All-Spice - The Medicinal Properties

All-spice is a quay ingredient and greatly used in cultural cooking and is native to the Caribbean Islands. When the fruit is dried out at this point the fruit looks like dried peppercorns. The whole fruits are said to have a longer shelf life than the dried powder type. This product produces a more aromatic flavor when freshly ground before use.

The all-spice leaves also has great cooking properties and is used where available in cooking they are similar in look to bay leaves. They are used to infuse food and disgared when serving.

Dried Fruit

Another us for the wood and leaves of this plant is to smoke meat and dry fish.

All-spice is not, as some people believe, a mixture of spices. Rather, it is the Dried fruit of the pimento plant. This fruit is picked and dried out in the sun, when ripe the fruit is green but when the fruit has undergone the drying processes they turn brown and have the resemblance of large peppercorns. The whole fruits in my opinion are a much better product as they have a much longer shelf life, than what its powdered form will give. It is much better to ground this spice just before using it as it will give a more freshly prepared flavor and the aromatic essence of the fruit is brought out.

The leaves of the all-spice plant are generally used in cooking by the natives in the Caribbean Island. They use leaves in cooking where possible as it has grown to be part of there culture. The pimento leave is very similar to bay leaves they have a common use amongst the natives of the Caribbean thus used to infuse the food with flavor then removed at the time of consumption. All- spice has another more common trait as the wood and leaves are used to smoke meat or fish and vegetables. All-spice being a local crop it is also found in essential oils.

Spice are also known for there natural medicinal properties. All- spice is commonly known as a seasoning, spice, or an extract usually derived from food. The content of nutrients and non-nutrient substances are minimal, and that is due to the fact that they are consumed in small amounts.

However spices give variety and flavor to the food also helping to stimulate the appetite encouraging the flow of the digestive juices. They are well known both in the Caribbean Island and in Europe for its soothing properties. It has been known to be the host of many colds and flu remedies around the world, medicinally all-spice is a digestive aid that promotes the digestive enzymes, and it is a natural anesthetic and helps with muscular pain and tooth ache. So that's why I think all spice is a culinary giant in the world of spices.

All-Spice - The Medicinal Properties

Andrew Dekannwarri cultural chef
http://www.justspicelimited.co.uk
email justspice@hotmail.co.uk

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Chaste Tree - Medicinal Uses, Interactions, Side Effects, Dosage

The dried fruit or berry of the chaste tree is often referred to as Monk's pepper or chasteberry; it was historically thought to reduce libido or promote chastity. Chaste tree is also commonly referred to as vitex.

Uses and Benefits:

Standardized extracts of the chaste tree berry are popular in Europe, and now in North America, for a variety of women's problems primarily related to the menstrual cycle. These disorders include menstrual cycle irregularities, the premenstrual syndrome (PMS), cyclic breast pain, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and infertility. Historically, vitex has also been used for inflammatory conditions, diarrhea, flatulence, insufficient lactation, and menstruation induction.

Adverse Effects: Vitex appears to be very well tolerated. Reported side effects in the clinical studies are rare and transient (often similar in frequency to placebo), and primarily include mild gastrointestinal complaints, allergic reactions, or headaches. A single case of unexplained nocturnal seizures in a patient taking chaste tree berry, black cohosh, and evening primrose oil has been reported ; a cause-and-effect relationship with vitex is doubtful.

Side Effects and Interactions:

There are no reported interactions with vitex. Due to its potential effects on dopamine and prolactin, it is relatively contraindicated with other drugs that are dopamine antagonists (e.g., bromocriptine, metoclopramide, antiparkinson's drugs).

Cautions:

Use during pregnancy and lactation should generally be avoided, although vitex has been employed to enhance fertility and stimulate lactation. In a case report of a woman undergoing unstimulated in vitro fertilization treatment, a combination herbal preparation containing vitex was associated with folliculogenesis and increased FSH, LH, and progesterone levels. In addition, the patient complained of symptoms suggestive of mild ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Preparations & Doses:

Vitex preparations and doses vary considerably; only the standardized European products have been demonstrated to be effective. In the German clinical trials, small doses of standardized extract preparations are equivalent to about 30-40 mg of dried or crude herb, and are usually administered each morning. Agnolyte is marketed in the U.S. as Femaprin (Nature's Way), and is usually given as one 4-mg tablet or 40 drops of extract per day. Herbalists in Britain and other English-speaking countries tend to use much larger doses of noncommercial preparations, equivalent to about 500-2000 mg/day of dried herb, often in liquid extracts and tinctures. A more recent European product is equivalent to about 120-240 mg of crude herb.

Steve Mathew is a writer, who writes many great articles on http://www.health-care-tips.org/herbal-medicines/index.htm and ayurvedic medicines for common ailments and diseases. Visit us for more information on http://www.home-remedies.info/herbal-remedies/index.htm and http://www.ayurvedic-medicines.org

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