Cranberry is also known by the names Marshwort and Fenne Berry. Cranberry is native to North America, and includes the species Vaccinium macrocarpon, which is used interchangeably with Vaccinium oxycoccus. For hundreds of years, Cranberries have been used to promote urinary tract health. Cranberries contain substances which alter the bacteria population in urine. The substances found in Cranberries seem to make harmful bacteria less likely to cling to the surface of cells in the urinary tract. Cranberry inhibits the adhesion of bacteria (often E. coli) to the urinary tract, perhaps due to a polymer contained in the plant. This allows the bacteria to be eliminated. The benzoic acid in the berries works as a natural preservative. Cranberry has been used to prevent kidney stones and "bladder gravel" as well as to remove toxins from the blood. Cranberry has long been recommended for persons with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Cranberry may be used not only to prevent urinary tract infections, but also to eliminate odors associated with incontinence. Other benefits of Cranberry are to reduce inflammation and pain and to help improve digestion. A daily dose of Cranberry typically contains as much anthocyanidins as 100 mg of grape seed extract, with 50 mg magnesium (12% of the U.S. RDA for magnesium) and 12.8 mg of potassium. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 153 elderly women (mean age, 78.5 years) investigated the effectiveness of consuming 300ml per day of a standard Cranberry beverage on bacteriuria and pyuria. It found that, among women who had the infection in one month and were on Cranberry beverage, their odds of having the infection in the next month were only 27% of the odds in the control group. The experimental group's odds of having bacteruria with pyuria at all were only 42% of the odds in the control group. |
|
Buchu Leaf is also known by the names Bucco and Diosma. Native to South Africa, the word Buchu is from the Hottentot word for the plant, bookoo. The two primary species of Buchu used commercially are Agathosma betulina (synonym for Barosma betulina) and Agathosma crenulata (synonym for Barosma crenultata). The principal constituents of Buchu leaves are volatile oil and mucilage. Buchu also contains diosphenol, which has known antiseptic properties, and is considered by some to be the most important constituent of the herb. The Cape Government of South Africa exercises strict control over the gathering of Buchu leaves, and has lately made the terms and conditions more onerous, in order to prevent the wholesale destruction of the wild plants, no person being permitted to pick or buy Buchu without a license. Cultivation experiments with Buchu have been made from time to time by private persons, and during World War I experiments were conducted at the National Botanic Gardens, Kirstenbosch (near Cape Town), the result of which (first given in the South African Journal of Industries, 1919, 2, 748) indicated that, under suitable conditions, the commercial cultivation of Buchu should prove a success. The plant is particularly adapted to dry conditions, and may be cultivated on sunny hillsides where other crops will not succeed. Buchu may be used in any infection of the genito-urinary system, such as cystitis, urethritis and prostatitis. Its healing and soothing properties indicate its use.
|
