Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Cucumis Species: C. sativus
• Originated in Nepal, where a great many
varieties have been observed, from
Cucumis hystrix.
• Has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years.
• Listed among the foods of ancient Ur, and the
legend of Gilgamesh describes people eating
cucumbers.
• Pliny:many varieties (26 wild & 5 cultivated)
of cucumber+cultivated cucumber -remedies
for different types of diseases and disorders.
• Wives wishing for children wore them around
their waists.
• Carried by midwives, thrown away when
the child was born.
• Romans -used to treat scorpion bites, bad
eyesight, & to scare away mice.
A YELLOW INDIAN CUCUMBER
• Armenian cucumbers Cucumis melo var.
flexuosus -very long, ribbed fruit with
thin skin, does not require peeling,
actually an immature melon.
• Not the same species as common
cucumber (Cucumis sativus) but closely
related.
Gourd -- Cucurbitaceae
• Gourd - specifically refers to
genera
Lagenaria & Cucurbita also includes crops like
pumpkins, luffa, cucumbers, squash, etc.
• One of the earliest crops to be domesticated,
grown for at least 10,000 years as ornamentation
or for making musical instruments & utensils
(suction cups by Hippocrates around
3rd
century BC).
• Gourds of the Lagenaria genus favor a
subtropical or tropical climate and grow poorly
in cooler regions, Cucurbita in other climates.
1. Ornamental Gourds
2. White Bush Scallop
3. Summer Crookneck
4. Coyote Melon
5. Wild Cucumber
6. Horned Cucumber
7. Teasel Gourd
8. Vegetable Sponge
•
•
•
•
•
•
(Cucurbita pepo).
(C. pepo).
(C. pepo).
(C. foetidissima).
(Marah macrocarpus).
(Cucumis metuliferus).
(Cucumis dipsaceus).
(Luffa acutangula).
Teasle gourd -Momordica dioica =Cucumis dipsaceus
Spine gourd -M. subangulata
Sweet gourd -M. cochinchinensis
balsam apple -M. balsamina
Vaika
M. sahyadrica ( Kerala)
athalakka’i M. cymbalaria (Tamil). (crossbread 6)
• Tropical/Subtropical vine-Cucurbitaceae, grown in Asia,
Africa, & the Caribbean.
• Momordica charantia -bitter melon, bitter gourd or bitter
squash;
Goya from
the
indigenous
Okinawa
and karavella from Sanskrit, bitter melon, bitter gourd,
balsam pear, karela, and pare. KUDRET NARI
• Edible fruit-extremely bitter.
• Origin Indian subcontinent-14th century Bitter melon has
been used in various Asian & African herbal
medicine systems for a long time.
• Turkey-used as a folk remedy for a variety of ailments,
particularly stomach complaints.
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center-number of uses.
• Some potential clinical activity reported "further studies
required to recommend its use".
• Pakistan / Bangladesh-bitter melon cooked with spices
• Pakistan-unpeeled bitter melon boiled, stuffed with cooked
minced
beef,
served
with
either
hot
tandoori bread, naan, chappati, or with khichri (a mixture
of lentils and rice).
Active Constituents
• Not definitively determined, primary constituents responsible
for hypoglycemic properties of Momordica are charantin,
insulin-like peptide (plant (p)-insulin), cucurbutanoids,
momordicin, oleanolic acids.
• Rich in vitamins A &C + beta-carotene, minerals like iron,
phosphorus, potassium.
• MC-numerous other
glycosides, saponins.
constituents
including
• Momordin, may have anticancer properties.
proteins
• Best-researched use of bitter melon -lower blood sugar
levels in diabetics.
• Alcohol extracted charantin from M. charantia has mixed
steroids, improves glucose tolerance to a degree similar to
oral hypoglycemic agent, tolbutamide (in animal model of
diabetes).
• Oral bitter melon preparations effective in clinical trials
of type 2 diabetes.
• Statistically significant improvement in glucose tolerance
in type 2 diabetics.
Dyslipidemia
• Several animal studies on the effect of bitter melon extracts on
abnormal lipid parameters.
• Significant decreases in triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and
increases in HDL cholesterol were noted in all studies.
Cancer
• No clinical trials conducted using MC extracts, in vitro studies
indicate fruit + seed extracts inhibit the growth of several
cancer cell lines, including prostate adenocarcinoma, human
colon cancer (Caco-2 cells), and the highly metastatic breast
cancer cell line MDAMB 231.
Drug-Botanical Interactions
• Due to hypoglycemic effects, MC extracts may potentiate the
effects of insulin & oral hypoglycemic medications.
• Patients should be advised to closely monitor blood sugar
when adding this botanical to a treatment regimen.
Side Effects and Toxicity
• Oral ingestion of bitter melon fruit is safe as demonstrated by
long-term consumption of the fruit in Asian cultures.
• Subcutaneous injection of p-insulin extracted from MC
appears to be safe; however, intravenous injection of MC
extracts is significantly more toxic and not recommended.
• Seeds contain momorcharin, has antifertility effects in
female mice, seed consumption not recommended in
pregnancy.
Dosage
• Dose of fresh juice: 50-100 mL , extremely bitter &
difficult to drink.
• Encapsulated dry powder easier to ingest, standard dose
is 3-15 g daily-a large dose in capsule form.
• Standardized, encapsulated extract dosage ranges from
100-200 mg 3 times daily.
• Cucurbita genus -important source of human
food used for beverages, medicine, oil, and
detergent.
• 13–30 species 13 species groups (27 species
total).
• 5 domesticated species:
Cucurbita argyrosperma,
C. ficifolia, C. maxima, C. moschata, C. pepo.
• Medicinal uses
• Cucurbita-used in cosmetics for dry & sensitive skin + in
treating schistosomiasis.
• Flesh of C. argyrosperma used for treating burns & skin
conditions, seeds treated with water are used as
an anesthetic +promote lactation in nursing women.
• C. ficifolia-used to make flavorings for soft & mildly alcoholic
drinks & high doses of C. ficifolia -successful in
reducing blood sugar levels.
• Fruits of some species (C. foetidissima) used as soaps
detergents.
&
• Cucurbita fruits-important source of carotenoids,
vitamin A, + rhodopsin.
• Cucurbitin an amino acid,a carboxypyrrolidine in seeds -eliminates parasitic worms.
• Phytochemical constituents are alkaloids,
flavonoids, palmitic, plus oleic & linoleic acids.
• Anti-diabetic, Antioxidant, Anticarcinogen, Antiinflammatory.
• Pumpkins & pumpkin seeds have high levels of crude
protein, calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus,
magnesium, zinc + beta-carotene.
• Good sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, dietary
fiber,
niacin,
folic
acid
+
iron,
free
of fat & cholesterol.
• Cucurmosin a ribosome inactivating protein in
the sarcocarp (flesh) & seed of Cucurbita, notably
Cucurbita moschata.
• Toxins
• Cucurmosin - toxic to cancer cells.
• Cucurbitacin - plant steroid poisonous to mammals found in
wild Cucurbita in quantities sufficient to discourage
herbivores.
• Bitter taste, ingesting too much can cause stomach cramps,
diarrhea & even collapse.
• Domestication has largely removed the bitterness from
cultivated varieties, occasional reports of cucurbitacin getting
into the human food supply & causing illnesses.
• Wild Cucurbita & most ornamental gourds, with the exception
of an occasional C. fraterna and C. sororia, bitter to taste.
Cotton
• Used in the Old World at least 7,000 years ago
(5th millennium BC), Mexico ± 5000 to 3000
BC,Tehuacán-Mexico cave: around 5800 BC.
• Evidence of use found at the site of Mehrgarh,
where early cotton threads have been preserved
in copper beads.
• Widespread
Civilization.
during
the
Indus
Valley
• Gossypium-Malvaceae, 40 species, native to
tropics / subtropics.
• Gossypium stocksii Mast., a west Asian species.
• Cultivated cottons Gossypium barbadense L.,
(from west Indies), Gossypium hirsutum L.,
(from
Central
America),
Gossypium
arboreum L., (the tree cotton from
Africa), Gossypium herbaceumL., (from Asia).
• Reference to the 'tree cotton',
Gossypium arboretum, -a native of the Indian
subcontinent.
• Planting of cotton was common
(Turkmenistan) , Ray & Pars of Iran.
in
Merv
• Ferdowsi's Shahname-refers to cotton
("panbe" in Persian).
• Unknown to Greeks & Arabs until the Wars of
Alexander the Great, when they wrote "there being
trees on which wool grows" in "Indica".
• Peru-cultivation of the indigenous cotton
Gossypium barbadense -backbone of coastal
culture development, like Norte Chico, Moche
& Nazca.
• Cotton-grown upriver, made into nets, traded
with fishing villages along the coast for large
supplies of fish.
• Herodotus -in his Histories, says in India trees
grew in the wild producing wool, plant was
assumed as tree, rather than a shrub
(German Baumwolle-"tree wool).
• Mandeville in 1350, stated : "There grew [India]
a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the
ends of its branches.
• Branches bent down to allow the lambs to feed
when they are hungry.
• A transgenic cotton, with genes for pest
resistance from the bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis (the Bt cotton) has been
developed and is now in extensive cultivation
in different parts of the world.
• Gossypium - several medicinal uses.
• Root of G. arboreum used in fever,
seeds in gonorrhoea, gleet, chronic
cystitis, catarrah.
• Seeds of G.barbadense
used in
dysentery, seed oil to clear freckles &
spots from the skin.
• Seeds of G. herbaceum used as demulcent,
laxative,
expectorant,
galactagogue,
aphrodisiac, procure abortion, as nervine
tonic given in headache; root & bark
emmenagogue & galactagogue, juice of the
leaves used against scorpion sting &
snakebite.
• Leaves + seeds of G. hirsustum used in
Guinea as an emollient & emmenagogue.
• Cold infusion of cotton leaves with lime
juice - given in dysentery; root bark is an
emmenagogue + oxytocic; leaves &
crushed seed kernels used as a poultice
on sores bruises & swellings.
• Most widespread use of cotton is in
surgical bandages, for which no
substitute has been found.
• Nigeria-root considered as an emmenagogue.
• Black Americans use root bark to induce
abortion.
• Root decoction given in amenorrhoea.
• South American Africans use decoction of
root as a contraceptive.
• Cotton seed oil used to manufacture
hydrogenated fats, seed cake is fodder, seed
husk used as fuel.
• Kernel oil composed of 47 % linoleic acid,
23 % palmitic acd & 23 % oleic acid, with
small amounts of myristic and myristoleic
acids.
• Residual cake is 97 % protein.
• Root bark also contains vitamin E &
gossypol, pigmented glands of the seeds
also contain gossypol, a toxic orange red
polyphenol- insoluble in water &
thermolabile.
• Gossypol is antiviral, influenza virus is
inactivated by it.
• Heating makes
consumption.
the
oil
suitable
for
• Gosssypol is effective against herpes.
• Roots of Gossypium barbadense & G.
hisrsutum contain 6-methoxygossypol & 6,6’dimethoxygossypol- an antifungal agent.
• Gossypol-a nerve & cellular poison, causing
liver congestion , oedema of the lung.
• Horse weighing 450 kg cannot tolerate more
than 450 g of the oil cake / day.
• Gossypol causes haemorrhage, inflammation,
haematuria, muscular weakness, respiratory
difficulties , paralysis, & abortion- blindness.
• Gossypol is spermicidal.
Jute plants (Corchorus olitorius -C. capsularis)
• Earlier - Tiliaceae, now- Malvaceae.
• Integral part of the culture of Bangladesh.
• Initially processed only by hand due to its
texture, but by treating it with whale oil, it is
treated by machine.
Jute leaf:
• Vegetable for nutrition & medicine for human health,
beauty.
• Leafy vegetable rich in beta-carotene for good eyesight,
iron for healthy red blood cells, calcium for strong bones
and teeth, vitamin C for smooth, clear skin, strong
immune cells, fast wound-healing.
• Vitamins A, C, E present in jute leaf “spongeup” free
radicals, scooping them up before they can commit
cellular sabotage.
• Jute
leaf vegetable contains abundant
antioxidants -associated with protection from
chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer,
diabetes, &
hypertension + other medical
conditions.
• Due to better performance in respect of yield and
quality the mutant CM-18 has been registered as
the first jute variety in Bangladesh for vegetable
purpose in the name of Binapatshak-1 in 2003.
• Fresh jute leaf has higher demand.
• Ayurvedics use the leaves for pain, piles, &
tumors.
• Elsewhere the leaves are used for cystitis,
dysuria, fever, and gonorrhea.
• Cold infusion restores appetite & strength.
Tea -Camellia sinensis an aromatic beverage
(no: 2 after water)
• Originated in China as a medicinal drink.
• Long been promoted for having a variety of
positive health benefits. BUT: Additional research
needed to "fully understand its contributions to
human health, and advise its regular consumption.
• Green tea reduces the risk of
cardiovascular disease , some forms
of cancer, promotes oral health,
reduces blood pressure, helps with
weight control, improves antibacterial
& antivirasic activity, provides
protection
from
solar
UV
light, increases bone mineral density,
"anti-fibrotic
properties
&
neuroprotective power.
• Tea catechins have known anti-inflammatory
& neuroprotective properties, help regulate
food intake, have affinity for cannabinoid
receptors, which may suppress pain & nausea,
provide calming effects.
• Consumption of green tea associated with a
lower risk of diseases that cause functional
disability, such as “stroke, cognitive
impairment, + osteoporosis” in the elderly.
• Tea contains L-theanine, an amino
acid whose consumption is strongly
associated with a calm but alert &
focused, relatively productive (alpha
wave-dominant) mental state in humans.
• This mental state is also common
to meditative practice.
• Statistical cluster analysis, chromosome number,
easy hybridization, & various types of
intermediate hybrids & spontaneous polyploids
indicate-single place of origin for
Camellia sinensis, -the northern part of Burma
& Yunnan - Sichuan provinces of China.
• People began to boil tea leaves for consumption
into a concentrated liquid without the addition of
other leaves or herbs, using it as a bitter yet
stimulating drink, rather than as a medicinal
concoction."
• Credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd
century AD, in a medical text by Hua T'o, who stated
that "to drink bitter t'u constantly makes one think
better."
• India-Drunk for medicinal purposes for a long but
uncertain period.
• Tea contains large number of possibly bioactive
chemicals,
including
flavinoids,
amino
acids, vitamins, caffeine + several polysaccharides, a
variety of health effects have been proposed &
investigated.
• Green + black tea may protect against cancercatechins found in green tea are thought to be
more effective in preventing certain obesityrelated cancers such as:
liver & colorectal cancer,
both green & black teas
against cardiovascular disease.
may
protect
• Studies suggest significant protective effects of
green tea against:
oral, pharyngeal, oesophageal, prostate,
digestive, urinary tract, pancreatic, bladder,
skin, lung, colon, breast, & liver cancers,
lower risk for cancer metastasis & recurrence.
• BUT -50% greater risk of prostate cancer
amongst men who drank more than seven cups
of tea per day, compared to those with moderate
or lower tea intake.
• Wide variety of commercial teas appear to
either inactivate or kill viruses.
• Several types of green & black teas, tested on
animal tissues infected with such viruses
as herpes simplex 1 and 2 and T1 (bacterial)
virus.
• “Iced tea or regular tea does destroy or
inactivates the [herpes] virus within a few
minutes“, similar results obtained with the T1
virus.
• Tea may be consumed early in the day to heighten calm
alertness;
contains
L-theanine,
theophylline,
&
bound caffeine (sometimes called theine).
• Kahwah is often served after every
the Pashtun belt of Balochistan and in KPK.
meal
in
• Kashmir - salt tea, a pink, creamy tea with pistachios,
almonds, cardamom, + sometimes cinnamon, consumed
primarily at special occasions, weddings, during the winter
months when it is very cold.
• In Chitral & Gilgit-Baltistan, a salty, buttered
Tibetan-style tea is consumed.
GRAPES
• Domestication began 6,000–8,000 years
ago in the Near East-cultivation in Asia
5000 BC.
• Often the Mediterranean as the home
for all grapes, actually native to regions
in Asia, Africa, North America.
• Most widely cultivated grapes- Vitis vinifera
(Asia, one native grape the Amur grape Vitis
amurensis ) , and several thousand varieties of
this grape exist.
• Earliest archeological evidence dates from
8,000 years ago in Georgia.
• Yeast,earliest
domesticate
microorganism,
occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, leading
to the innovation of alcoholic drinks.
•Stilbenes: (resveratrol, piceatannol, pterostilbene)
•Flavanols: (catechins, epicatechins, procyanidins,
proanthocyanidins, viniferones)
•Flavonols: (quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin,
isorhamnetin)
•Phenolic Acids (caffeic acid, coumaric acid, ferulic
acid, gallic acid)
•Carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin)
• Gene-Mapping Project-heritage of over 110
modern grape cv investigated-origin a region
in Georgia-residues discovered on the inner
surfaces of 8,000-year-old ceramic storage
jars.
• Armenia, dating to around 4000 BC.
• Syrah red wine of Shiraz called Shirazi wine
known from 16 AD.
• Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation
of purple grapes; Greeks, Phoenicians and
Romans grew for eating + wine production.
• In USA native grapes from various species
of Vitis genus were a part of the diet of
many Native Americans , BUT Vitis vinifera cv
imported for wine.
• French Paradox
• French tend to eat higher levels of animal fat,
but the incidence of heart disease remains low.
• Potential benefits include:
reduced platelet aggregation,
vasodilation, polyphenols (e.g., resveratrol)
mainly in the grape skin provide many health
benefits.
• Alters molecular mechanisms in blood vessels,
reducing susceptibility to vascular damage.
• Decreases activity of angiotensin, a systemic
hormone causing blood vessel constriction
that would elevate blood pressure.
• Increases production of the vasodilator
hormone, nitric oxide (endothelium-derived
relaxing factor).
• Polyphenols like resveratrol
provide
physiological benefits & protective effects
on the cardiovascular system.
Resveratrol
• Apparently serves antifungal
defensive properties.
&
other
• Dietary resveratrol modulates the metabolism
of lipids & inhibits oxidation of low-density
lipoproteins & aggregation of platelets.
• Found in widely varying amounts among
grape varieties, primarily in their skins &
seeds, which, in muscadine grapes, have about
100 times higher concentration than pulp.
• Fresh grape skin contains about 50
to 100 micrograms of resveratrol per
gram.
• In vitro studies indicate that
protection of the genome through
antioxidant actions may be a general
function of resveratrol.
• Resveratrol-1 year dietary regimen in a
Phase III study of elderly patients
with Alzheimer's disease.
• Anthocyanins
tend
to
be
the
main polyphenolics in purple grapes
whereas catechins are the more
abundant phenolic in white varieties.
• Studies with mice show, resveratrol
has transcriptional overlap with the
beneficial
effects
of
calorie
restriction
in
heart,
skeletal
muscle & brain.
• Dietary interventions inhibit gene
expression associated with heart &
skeletal muscle aging, prevent agerelated heart failure.
• Total phenolic content-a lab. index of antioxidant
strength-higher in purple varieties due to
anthocyanin density in the skin compared to
absence of anthocyanins in white grape skin.
• Anthocyanins attract the efforts of scientists to
define their properties for human health.
• Phenolic content of grape skin varies with cv, soil
composition, climate, geographic origin, &
cultivation practices or exposure to diseases, such
as fungal infections.
• Amount of fermentation time in contact
with grape skins is an important
determinant of its resveratrol content.
• Ordinary non-muscadine extract
contains 0.2 - 5.8 mg/L, depending
on the grape variety.
• Whitre forms contain lower phenolic
contents.
• Extracts from muscadine grapes may
contain more than 40 mg/L, an
exceptional phenolic content.
• In
muscadine
skins,
ellagic
acid, myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol,
& trans-resveratrol are major phenolics.
• Contrary to previous results, ellagic acid & not resveratrol is the
major phenolic in muscadine grapes.
• Flavonols syringetin, syringetin 3-O-galactoside, laricitrin &
laricitrin 3-O-galactoside are also found in purple grape but absent
in white grape.
• Benefits
• Areas of benefit in grape research include the cardiovascular system,
respiratory system, immune system, inflammatory system, blood sugar
regulating system, and nervous system.
• Another area of special benefit is cancer prevention, with risk of
breast, prostate, and colon cancer emerging as the most likely areas
of grape anti-cancer benefits.
• other 21 fruits from the world
• (almond, banana, breadfruit, walnut (nrmal,pekan,indian), apple,
pear, peach, avocado, guava, mango, orange, papaya, passion-fruit,
pineapple-14), abiu (Pouteria caimoto), acerola (Malpighia spp.),
annona spp., Averrhoa carambola, chempedak (Artocarpus
integrifolia), Durian.
• pistachio= Pistacia vera; Arachis hypogaea- groundnut,
pinon= 1) Siberian pine, Pinus sibirica; 2) Korean pine, Pinus
koraiensis; 3) Italian stone pine, Pinus pinea; 5) Chilgoza pine,
Pinus gerardiana; and 5) singleleaf pinyon, Pinus monophylla,
Colorado pinyon, Pinus edulis, and other pinyon pine species,
jackfruit, langsat and duku (Lansium domesticum), longan
(Dimocarpus
longan syn. Euphoria
longana), mangosteen
(Garcinia mangostana), wax apple, santol (Sandorium koetjape)
Cyperus rotundus
• (coco-grass, Java grass, nut grass, purple nut
sedge, red nut sedge, Khmer kravanh chruk)
• Species of sedge (Cyperaceae) native to Africa,
southern / central Europe & southern Asia.
• Word
cyperusfrom
the
Greek
(kuperos) & rotundus is from Latin, meaning
"round".
• Names "nut grass" & "nut sedge" (shared with
the related species Cyperus esculentus - derived
from its tubers, somewhat resemble nutsbotanically they have nothing to do with nuts.
• Folk medicine
• In traditional Chinese medicine -considered the
primary qi regulating herb.
• Plant mentioned in ancient Indian ayurvedic
medicine Charaka Samhita.
• Modern
ayurvedic
medicine
-known
as musta or musta moola churna, for
treating
fevers,
digestive
system disorders, dysmenorrhea & other
maladies.
• Arabs of the Levant traditionally used
roasted tubers, while they are still hot, or hot
ashes from burned tubers, to treat wounds,
bruises, carbuncles, etc.
• Western and Islamic herbalists including
Dioscorides, Galen, Serapion,
Paulus Aegineta, Avicenna, Rhazes & Charles
Alston
have
described
medical
uses: stomachic, emmenagogue, deobstruent
& in emollient plasters.
• In the traditional system, it was used both in
its fresh and dry form. It is also mentioned in
literature pertaining to Arabian and Persian
medicines.
• Was known to heal ulcers & sores.
• Dioscorides mentions its use as a diuretic in
the treatment of ulcers, as an emmenagogue
& an ingredient in warm plasters.
• It was used as a perfume & as aromatic.
• Alternative medicine applies Cyperus rotundus internally &
externally to treat nausea, digestive system maladies,
high blood pressure, premenstrual syndrome, cramping.
• Used to reduce fevers, inflammation, pain, & heart
palpitations.
• Clinical studies show-the essential oils in the plant's tubers
have antibiotic properties,can stop the growth of bacteria
Micrococcus pyrogenes.
• Oil of Cyperus rotundus may be able to treat Staphylococcus
aureus.
• Tubers of Cyperus esculentus (tiger nuts) and
C. rotundus were used in the ancient eastern
Mediterranean as food, perfume and
medicine.
• Tiger nuts that were consumed in Egypt,
either boiled in beer, roasted or as sweets
made of ground tubers with honey, were
found in tombs from the 4th millennium
B.C. to the 5th centuryA.D.
• C. rotundus tubers, a dietary staple in a Stone Age
Egyptian community, were used much later in
perfumes and medicine by the Egyptians,
Mycenaeans and Greeks, and recorded by
Theophrastus, Pliny and Dioscorides.
• Egyptian preparation made of Cyperus tubers, other
plant ingredients, honey and wine, described by
Dioscorides, is similar to one in the Ebers papyri,
demonstrating its continuity over 1600 years.
• Cyperus perfumes are mentioned in Mycenaean
documents and by classical authors.
• Word "paper" is etymologically derived from papyros, Ancient
Greek for the Cyperus papyrus plant.
• Paper was invented by the ancient Chinese in the 2nd century BC
during the Han Dynasty and spread slowly to the west via the Silk
Road.
• Earlier,
other
paper-like
materials
like papyrus, parchment and vellum.
were
in
use
• Papyrus is a thick, paper-like material produced from the pith of
the Cyperus papyrus plant which was used in ancient Egypt and
other Mediterranean cultures for writing long before the making
of paper in China.
• Papyrus (German Egyptologist Georg Ebers) however
is a "lamination of natural plants, while paper is
manufactured from fibres whose properties have been
changed by maceration or disintegration. “It was of
the greatest consequence for Egyptian industrial arts
that one of the most useful plants the world has ever
known grew in every marsh
• Papyrus, however, is only one of the predecessors of
paper that are collectively known by the generic term
‘tapa' and which were mostly made from the inner
bark of the paper mulberry, fig and daphne trees.
• Papermaking has traditionally been traced
to China where a sheet of paper
using mulberry +other bast fibres along
with fishnets, old rags, & hemp waste.
• Earliest
piece
of
paper
found,
at Fangmatan in Gansu province inscribed
with a map, dates from 179-41 BC.
Islamic world
• After the defeat of the Chinese in the Battle of
Talas in 751 (present day Kyrgyzstan), the
invention spread to the Middle East.
Hemp wrapping paper, China, circa 100 BC
• Legend goes, the secret of paper making was
obtained from two Chinese prisoners from the
Battle of Talas, which led to the first paper mill in
the Islamic world being founded in Samarkand.
• Records
of
paper
being
made
at Gilgit in Pakistan by the 6th century,
in Samarkand in modern day Uzbekistan by 751
A.D., in Bagdad by 793 A.D., in Egypt by 900 A.D.,
and in Fes, Morocco around 1100 A.D.
• Muslims also introduced the use of trip
hammers (human- or animal-powered) in the
production of paper, replacing the traditional
Chinese mortar and pestle method (later employed by
the Chinese).
• 9th century-muslims were using paper regularly, for
important
works
like
copies
of
The
Holy Qur'an, vellum was still preferred.
• By the 12th century in Marrakech in Morocco a street
was named "Kutubiyyin" or book sellers which
contained more than 100 bookshops
• Reason of its disappearance is probably to be
sought, not in any change of climate but in
the physical conditions of the river—perhaps
the periodical rise & fall of its water—not
enabling it to hold its ground without human
intervention.”
• Also, the Delta silted up & around the 12th
century BC made it a salty swamp, Papyrus,
a fresh water plant, was doomed.
• Where do umbels and stalks come from?
• They emerge from what is called the rhizome,
a horizontal, root-like stem that sends out
shoots from its lower surface & leafy shoots
from its upper surface.
Papyrus Boats
• Uses for the plant were endless.
• They show the artistic, inventive and practical character
of the ancient Egyptians in utilizing this most important
natural resource that surrounded them.
• Even the Roman naturalist Pliny noted aspects of the
plant’s diversity and wrote, “…indeed they plait papyrus
to make boats, and they weave sails and matting from the
bark and also cloth, blankets and ropes.”
• Small skiffs were made by fishermen as they served well
for fishing and laying of traps or drag-nets.
• Genus Quercus ± 600 extant species.
• Some truffles, have symbiotic relationships with oak trees.
• Betula papyrifera
•
Quercus coccifera-Kermes Oak
•
Any hard-walled, edible kernel is a nut Family Fagaceae
Beech (Fagus),
Chestnut
(Castanea),
Oak
(Quercus),
Stone-oak
(Lithocarpus),
Tanoak (Notholithocarpus), Family Betulaceae Hazel, Filbert (Corylus), Hornbeam
(Carpinus).
Fagus orientalis, the Oriental Beech, a deciduous treeFagaceae; extends from SE Bulgaria's Strandja
mountain through northwest Turkey east to the
Caucasus & Alborz Mountains of Iran; restricted
to mountain forests;500-2,100 m altitude.
Notholithocarpus densiflorus, a dicot, is a tree or shrub that is native to
California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western
North America.
Notholithocarpus densiflorus var. densiflorus,
Notholithocarpus densiflorus var. echinoides
Tanoak is a unique evergreen hardwood that
belongs to the beech family (Fagaceae).
It has characteristics similar to both oak and chestnut.
All other 100 to 200 species of Lithocarpus
are native to southeast Asia or Malaysia.
Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus)
• Quercus ilex, Fagaceae
• Quercus ilex, the holm oak or holly oak is a
large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean
region.
Fallen acorns
• Sphagnum Sphagnum cymbifolium Bog Moss,
• Sphagnum is a genus of approximately
120 species of mosses Sphagnaceae.
• Peat moss can also acidify its surroundings by
taking up cations, such as calcium and
magnesium, and releasing hydrogen ions.