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.

Protect medicinal plants

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