TULSI

Tulsi or Tulasi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) or Holy basil is a sacred plant in Hindu^[1] belief. Hindus regard it as an earthly manifestation of the goddess Tulsi, a consort of the god Vishnu. The offering of its leaves is mandatory in ritualistic worship of Vishnu and his forms like Krishna and Vithoba.

Many Hindus have tulsi plants growing in front of or near their home, often in special pots or special small masonry structures. Traditionally, Tulsi is planted in the center of the central courtyard of Hindu houses.^[2]

The plant is cultivated for religious and medicinal purposes, and for its essential oil. It is widely known across the Indian Subcontinent as a medicinal plant and a herbal tea, commonly used in Ayurveda.

Plant Description

Tulsi flowers

Tulsi belongs in the basil genus in the family Lamiaceae. It is an aromatic plant which is native throughout the Eastern World tropics and widespread as a cultivated plant and an escaped weed.^[3] The plant is an erect, much branched subshrub, 30–60 cm tall with hairy stems and simple, opposite, green leaves that are strongly scented. Leaves have petioles, and are ovate, up to 5 cm long, usually slightly toothed. The flowers are purplish in elongate racemes in close whorls.^[4] The two mainmorphotypes cultivated in India and Nepal are green-leaved and purple-leaved.

Ayurveda

Tulsi has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda for its diverse healing properties. It is mentioned in the Charaka Samhita,^[6] an ancient Ayurvedic text. Tulsi is considered to be an adaptogen,^[7] balancing different processes in the body, and helpful for adapting to stress.^[8] Marked by its strong aroma and astringent taste, it is regarded in Ayurveda as a kind of "elixir of life" and believed to promote longevity.^[9] It is an elixir for cough; the leaves when chewed after meals acts as a digestive, and when taken before and after cold water bath controls temperature in the stomach and prevents cold. If sprinkled over cooked food in stored water, tulsi leaves prevent bacterial growth.

Worship

Left: An idol of Goddess Tulsi. Right: A Tulsi-vrindavan in a courtyard in India

While tree worship is not uncommon in Hinduism, the Tulsi plant is regarded the holiest of all plants.^[16] The Tulsi plant is regarded as a threshold point between heaven and earth. A traditional prayer tells that the creator-god Brahma resides in its branches, all Hindu pilgrimage centres reside in its roots, the Ganges flows through its roots, all deities in its stem and its leaves and the Hindu scriptures - the Vedas in the upper part of its branches.^[17][14] It is considered as household god particularly referred as a "Women's deity". It is called as "the central sectarian symbol of Hinduism" and Vaishavas consider it as "the manifestation of god in the vegetable kingdom”.

The Tulsi plant is grown in or near almost every Hindu house, especially by Brahmins and Vaishnavas. A house with a Tulsi plant is sometimes considered a place of pilgrimage.^[19] Sacred places where they are grown are also known as Vrindavan (grove of Tulsi). Vrindavan is a raised cuboid stone or brick structure often in middle of the house's courtyard or in front of the house.^[20]

A person who waters and cares for the Tulsi daily is believed to gain moksha (salvation) and the divine grace of Vishnu, even if he does not worship it. Traditionally, the daily worship and care of the plant is the responsibility of the women of the household. The plant is regarded as a "women's deity" and a "symbol of ideal wifehood and motherhood". Though daily worship is prescribed, Tuesdays and Fridays are considered especially sacred for Tulsi worship. Rituals involve watering the plant, cleaning the area near the plant with water and cow dung (considered sacred) and making offerings of food, flowers, incense, Ganges water etc. Rangoli (decorative designs) of deities and saints are drawn near its foot. Devotees pray to Tulsi and circumbulate it,chanting mantras. The Tulsi plant is often worshipped twice in a day: in the morning and in the evening, when a lamp or candle is lit near the plant.^[21]

In the 19th century, some families in Bengal regarded the plant as their guardian or family deity. In a British Indian census, North-Western Provinces recorded themselves as Tulsi worshippers and not belonging to Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs.

COCONUT TREES

The coconut tree ;(Cocos nucifera), is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family) The coconut tree is of the genus Cocos. The coconut tree or coconut palm can be found in rainforests and countries with tropical climate such as in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific. In the United States, coconut tree can be found in Hawaii, the Southern tip of Florida, and the Virgin Islands. The coconut tree variety can be classified by its stature, whether tall or dwarf. The tall variety is the commonly grown type usually for commercial purposes. The tall variety can grow to as high as 60 feet with leaves to a length of 15 feet while the dwarf can grow to about 20 feet tall. The coconut tree has erect graceful gray colored trunk, swollen at the base and grows slightly curved. The truck is ringed due to old leaf scars and is smooth. The coconut tree is topped by a crown composed of about 25 to 30 pinnate feather-like leaves that are about 6 feet wide and 18 feet long. There are about 200 leaflets in every leaf, colored yellow green when young and as it matures turned to brown. The coconut leaves are shed as it grows old and young new shoots grows from the top most of the crown. Coconut flowers start to bloom when the coconut is about 4 to 6 years of age. The coconut flowers are yellow and are sweet scented. The flowers grow in clusters from a branched stalked with both male and female flowers growing from the same inflorescence. The flower buds turned to coconut fruits that grow to a large nut like shape about 10 inches in diameter and about 12 inches in length. The fruit is commonly called as coconut. The coconut has a smooth hard protective outer layer, usually green, but others may be pale yellow, silver-gold or brown depending on variety and age. Coconut fruit has a husk of about 1 to 2 inches thick with an inner hollow round seed of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter. The coconut seed has a hard shell that when cracked open will reveal a layer of white edible meat and about a glassful of sweet watery coconut milk. A matured coconut tree can produce about 50 to 200 coconuts per year depending on variety and growing conditions. In most Pacific islanders, the coconut is called the tree of life for its versatility of use. Almost every part of the coconut tree has good use as seen in many domestic, commercial and industrial applications. Coconut is highly nutritious, rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Coconut offers a lot of health benefits beside from its nutritional value. Coconut meat, coconut water and the coconut oil are used as food and in food preparations. The coconut oil is also widely used in traditional medicine as a cure all medicine. coconut Nutritional Value Nutritional Value of Coconut Meat per 100 grrams. *.Calcium - 14 mg *.Carbohydrates - 15.23 gm *.Dietary Fiber - 9.0 *.Folate (Vitamin B9) - 26g *.Iron - 2.43 mg *.Magnesium - 32 mg *.Monounsaturated Fat - 1.43 *.Niacin (Vitamin B3) - 0.54 mg *.Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) - 0.300 mg *.Phosphorus - 113 mg *.Polyunsaturated Fat - 0.37 gm *.Potassium - 356 mg *.Protein - 3.3 gm *.Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) - 0.02 mg *.Saturated Fat - 29.70 gm *.Sugars - 6.23 gm *.Thiamin (Vitamin B1) - 0.066 mg *.Vitamin B6 - 0.054 mg *.Vitamin C - 3.3 mg *.Zinc - 1.1 mg *.Energy - 350 kcal (1480 kJ) coconut Health Benefits Coconut has long been used as traditional medicine for almost any kind of illness. From abscesses, asthma, hair treatment, baldness, colds, constipation, fever, flu, scabies, sore throats, toothache, tumors, ulcers and many others. Only recently that laboratory studies and researches has been made to verify its effectivity and science has uphold some its claims as cure for many health problems.

Medicinal plants

Medicinal plantshave been identified and used throughout human history. Plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform important biological functions, and to defend against attack from predatorssuch as insects, fungiand herbivorous mammals. At least 12,000 such compounds have been isolated so far; a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]Chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the human body through processes identical to those already well understood for the chemical compounds in conventional drugs; thus herbal medicines do not differ greatly from conventional drugs in terms of how they work. This enables herbal medicines to be as effective as conventional medicines, but also gives them the same potential to cause harmful side effects.

Medicinal plants

Medicinal plantshave been identified and used throughout human history. Plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform important biological functions, and to defend against attack from predatorssuch as insects, fungiand herbivorous mammals. At least 12,000 such compounds have been isolated so far; a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]Chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the human body through processes identical to those already well understood for the chemical compounds in conventional drugs; thus herbal medicines do not differ greatly from conventional drugs in terms of how they work. This enables herbal medicines to be as effective as conventional medicines, but also gives them the same potential to cause harmful side effects. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The use of plants as medicines predates written human history. Ethnobotany(the study of traditional human uses of plants) is recognized as an effective way to discover future medicines. In 2001, researchers identified 122 compounds used in modern medicine which were derived from "ethnomedical" plant sources; 80% of these have had an ethnomedical use identical or related to the current use of the active elements of the plant. [ 4 ]Many of the pharmaceuticalscurrently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including aspirin, digitalis, quinine, and opium. The use of herbsto treat diseaseis almost universal among non-industrialized societies, and is often more affordable than purchasing expensive modern pharmaceuticals. The World Health Organization(WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the population of some Asian and African countries presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. Studies in the United States and Europe have shown that their use is less common in clinical settings, but has become increasingly more in recent years as scientific evidence about the effectiveness of herbal medicine has become more widely available. The annual global export value of pharmaceutical plants in 2011 accounted for over US$2.2 billion.

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