Neem Therapy: Proprietary Preparations (Yoga) of Neem

Neem is one of those plants of Indian Medicine that have been highly popular since very ancient times and continue to be so even now. As such several “official” preparations of drugs have been standardised with neem as its principal ingredient along with a varying number of other medicinal plants. These often constitute the official prescriptions of ayurvedic physicians and go by the name of “Yoga” or combinations. A merit of using them is that in general they can be stored over a considerable time and administered in clearly prescribed dosages as well.

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Neem Therapy: Few More Relatives of Neem – Rohitaka

Rohitaka means a healer. This is quite a well reputed plant and found in most ayurvedic classics. But its botanical identity is often regarded as controversial. More than three quite different plants have been given this same name in the literature. But its identity is clearly indicated by its rural and descriptive names such as rohera (as Chakrapani, a commentator on Charaka gives), dadima cchada and dadimapushpaka (with leaves and flowers like that of dadima). All of these are undoubtedly applicable to another plant botanically called Tecomella undulata seem (roheda in Hindi).

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Neem Therapy: Pesticidal Activities of Neem

Using neem to ward off damage specially to stored grains by pests is known in India since long. Mixing dried neem leaves to save grains, and woolen cloth is a regular practice. But a systematic work to exploit neem for insect control is recent. A few results of these activities are mentioned here. Neem has been found to contain several types ofchemicals, many still unknown, that can be used for managing varied types of pests.

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Neem Therapy: Role of Neem in Modern Research

The plant of neem beautifully illustrates the need and value of delving deep into the treasures pointed out by our ancient wisdom. There are two aspects on which modern research and studies on neem have been particularly fruitful; they are: the additive role of neem oil and fats in pharmaceutical and other industries and the importance of neem as a source of pest control material. It is impressive to note and reflect on a short summary on both of these aspects as given below:

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Milk Therapy: Constitution of Cow’s and Buffalo’s Milk

Milk of the cow is an opaque, white or yellowish white, very slightly alkaline fluid that is chemically termed as an emulsion which is a colloidal suspension of fat and other particles. It is just a little more viscous than water. In taste it is sweet or bland and it also has a faint but an unique odour. If kept for long it ferments and gets sour. Specific gravity of the ordinary milk is between 1.027 to 1.034. This is lower in a milk that has a higher fat content. If a drop of milk is inspected under microscope, numerous minute globules of fat can be seen to be floating as an emulsion.

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Milk Therapy: Introduction to Milk

It is not easy to specify as to when man began using the milk of animals as his food. Domestication of cow for this purpose must have taken place very early in his civilization. Buffaloes, goats and the camels were the few more animals that became added to this list, also quite soon but in some restricted regions of human society. However, cows and then buffaloes constitute the most prevalent animals utilised for this purpose.

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Milk Therapy: Best Use of Milk

The most important element in milk is calcium whose non- availability to an adequate degree in the body makes it progressively weak; the deleterious effects are seen in nerves, blood vessels and bones; and, on the intestine and the stomach. To keep the body strong and healthy, milk is essential on many other counts as well. For health, beauty and long life there is nothing like milk. It is advisible that every one should consume milk daily as much as possible.

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Milk Therapy: Types of Milk Products

There are many other types of milk products available in modern times.

Some rnilk products were mentioned above. They and the Sanskrit names of a few of them are as follows: cream (santanika), butter [navanila], skimmed milk, butter milk [takra), curd or curdled milk [dadhi), whey (mastu), cheese, ghee (ghrita) and milk sugar containing the lactose sugar alone.

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Milk Therapy: Types of Milk and Its Therapeutic Uses

Milk is usually considered as cooling, nutritive, strengthening and infact a very vitalising food. It Is also demulcent (soothing) and emollient (softening).

To appreciate the action of milk in the body, it is relevant to enquire as to how bacteria act upon the milk. Bacterial action destroys milk by fermentation and putrefaction. Fermentation or what is usually called as souring is the usual change and this consists in breaking down of the lactose sugar of the milk to lactic acid which on its turn precipitates and thus separates casein.

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