Thursday, May 28, 2015

ACACIA (Acacia nilotica Linn)


The acacia or babul Tree is an average size tree that is common to India and Africa.  It is quite easily distinguishable by the dark brown or black, longitudinally fissured bark.  It belongs to the plant family Mimosaceae.  The leaves are bipinnately compound and 5-10 cm. long.  The plant has a good defensive mechanism in its V-shaped thorns that are white or light grey in color.  The globose flowers are yellow and the pods are light grey in color.  The pods, 7.5-15 cm. long are compressed and constricted at the sutures between the seeds, which range from 8-12 in a single pod.

Medicinal use
·         Burns.
·         Wounds.
·         Anaemia.
·         Yellow stained teeth.
·         Blood dysentery.
·         Gum disease, loose teeth, and ulcers in the mouth.
·         Cough, diabetes, excessive urination, impotency, and throat infection.
·         Conjunctivitis and sore eyes.

How to use
·         To take care of burns, mix the gum that oozes from the tree with equal quantities of powdered turmeric (Curcuma domestica) and coconut (Cocos nucifera) oil and apply.
·         For superficial wounds, boil some crushed bark in water and use the decoction for washing the wounds.  Grind the tender leaves of the tree into a very fine paste.  Apply over the wounds.  You could also dust the wounds with some finely powdered bark.
·         For cases of anemia, fry one tea spoon each of the gum from the tree along with sweet basil (Portulaca oleracea) in an adequate quantity of olive or gingilee oil for 10 minutes.  Remove and soak in 1 cup rose water for one hour.  Use one teaspoon three times a day.
·         To take of yellow stained teeth, grind the following into a fine powder and brush the teeth regularly with it: 5-7 tablespoons of the charred bark of Babul, two tablespoons of roasted alum and one tablespoon of rock salt.
·         To take care of blood dysentery, soak for a few hours one teaspoon of punded roots in a tumbler containing water.  Make it warm and drink this water frequently.
·         To take care of gum disease, loose teeth, and ulcers in the mouth, boil half a handful of tender leaves in two cups of water.  Use the water as a gargle.
·          To take care of common cough, make a paste with some tender leaves, take one teaspoon of this paste with one teaspoon of honey and a little warm water.
·         To treat the problem of Eczema, boil 3-5 tablespoons each of the powdered bark of Babul and Mango (Mangifra indica) in 4-5 cups of water.  Forment the affected parts with this water.  Apply clarified butter or ghee on the affected skin.
·         To take care of cough, diabetes , excessive urination, impotency, and throat infection, chew a small portion of the gum every day until the ailment disappears.
·         To treat conjunctivitis and sore eyes, grind some tender leaves of Babul with some water into a fine paste.  Fold the paste in a clean piece of cloth or handkerchief and bandage it over the closed eyes at bedtime.

By the use of poisonous drugs, many bring upon themselves lifelong illness, and many lives are lost that might be saved by the use of natural methods of healing. –E. G. White, Medical Ministry, 228.

Fresh air will prove more beneficial to the sick than medicine, and is far more essential to them than their food. –E. G. White, Healthful Living, 652

Sunlight is one of nature’s most healing agents. –Testimonies, Vol. 7, 85

Parts used
Bark and gum, tender leaves, seeds and root.

Dose

As recommended under how to use
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