Also known as Basella genus, grapes spinach, malabar spinach and mushrooms Kwai, Alugbati is a wild smooth herbaceous vine found in the Philippines, which is characterized by its pleasant mild spinach flavour that has traditionally been popular to locals for its numerous medicinal effects.
Alugbati leaves are a good source of vitamins and minerals (e.g. calcium, iron and vitamins A, B and C) and laxative, to help reduce inflammation and act as a laxative They can also be used for treating ulcers, inflammation of the nose and throat, gonorrhea and headaches.
Moreover, the sap of the plant may be directly used for cleansing the skin from acne, soothing burns and scalds and other skin irritations. In lieu of its medicinal value for skin treatments, the alugbati is usually made into an ointment for easy application to the affected or infected areas of the skin.
At the moment, alugbati ointments are usually home made. There is currently no known pharmaceutical drug that manufactures alugbati ointment.
How to Make Alugbati Ointment
Making an ointment is simple to make by simply mixing beeswax and a vegetable oil as base ingredients.
For the vegetable oil, simply boil or overcook the alugbati leaves, which will become slimy or greasy like making it a perfect thickening agent.
Just mix the vegetable oil and slimy alugbati oil and presto, you already have an alugbati ointment which you can easily apply for skin problems.
Source: All About Diabetes
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