The Tomorrow Leaf ….

…..a blast of vitality… stay young, in good health and enjoy long life. 


The chalcones were found to inhibit thromboxane 2 - they inhibit the inflammatory process, unique to Ashitaba (The Tomorrow Leaf) ) and rarely found anywhere in the natural world!


This plant is being studied for nerve growth factor, cancer, menopause, and a sundry of disease conditions.


Ashitaba’s name, in Japanese (in English: Tomorrow's Leaf or Earth Growth), refers to an interesting botanical fact. If its leaves are picked in the morning, new leaves will be in place by the next morning. 

Thus its called the Tomorrow's Leaf ;)

Angelica keiskei, more widely known under the japanese name of Ashitaba, literally "Tomorrow's Leaf") is a not frost tender perennial plant from the angelica genus with an average growth height of 50–120 cm endemic to Hachijō-jima, though it is artificially cultivated in Izu Ōshima, Nii-jima, To-shima and parts of Honshū as well. 

Traditional it is seen as a major contributor to the supposedly healthier, extended lives of the local residents what may be based on its substantial levels of vitamin B12 and chalconoids that are unique to this species of angelica. The tonic attributes of Ashitaba are thought to be of use to anyone in need of a blast of vitality.

Ashitaba plant

In fact, one of the greatest Japanese medical men, Kaibara Ekiken, described it as a powerful tonic medicine over three hundred years ago. As if often true of tonic plants, islanders use it to increase milk flow in the mother and sex drive in the father!

* Photographer: User: Sphl * Date Taken: September 14, 2005 *
Location: Machida City, Tokyo
Source ja:File:Angelica_keiskei_leaves.jpg

In traditional medicine, the plant is seen to be a strengthening tonic. The Izu Islands used to be a place of exile, criminals and social outcasts relegated to these desolate islands as a form of punishment. The exiles were forced to withstand poor diets and hard labor. They foraged for food gathering their sustenance from the rock and sand. Surprisingly, historic records indicate that despite harsh circumstances, the exiles were healthy and lived long lives. Tradition attributes this unlikely healthfulness to the continual consumption of Ashitaba.

Kaibara Ekiken, described it as a powerful tonic medicine over three hundred years ago. This plant is being studied for nerve growth factor, cancer, and a sundry of disease conditions.

At one point in Edo period the haulms yellow sap was effective used in the external treatment of smallpox, which prompted Kaibara Ekken to describe the herb in his Yamato honzō under the name of ashitagusa as "a powerful tonic drug". 

In folk medicine it is attributed to be diuretic, tonic, improve digestion, and applied topically to speed wound healing and prevent infection. Also its nutritive qualities are said to be the factor behind the originally insular exiles' never waning stamina in the face of their arduous compulsory labor. 

For similar reasons, it serves as pasture for cows all over the place, reckoned to improve the milks quality as well as the yield and keeping them healthy at the same time. It has to be pointed out that most of this claims have yet to be proven in clinical trials, while studies substantiated furocoumarins in several plant components; an agent known to increase skin sensitivity to sunlight and may cause dermatitis. 

Nonetheless modest conditions for cultivation and fast rate of growth, with optimal temperatures ranging between 12-22 degrees, have led many locals to plant ashitaba in herb gardens, flower pots and even backyards. 

These days the main usage of the edible aerial parts, in particular the stipes and leaves, as well as its taproot, is in regional cuisine, where they are prepared as soba, tempura, shōchū, tea and ice cream amongst others. 

Note that ashitaba closely resembles Angelica japonica, but can be distinguished by its blooming period which lasts from May to October whereas A. japonica's is only between May and July; another indicator is the characteristic color of its sap. The larvae of the Common Yellow Swallowtail are known to feed frequently on the plant.

The Science of Ashitaba

Chemical Constituents

Coumarins: psoralen, imperatorin,columbianagin,isorhazelpitin, rhazelpiton, selinidin Chalcones: xanthoangerol

4-hydrodexydelisin glycosides: isoquercitrin. Ruteorin. Angelic acid. Bergapten.

Vitamins: β-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron

As a consequence of its many and varied traditional uses, the plant has been the subject of scientific research. One of the first findings was that the yellow color of the juice is due to pigments known as chalcones-compounds almost unique to Ashitaba. Chalcones are rarely found anywhere in the natural world! Research has shown that the unique healing properties of Ashitaba are at least partly due to these unique compounds.

Chalcones were revealed to be antibiotic and active against staphylococcus in vitro

Chalcones were found to work on the mucus membrane in the stomach and suppress the excessive secretion of gastric juice which in turn prevents ulcers

The chalcones were found to inhibit thromboxane 2 - they inhibit the inflammatory process

So what are you waiting for?.... 

Simply take 4 leaves each meal as part of fresh salad with your favorite dressings or add to soup :)

Source : Wikipedia,
PLANET BOTANIC

Bibliography
1) Tooru Okuyama, Miraculous Ashitaba, Heart shuppan, 1994
2) Kimie Baba, Healthy vegetable Ashitaba, Chikuma shuubansha, 1995
3) Hida, Medicinal herb Ashitaba, Tsuchiya shyoten, 1991
4) Kazuo Izawa, Color Encyclopedia of Medicinal Herbs, Shufunotomo-sha, p501, 1998

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A look at animals under threat or on the verge of extinction.

The fight against extinction.. . 

Turtles represent longevity and good luck, and that's certainly true for 18 rare smuggled turtles that were returned from Hong Kong to their native Philippines. Pond turtles live only in forests on Palawan Island southwest of Manila. Only about 120 remain in the wild.

A Philippine pond turtle (Siebenrockiella Leytensis)

repatriated from Hong Kong, after they were confiscated from a passenger at Hong Kong's airport on February 8, 2012. REUTERS/Erik De Castro 

(PHILIPPINES - Tags: SOCIETY ANIMALS CRIME LAW)

Mysterious 'Asian Unicorn' faces extinction
Two decades after the discovery of the Saola, one of the most spectacular species discoveries of the 20th century, the rare large mammal remains as mysterious as ever. World Wildlife Fund warns that the species, found in the mountains of Vietnam, faces extinction unless protection efforts are intensified. More information can be found at www.worldwildlife.org.

Elusive Asian Unicorn

The greatest threat facing the saola comes from illegal hunting. Saola are caught in wire snares set by hunters to catch other animals, such as deer and civets, which are largely destined for the lucrative wildlife trade. 

(c) William Robichaud

INDONESIA-ORANGUTAN

Orangutans lie beside each other at a forest school for orangutans in Palangkaraya, central Kalimantan May 3, 2007. Branded pests for venturing out from their diminishing forest habitats into plantations where they eat young palm shoots, orangutans could be extinct in the wild in ten years time, the United Nations said in March. Fighting against this grim prediction is the Nyaru Menteng Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) centre in Central Kalimantan, which rescues orangutans and returns them to the wild at the cost of US$3,000 per ape. The orangutans learn how to survive in the wild during forest school. They are taught to make nests, find the right foods and climb trees. 

Picture taken May 3, 2007. 

To match feature INDONESIA-ORANGUTAN/ REUTERS/

Hardi Baktiantoro (INDONESIA) 

An Irrawaddy dolphin, also known as the Mekong dolphin, swims in the river at Kampi village in Kratie province, 230 km (143 miles) northeast of Cambodia, March 25, 2007. Cambodia's rare Mekong dolphin is making a tentative comeback from the edge of extinction after net fishing was banned in its main habitat, Cambodian and World Wildlife Fund officials said earlier this month. 

REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

An endangered east African black rhinoceros and her young one walk in Tanzania's Serengeti park, May 21, 2010, during the start of an initiative that will see 32 huge beasts flown to Tanzania from South Africa. An explosion in poaching in the 1960 and 70s saw the population of east African black rhinos in Tanzania plummet from over 1,000 to just 70. Seven of the remaining rhinos were relocated to South Africa in an effort to protect them and bring the rhino sub-species back from the brink of extinction.

Picture taken May 21, 2010. 

REUTERS/Tom Kirkwood 

(TANZANIA - Tags: ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

Polar bear 'Rasputin' swims at the Marineland aquatic park in Antibes, southeastern France, May 8, 2010. Two polar bears, "Flocke", a female, and "Rasputin", a male, arrived recently at Marineland mandated in the European program for endangered species. 

REUTERS/Eric Gaillard 

(FRANCE - Tags: ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT)

Two-month old snow leopard Kailash stands next to her mother Dschamilja in their enclosure at Zurich zoo July 21, 2010. 

REUTERS/Christian Hartmann 

(SWITZERLAND - Tags: ANIMALS)

A Pygmy Marmoset (Callithrix pygmaea) is seen at a primate rescue and rehabilitation center near Santiago August 3, 2010. The Pygmy Marmoset, known as the world's smallest monkey and under danger of extinction, was confiscated after being found inside the clothes of a Peruvian citizen during a highway police check at the northern city of Antofagasta, some 1367 km (849 miles) of Santiago. 

Picture taken August 3, 2010. 

REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado (CHILE - Tags: ANIMALS) 

Biologist Jorge Guerrel puts a tiny Toad Mountain harlequin frog into a plastic bag for weighing and measuring on the slopes of Panama's Cerro Sapo March, 26, 2011. The endangered frog is likely to be wiped out in the wild by the imminent arrival of frog chytrid, a fungus that has decimated amphibian species across the globe in recent decades. Panama's Cerro Sapo is one of the few regions still partly free from the fungus. 

Picture taken March 26, 2011. 

To match feature PANAMA-FROGS/ 

REUTERS/Sean Mattson (PANAMA - Tags: ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT) 

Renana (L), a 3-week-old sand kitten, is seen at her enclosure in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv August 8, 2011. The kitten is the first of the sand cat species, considered extinct in Israel, to be born at the safari park, an open-air zoo, a statement from the safari said. 

REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT)

A bison stands on the grasslands of the "El Uno" ecological reserve in Janos, some 230 km (142 miles) from Ciudad Juarez, September 5, 2011. Environmental authorities of the U.S. and Mexico are joining forces to reintroduce the American bison, which were almost on the verge of extinction in the 19th century, in the grasslands of northern Chihuahua state. The Nature Conservancy believes that bisons are an essential part of the ecosystem in supporting populations of other species in the reserve. Bisons break the ground with their step and allow plants to grow, promote water filtration and keep the grass at a height perfect for other species like the prairie dog to thrive. 

Picture taken September 5, 2011 

REUTERS/Stringer (MEXICO - Tags: ENVIRONMENT ANIMALS) 

A giant panda cub lies in a crib at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province October 11, 2011. 

REUTERS/China Daily (CHINA - Tags: ANIMALS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA

A silverback mountain gorilla is seen during a census inside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, about 550 km (341 miles) west of Uganda's capital Kampala, October 14, 2011. The census of the critically endangered mountain gorilla is being conducted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority in Bwindi, which is known to have more than half of the world's mountain gorillas. Teams comprising of rangers and wardens from Uganda, Rwanda and Congo are assembled in the Ruhija sector of the park to begin the pre-census sweep. 

REUTERS/Edward Echwalu 

(UGANDA - Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT ANIMALS)

A three-month-old Bengal Tiger plays with a three-month-old lion cub at a zoo in Puerto Vallarta October 13, 2011. The keepers at the zoo educate visitors and raise awareness on endangered animals around the world. The park's own tiger breeding programme has enjoyed success with more than 20 tigers born since 2010 including a rare white Bengal tiger, according to zoo vet Martin Martinz. 

Picture taken October 13, 2011. 

REUTERS/Carlos Jasso (MEXICO - Tags: SOCIETY ANIMALS) 

A grizzly bear stands up at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St-Felicien, Quebec September 24, 2008. Parks Canada estimates that up to 20,000 grizzly bears remain in western Alberta, the Yukon and Northwest Territories and British Columbia. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada lists the grizzly bear as a "Special Concern". 

REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger (CANADA) 

A man holds Golfina turtle hatchlings on Toluca Beach, 40 km south of San Salvador, October 10, 2008. Ecological authorities and volunteers released into the sea about 1,500 Golfina turtles born in captivity. Golfina turtles, also know as Olive Ridley turtles, are endangered and are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). 

REUTERS/Luis Galdamez (EL SALVADOR)

A zookeeper holds a Fijian Crested Iguana at Taronga Zoo in Sydney during an announcement of a funding boost for their conservation June 19, 2008. Only a few wild populations remain of the endangered iguana which is found on a several Fijian islands. The species faces possible extinction due to habitat destruction and competition from introduced species. 

REUTERS/Tim Wimborne (AUSTRALIA)

Diver Brad Norman photographs a whale shark at Ningaloo Marine Park, off the coast of Western Australia, in this undated handout picture made available November 29, 2007. The 1000th whale shark, a rare and threatened species has been discovered by researchers using a global programme in which eco-tourists and scientists identify new sharks and lodge photographs on an online library. 

REUTERS/Rolex/Kurt Amsler/Handout (AUSTRALIA). 

EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE 

FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. 

The 167-kilogram (368 lb) leatherback marine turtle known as Tommy swims in its new home at the Sydney Aquarium April 12, 2006. The 20-year-old turtle was moved to the aquarium after outgrowing its previous tank. 

REUTERS/Tim Wimborne

An unnamed male Tasmanian Devil cub receives a health check in his enclosure at Sydney's Taronga Zoo October 22, 2009. Four six months old Tasmanian Devil cubs are having health checks and paternity test to avoid their extinction from a rare transmission cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease. 

REUTERS/Daniel Munoz (AUSTRALIA ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT)

A zookeeper brushes the back of a baird's tapir, an endangered species, inside her enclosure at the Preservation and Research Center in Yokohama, south of Tokyo October 25, 2010. The facility, which is located at the breeding zone of Yokohama Zoological Gardens, is closed to the public to allow selected endangered species to breed in the most suitable environments and to study the endangered animals, according to the center. Negotiators from over 190 countries are gathered in Nagoya, Japan for a United Nations meeting to discuss ways to fight rising extinctions of plants and animals from pollution, climate change and habitat loss. 

REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao 

(JAPAN - Tags: ENVIRONMENT POLITICS SOCIETY ANIMALS IMAGES OF THE DAY) 

A lifeguard transfers Tomas, a lost Humboldt penguin, to a boat to travel to a penguin colony on San Lorenzo Island January 26, 2011. Tomas was rescued by lifeguards on Sunday after losing his way and landing at the beach of Agua Dulce in the Lima district of Chorrillos. Humboldt penguins, poached for meat and sought after as household pets, are considered an endangered species according to the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture. 

REUTERS/Mariana Bazo

(PERU - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY ANIMALS) 

Source: Selection from Yahoo Photos and photographers as mentioned above

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 email: voicefromdorient@yahoo.com

Before they disappear - What made Kauai, Hawaii no.1 in the watch list

on the 4th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?


Kauai, Hawaii, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands, 21st largest island in the United States, known also as the "Garden Isle" and the site of Waimea Canyon State Park, often referred to as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific". 


To begin with,  let's see . .  . 

Kauai, Hawaii  via helicopter tour

Uploaded by cooldancemoves2007 on Mar 28, 2008

Again, before they disappear-What made Kauai, Hawaii no.1 in the watch list on the 4th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)? 

The answer is the Hawaiian Honeycreepers. 

Just one of the many kinds...

Magumma parva (syn. Hemignathus parvus), Alakai Wilderness Preserve, Kauai, Hawaii.

Date : Undated   Source : USGS Hawaiian Endangered Forest Birds

Decline and Extinction of Native Hawaiian Honeycreepers

Uploaded by hailispock on Oct 23, 2009

'almost endangered' I'iwi.

Message from 100PlacesToRemember on May 20, 2009

Hawaiian Honeycreepers Hiding in the Clouds

High in the cloud forests, where the climate is cool, live the beautiful and colourful Hawaiian honeycreepers. These rare birds use their long, downward-curved bills to sip nectar from flowers, hovering like hummingbirds and emitting a variety of sounds, from nasal squeaks to clear, flute like calls.

The species of honeycreeper that is endemic to Hawaii lives at an elevation above 1,500 metres where the climate is too cool for mosquitoes to survive. Most of the Hawaiian honeycreepers are only 10-13 cm long and weigh no more than eight grams. They are extremely vulnerable to diseases like avian malaria.

The Hawaiian cloud forests make up one of the ecosystems that is most at risk due to climate change. Relatively small shifts in patterns could cause major local changes, putting the islands distinct ecosystems under pressure. 

Deforestation and non-indigenous species like pigs and goats have decimated the honeycreepers habitat in recent years, and it is now an endangered species. With the projected rise in temperatures, mosquitoes are likely to gain a foothold at higher elevations in the Kauai mountains, slowly driving the honeycreeper to extinction.

Let's go back in time!!! 3/7/1927

Song of the Islands by Sol Hoopii's Novelty Trio

Uploaded by algae300 on Aug 15, 2011

Sacred Hawaiian dance for the 

King and Queen of Hawaii at 

Kilauea volcano

Uploaded by cocohawaiikai on Aug 27, 2007

Traditional hula dance performed by Halau O Kekuhi as part of Wolf Trap's Face of America: Hawai'i performance.

  

Uploaded by WolfTrapMedia on Jul 10, 2006

and the final number ...    :D    1914 

KAWAIHAU WALTZ by Pale K Lua and David K Kaili 

Uploaded by cdbpdx on Mar 21, 2009

Message from the uploader:

Vintage Hawaiian music by a Hawaiian guitar duet, Pale K Lua and David K Kaili, of the Irene West Royal Hawaiians, recorded in 1914.


Hawaiian born musician and composer Sonny Cunha published a book of Hapa Haole music in 1914 and that was pretty much the start of the Hawaiian music craze. Enjoy!

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