The Health Benefits From A Roadside Tree of Kersen

Muntingia calabura Linn. (Kersen)

I never thought before that this kersen, an Indonesian name for the tree of Muntingia calabura Linn., has so many health benefits. The kersen trees are fast growing fruit trees. Kersen tree could grow up to 3 m high within two years. Kersen are commonly planted in roadsides, or parking lots. Kersen leaves, barks, flowers and roots have been used as a folk remedy to treat fever, cold, liver disease, and use as an antiseptic agent in Southeast Asia.

A Tree With Hundreds of Names

Since I was a child, I knew kersen by the name of keres. The Dutch was used to call it as Japanse kers (Japanese cherry), and Indonesian people then called it as kersen, or keres. Although some Indonesian would call it as talok, baleci, or ceri jawa (Javanese cherry).

Kersen is widely cultivated, and thoroughly naturalized in many places around the world, which made kersen is thought by the local people to be native. The fact, kersen is native to southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and tropical South America.

In its originate country of Mexico, where kersen is sold in the market, kersen is known by the name of capolin, palman, bersilana, jonote, or puan. Can you believe it? Five different names for just a tree.

Other common names around the world include:

• Jamaican cherry, Panama berry, Singapore cherry, Bajelly tree, Strawberry tree (common English names).
• Datiles, alatris, aratiles, manzanitas and sarisa (Philippines).
• Chitató, majagüito, chirriador, acuruco, tapabotija and nigua (Colombia).
• Majagua, majaguillo, mahaujo, guácimo hembra, cedrillo, niguo, and niguito (Venezuela).
• Bolina, iumanasa, yumanaza, guinda yunanasa, or mullacahuayo (Peru).
• Takop farang, or ta kob farang (Thailand), kakhop (Cambodia), cay trung ca (Vietnam),kerukup siam, or Japanese cherry (Malaysia),Chinese cherry (India), and jam fruit (Ceylon).
• Capulin blanco (Guatemala and Costarica), capulin de comer (El Salvador), pasito, or majagüillo (Panama), nigüito (Ecuador), calabura, or pau de seda (Brazil), capulina, or chapuli (Cuba), cedrillo majagua (Argentina),bois d' orme, or bois de soie marron (Haiti), memiso, or memizo (Dominican Republic), bois ramier, or bois de soie (Guadeloupe). (Morton, J. 1987)

The Health Benefits of Kersen

Anti-diabetic Effect

An undergraduate thesis from Indonesian student of Malang Muhammadiyah University, had demonstrated the anti-hyperglicemic and anti-diabetic properties of kersen. The study resulted the efficacy of kersen fruit juice in lowering blood glucose levels in rats. (Verdayanti TE, 2009)

Cardioprotective Effect

Kersen leaves are reported potentially to possess antihypertensive effect. The methanol leaf extract of kersen had been studied to demonstrate its antihypertensive effect in anesthetized spontaneously hypertensive rats. The study resulted that the activation of sGC (soluble Guanylyl Cyclase)/cGMP (cyclic Guanosine MonoPhosphate)/PKG (Protein Kinase G) signaling pathway may participate in kersen biphasic (two separate phases) cardiovascular effects. (Shih CD, 2009)

A study in Srimad Andavan Arts and Science College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India, had confirmed the cardioprotective effects of kersen leaves extract against isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction (heart attack) in rats. (Nivethetha M, 2009)

Anti-cancer Effect

Kersen leaves possess potential antiproliferative and antioxidant activities due to its high content of phenolic compounds. The aqueous, chloroform and methanol extracts of kersen leaves had been studied using Microculture Tetrazolium (MTT) assay in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.

The aqueous and methanol extracts of kersen leaves inhibited the proliferation of breast (MCF-7), cervix (HeLa), colon (HT-29), and leukemia (HL-60 and K-562) cancer cells lines. Meanwhile, the chloroform extract only inhibited the proliferation of breast (MCF-7), cervix (HeLa), and leukemia (HL-60 and K-562) cancer cells lines.

But, all extracts were failed to inhibit the breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer cells proliferation, and did not inhibit the proliferation of normal (3T3) cells, in which indicated its safety. (Zakaria ZA, et al. 2011)

So, how do you call kersen in your country? Have you ever try to eat kersen fruit? You should try it now. Because, when you are in Mexico, you will have to buy for this tropical climate fruits, which easily to find in every roadsides in my country.

Tomato Rich Diets Against Diabetes, CVD, and Cancer

Red Tomato

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Linn.) is considered as a vegetable, rather than its botanically as a form of fruit, due to it is mostly used as an ingredient for culinary purposes. Tomato, which in Bahasa Indonesia is known as tomat, has other binomial synonyms, such as, Lycopersicon lycopersicum (L.) H. Karst., and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.

When I ate tomato as a dessert, first I sliced a tomato into four pieces, put them in a glass, added with few sugar, crushed and mixed the tomato with spoon, and enjoyed it. That's how I used to enjoy eating tomato, besides of having it as a fruit juice.

There are many health benefits of tomato, including the protection from tumors at various anatomy have been attributed to tomato. According to several scientific studies, tomato is believed to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-metastatic, antimutagenic, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anticarcinogenic, cardioprotective, and anti-neurodegenerative effects.

Anti-diabetic Effects

Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, β-carotene, α-tomatine, tomatidine, potassium, vitamin C, flavonoids, folate and vitamin E. Among tomato carotenoids, lycopene is the most active antioxidant. Lycopene acts as an antidiabetic agent through lowering the free radical, effectively at the dose of 90 mg/kg body weight, in a study using streptozotocin induced hyperglycaemic rats. (Ali MM, et al. 2009)

In a quasi experimental study, 32 type 2 diabetic patients received 200 g raw tomato daily for eight weeks. The study concluded that daily consumption of 200 g raw tomato, may decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, in which will be useful for reducing cardiovascular risk associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. (Shidfar F, et al. 2011)

Cardioprotective Effects

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of human morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables is recommended for CVD prevention. But, until now, many scientific studies mostly failed to show the effect of consumption of tomato in decreasing the risk of CVD. However, the antioxidant as well as the anti-inflammatory effects of lycopene, could be the background for cardioprotective effects of tomato, or tomato products.

In a study among 39,876 middle aged and older women initially free of CVD and cancer. Dietary intake of lycopene was not strongly associated with the risk of CVD. However, the higher consumption levels of tomato based products, such as, tomato sauce and pizza, had potential reductions in CVD risk, and give cardiovascular benefits. (Sesso HD, et al. 2003)

Lycopene inhibits lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell that is important in the formation of antibodies) proliferation (the growth and reproduction of similar cells) through mechanisms dependent on early cell activation, providing one possible mechanism to explain the beneficial effects of tomato rich diets against CVD. (Mills LM, et al. 2012)

Anti-cancer Effects

Based on several observational studies, the benefit of tomato was strongest for prostate, lung, and stomach cancers. And were also suggested to treat pancreas, colon, rectum, esophagus, oral cavity, breast, and cervix cancers. However, multiple components derived from tomato may contribute to its anti-cancer properties, and higher consumption of tomato or any tomato based products is associated in lowering the risk of cancer.

The high α-tomatine from green tomato extracts strongly inhibited several human cancer cell lines, such as, breast, colon, gastric, and hepatoma. α-Tomatine was found to be highly effective in inhibiting the growth of all human cancer cell lines. (Friedman M, et al. 2009)

Recent study had found that tomatidine, an aglycone of glycoalkaloid tomatine in tomato, possessed anti-inflammatory properties and may serve as a chemosensitizer in multidrug-resistant tumor cells. Just like embelin in my previous post about vidanga, tomatidine significantly decreased the nuclear level of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB).

NF-κB is a transcription factor which regulates several genes associated with inflammation, proliferation, carcinogenesis, and apoptosis. The study also suggested that tomatidine may potentially use in anti-metastatic therapy, as a new therapeutic agent. (Yan KH, et al. 2013)

So, whatever the variety of tomatoes around the world, all them have huge benefits for us. And tomato based products may also contribute to our health. Stay healthy! Let us not waste our health to look for treasure (wealth) and then squandered our treasure to seek health!

Why You Should Not Have To Shave Your Newborn Baby's Hair Until Bald

Baby's Hair Cut Ceremony.
Photo credit: ummu uswah.

In Javanese culture, shaving a newborn baby's hair until bald, after the age of 35 days, is a common thing. Back then, I was experienced the same thing as in Javanese culture, had my hair shaved until bald by my late grandmother.

But, I was not doing it to both of my children. My first daughter had a thick and black hair when she was born. It seemed a little bit weird, if I had to shave her hair until bald. Unlike me when I was a baby, I only cut a little bit of my children's hair after they aged 35 days.

The Javanese Culture of Selapanan

The Javanese ritual of cutting newborn baby's hair aged 35 days, or called as selapan age, exactly at the baby's Javanese weton day of birth. For example: If a baby was born in Sabtu Legi, June 1, 2013. Then the baby's selapanan ceremony will be held in Sabtu Legi, July 6, 2013.

The second Javanese ritual is for a baby aged seven lapan, or 245 days is called tedak sinten, which means to get down in the ground ceremony. Based on the book of Primbon Betaljemur Adammakna by Kanjeng Pangeran Harya Tjakraningrat, the ritual ceremony may not only be held when the baby is at the age of 245 days, but also at the age of 70 days, 105 days, 140 days, 175 days and 210 days. The book is also not mentioned that the newborn baby's hair should be shaved until bald.

The Moslem Tradition of Akika

90% of Indonesian people are moslem, and shaving a newborn baby's hair until bald is a must thing to do, while performing aqiqah, or akika, within seven days after birth, according to the hadith of Ashabussunah (HR: Imam Ahmad, Ashhabus Sunan, and At Tirmidzi).

Is it true that shaving a newborn baby's hair until bald, will make the hair grows thicker?

Indonesian people, especially the Javanese believed that shaving a newborn baby's hair until bald, will make the hair grows thicker. Just like when grasses or leaves are cut, to grow them faster.

The fact, hair is different from grasses or leaves. Hair grows from the follicle beneath the surface of the scalp. The hair growth rates are different in every people. The genetics play a key role in the hair growth. The average rate is about one and a half inch per month. So, whatever we do to the hair on the outside, will have no effects on the hair that is growing in the follicle. Both my children's hair from they were born with, had lost all them, a little by litle, until the age of a year old.

Fontanel, The Door of The Soul

If the eyes are the window of soul, the Javanese people believed that human's ubun-ubun, or fontanel, the crown of the head, is the door of the soul. When a man die, his soul is came out from his fontanel to be taken by the death angel. And so is when a three months fetus in the uterus is given a life by The Lord through its fontanel.

Based on my children's experience, both of them were more immune to diseases, and only sufferred from a light cough, cold or fever, that should not have to stay in the hospital to receive intensive medication. I believed that their immunity had to do with their fontanel, in which was still covered with their hair.

My second son had a thin fontanel in his bald hair since birth. Until he was at the age of four months, his fontanel was still softer than his elder sister when she was at the same age. Because it, I grew my son hair until he was at the age of three years old, and only cut it once when he aged selapan, or 35 days old. Back then, everybody always thought that my son was a pretty girl, due to his long thin hair.

Why do I say that fontanel is the door of the soul? Have you ever been with a person who is at the end of his life? Did you notice the temperature of the his body? The cold of his body rise up from the feet to the head?

So, the Javanese ritual was different from the Moslem tradition, in doing the shaving of a newborn baby's hair. Nowadays, most Indonesian people are combined both ritual, not just in seven days, but after the baby aged 35 days old, whether it will be until the hair is bald, or just a little bit.