Medicinal plants in Thailand: Thai names and properties

Centella Asiatica or Gotu Kola, in Thai: Bow bok – บัวบก

The Centella asiatica is a brain tonic that stimulates intelligence and memory.

This plant helps fight stress, depression and improves reflexes.

The Thais consume it as a drink for its tonic properties and teenagers drink it to fight acne. You will find it sold in bunches at markets and offered as a drink mixed with ice and sugar in many establishments.

You will find it at the best price on Iherb.

See our article: Centella asiatica or Gotu kola: the Tiger's herb

Ipomoea pes-caprae, Phak boung thalé, against jellyfish stings

Nature does things well, to protect us from jellyfish stings, it puts an antidote plant right on the beach!

Ipomoea, in Thai: Phak boung thalé (sea morning glory) is a creeping vine that grows on most beaches in tropical regions.

Property

The decoction of leaves is used against inflammation, rheumatism and cramps.

Crushed young leaves make it easier to extract sea urchin spines.

In many countries, Ipomoea pes-caprae is a remedy against inflammation, colic, gonorrhea and pain.

Brazilian researchers have shown that the methanolic extract of the aerial parts has significant antinociceptive activity (which inhibits sensitivity to pain).

And the crushed leaf helps to calm the pain caused by jellyfish stings.

For more information, see our article:
Ipomoea pes-caprae, the vine against jellyfish stings

It was Thai friends from the Chantaburi area who taught me the usefulness of this plant for jellyfish stings.

And as if to remind me not to forget, that same evening, I met tourists who told me that one of them had been stung while swimming and how the Thais had taken leaves from a plant on the beach, crushed them, and applied them to his skin, which had the effect of quickly calming the pain.

Medicinal plants: Cissus Quadrangularis, for fractures and hemorrhoids

Cissus Quadrangularis (Pet Sang Kart in Thai) is a plant that interests many researchers for its property of accelerating the healing of fractured bones.

In Thailand, the plant is known to cure hemorrhoids and have the same effect as steroids!

Studies have shown that Cissus Quadrangularis accelerates bone healing, has analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.

Other studies indicate that it has a gastroprotective effect and can be useful in weight control.

Bodybuilders use it for its natural steroid properties, which help to lose weight and build muscle.

You will find it at the best price on Iherb.

To learn more, see: www.nutranews.org

Personally, I took it to cure my migraines and it's effective!

And I was able to see the "natural steroid" effect, because while I hadn't done any sports for some time, the fact that I had taken it for 6 days made the volume of my muscles increase and I lost a bit of weight (easily visible because I'm rather thin), but at the time, I only knew its properties for bones and venous problems and I wondered where it could come from!

The many benefits of papaya and papaya leaves

Papaya fruit of the papaya tree

Papaya (malako in Thai) is not only a delicious fruit and the essential ingredient in Som Tam, the seeds and leaves of the papaya tree are used to treat an impressive number of diseases, including dengue fever, which causes so much damage in Thailand.

See: Dengue fever can be treated with papaya leaf juice!

Medicinal properties of papaya

General properties of papain

It is used to treat digestive disorders, as it is rich in proteolytic enzymes, necessary for digestion

The papain has beneficial effects in the healing process of wounds: injuries, edema, inflammation.

The latex extracted from the still green fruit is used for its antiparasitic properties.

The latex collected by incising still green fruits is used to remove warts and corns.

Properties of the seeds

Liver health: papaya seeds contain essential nutrients that help heal liver cirrhosis.

Kidney health: researchers at the University of Karachi discovered that papaya seeds are beneficial for kidney health and prevent kidney failure.

Anti-inflammatory properties: the seeds have anti-inflammatory virtues and can be used to relieve arthritis, joint diseases, pain, and redness.

Anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties : a small amount of papaya seeds can kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli, staphylococcus, and salmonella.

They also help fight viral infections and serve as remedies against dengue fever, typhoid fever, and many other diseases.

Anticancer properties: Papaya seeds contain agents that prevent the growth of cancer cells and tumors.

Anti-parasitic: Papaya seeds contain an alkaloid called 'Carpaine' that kills intestinal worms and amoebic parasites.

Natural contraceptive: Papaya seeds are excellent natural contraceptives for men and women, without side effects, unlike chemical contraceptives that have many adverse effects with prolonged use.

Excess fat and sugar : Papaya seeds have the ability to prevent the body from absorbing too much fat and sugar, which accelerates the digestion process and contributes to weight loss.

You can find it in various forms on Iherb.

See all properties and dosages :

The Papaya tree and its fruit, papaya, use and medicinal properties

The many benefits of jackfruit on health

Jackfruit. Photo : Logga Wiggler

The Jackfruit in Thai : Ka Noun, ขนุน

A fruit used by vegetarians as a meat substitute !

The jackfruit (or jack fruit, jacques) is an oval-shaped fruit covered with small spikes, containing white or yellow flesh that is very sticky, with edible seeds having a taste close to starch, slightly sweet.

This exotic fruit is rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and provides energy.

It is consumed cooked (grilled or boiled), and can also be found in canned form and as dietary supplements.

It is used in the composition of certain traditional dishes, and its starch content allows it to be used as flour.

Warning: I've never had confirmation, but I've been told it's not recommended to eat it if you've consumed alcohol, like with durian, see here:
Durian becomes deadly with alcohol!

Very rich in vitamin B

By itself, the jackfruit is a mine of vitamin B (present in few fruits) with a high complex of components like pyridoxine (active form of vitamin B6), niacin (vitamin B3), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and folic acid (vitamin B9).

To get a boost of energy

It's ideal for giving a boost to tired or sick bodies.

It provides 95 calories per 100g with little saturated fat and virtually no cholesterol.

It is also a super-fruit that keeps viruses and bacteria at bay and protects our body against infections.

Its consumption helps to ensure the proper functioning of our body and strengthens our immune system.

It's a significant source of potassium and magnesium, not to mention iron, which helps fight the risk of anemia.

Jackfruit, a beneficial fruit for the heart

Its combination of minerals and vitamins (manganese, magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium) plays a role in preserving our cells and controlling heart rate and blood pressure.

In addition, calcium promotes good blood clotting and maintains strong bones.

An ally for the digestive system

Jackfruit is very rich in fiber, making it a natural remedy to protect the colon from polluting waste.

On the one hand, it facilitates digestion with its high fiber content.

On the other hand, it prevents the risk of stomach ulcers and plays a role in intestinal problems such as diarrhea.

A tip: a jackfruit bark decoction is ideal for effectively stopping diarrhea.

A natural remedy against certain cancers?

Studies have shown that jackfruit would prevent the risk of colon cancer and help protect against other infectious diseases.

The nutrients contained in jackfruit, such as lignans, isoflavones, phytonutrients, and saponins, protect against free radicals that cause the formation of cancerous cells.

The Jackfruit, to stay young

The antioxidants in jackfruit immunize our cells and DNA against the effects of free radicals.

It is therefore a good way to maintain our youth capital.

The mango tree, mango and mango leaves against diabetes

Thai name: mango
The tree: mango tree
The fruit: mango

A mango juice: mango juice

 The many medicinal properties of the mango tree, its fruit, bark and leaves.

Mangoes consumed ripe or green and sour in Thai style are very rich in vitamin C.

The bark is used to treat diarrhea, burns and wounds.

But it is in the young leaves of the mango tree that we find the most interesting elements to treat a wide variety of health problems, such as diabetes, fever, bronchitis, asthma, cough, stress, anxiety…

To discover all the benefits of mango tree, check out our article:
The medicinal properties of mango tree

Galanga, a rhizome with digestive, aphrodisiac and antiseptic properties

Galanga Rhizome

Thai name: Kha (ข่า)

Galanga is a rhizome plant of the Zingiberaceae family like ginger, mainly used for its aphrodisiac, digestive and antiseptic properties.

Scientific name: Alpinia officinarum

It is a rhizome often used in Thai cuisine like Tom Kha Kai, see:
Tom Kha Kai recipe, coconut milk chicken soup with lemon

Medicinal properties

Galanga is traditionally used in Asia for its aphrodisiac properties.

The rhizome is also appreciated for its antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties (fighting against involuntary contractions and inflammation).

It is often used to treat digestive disorders (heaviness of stomach, slow digestion) and stimulate appetite.

Galangal is also a good antiseptic.

It is part of the composition of Fioravanti's alcoholate, a remedy that effectively acts against skin infections (including at the scalp level) and irritations.

Some dentists recommend galangal to relieve tooth pain.

Finally, its antitumor action is currently the subject of several studies.

Honey to heal wounds

A few years ago, I had a motorcycle accident while descending the road from Pai to Chiang Mai in the rain and I got a fairly deep wound.

I followed the “modern” protocol to clean the wound, alcohol, betaine and dressing, but the wound wasn't healing, every day there was pus and it was painful.

And at that time I was reading novels by Christian Jack about Egypt where he told that the Egyptians used honey to heal wounds during wars.

So, as the wound hadn't healed after a week, I tried, I cleaned the wound with alcohol and I put honey in the dressing before sticking it on.

And the next day, I was really surprised, the wound was clean, without pus and on the road to recovery, a real miracle!

I applied honey without cleaning, as there was new skin and the next day I removed the dressing, the wound was well closed!

There are different qualities of honey in Thailand, but in all Seven Eleven, you can find very good quality honey linked to royal projects (photo), that's the one I used.

Some time later and for another smaller wound, I had used cheap honey and it had taken longer to see the wound close, so quality matters.