PANDANUS LEAVES
Pandanus trees are of cultural, health, and economic importance in the Pacific, second only to coconuts and offer far more than a brilliant green food colouring to sweet cakes.
Pandanus (Pandanus amaryllifolius) is a genus of monocots with around 750 known species. They are palm-like trees and shrubs who are native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.
Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. Often called pandanus palms, these plants are not actually closely related to palm trees.
Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the screwpine genus, and is commonly known as pandan leaves.
It is used widely in South Asian and Southeast Asian cooking as a flavouring, and also has a number of medicinal uses. Pandanus leaves contain essential oils, glycosides and alkaloids.
Health benefits:
• Diuretic
• Analgesia: headache, chest pain, earache, arthritis, gum pain, muscle pain/fatigue
• Laxative: especially gentle for children
• Reduces fever
• Gastro-intestinal: indigestion, gas
• Anti-spasmodic: stomach cramps, spasms
• Cancer: inhibits cancer cell development
• Diabetes
• Skin: leprosy, sunburn, wounds, smallpox, fungus (tinea)
• Hypertension, heart: cardio-tonic
• Liver detoxifier
• Hair: moisturiser, strengthen roots
• Recovery from weakness following childbirth
• Rheumatism
• Stimulates appetite
• Stress, anxiety
• Mosquito, cockroach repellent