Panpuri Indochine, Bangkok

There is a saying I once heard from an elderly man while travelling in India, “Where there is poison, the cure also lies near you”. Basically, if you get bitten by a snake in a forest, the cure to prevent the poison from spreading throughout a person’s body can be found near you. This is very true especially if you’re a biologist and know each and every plant by their complex scientific terms and functions.

In the plant world, we are surrounded by plenty of herbs that have unique properties designed to benefit nature itself and the human race through food and medicine. The commercial industry had led people away from seeking natural food or medicine, with the promise of scientifically advanced and supposedly modern products with a false image of progression.

However, in recent times, the trends have changed drastically and more people are looking out for organic products and rediscovering the benefits of natural food and medicine. What had been brushed aside in the past decades, are slowly rising back to the surface to make an appearance again.

 

One such herb is lemongrass, which is native to India and tropical Asia and widely used for its flavouring and medicinal benefits. As the name itself suggests, the herb carries a subtle lemon aroma when infused in the cooking of soups, curries and even in brewing teas. Like many herbs that consist a diverse range of benefits, lemongrass can also be used to treat stomach pains, rheumatism, headaches, and colds.

As an essential oil, lemongrass allows the body to completely relax and release negative energies. Transforming negativity into positive energies, the herb when drank as a tea is believed in Brazilian folk medicine to help reduce anxiety. Today, heaps of products in the market are infused with multiple herbs that have proven to help people in terms of simple benefits such as cooking and beauty or complex ones for illnesses.

Panpuri’s Indochine range of beauty products infuses six exotic, healing oils accented by comforting lemongrass, along with sweet mandarin and relaxing bergamot, as well as moringa and aloe vera extracts, which all beautify the skin and promote vitality. Plenty of such herbs can be integrated in the preparation of products from hair, body, face and to nails.

Most importantly, in a changing consumer culture, these products are free from chemicals that are harmful to people and the environment. Scientists have also recently discovered the benefits of turmeric, a spice from the ginger family known for its medicinal properties. It has been proven to show significant changes in healing people suffering from major diseases such as cancer and depression.

Herbs, they have always been around us staring right in our faces. Ancient history has also verified how many common herbs have been used thousands of years ago. The exact time or period, we do not know for sure as history is also recorded by mankind. If these plants are still being used today, there must surely be something unique about them. Perhaps, people are just not aware and we certainly need to be more observant of our surroundings.