welcome to see to life i hope
you're doing well and keeping safe in this video i'm going to share with
you one more herb or medicinal plant that is native to africa the plant is considered
medicinally important in traditional medicine and many researchers are exploring its potential
as a medicine for various health issues why just humans but animals like chimpanzees
also consume this plant when they feel sick or they get intestinal worms in this video we'll
get introduced to african bitter leaf plant we will see the medicinal and culinary uses
of this plant we will also find out how to group this plant in your home garden like many
other medicinally important plants the research on this plant is limited so let's find out
more about this nature's gift let's begin the botanical name of african bitter leaf
is by narnia amygdalina it is also known by various names and my apologies
if i am pronouncing it wrongly but evero honor boo or evo etiona are some
of the names and there may be many other names now you can imagine why the plant
is known as bitter leaf it tastes better it contains some anti-nutritional factors
like alkaloids saponins glycosides and tannins and these phytochemicals or the chemicals in
the plants they give the plant a better taste now let's look at some medicinal uses of
bitter leaf plant the leaves and root extracts or decoction is used as a traditional remedy for
fever diarrhea hiccups kidney problems and malaria infusion of the roots are used for the treatment
of intestinal worms this remedy is not only used by humans to cure themselves and their livestock
but as i mentioned earlier also by chimpanzees who use the leaves to get rid of the intestinal
worms the plant is used as a natural medicine for treating malaria the leaves are believed to be
useful in treating various infections and source the plant is also believed to be effective
against diabetes snake bite and cancer bitter leaf plant is a good source of dietary fibers
proteins various minerals like calcium magnesium potassium sodium manganese iron zinc and copper
some of these nutrients and anti-nutrients are lost when the leaves are processed so squeeze
washing and cooking can reduce the efficacy of these phytochemicals water content
of the leaves is more than 80 percent i always try to find out both good and bad effects
of consuming any new plant the research on the side effects of the bitter leaf plants is very
limited if grown in the soil contaminated with heavy metals the plant may absorb these harmful
chemicals and it can cause side effects it can also cause allergic reactions and other side
effects due to anti-nutritional factors but other than that there is not much information available
at this time in my opinion if something is that potent as a medicine then it has to have at least
some side effects and it should be consumed with care i hope in future all plants will be studied
in more detail for their good and bad effects both till then i believe like other leafy vegetables
it is okay to enjoy the vegetable in moderation here is nutritional composition of narnia
amegdalina or african bitter leaf per 100 gram if you are interested in finding more
information i am posting the links in description i hope after learning about this plant you feel
like growing it now now let's see the growing requirements for bitter leaf plant i purchased
this plant from a local nursery and so far it has been acting like a good child growing very fast
african bitter leaf plants can be propagated by seeds as well as cuttings seed germination time
is about two to three weeks if you get your hands on the seeds and want to grow these plants from
seeds then make sure to keep the soil moist the faster and easier way to propagate these plants
is to grow them from cuttings here you can see my plant is still very young i took a cutting of
approximately 6 to 8 inches long from this plant i removed all the big leaves
leaving only two top ones and next i will drop the cutting in clean
water you can keep the cutting next to a sunny window partial shade or under
a grow light i am going to use grow light because the outside temperature keeps on
changing and i don't want to ruin the cutting after the root buds start appearing on the stems
i will plant them in soil the soil has to be well draining but also should retain moisture since
the plant loves moist soil and grows well in it according to some studies as the acidity of the
soil that means the organic content increases the heavy metal concentration also increases so make
sure to give the plant a good compost meal on a regular basis african bitter leaf is a sun loving
plant it is native to africa so i doubt that it will tolerate frost considering that it is grown
in nigeria it is safe to assume that the bitter leaf plant prefers tropical climate so if winters
are harsh in your region then you can either keep the plant potted and bring it inside for over
wintering or be ready to lose it during winter a mature tree looks like a small tree or a or a
tall shrub it can grow up to a height of 3 meters these plants grow faster in the rainy season
and you can harvest lot of leaves during springtime you can keep pruning this plant
frequently to induce new and more shoots older plants produce fewer leaves than the young
ones african farmers harvest the leaves and dry them you can find the dried leaves in online
shops or international food markets near you they are used in soups and other medicinal remedies the
paste of these leaves is applied to wounds like an antiseptic the leaves are ground or chopped and
cooked with meat shrimps and chopped peanuts for consuming young shoots are preferred because
they taste less bitter compared to the leaves or from the mature stems so it depends on
your test preference how you like them the plant can last for up to seven years
leaves are spindle shaped they are perfectly symmetrical and somewhat velvet in texture
they can easily get bruised and have no smell the flowers are white in color and form
in clusters near the ends of the shoots so far this is what i know about this plant now if
you want to hang out with me while i prepare this healthy black leaf soup with longevity spinach
and shrimps then you're welcome to stay this is the first time i'll be making this soup today
i'm not going to follow the traditional recipe very accurately (title is Ingredients
instead of Nutrition Content) but i'm going to mix it up little bit i don't have all the
ingredients and so i have to do this compromise also i'm making very small batch since these
leaves are very bitter and i don't have meat not sure how it will turn out so let's start
for this recipe i am using 7 to 8 black leaves half to 3 4 cup of longevity spinach leaves
3 to 4 cloves of garlic 4 green chilies 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds 1 4 cup of peanuts
1 half cup of salad shrimps salt and water step 1 is to wash the leaves multiple times to
remove the bitterness as much as possible we are going to lose some important nutrients while
washing but i know my test buds are not adapted to the that much bitterness and also we have to get
rid of the anti-nutritional factors the leaves are almost crushed step two is to either chop all
the leaves or you can also grind them if you like i am going to grind them today then step 3 is to
make a paste of garlic and green chilies step 4 is to roast the peanuts in little bit of oil and
chop them up or grind them into a chunky paste step five is to heat one to two spa a teaspoon
of oil and add a teaspoon of cumin seeds and let it splutter for a few seconds to
release aroma in step 6 i will add garlic and green chili paste and fry it
little bit to remove the raw flavor next in step 7 i'm adding some shrimps
and frying them you can add meat at this time the cooked meat not the raw meat but
you have to fry it first and then add it step 8 is to add the ground leaves of bitter
leaf here they're mixed with longevity spinach in step nine you have to add salt and let it
cook for five to seven minutes the cooking time will change depending on your choice of meat
in step ten you add peanuts and we are all set our soup is ready if you like healthy
recipes you will surely like this soup you will feel all the bitter aftertaste but
it is very mild to negligible i like bitter foods like bitter gourd and fenugreek so
i love the soup i will surely try it again i hope you like learning about one more new plant
feel free to share your experiences if you already have this plant in your home garden and use it
for cooking i would love to know more about it big thanks for watching my videos please
subscribe to my channel sneak to life and share my videos video links
are posted in the description bye
