Red Sandalwood or Rakta chandana

Pterocarpus santalinus; Red Sanders - From the Wikimedia Commons

Red Sandalwood or Rakta chandana (Pterocarpus santalinus; Red Sanders) is a species of Pterocarpus native to India.

It is a small tree growing to 8 m tall with a trunk 50–150 cm diameter.The wood is one of the most prized woods for millennia. But due to its slow growth and rarity, furniture made from Red Sandalwood is difficult to find and can be expensive.


The Red Sandalwood paste can be used to cure discoloration on face.

Discolouration on face

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• Apply paste of Red Sanders or Red Sandalwood (Rakta chandana, Pterocarpus sandalensis) on face
• Grind curcuma and neem leaves and mix well with egg white and apply on the face during night. Wash the face in the morning with tender coconut water or water used for washing rice grains (arikkadi).

Medicinal herbs for dandruff problem

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Dandruff is the shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp. It often results in itching and may leads to hair fall.

• Add extract of Datura leaves to coconut oil. Heat the oil for 15-20 minutes and use daily before bath for massaging over the scalp.
• Massage coconut oil on the hair and then apply neem leaf paste over the scalp. Wash after one hour.
• Boil water with some neem leaves. Use that water to wash the hair daily.
• Prepare a gel of aloe vera leaves. Apply this on the scalp and leave it overnight. Wash it with a shampoo, preferably containing shikakai the next morning.
• Use 1-2 teaspoon of freshly prepared lemon juice and rinse over the scalp and wash it away.
  

Ummam (Datura stramonium)

Datura stramonium - From the Wikimedia Commons

Ummam (Datura stramonium) is a quick growing wild perennial herb common in rural and semi forest areas of Kerala. Datura stramonium belongs to the family solanaceae. The flowers look like creamy-white, long, large bells.

• Extract of Datura leaves is used a home remedy against dandruff
• The fruits and roots of ummam are used in different Ayurveda medicines. 
• The leaves are narcotic. 
• They are used in the treatment of asthma. 
• Ummam is also the chief ingredient of Kanaka Asava, a preparatory Ayurvedic medicine.

Use of Chicken soup to treat respiratory infections

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The use of chicken soup to treat respiratory infections such as a cold or mild flu is one of the popular examples of a home remedy. According to recent studies, this may actually be effective.

The result of a study published in CHEST journal suggests that Chicken soup may contain a number of substances with beneficial medicinal activity. A mild anti-inflammatory effect could be one mechanism by which the soup could result in the mitigation of symptomatic upper respiratory tract infections.

Dr. Barbara O. Rennard and others at Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE shown that Chicken soup significantly inhibited neutrophil migration and did so in a concentration-dependent manner. The activity was present in a nonparticulate component of the chicken soup. All of the vegetables present in the soup and the chicken individually had inhibitory activity, although only the chicken lacked cytotoxic activity. Interestingly, the complete soup also lacked cytotoxic activity. [Read more]

Welcome to 'Griha Vaidyam - Home Remedies' blog

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As the name indicates, this blog aims to document several popular home remedies (griha vaidyam in Malayalam language) available in India in general and Kerala in particular.

As you know, India has a long tradition of Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine. It is still widely practiced in the country and also popular in many parts of the world.