Monday 24 February 2014

Pomegranate

Pomegranate

'

           The pomegranate botanical name punica granatum is a fruit-bearing decudous shrub or small tree growing between 5-8 meters tall. In the Indian subcontinent's ancient Ayurveda system of medicine, the pomegranate has extensively been used as a source of traditional remedies. The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites. The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and classified as having bitter-astringent taste plus a range of taste from sweet to sour, depending on ripeneness. Thus Pomegranate is considered a healthful counterbalance to a diet high in sweet-fatty components.  Sweet, pomegranate fruit is nourishing for systems and is known as a blood builder. The astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts, and treating hemorrhoids. Pomegranate juice) is also used as an eye drop, as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts. Pomegranate has been used as a contraceptive and abortifacient by means of consuming the seeds, or rind, as well as by using the rind as a vaginal suppository. This practice is recorded in ancient Indian literature, in medieval sources, and in modern folk medicine.