The ackee, also known as acki, akee, or ackee apple, is a fruit of the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family, as are the lychee and the longan. It is native to tropical West Africa. The scientific name honours Captain William Bligh who took the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, in 1793. The English common name is derived from the West African Akan-language name akye fufo.
Eugenia uniflora, the pitanga, Suriname cherry, Brazilian cherry, Cayenne cherry, cerisier carré, monkimonki kersie,ñangapirí, or shimarucu is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae, native to tropical South America’s east coast, ranging from Suriname, French Guiana to southern Brazil, as well as Uruguay and parts of Paraguay and Argentina. It is often used in gardens as a hedge or screen. The tree was introduced to Bermuda for ornamental purposes but is now out of control and listed as an invasive species. The tree has also been introduced to Florida.
Sida cordifolia is a perennial subshrub of the mallow family Malvaceae native to India. It has naturalized throughout the world, and is considered an invasive weed in Africa, Australia, the southern United States, Hawaiian Islands, New Guinea, and French Polynesia. The specific name, cordifolia, refers to the heart-shaped leaf.
Cannabis tea is a cannabis-infused drink prepared by steeping various parts of the cannabis plant in hot or cold water. Cannabis tea is commonly recognized as an alternative form of preparation and consumption of the cannabis plant, more popularly known as marijuana, pot, or weed. This plant has long been recognized as an herbal medicine employed by health professionals worldwide to ease symptoms of disease, as well as a psychoactive drug used recreationally and in spiritual traditions. Though less commonly practiced than popular methods like smoking or consuming edibles, drinking cannabis tea can produce comparable physical and mental therapeutic effects. Such effects are largely attributed to the THC and CBD content of the tea, levels of which are drastically dependent on individual preparation techniques involving volume, amount of cannabis, and boiling time. Also in common with these administration forms of cannabis is the heating component performed before usage. Due to the rather uncommon nature of this particular practice of cannabis consumption in modern times as well as the legality of cannabis throughout the world, the research available on the composition of cannabis tea is limited and based broadly around what is known of cannabis as it exists botanically.
Jumla District, is one of the ten districts of the Karnali province of Nepal. This district has Jumla as its headquarters, an area of 2,531 square kilometres (977 sq mi); it had populations of 89,427 and 108,921, respectively, in the national censuses of 2001 and 2011. Its territory lies between longitudes 81⁰ 28' and 82⁰ 18' East, and between latitudes 28⁰ 58' and 29⁰ 30' North.
Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonol, a type of flavonoid, found in a variety of plants and plant-derived foods including kale, beans, tea, spinach, and broccoli. Kaempferol is a yellow crystalline solid with a melting point of 276–278 °C (529–532 °F). It is slightly soluble in water and highly soluble in hot ethanol, ethers, and DMSO. Kaempferol is named for 17th-century German naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer.
Mesembryanthemum tortuosum is a succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It is known as the Namaqua skeletonfig, kanna, channa, kougoed —which literally means, 'chew(able) things' or 'something to chew'.
Biodiversity plays a vital role in maintaining human and animal health because numerous plants, animals, and fungi are used in medicine to produce vital vitamins, painkillers, antibiotics, and other medications. Natural products have been recognized and used as medicines by ancient cultures all around the world. Some animals are also known to self-medicate using plants and other materials available to them.
Kuding is a particularly bitter-tasting Chinese infusion, which due to their similarities in appearance is derived from several plant species. The two most common plants used to make kuding are the wax tree species Ligustrum robustum and the holly species Ilex kaushue, the former being more commonly grown in Sichuan and Japan while the latter is most commonly grown and used in the rest of China. Tea produced from Ligustrum or many species of Ilex is caffeine-free, although not Ilex paraguariensis, the source of mate drank in South America.
Mesembrine is an alkaloid primarily derived from the plant Sceletium tortuosum, commonly known as kanna. This compound is noted for its psychoactive properties, particularly as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which contributes to its potential use in treating mood disorders and anxiety. Mesembrine has garnered interest in both traditional medicine and modern pharmacology, where it is explored for its effects on enhancing mood and cognitive function. The plant itself has a long history of use by indigenous peoples in southern Africa, who utilized it for its mood-enhancing and stress-relieving effects, often consuming it in various forms such as teas or chews.
Clematis ligusticifolia is a climbing, spreading vine with showy flowers. It is also known as old-man's beard, yerba de chiva, and virgin's bower,. It is native to North America where it is widespread across the western United States in streamside thickets, wooded hillsides, and coniferous forests up to 8,500 feet (2,600 m).
Rotheca myricoides or Butterfly Clerodendrum,Butterfly Bush, and is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to tropical eastern Africa and widely cultivated elsewhere. In cultivation, it is frequently known by one of its synonyms, such as Clerodendrum myricoides.
Artemisia herba-alba, the white wormwood, is a perennial shrub in the genus Artemisia that grows commonly on the dry steppes of the Mediterranean regions in Northern Africa, Western Asia and Southwestern Europe. It is used as an antiseptic and antispasmodic in herbal medicine.
Bakuchiol is a meroterpenoid in the class terpenophenol.
A bioactive compound is a compound that has an effect on a living organism, tissue or cell, usually demonstrated by basic research in vitro or in vivo in the laboratory. While dietary nutrients are essential to life, bioactive compounds have not been proved to be essential – as the body can function without them – or because their actions are obscured by nutrients fulfilling the function.
Pittosporum angustifolium is a shrub or small tree growing throughout inland Australia. Common names include weeping pittosporum, butterbush, cattle bush, native apricot, apricot tree, gumbi gumbi, cumby cumby, meemeei, poison berry bush, and berrigan.
Filipendula glaberrima, also called Korean meadowsweet, is a species of plant in the family Rosaceae that is native to Korea. The genus Filipendula is classified as a perennial herbaceous ornamental plant of the botanical family Rosaceae. The historical utilization of Filipendula plants in traditional medicine can be attributed to their diuretic, antiseptic, anti-rheumatic, stomachic, and antacid qualities. Plants belonging to the genus Filipendula have various beneficial properties, including antioxidant capacity, anticancer activity, anti-inflammatory effects, anti-colitis properties, anti-hyperalgesic properties, antigenotoxic effects, hepatoprotective activities, and skin-moisturizing properties.
Gelsemium elegans, commonly known as heartbreak grass, is a poisonous plant of the family Gelsemiaceae found in China and other Asian countries. It contains toxic alkaloids such as gelsemine, gelsenicine, gelsevirine, koumine and 14-Hydroxygelsenicine.
Ben-Erik van Wyk FAAS is a South African professor of indigenous botany and traditional African medicine at the University of Johannesburg.
