Banana
musa paradisiaca

USE
Bananas may be incorporated into a ritual diet
as the only food (accompanied by herbal drink)
when spending a period of days fasting
in profound contemplation regarding
the mysteries of death.

Medicinal Action and Uses
The Banana family is of more interest
for its nutrient than for its medicinal properties.

Banana root has some employment
as an anthelmintic and has been reported
useful in reducing bronchocele.

The use of Plantain juice as an antidote
for snake-bite in the East has been reported
in recent years by the Lancet, an alleged cure
at Colombo (reported in the Lancet, April 1, 1916),
and again, in the same year, at Serampore:

'A servant of the Principal
of the Government Weaving College
was bitten by a venomous snake in the foot.
The Principal applied a ligature eight inches above
the bitten part and then cut it with a lancet and applied
permanganate of potash, making the wound bleed freely.
He then extracted some juice from a plantain tree and gave
the patient about a cupful to drink.
After drinking the plantain juice the man seemed
to recover a little, and the wound was washed.
He was made to walk up and down, and in the morning,
when the ligature was removed, the man was declared cured.'
- Lancet, June 10, 1916.



Source(s)

Back - Home - Next