Traditional Medicine | African Bitter Leaf | Vernonia amygdalina | Part 1


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 
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are posted in the description bye

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