Featuring Damsel The tree of Phyllanthus acidus, also known as damsel or damzel in Grenada, gooseberry (Dominica), raspberry (Antigua), sour cherry (Trinidad and Tobago), and Jimbilin (Jamaica) produces small, yellow, multi-lobed, star-shaped berries with a high acid content. The young leaves can be eaten as a vegetable. The fruits are edible raw. The young fruits can be cooked along with vegetables for tasty dishes. Ripe fruit can be eaten immediately or after being mixed with salt water to reduce the acid; stewed or made into a drink. Damsel has been an integral part of traditional medicine for thousands of years. For example, the leaves had been used to treat cough with phlegm, nausea, cancer, canker sores, improve digestion, as a blood purifier, improve eye sight, stimulate hair growth, and attenuate the body. The root bark has been used to treat asthma and some skin diseases. The seeds have been used for constipation and nausea. However, western medicine considered it as just folk medicine and many of our forefathers lost interest in the damsel. Recently however, western medicine has attributed the medicinal value of damsel to having a high vitamin C content. Research on damsel is still in the preliminary stages, however even at this stage, the research reported by the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Studies and Research has demonstrated strong antiviral and antimicrobial properties. There is also some evidence to suggest that the extracts of the damsel fruit can induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) and hence, aids in the recovery of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis (especially in women). It was also found that damsel aids in anti-aging, improves vitality and prevents some major diseases. There is also evidence that damsel has potential activity against some cancers. Damsel has also been found to reduce the severity of acute pancreatitis in rats and aid in the spontaneous repair and regeneration of the pancreas. There are experimental proofs for the medicinal value of the bark, leaves and the fruits of the damsel to have curative effects for inflammation, cancer, diabetes, and age-related kidney diseases. Face book friends, here is another opportunity to consider how to use damsel, one of our natural resources, toward self-reliance and economic growth.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 15:12:17 +0000
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