Leucas Aspera / Marathi - Konkani: Tumbo , Sanskrit: द्रोणपुष्पी Dronapushpi

Leucas Aspera is a wild herb or shrub which is having medicinal value to a great extent and is available abundantly in field of India.

Although the species has many different common names depending on the region in which it is located, it is most commonly known as Thumbai or Thumba. Found throughout India, it is known for its various uses in the fields of medicine and agriculture.

Clinical importance of Leucas Aspera 

1. The juice from its leaves is used as an external application for painful swellings

2. The flowers are given with honey to treat with coughs and cold in children 

3. The leaves are applied to the bits to serpents, poisonous insects and scorpion sting. 

4. The extract of plant is used with honey in case of abdominal pain and also in digestion. 

5. The leaves are used as an insecticide and mosquito repellent in rural areas 

6. The juice of leaf is used as local application for psoriasis and chronic skin eruptions.

 7. It can be used as insecticidal also by sprains extract of the plant on other plants by mixing with water. 

8. It is also used in Gyaenocological and obstetrical problem like hastening menstruation. 
 

Hibiscus cannabinus / Konkani: अंबरी Ambari , Sanskrit: मचिका Machika, मयूरिका Maryurika, अम्बिका Ambika

 

Kenaf, (species Hibiscus cannabinus), fast-growing plant of the hibiscus, or mallow, family (Malvaceae) and its fibre, one of the bast fibre group. It is used mainly as a jute substitute. The plant grows wild in Africa, where the fibre is sometimes known as Guinea hemp, and has been cultivated on the Indian subcontinent, where it is usually known as mesta, or ambari, since prehistoric times.

Uses

Kenaf is cultivated for its fibre in India, Bangladesh, United States of America, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Viet Nam, Thailand, parts of Africa, and to a small extent in southeast Europe. The stems produce two types of fibre: a coarser fibre in the outer layer (bast fibre), and a finer fibre in the core. The bast fibres are used to make ropes. Kenaf matures in 100 to 200 days. First grown in Egypt over 3000 years ago, the leaves of the kenaf plant were a component of both human and animal diets, while the bast fibre was used for bags, cordage, and the sails for Egyptian boats. This crop was not introduced into southern Europe until the early 1900s. Today, while the principal farming areas are China and India, Kanaf is also grown in countries including the US, Mexico, and Senegal. 

Kenaf seed oil

Kenaf seeds yield an edible vegetable oil. The kenaf seed oil is also used for cosmetics, industrial lubricants and for biofuel production. Kenaf oil is high in omega polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Kenaf seed oil contains a high percentage of linoleic acid (Omega-6) a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Linoleic acid (C18:2) is the dominant PUFA, followed by oleic acid (C18:1). Alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3) is present in 2 to 4 percent.

goan lifestyle

 Goans as the people from Goa are known around the world, have a unique lifestyle which reflects the perfect blending of the cultural influences that they have experienced over the centuries.

By nature, Goans are warm, friendly, easy going and large hearted. They live life in style and at a leisurely pace. They are passionate about dance, music and art which is in their blood and they love their food and feni.  Goans attitude to life is best described by the word Susegad which means taking life at a relaxed pace and enjoy it to the full. This unique philosophy of life originates from the Portuguese word Socegado which literally meant quiet.