Some of the plants described here are also toxic (poisonous), and may cause serious reactions if you change the recipe, or use the plants inappropriately. Anumber of the symptoms and diseases mentioned, such as cough and diabetes, may reveal serious underlying conditions. Whenever possible, people should first consult a health worker or doctor.
We strongly recommend the use of accurate weighing scales. If these are not available, dry the leaves and then remove all stems by rubbing over mosquito wire. 5g of dried leaves is approximately equivalent to the amount that will fit, firmly pressed, into a plastic 35mm film canister. Please monitor the effectiveness of your treatment by using microscopes and other equipment available in health centres.
We strongly recommend the use of accurate weighing scales. If these are not available, dry the leaves and then remove all stems by rubbing over mosquito wire. 5g of dried leaves is approximately equivalent to the amount that will fit, firmly pressed, into a plastic 35mm film canister. Please monitor the effectiveness of your treatment by using microscopes and other equipment available in health centres.
Guava - Psidium guajava
Preparation:
To treat: Diabetes and cough
- Use a handful of leaves to make a decoction with 1 liter of water.
- Filter, add 4 tablespoons to honey soup or 2 tablespoons soup full of sugar and a level teaspoon of salt.
To treat: Diabetes and cough
Preparation:
As above, but omit the honey and salt.
As above, but omit the honey and salt.
Dose: Drink within one day
Papaya - Pawpaw, Carica papaya
Papaya - Pawpaw, Carica papaya
To treat: Intestinal worms
To obtain latex, wash a large unripe fruit still attached to the plant, make several vertical cuts 1mm deep in the skin and collect the drops of white sap in a clean spoon or cup. The knife and spoon used must be stainless steel, as traces of rust destroy the active chemical, papaine. Be careful to keep the latex out of the eyes.
Dose:
For adults, take 4 teaspoons of fresh latex in the morning before eating. Repeat 1 week later. - For babies of 6 months to 1 year give 1/2 teaspoon,
- For 1–3 years give 1 teaspoon,
- From 4 to 6 years: 2 teaspoon,
- From 7 to 13 years: 3 teaspoons.
To treat: Dirty wounds: to clean them
Dose: Add a few drops of latex to cool, boiled water.
To treat: Indigestion
To treat: Indigestion
Dose: Add 1 or 2 drops of latex to your food or chew 3 paypaya seeds.
To treat: Amoebic dysentery
Dose: Chew a teaspoon of fresh pawpaw seeds 3 times a day for 7 days for light cases. For serious cases, give 1 tablespoon of ground seeds 3 times a day for 7 days.
To treat: Open boils, infected wounds and burns
Dose: Wash and cut an unripe pawpaw.With a clean stainless steel knife, cut a slice as thick as a child’s little finger. Lay over the wound and secure with a bandage. Leave for 4 hours; though if it causes pain, remove earlier. Repeat 4 times a day until all the infected pus has disappeared. In between these treatments, cover the wound with a honey and sugar mixture.
Ginger - Zingiber officinale
To treat: Travel sickness and nausea
Preparation:
Ginger powder is produced by washing, drying, pounding and sieving the rhizome (underground root). Dose: Take 1 level teaspoon of powder 30 minutes before travelling. To avoid nausea, take 1/2 teaspoon of powder 3 times a day.
To treat: Bacillary dysentery
Dose: Take 45g of fresh ginger in portions during the day.
To treat: Cough, bronchitis and rheumatism
Preparation:
Make a tincture with 25g of freshly chopped ginger and 100ml of alcohol 70%. Leave for a week and filter.
Dose: Take 10–20 drops of the tincture 3–4 times daily. Also use as an antiseptic for small wounds.
To treat: Rheumatism
Preparation:
Make ginger oil by heating 10g of chopped ginger in 50g of vegetable oil for 1 hour in a water bath. Strain and cool.
Dose: Apply to painful areas.
