Turmeric (Curcuma longa) – Benefits, Medicinal Usage and Properties

INTRODUCTION

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is very familiar as it is one of the main ingredients for Indian cooking. It is also famous because of its auspicious value and is used in many religious activities. It is also used in cosmetics. It has several varieties.

APPEARANCE

The commonly used turmeric plant are 2-3 ft tall. The leaves are long spear shaped like bamboo leaves and somewhat like banana leaves. They smell like mango. The flowers are yellow and sparse with long stems. It has ginger like yellow underground stem that are red or yellow inside. These have signs of fine roots and leaves. They are boiled and them dried which is known as turmeric, normally used as a spice.

PROPERTIES OF TURMERIC

Being hot it suppresses kapha and vata, purges pitta, and relieves pain. Being bitter and sharp it cures cough. It refines blood and normalizes blood cell levels. It is tasty and is an astringent. It accumulates urine and make it clear. It very effective in curing urinary diseases. Its paste relieves swelling and oedema. It is anti-dermatoses, cleanses and cures wounds and ulcers.

MEDICINAL USAGE AND BENEFITS OF TURMERIC

JAUNDICE:-

1. Mix 5gm turmeric in butter milk and give to the patient twice a day. Within 6-9 days, it cures jaundice.
2. Take 12 gm turmeric powder mixed in 50 gm curd.
3. Take equal quantities of iron ash with harad and turmeric. Mix them all and take 375 mg of this with ghee and honey or give only harad with jaggery and honey to the patient.

OTORRHOEA:

In case of pus in the ear, take 1:40 ratio of turmeric with roasted alum. Put 3 drops of this three times a day. It cures the leaking of ears.

CONJUNCTIVITIS:-

Take 1 gm turmeric and boil it in 35 ml water. Put this water repeatedly in eyes. It relieves from pain. Cloth dipped in turmeric decoction can be used to clean and cover the eyes.

BREAST DISORDERS:-

Take dried turmeric and prepare its paste with water. Apply this paste on the breasts.

HOARSENESS OF VOICE:-

Take 5-8 powder of celery seeds, turmeric, Indian gooseberry, yavaksbar, and leadwort and give this with 2 teaspoonful honey to the patient. It cures voice related problems.

COUGH:-

Roast turmeric and give its 2-5 gm powder with honey or ghee to the patient.

COLD:-

Let the patient inhale the smoke of turmeric at night. Avoid intake of water for sometime after inhaling the fumes. It is beneficial in curing common cold.

PYORRHOEA:-

Mix mustard oil, turmeric and rock salt. Use this paste to massage the gums every morning and evening. Also use warm water to gargle. This cures all types of disorders of gums.

STOMACH PAIN:-

Boil 12 gm bark of its root in 300 ml water. Mix jiggery and give the solution to the patient.

DIARRHOEA:-

Take equal quantities of bark of its root and ginger root and grind them to form powder. Give 3-5 gm of this powder 4-6 times a day to the patient. It cures diarrhea.

URINARY DISORDERS:-

Turmeric can cure 15 types of urinary disorders. Give 4-6 gm turmeric powder with juice of Indian gooseberry and honey every morning and evening.

SWELLING:-

Take equal quantities of turmeric, Long pepper, Indian aloe, choti kateri, leadwort root, ginger root, pipalla root, cumin seed and nagarmotha. Grind them all and then sieve through fine cloth. Give 1gm of this powder with warm water. It cures swelling due to tridosa and any other chronic swelling.

SKIN DISEASES:-

In case of itching, eczema, boils, blood disorders and other skin problems, mix 1-4gm turmeric powder in cow’s urine and gives it 1-2 times a day to the patient.

ITCHING:-

Mix 4gm turmeric and 10-20 gm powder of neem leaves with butter and apply on the affected area. It makes the skin soft and glowing.