Amazing Health Benefits of Scent Leaves
It never ceases to amaze me just how connected we are, from Lagos to Laos. Scent leaves, Perilla, Shiso, is a tropical plant species that belongs to the family of Labiatae. These herbaceous, perennial shrubs are cousins in the mint family. It is usually a homegrown shrub used mainly as spices for cooking delicacies due to its unique aromatic taste. Scent leaves are high in calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, carbon and vitamin A . The scent leave has been reported to be rich in plants chemicals. Oil from the leaves has been shown to posses antiseptic, antibacterial, and anti-fungal activities. I thought I knew everything about this plant. Growing up, it featured prominently in pepper soup, added at the last minute to bring clean citrus flavours and a distinctive scent. What changed things for me was having the plant in my garden. As is wont to happen when you get close to a thing, you begin to see more. What I noticed was the young leaves bore none of the toughness of the older leaves. That the buds were amazing as flavour pearls in oven-baked Moin-moin… and that you could do so much more than have it in soup.
Other Names of Scent Leave
Scent leaves go by many names. Ocimum gratissimum in Latin(Botanical Name); Scent leaf, Clove basil or tea bush in ‘Nigerian English’ and a host of other names in various dialects. The Yorubas of the south west call it Efirin, the Igbos of the south east – Ncho-anwu, Ahuji; The Edos, of the south ‘west/central know it as Aramogbo, the Ibibio of south-south call it Ntong and the Hausa of Northern Nigeria, Daidoya. It is also known as tree basil – probably as a result of its woody stems, and wild basil in Hawaii.
Its Usefulness
Scent leave aids digestion. If you are the type of person that eats late at night, it is likely you will experience indigestion and bloating. Scent leave has immense health benefits such as easy bowel evacuation and weight management.
Scent leave can be used to treat stomach ache, diarrhea, chronic dysentery and vomiting. The aqueous extracts of the scented leaf can be taken to relief ear ache and colon pains. Scent leaf decoction is used in treatment of mental illness.
Scent leave can be used to treat oral infections. Say bye bye to smelly mouth as scent leave will kill all the bacteria in your mouth and also prevent tooth decay and bad breath.
It is used in the treatment of fungal infections, fever, cold and catarrh. Squeezed Scent leaf leaves are applied on the skin for treating skin diseases and ringworm.
Scent leaf oil can be used as food preservative due to its anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties.
Scent leaves can also be used for the prevention and treatment of malaria, catarrh, cough and fever.
The aqueous extracts of the scented leaf can be taken to relieve ear ache and colon pains.
The stick of this leaf is being used by some people as a local chewing stick.
When left to dry and burnt, this leaves could serve as a mosquito repellent.
Scent leaf seeds can be infused for treating urinary infections, gonorrhea infection, vaginal douches for vaginitis. From recent finding scent leaf has been found to be useful in the medication for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS)
Scent leaves are common in our environment; it has a distinctive smell and taste. You can make use of scent leaves anyway, you can squeeze out the water and drink, and it can also be used to make soup to be eaten. Scent leaves are beneficial to our health and it doesn’t cost much to get.
Some Benefits of Scent Leave
1. It can cure Malaria
If you want to make use of scent leaves to cure malaria, use it to make tea and drink it while it’s warm. Scent leaves contain an effective antipyretic substance to reduce fever and cure malaria.
2. Aids Digestion
Scent leaves can help cool down the stomach. When you squeeze out the juice in it and drink, it treats digestive problems and relieve you almost immediately.
3. Cures Diarrhea
Drinking the squeezed juice from scent leaves will stop stooling. To get the best you can add salt or lime which gives you a better taste and also ease the unnecessary bowel movement you are experiencing.
4. Lowers Blood Sugar
Scent leave protect the pancreas cells that produce insulin from damaging and through this may lower blood sugar; it is very good for those suffering diabetes.
5. Reduce Cholesterol
If you want to reduce the amount of cholesterol that has gathered up in the body, research has shown that regularly taking the scent leave juice will help a lot in doing this.
6. Relieve Heartburn
Drinking scent leaves tea is very useful for curing heartburn as it cleanses and boost the heart. It helps in taking care of respiratory problems.
7. Cures Cough
Squeeze the scent leaves to remove juice. Take the extracted liquid and brew it with hot water. After that you can drink it. Drinking extracted Scent leaves water regularly, will reduce your cough gradually.
Its Flavour
Grassy with a clean, citrus flavor and anise, licorice notes. Works well in broths and syrups. Could be used like mint, in tea and mojitos.
Nutritive Benefits
Scent leaves are nutrient-rich – high in calcium, phosphorous, iron and vitamins A, K and C. Like Agbalumo.
The Scent leaf has been reported to be rich in plant chemicals. Phytochemical evaluation of the plant has shown that it is rich in alkaloids, tannins, phytates, flavonoids and oligosaccharides.
It’s no wonder they are seen as a cure-all.
In trado-medical practice, scent leaf is extensively used throughout West Africa as anti-malarial, mosquito repellent and anti-convulsant. The crushed leaf juice is used in the treatment of convulsion, stomach pain and catarrh. Oil from the leaves has been shown to possess antiseptic, antibacterial, and anti-fungal activities. Ocimum gratissimum has proved to be an effective anti-microbial and hypoglycemic and hepatoprotective agent
For Recipe Use
You can do more with the bigger leaves than just chop them up and add at the last minute to pepper soup and stews, although doing so is perfectly acceptable and delicious
You could sun-dry it, if you have an excess
Make a dip, that becomes a curry sauce or ‘pesto’
Take a leaf out of the Japanese and Koreans, and how they use Shiso or Perilla leaves – as wraps, with sushi etc
I use it to poach fruit as well – a sweet application of former savoury notes
Make an oil…and more