Category: health

Eleutherine palmifoliaL. Merr. (Bawang Dayak)

Bawang Dayak (Eleutherine palmifoliaL. Merr.) is traditionally used to cure diabetes and other diseases by Dayak tribes in Kalimantan Island (Borneo), Indonesia.

A study conducted by Febrinda, A. E., Yuliana, N. D., Ridwan, E., Wresdiyati, T. and Astawan, M, available in the International Food Research Journal has proven that Bawang Dayak (Eleutherine palmifolia L. Merr.) is indeed effective in treating diabetes. The research also justified the use of the plant to treat diabetes among the natives of Borneo. Planting this herb is easy. In the tropics, you just need to plant it on a rich soil and water it frequently.

Eleutherine palmifoliaL. Merr.

It looks similar to a ground orchid

The Bawang Dayak (Dayak Onion) has been used for generations to treat various diseases. This onion (roots) is red in colour while the leaves are green. Sometimes it can be mistakenly identified as a ground orchid because it has white flowers similar to some common ground orchids.
The roots of the herb contain compounds such as alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, phenolic, steroids and tannins. Generally the onion has been utilised by the local community as medicine to treat various illnesses including treatment for breasts cancer, hypertension, diabetes, cancer of the intestines and to prevent stroke as well as reducing cholesterol.
Eleutherine palmifolia could be utilised in the form of fresh (bulb) which is eaten raw or in a powder form. The potential for the onion as a multifunctional medicine crop is very promising – it is remarkably easy to grow has no known pests.

Clinacanthus Nutans and Cancer

Clinacanthus Nutans (Snake Grass) has been used in traditional medicine to treat common insect bites including venomous snakes and other animals. The popularity of the herb soared when an incredible story of a cancer patient, Mr. Liu Hui Lian who had recovered from the illness by taking the herb was published in a Chinese Daily – Kwong Wah Yit Poh Press.

                                                  Clinacanthus Nutans herb

Since then many other patients suffering from various chronic diseases such diabetes, heart and kidney problems claimed that the herb helped in the curing of the disease.

Clinacanthus Nutans helps

• reduce suffering from various types of cancers such as lung, breast, prostate, uterus and leukemia

• reduce uric acid, cholesterol and diabetes

• reduce blood pressure and improve blood flow

• improve skin problems such as eczema, shingles and psoriasis

• reduce the discomfort of dialysis and kidney disease

• detoxify, heal bruises and swelling

The Efficacy of the Clinacanthus Nutans herb

According to a study conducted by the Institute of Vegetable Research at the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, stated that Clinacantus Nutans leaves have nutritional value as follows:

  • It has a high content of flavonoids that have antioxidant capabilities in preventing and prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease
  • Contains many important minerals, especially vitamins, more than 45% crude protein and 17 types of amino acids.
  • Rich in vitamin C, protein, fiber and minerals that have the effect against free radicals which help prevent cancer.
  • Contains mineral such as phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and some traces of iron.

Clinacanthus Nutans (Belalai Gajah) herbs is effective against cancer

The Clinacanthus Nutans leaves or locally know as Belalai Gajah (Elephant’s truck) leaves are said to be effective in fighting cancer cells. The herb which is also known as Sabah Snake Grass also proven in traditional medicine to help patients with inflammation of the prostate, kidney problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, gout, diabetes, blocking of the blood vessel and as a very good antitoxin.

Studies have found that the extract does not contain toxins. It has a high concentration of flavonoids, (Flavonoids are a group of plant metabolites thought to provide health benefits through cell signalling pathways and antioxidant effects. These molecules are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables). Clinacanthus Nutans extracts also contain a variety of minerals, vitamins and amino acids essential to the body. It is a good antioxidant.

How to prepare a herb juice for cancer patients: 

Stage 1: 30 leaves per day. Stage 2: 50 leaves per day. Stage 3: 100 leaves per day, and Stage 4: 150-200 leaves per day.

The leaves must be blended  with a green apple and  to be taken every morning, it should not be filtered (strained), leave the mixture fibrous. Patients taking this extract shall abstain from taking food high in sugar content as well as honey, mackerel, chicken, duck, yam, rice and butter.
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The roots are proved to contain triterpenoids betulin compound and the leaf has 45% protein content and 17 types of amino acids, vitamin C and calcium, fiber, and minerals such as iron, zinc, manganese, copper and nickel. The leaf also contain a high concentration of phosphorus, calcium and magnesium.

Clinacanthus Nutans leaves and a green apple

The blended extract

Another herbs which is proven against cancer is the gynura peocumbens.

Video:

| Source: 1 2 | Image credit: 1 | Video credit: RTM |

Gynura Procumbens and High Cholesterol

I have been recently diagnosed with high Cholesterol level and prescribed with Simvastatin drug. The doctor also advised on a proper diet to go along the drug and a regular exercise. I am glad that I can also supplement my diet with Gynura procumbens which is readily available in my back yard with no added cost.

Gynura procumbens

One of the main use of Gynura Procumbens is to help reduce cholesterol. Other uses are as an anti-cancer plant, reducing blood glucose and many more. The effect of high cholesterol level is increasing your blood pressure and adding to the risk of a stroke. An experiment done on commercial rats in Korea confirmed that Gynura procumbens can significantly lower SBP (Systolic Blood Pressure) on the experimental rats as compared with the controlled group. Details of the experiment can be accessed here.

One of the main problem with including Gynura procumbens into your diet is sometimes your inability to incorporate the herb/vegetable in your meal due to mere negligence. The general rule is for a person (or patient) to take the leaves (2-3 leaves) everyday in the morning before breakfast, but I do sometimes forget and added to the nuisance of having to go out and pick the leaves yourself. The solution is simple – pick a few dozens leaves and keep it in your fridge! This way, it will be easier and the leaves can stay fresh in your fridge for weeks.

[Source: online.liebertpuc.com]

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The current and past researches on the amazing Gynura Procumbens

G.Procumbens herb

I come across a website which has most of the information regarding the current and past researches conducted on the amazing Gynura Procumbens anti-cancer plant. It is amazing that this herb has so many uses – antidiabetic properties, oncoprotective properties, cardiovascular, gastroenterology, reproductive activities, Antioxidantal and nutrition properties, kidneys, anti-inflammatory activities, skin disease and wound healing and finally Phytochemical composition. Below are the links (courtesy on Gynura Online) to some of the current and past researches conducted on the G.Procumbens herb.

Antidiabetic properties:
Oncoprotective  activities:
  • Airlangga University – Anticarcinogenesis effect of Gynura procumbens (Lour) Merr on tongue
  • carcinogenesis in 4NQO-induced rat
  • Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine – Gynura procumbens modulates the microtubules integrity and enhances distinct mechanism on doxorubicin and 5-flurouracil-induced breast cancer cell death
  • International Journal of Phytomedicine – THE ETHYL ACETATE FRACTION OF Gynura procumbens SENSITIZES WiDr COLON CANCER CELL LINE AGAINST 5-FLUOROURACIL BUT SHOWS ANTAGONISM WITH CISPLATIN
  • Indonesian Journal of Biotechnology – Gynura procumbens Prevents Chemoresistance through Inhibition MDR1 Expression on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Line and Sensitizes the Cells to Doxorubicin
Cardiovascular:
Gastroenterology:
Reproductive activities:
Antioxidantal and nutrition properties:
Kidneys:
  • Korean J Physiol Pharmacol – Inhibitory Effects of an Aqueous Extract of Gynura procumbens on Human Mesangial Cell Proliferation
Anti-inflammatory properties:
Skin diseases and wound healing:
Phytochemical composition:

 [Source: Gynura Online]

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The October monsoon is here again

It’s the monsoon season again at the tiny spot of Borneo that I am residing, and the heavy rain causes landslides almost everywhere, fuel trucks were unable to reach us deep in the interior and that causes fuel shortage, lines after lines of vehicles are queuing up to fill in their tanks causing a massive traffic jam. Fuel price hike seems not to bother anymore, what counts now is a constant supply of fuel so that life can go back to normal again. Food shortages will come next but eventually alternative routes will be found and hopefully normality will be with us once again.

A major landslide causing the interior to be cut off from the capital

Flooding is reported in some parts of the West Coast, particularly the district of Penampang. This picture though, is just a joke!
Some affected residents still have a good sense of humour despite the adversity

Meanwhile, in my super mini garden, my 3-month old Gynura procumbens are doing very well. Information about the effectiveness of the Gynura procumbens on cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, ulcer and varicose vein are mentioned in this blog.

I kept on taking the G. procumbens mature leaves (2-3 leaves) in their raw form, every morning and before breakfast. Surprisingly at this age, I have none of the above diseases and hopefully if God permits, this will continue to the rest of my adult life.

My 3-month old G.procumbens herb

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Keningau Pan Mee

Good morning! Good Morning to you… Just a short update today. So it’s already Wednesday and I will have a 2-hour class starting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and thereafter in the afternoon (2:00-4:00) assisting a colleague as a second assessor for our students’ Action Research presentation. Considering the bulk of the task today as an enormous one, so it will be fitting to have a proper breakfast and there isn’t time to have lunch in between this very tight and hectic schedule.

So I went for breakfast with my wife, very early at 6:30 a.m.

This is a typical large bowl Pan Men (mee)

This large-bowl pan mee (RM6 each) hopes will be able to sustain me till the late afternoon today.

[Popular post] [Pan mee recipe]

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How to take the Gynura Procumbens herb

The different methods of eating Gynura Procumbens

The are many recommended ways of taking the Gynura Procumbens herb; if you are new to the plant and in need of some background information, you may want to read my earlier post here. The most common ways of eating the Gynura Procumbens herb are listed below:

  1. Eating raw, 2-3 mature leaves. This is the easiest way and highly recommended. The fresh extract from the leaves and absorbed directly by the body.
  2. Eaten as salad.
  3. Drying and consumed like tea. (Not recommended as the leaves lack the essential fresh extract)
  4. Blended – if you have a blender and some extra time, this is probably the best way.

My 6-month Gynura Procumbens plant
This one is planted about 2 months ago

The best time to take the leaves is in the morning, before breakfast, on an empty stomach. This will allow the extracts to be absorbed wholly by the body.

The video below is very useful and gives a lot of information about the amazing Gynura Procumbens plant.

Video credit:Get Healthy with Gynura Procumbens! By Wendy Phan

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Gynura Procumbens can help prevent liver cancer

Today I am going to share with you the effectiveness of the Gynura Procumbens plant on treating liver cancer. There were earlier articles on the use of the G. Procumbens to treat breast cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and varicose vein in my previous postings.

According to a study carried out by Fithriyatun Nisa, Adam Hermawan, Retno Murwanti and Edy Meiyanto at the Cancer Chemoprevention Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sekip Utara II, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia, states that,

This study explored the effect of G. procumbens leaves ethanolic extract on DMBA induced male rats liver. In this study, EGP was given a week before, during and after induction of DMBA. EGP treatment was intended to prevent metabolic activation of DMBA and also prevent initiatition and progression of liver cancer. Our present study showed that DMBA induced high  proliferation compared to EGP treatment group. Treatment of EGP 300 mg/kgbw is significantly decreased proliferation of liver cells induced by DMBA. The results in similar to previous study 13 that reported treatment of EGP 300 mg/kgbw significantly (p<0.05) inhibited proliferation of mammary glands induced by DMBA. Antiproliferative activity of EGP is mediated by metabolic enzyme, CYP and GST [Full Text]

I am not a science person but I do understand that G. Procumbens is effective to inhibit cancer cell growth in a liver as the study below suggest:

Purpose: The leaves of Gynura procumbens (Lour.) Merr. has been traditionally used  as anticancer. Ethanolic extract of G. procumbens leaves (EGP) showed cytotoxic activity and anticancer activity in animal cancer model. This study was conducted to observe antiproliferative effect using male rat’s liver cells induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)antracene (DMBA). Methods: Forty days old Sprague Dawley male rats were divided into 4 groups, (1) 0.5 % CMC Na, (2) 20 mg/kg BW DMBA p.o ten
times in three weeks, (3) DMBA+300 mg/kg BW of EGP, and (4) DMBA+750 mg/kg BW of EGP. The extract was dissolved into 0.5 % CMC-and administered daily per oral one week before, during and terminated 1 week after the DMBA induction. After sixthteen week experiment, rat livers were sectioned and stained with Haematoxyllene and Eosin (H&E) and AgNOR. Results: Histopatology profile showed no primary liver tumor on DMBA group. mAgNOR value of DMBA+300 mg/kg BW EGP showed significant antiproliferative effect compared to DMBA group. Conclusion: Ethanolic
extract of G. procumbens leaves showed antiproliferative activity on male rats liver induced by DMBA. [Full Text]

 Gynura procumbens

In layman term, the ethanolic element found on G. Procumbens leaves has the ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells on male rats liver which is caused by DMBA. DMBA is a tumor initiator.

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I wish to conclude that Gynura procumbens does indeed have the properties to help fight cancer. I am not sure if a commercially available drug derived from the plant is available but planting the plant is actually quite straight forward. If you wish to plant it yourself, you may want to have a look at my previous post on the matter here and how to consume the leaves, over here.

Reference:

1. Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 2012, 2(1), 99-106
2. Korean J Physiol Pharmacol 2007 Aug; 11(4): 145-148

Gynura Procumbens – a natural cure for diabetes

Living with diabetes is of course difficult but it is by no means “a dead end” toward recovery. Maintaining a proper diet and insulin intake may help diabetics to improve their quality of life. A proper diet helps diabetics to have acceptable blood glucose levels, improved blood pressure as well as cholesterol numbers. Not to mention that it will also help in keeping their weight on track.

The Gynura Procumbens herb is easy to plant
I would like to recommend a natural solution for diabetes, I have written a number of posts on the plant in question and there are also various websites that recommend the herb as a natural remedy for diabetes. The plant is of course the Gynura Procumbens, known locally in Borneo as the Daun Sambung Nyawa or the Extension of Life plant.

My aunt who is a diabetic has greatly improved in term of lower blood glucose since taking the herb. She had now planted a large quantity of the plant in her garden. How do you take or eat the herb? Well it is simple – take 2-3 Gynura procumbens leaves, wash and eat raw like a salad. Some would prefer to mix with vegetables or soup but I would recommend the first method – fresh and instant.
In term of clinical experiments of the effectiveness of the herb for diabetes, I had listed below a number of links. Please feel free to read them, thanks.
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