Weedibles and weedicinals

A few years ago, Flor Tarriela of Flor’s Garden gifted me with a book as she asked me to contribute a section on tawa-tawa, a weed that is believed to increase platelet count in patients with dengue fever. It has been effective for many. We used to gather the wild plants, boil them into tea and have dengue patients drink them. Then we met a doctor who actually made a tincture of the famed plant. The tincture actually tastes like sweet potato and is a very effective anti-pyretic (anti-fever).

Other herbs and “weeds” she included in the book include balbas pusa, curry leaf, oregano, talinum and many more edible and medicinal weeds. I am so happy it also included 10 herbal medicines that the Department of Health has approved: lagundi, now found in cough syrups; akapulko for skin fungal infections; ampalaya for diabetes; bawang or garlic for lowering cholesterol and helping control blood pressure; bayabas or guava for disinfecting wounds and as a mouthwash to treat tooth decay and gum infection. Niyog-niyogan for intestinal worms; sambong for urinary stones; tsaang gubat for intestinal motility and as a mouthwash as the leaves have a high fluoride content; pansit-pansitan for arthritis and gout; yerba buena as an analgesic to relieve body aches and pains.

If I recall correctly, herbalists used to sell these in public markets like Quiapo Church and also near Kamuning. The seller often knew the ratios of herbs to water, and what to do – boil it into a decoction, use the seeds or leaves, the young leaves for a gargle and other mature leaves for a poultice.

Today there is already a movement promoting herbal medicines and it can also be one of our more important exports. Just take Moringa oleifera (malunggay), for example. We can sell moringa powder, moringa tea and other preparations from a tree that you can grow in your backyard. My cousin Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan also promotes the consumption of siling labuyo both as a medicine and as a vitamin. In the book, Dr. Galvez-Tan discusses the different preparations for addressing cough and colds, diabetes, gallstones, diarrhea, asthma, hypertension, heart disease, fever, hyperacidity and even liver disease. He has the recipes in this book, which Flor and I plan to reprint and to have available as an e-book.

I am fortunate to also know an herbalist who has prescribed paragis tea (from paragis grass) for many ailments, young guava leaves for sore throat and the ever dependable ginger or luya for salabat (for hoarse voice and sore throat). Paragis is what dogs and puppies eat in gardens to make themselves purge when a stomach ache or digestive issue comes up. Yes, dogs know what is good for them.

I remember a childhood experience being cured with a leaf of a mayana plant slapped on a bump on my head. In my adult years, I also experienced an ayurvedic treatment for an ankle sprain in India where Suparna Trikha (a herbologist) used lime powder and turmeric to wrap around my ankle to reduce inflammation. She gingerly (pun intended) made a mixture and spread it on my sore ankle then wrapped it with a bandage. She said I would be dancing the next day. When I removed it the next day, she cautiously told me to put the bandage on again, and to give the ankle more time to heal. But it did heal after a few days.

In China, they of course have TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine. These are the roots, dried parts of a tree, leaves and other natural products used in concoctions for even hard pregnancies, stomach pains and other ailments. It also combines acupuncture, herbs, diet and massage to harmonize energy forces for health.

I would think Filipino natural medicine starts with our herbolario (also called albularyo) and our hilot, our very own physical therapist, when we had a sprain or a fever caused by unknown reasons. Now, hilot is part of massage offerings of famous spas and health centers. There is a reason our forefathers (and mothers) did this. I remember going to a manghihilot in a market in Navotas when we were kids. They would always be by referral and he would just sit in a familiar spot where the community knew he would have his “clinic.” My mother would pay him generously, even if he had no price list or menu board. He took one look at you and already knew which limb to massage or extremity to tug at, using coconut oil.

I guess every culture has their share of weeds and herbs, as India, China and we Filipinos have our own practices. And along with that, we now have modern technology combined with our culture to prepare convenient ways of using age-old cures. Just look at a popular medical company using lagundi for their most popular cough syrup. It will slowly be introduced in our drug stores and, hopefully, will be developed and propagated also for mass production and eventual exports. We see Ayurvedic cures and TCM coming to the country. We can then also export our tawa-tawa, pancit-pancitan and lagundi.

More than exports, these cures or “weedicinals” as Flor calls them can bring relief to those who cannot afford expensive medicines. Meanwhile, the “weedibles” are herbs that we can eat, put in salads or soups and be part of our everyday fare. Not just edible flowers, which is now gaining ground, sometimes to the dismay of diners because it is in every dish!

Edible flowers are attractive and cute, but it is a thin line between cuteness and overdoing it. Let’s instead work on the herbs and culinary herbs like curry leaves, mint, coriander and gotu kola, pancit-pancitan to enrich our new dishes while introducing our people to cures and medicinal wonders that have always been part of our culture.

My plan is to find all the weeds in our farm to complete what is featured in Flor’s book. Anyone can make their own “farmacy” with herbs and weeds!