Bael (Aegle marmelos) is a fruit-bearing tree indigenous to dry forests on hills and plains of central and southern India, southern Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. It is cultivated throughout India, as well as in Sri Lanka, northern Malaya, Java and in the Philippines. It is also popularly known as Bilva, Bilwa, Bel, Kuvalam, Koovalam, Madtoum, or Beli fruit, Bengal quince, stone apple, and wood apple. The tree, which is the only species in the genus Aegle, grows up to 18 meters tall and bears thorns and fragrant flowers. It has a woody-skinned, smooth fruit 5-15 cm in diameter. The skin of some forms of the fruit is so hard it must be cracked open with a hammer. It has numerous seeds, which are densely covered with fibrous hairs and are embedded in a thick, gluey, aromatic pulp.
The fruit is eaten fresh or dried. If fresh, the juice is strained and sweetened to make a drink similar to lemonade, and is also used in making sharbat, a refreshing drink where the pulp is mixed with tamarind. If the fruit is to be dried, it is usually sliced first and left to dry by the heat of the sun. The hard leathery slices are then placed in a pan with several litres of water which is then boiled and simmered. As for other parts of the plant, the leaves and small shoots are eaten as salad greens. The fruit is also used in religious rituals and as a ayurvedic remedy for such ailments as diarrhea, dysentery, intestinal parasites, dryness of the eyes, and the common cold. It is a very powerful antidote for chronic constipation.
In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is said to live under the Bael tree. In India, the tree is often found in temple gardens and its leaves are used in religious celebrations.
In the traditional culture of Nepal, the Bael tree is part of an important fertility ritual for girls known as the Bel baha.
This tree is a larval foodplant for the following two Indian Swallowtail butterflies, the Lime Butterfly Papilio demoleus and the Common Mormon Papilio polytes.
Benefits of Bael
1. The ripe bael is aromatic, astringent which helps construction of skin, coolant and laxative(cleans and tones up intestines).
2. The Bael Fruit helps in Struggles Against Diabetes, Bowel Disorders and Viral Infections. It has the ability to heal small ulcers inside the bowel which are produced by infection or inflammation.
3. The leaf juice, mixed in warm water with a little pepper, is give as a drink to bring relief from wheezing and respiratory spasm.
4. The fruit is a very effective remedy against stomach and bowel problems and is used to treat dysentery, diarrhoea, indigestion, and bowel infections in general.
Uses of Bael
- Bael leaves are extremely useful for treating Diabetes, jaundice, cholera and asthma. Bael leaves are made into a poultice and used in the treatments of ophthalmia. Bael Leaf poultice is applied to inflammations - with black pepper for edema, constipation, and jaundice - with water or honey it is good for catarrh and fever.
- Bael roots are sweet which cures fevers caused by tridosho, stop pain in the abdomen, the palpitation of the heart, poverty of seminal fluid and all types of urinary troubles and melancholia. Bael roots and the bark of the Bael tree are used in the treatment of fever by making a decoction of them. They are also useful in the disorders of vata, pitta and kapha.
- Bael fruits are valuable for its rich nutritive, sweet, aromatic mucilage and pectin contents – very good for all kinds of stomach disorders. Bael Fruits are very useful in chronic diarrhea and dysentery, particularly in the case of patients having diarrhea, alternating with the spells of constipation. Sweet drink (sherbet) prepared from the pulp of the Bael fruits produce a soothing effect on the patients who have just recovered from bacillary dysentery.
The pulp from unripe Bael fruits are soaked in gingelly oil for a week and this oil is smeared over the body before bathing. The unripe and half-ripe fruits improve appetite and digestion (Jain, 1968; Jauhari, 1969). As per Indian Ayurvedic concept this oil is said to be useful in removing the peculiar burning sensation in the soles. Rind is used for acute and amoebic dysentery, griping pain in the loins and constipation, gas, and colic, sprue, scurvy.
Peoples in South India use the juice of bael leaves to get relief from wheezing and respiratory spasm. The leaf juice is mixed in warm water with a little pepper and given as a drink.
Medicinal Uses
The fresh ripe pulp of the higher quality cultivars, and the "sherbet" made from it, are taken for their mild laxative, tonic and digestive effects. A decoction of the unripe fruit, with fennel and ginger, is prescribed in cases of hemorrhoids. It has been surmised that the psoralen in the pulp increases tolerance of sunlight and aids in the maintaining of normal skin color. It is employed in the treatment of leucoderma. Marmelosin derived from the pulp is given as a laxative and diuretic. In large doses, it lowers the rate of respiration, depresses heart action and causes sleepiness.
For medicinal use, the young fruits, while still tender, are commonly sliced horizontally and sun-dried and sold in local markets. They are much exported to Malaya and Europe. Because of the astringency, especially of the wild fruits, the unripe bael is most prized as a means of halting diarrhea and dysentery, which are prevalent in India in the summer months. Bael fruit was resorted to by the Portuguese in the East Indies in the 1500's and by the British colonials in later times.
A bitter, light-yellow oil extracted from the seeds is given in 1.5 g doses as a purgative. It contains 15.6% palmitic acid, 8.3% stearic acid, 28.7% linoleic and 7.6% linolenic acid. The seed residue contains 70% protein.
The bitter, pungent leaf juice, mixed with honey, is given to allay catarrh and fever. With black pepper added, it is taken to relieve jaundice and constipation accompanied by edema. The leaf decoction is said to alleviate asthma. A hot poultice of the leaves is considered an effective treatment for ophthahnia and various inflammations, also febrile delirium and acute bronchitis.
A decoction of the flowers is used as eye lotion and given as an antiemetic. The bark contains tannin and the cournarin, aegelinol; also the furocourmarin, marmesin; umbelliferone, a hydroxy coumarin; and the alkaloids, fagarine and skimmianine. The bark decoction is administered in cases of malaria. Decoctions of the root are taken to relieve palpitations of the heart, indigestion, and bowel inflammations; also to overcome vomiting.
The fruit, roots and leaves have antibiotic activity. The root, leaves and bark are used in treating snakebite. Chemical studies have revealed the following properties in the roots: psoralen, xanthotoxin, O-methylscopoletin, scopoletin, tembamide, and skimmin; also decursinol, haplopine and aegelinol, in the root bark.
Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bael , http://food.sify.com , http://www.sssbiotic.com , and http://www.hort.purdue.edu
Bael
Roselle Herbal Tea
One of my favorite herbel drinking is " Roselle ". In summer, my mother always make it for my brother and me, we really love it! We use the flower of Roselle for drinking and flavour. There is one ice-cream shop in thailand make "Roselle Sherbet". I order only this ice-cream when I go to this shop, it's very great!!! The taste of Roselle is rather sour and sweet.
In Thailand, Roselle is drunk as a tea, believed to also reduce cholesterol. Roselle fruits are harvested fresh, and their calyces are made into a drink rich in vitamin C and anthocyanins. It's very cool!!!
In India, Africa and Mexico, all above-ground parts of the roselle plant are valued in native medicine. Infusions of the leaves or calyces are regarded as diuretic, cholerectic, febrifugal and hypotensive, decreasing the viscosity of the blood and stimulating intestinal peristalsis. Pharmacognosists in Senegal recommend roselle extract for lowering blood pressure. In 1962, Sharaf confirmed the hypotensive activity of the calyces and found them antispasmodic, anthelmintic and antibacterial as well. In 1964, the aqueous extract was found effective against Ascaris gallinarum in poultry. Three years later, Sharaf and co-workers showed that both the aqueous extract and the coloring matter of the calyces are lethal to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In experiments with domestic fowl, roselle extract decreased the rate of absorption of alcohol and so lessened its effect on the system. In Guatemala, roselle "ade" is a favorite remedy for the aftereffects of drunkenness.
In East Africa, the calyx infusion, called "Sudan tea", is taken to relieve coughs. Roselle juice, with salt, pepper, safetida and molasses, is taken as a remedy for biliousness.
Ingredients of Roselle Herbal Tea
- 10-12 pieces of Roselle flower (dried or fresh)
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2-3 tablespoons sugar (up to your taste)
Cooking Instructions of Roselle Herbal Tea
1. In the teapot with boiling water, add Roselle flower and boil (using low heat for approximately 10-12 minutes). Add sugar and boil until it melted - the amount of sugar up to your taste.
2. Filter the juice and allow to cool, serve over ice.
Ref : http://www.hort.purdue.edu
Roselle
When I was young, Roselle grew in my garden. My mother used it for drinking. Roselle fruits are harvested fresh, and their calyces are made into a drink rich in vitamin C and anthocyanins. It's very cool!!!
The flowers of Roselle are 8–10 cm in diameter, white to pale yellow with a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a stout fleshy calyx at the base, 1.5–2 cm wide, enlarging to 3–3.5 cm, fleshy and bright red as the fruit matures. It is an annual plant, and takes about six months to mature.
Used part of Roselle
The plant is considered to have antihypertensive properties. Primarily, the plant is cultivated for the production for bast fibre from the stem of the plant. The fibre may be used as a substitute for jute in making burlap. Hibiscus, specifically Roselle, has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic, mild laxative, and treatment for cardiac and nerve diseases and cancer.
The red calyces of the plant are increasingly exported to America and Europe, where they are used as food colourings. Germany is the main importer. It can also be found in markets (as flowers or syrup) in some places such as France, where there are Senegalese immigrant communities. The green leaves are used like a spicy version of spinach. They give flavour to the Senegalese fish and rice dish. Proper records are not kept, but the Senegalese government estimates national production and consumption at 700 metric tons per year. Also in Myanmar their green leaves are the main ingredient in making chin baung kyaw curry.
Herbal Tea of Roselle
In Africa, especially the Sahel, roselle is commonly used to make a sugary herbal tea that is commonly sold on the street. The dried flowers can be found in every market. In the Caribbean the drink is made from the fresh fruit, and it is considered an integral part of Christmas celebrations. The Carib Brewery Trinidad Limited, a Trinidad and Tobago brewery, produces a Shandy Sorrel in which the tea is combined with beer.
In Thailand, Roselle is drunk as a tea, believed to also reduce cholesterol. It can also be made into a delicious wine - especially if combined with Chinese tea leaves - in the ratio of 1:4 by weight (1/5 Chinese tea)
Food Uses
Roselle fruits are best prepared for use by washing, then making an incision around the tough base of the calyx below the bracts to free and remove it with the seed capsule attached. The calyces are then ready for immediate use. They may be merely chopped and added to fruit salads. In Africa, they are frequently cooked as a side-dish eaten with pulverized peanuts. For stewing as sauce or filling for tarts or pies, they may be left intact, if tender, and cooked with sugar. The product will be almost indistinguishable from cranberry sauce in taste and appearance. For making a finer-textured sauce or juice, sirup, jam, marmalade, relish, chutney or jelly, the calyces may be first chopped in a wooden bowl or passed through a meat grinder. Or the calyces, after cooking, may be pressed through a sieve. Some cooks steam the roselle with a little water until soft before adding the sugar, then boil for 15 minutes.
Roselle sauce or sirup may be added to puddings, cake frosting, gelatins and salad dressings, also poured over gingerbread, pancakes, waffles or ice cream. It is not necessary to add pectin to make a firm jelly. In fact, the calyces possess 3.19% pectin and, in Pakistan, roselle has been recommended as a source of pectin for the fruit-preserving industry.
Juice made by cooking a quantity of calyces with 1/4 water in ratio to amount of calyces, is used for cold drinks and may be frozen or bottled if not for immediate needs. In sterilized, sealed bottles or jars, it keeps well providing no sugar has been added. In the West Indies and tropical America, roselle is prized primarily for the cooling, lemonade-like beverage made from the calyces. This is still "one of the most popular summer drinks of Mexico", as Rose observed in 1899. In Egypt, roselle "ade" is consumed cold in the summer, hot in winter. In Jamaica, a traditional Christmas drink is prepared by putting roselle into an earthenware jug with a little grated ginger and sugar as desired, pouring boiling water over it and letting it stand overnight. The liquid is drained off and served with ice and often with a dash of rum. A similar spiced drink has long been made by natives of West Tropical Africa. The juice makes a very colorful wine.
The young leaves and tender stems of roselle are eaten raw in salads or cooked as greens alone or in combination with other vegetables or with meat or fish. They are also added to curries as seasoning. The leaves of green roselle are marketed in large quantities in Dakar, West Africa. The juice of the boiled and strained leaves and stems is utilized for the same purposes as the juice extracted from the calyces. The herbage is apparently mostly utilized in the fresh state though Wester proposed that it be evaporated and compressed for export from the Philippines.
The seeds are somewhat bitter but have been ground to a meal for human food in Africa and have also been roasted as a substitute for coffee. The residue remaining after extraction of oil by parching, soaking in water containing ashes for 3 or 4 days, and then pounding the seeds, or by crushing and boiling them, is eaten in soup or blended with bean meal in patties. It is high in protein.
Food Value
Nutritionists have found roselle calyces as sold in Central American markets to be high in calcium, niacin, riboflavin and iron.
Other Uses
The seeds are considered excellent feed for chickens. The residue after oil extraction is valued as cattle feed when available in quantity.
Medicinal Uses
In India, Africa and Mexico, all above-ground parts of the roselle plant are valued in native medicine. Infusions of the leaves or calyces are regarded as diuretic, cholerectic, febrifugal and hypotensive, decreasing the viscosity of the blood and stimulating intestinal peristalsis. Pharmacognosists in Senegal recommend roselle extract for lowering blood pressure. In 1962, Sharaf confirmed the hypotensive activity of the calyces and found them antispasmodic, anthelmintic and antibacterial as well. In 1964, the aqueous extract was found effective against Ascaris gallinarum in poultry. Three years later, Sharaf and co-workers showed that both the aqueous extract and the coloring matter of the calyces are lethal to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In experiments with domestic fowl, roselle extract decreased the rate of absorption of alcohol and so lessened its effect on the system. In Guatemala, roselle "ade" is a favorite remedy for the aftereffects of drunkenness.
In East Africa, the calyx infusion, called "Sudan tea", is taken to relieve coughs. Roselle juice, with salt, pepper, asafetida and molasses, is taken as a remedy for biliousness.
The heated leaves are applied to cracks in the feet and on boils and ulcers to speed maturation. A lotion made from leaves is used on sores and wounds. The seeds are said to be diuretic and tonic in action and the brownish-yellow seed oil is claimed to heal sores on camels. In India, a decoction of the seeds is given to relieve dysuria, strangury and mild cases of dyspepsia and debility. Brazilians attribute stomachic, emollient and resolutive properties to the bitter roots.
Today, roselle is attracting the attention of food and beverage manufacturers and pharmaceutical concerns who feel it may have exploitable possibilities as a natural food product and as a colorant to replace some synthetic dyes.
Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org and http://www.hort.purdue.edu
Bael Fruit Herbal Drinking
There were many kinds of fruits in my garden when I was young. One of them I like is " Ma Toom " ( 'bael' or 'bael fruit' in English). Its size is the same as a mango fruit. It's the round to pear-shaped, yellowish edible fruit of a chiefly Indian tree (Aegle marmelos), used in southern Asia as a food and as a medicine to treat dysentery. My mother and I sliced and dried them every fruit period. They were kept for a long time as dried status. And they were made for drinking as our pleasure.
In Thailand, Bael Fruit Herbal Tea is most popular in Thai resturant for drinking theraphy. Bael fruit is the best laxative of all fruits. It cleans and tones up the intestines & gives constipation relief. If you have the problems with digestive system, this drinking can heal you!!!
Ingredients
- 8-10 slices dried bael fruit
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2-3 tablespoons sugar (up to your taste)
Cooking Instructions : Bael Fruit Herbal Tea
1. Grill the dried bael fruit until you smell its aroma.
2. In the teapot with boiling water, add dried bael fruit and boil (using low heat for approximately 15 minutes). Add sugar and boil until it melted.
3. Filter the boiled bael fruit juice and allow to cool, serve over ice.
