Cranberry & Buchu Leaf

Click image to enlarge

Cranberry is also known by the names Marshwort and Fenne Berry.  The larger American berry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is native to North America, and the smaller berry (Vaccinium oxycoccus) was first documented by the Romans in Britain; both are used interchangeably.  For hundreds of years, Cranberries have been used to promote urinary tract health. Cranberries contain substances which alter the bacteria population in urine, and the compounds found in Cranberries appear to make harmful bacteria less likely to cling to the surface of cells in the urinary tract. Cranberry inhibits the adhesion of bacteria (often E. coli) to the urinary tract, perhaps due to a polymer contained in the plant, which allows the bacteria to be eliminated. Cranberry has been used to prevent kidney stones and "bladder gravel," as well as to remove toxins from the blood. Cranberry has long been recommended for persons with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) and may be used not only to prevent urinary tract infections, but also to eliminate odors associated with incontinence.  Other benefits of Cranberry include reducing inflammation and pain and to help improve digestion. The benzoic acid in the berries also works as a natural preservative.  A daily dose of Cranberry typically contains as much anthocyanidins as 100 mg of Grapeseed extract, with 50 mgs magnesium (12% of the U.S. RDA for magnesium) and 12.8 mgs of potassium.   A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 153 elderly women (mean age, 78.5 years) investigated the effectiveness on bacteruria and pyuria by consuming a standard Cranberry beverage daily and found that, among women who had the infection in one month and were on Cranberry , their odds of having the infection in the next month were only 27% of the odds in the control group.  The experimental group's odds of having bacteruria with pyuria at all were only 42% of the odds in the control group.

Buchu Leaf is also known by the names Bucco and Diosma.  Native to South Africa, the word Buchu is derived from the Hottentot word for the plant, bookoo, and t he two primary species of Buchu used commercially are Agathosma betulina (synonym for Barosma betulina) and Agathosma crenulata (synonym for Barosma crenultata).  The principal constituents of Buchu leaves include volatile oil and mucilage. Buchu also contains diosphenol, which has known antiseptic properties and is considered by some to be the most important constituent of the herb. The Cape Government of South Africa exercises strict control over the gathering of Buchu leaves and has lately made the terms and conditions more stringent in order to prevent the wholesale destruction of the wild plants, i.e., no person being permitted to pick or buy Buchu without a license. Cultivation experiments with Buchu have been made from time to time by private persons, and during the First World War, experiments were conducted at the   National Botanic Gardens, Kirstenbosch (near Cape Town), the result of which    (first given in the South African Journal of Industries, 1919, 2, 748) indicated that, under suitable conditions, the commercial cultivation of Buchu should prove a success. The plant is particularly adapted to dry conditions and may be cultivated on sunny hillsides where other crops will not succeed. Buchu may be used in any infection of the genito-urinary system, such as cystitis, urethritis and prostatitis with both healing and soothing properties.