric (about 10g) for 15cl of simmering water for 10 to 15 mins. Drink 1 to 2 cups a day.
In kitchen : in fresh, dried or pulverized form.

Anti-cancer
Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immune system stimulant, turmeric induces the death of cancer cells and inhibits the development of a vascular system feeding the tumor.

A real spice-health
Turmeric improves the symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. It reduces the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and, in animals, slows down its development. The curcumin it contains protects neurons against aging.

Cardiovascular protector
Turmeric lowers blood cholesterol, reduces oxidation of blood lipids (it is a powerful antioxidant), lowers blood pressure and dilates vessels.

Antidiabetic
curcumin can reduce insulin resistance in people with diabetes. It lowers blood glucose levels and improves certain inflammatory symptoms associated with obesity and metabolic diseases

3°) Tarragon

Tarragon has always been used in Central Asia and Siberia, where it originated, as a medicinal and aromatic. It is especially valuable for its beneficial activities on the digestive system.
It is a perennial herbaceous plant measuring 80cm on average. Its very fragrant leaves are used as a condiment. The French tarragon, reminds anise, while the bitter Russian tarragon, more like chervil.

ARTEMISIA DRACUNCULUS
Other names : dragon grass, dragon strap, sour wormwood
Familly : Astéracées
Origin : Europe, USA, North Africa
Used parts : leaves

Its traditionnal uses :
Tarragon is used in the treatment of digestive disorders (bloating, slow digestion, eructations and flatulence). It also relieves pain related to this malfunction of digestion. Its aromatic flavor, bitter and spicy, is at the origin of its aperitif and digestive virtues. The plant is slightly sedative, sometimes recommended to improve sleep. In folk medicine, tarragon has also been used to treat epilepsy.

In practice :
Where can I find him?
tarragon is available in many food stores. It is also possible to find it at your nursery and plant it (harvest from June to October) mail you should know that it is a plant demanding in terms of soil and sunshine.
How to use it?
In infusion: 1 teaspoon for 1 cup (15cl) of simmering water, infused 5 to 10 mins. Drink 1 to 3 cups a day.
In the kitchen: It perfumes dishes, pickles (pickles) and sauces (bearnaise).

Diabetes
Tarragon extract lowers blood glucose levels in animals with type 2 diabetes. These results suggest that the plant could be used to contain the symptoms of diabetes and improve complications related to this disease.

Cardiovascular benefits
Studies have shown that tarragon inhibits the platelet aggregation process, which limits the formation of blood clots. A potential benefit in cardiovascular diseases can therefore be envisaged.

Nervous system
tarragon has shown anticonvulsant (decreased convulsions) and sedative effects on the animal. Tarragon extract also reduces the excitability of neuronns in vitro. Some see it as a ptential beneficial effect for people with epilepsy.

Two compounds in tarragon, estragole and methyl eugenol, have been determined to be toxic and mutagenic (see precautions). But no acute toxicity or mutagenic activity has ever been reported at doses corresponding to human consumption.

4°) Corn

Originally from central America, but has been cultivated for so long (9,000 years) that, as a result of its sucessive transformations, it no longer resembles its ancestor at all, a discreet herb called téosinte.
The corn is a large plant, up to 8,2ft in height. the female flowers, present from the middle of the stem, are arranged in long filaments (sometimes called "beard"), which remain on the epi de mais after fertilization. These are actually the styles (the filiform part of the pistils), often improperly called "stigmata" in trade. But widely grown worldwide, mainly to feed livestock and poultry. Its "seeds" are in fact fruit embryos, whose botannic name is "caryopses". By pressing, we extract a food oil mainly composed of omega 6 and 9 fatty acids.

ZEA MAYS
Other names : Turkey wheat, Spanish wheat,
Familly : Poacées
Origin : global
Used parts : stigmata style ("beard")

Its traditionnal uses :
Orally, corn styles are traditionally used to facilitate the body’s elimination functions. They are diuretics, promoting the renal elimination of water by increasing the volume of urine. For this reason, they are used to treat edema, cystitis (urinary tract infections), kidney stones, nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys), prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) and joint pain from gout. They are also taken in addition to diet. The styles of corn are used as oral antidiabetic agent for ten years in China, a practice based on traditional remedies.

In practice :
Where can I find him?
You can find whole corn cobs, with their "beard", at farmers markets, or even have, why not, a few feet in your garden.
How to use it?
In infusion: 1 teaspoon (0.5g) to 1 cup (15cl) of simmering water, steep for 5 to 10 mins. Drink 1 to 3 cups daily.

Proven anti-diabetic action
In diabetic mice, it has been shown that an aqueous extract of corn styles taken orally decreases hyperglycemia (too high blood glucose). This action is explained by an increase in insulin levels in the blood and the recovery of the pancreatic cells (the organ that produces insulin). In another study, a corn extract induced a blood glucose reaction comparable to that obtained with glibenclamide, a recognized antidiabetic drug. In vitro, extracts of maize styles inhibit the formation of compounds involved in diabetes complications and age-related degeneracy.

Organ protection
Saponins contained in corn styles are able to protect the kidneys and pancreas from damage caused by streptozocin, a molecule used to make laboratory animals diabetic.

Miscellaneous benefits
Other studies have highlighted the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and diuretic activities of corn styles.