Grapes (Angoor)
Also known as
Latin : vitis vinifera
English : Common grape-vine
Sanskrit : Draksha
Hindi : Dakh, Angoor
Marathi : Drakshe/Angoora
Tamil : Tiratchai
Telugu : Draksha
Malayalam : Muntiri
Kannada : Draksha
Introduction—The grape is a very important sub-tropical fruit in the world with 80% of its cultivation contributing to wine making, 10% to raisins and only 10% sold as fresh fruit.
Raisin grapes must have a sugar content of 24-28 percent, usually not found in India; which grows grapes with sugar levels of 13-22%.
How it looks—It is a slender turning climber, with 3-5 lobed leaves. Flowers are small and green and fruits are purplish /greenish berries with 2-4 seeds.
What we use—Ripe fruits - fresh and dry, leaves, stems, flowers
What it does—Fruit—refrigerant, laxative, diuretic, haemostatic, aphrodisiac, antispasmodic, digestive
Leaves—diuretic, blood purifier, astrugent analysis
Flowers—expectorant, emmenagogue
How we use it-
In
anaemia—Raisins with sugar or honey consumed twice a day conquers anaemia.
In
dry cough—A decoction of grapes with honey is consumed twice a day for maximum relief.
In
thirst—Dry grapes left overnight in warm water should be drunk the next morning to quench retention.
In
bleeding disorders—Paste of raisins is licked with honey twice a day to arrest bleeding and cure associated anaemia.
As a
cosmetic—Internal usage of grapes acts as a blood purifier and thereby improves complexion.
In
heart ailments—Take an ounce of fresh grape juice everyday to tone your heart.
In
fainting—To prevent fainting spells, give an ounce of fresh grape juice daily to the one affected. This improves blood circulation and reduces the incidence of fainting.
In
liver trouble—Eating of fresh grapes is advised for a week. This will tone up sluggish liver.
