[Latin Name] Punica granatum L

[Plant Source] from China

[Specifications]Ellagic acid≥40%

[Appearance] Brown Fine Powder

Plant Part Used:Seed

[Particle size] 80 Mesh

[Loss on drying] ≤5.0%

[Heavy Metal] ≤10PPM

[Storage] Store in cool & dry area, keep away from the direct light and heat.

[Shelf life] 24 Months

[Package] Packed in paper-drums and two plastic-bags inside.

[Net weight] 25kgs/drum

Introduction

Pomegranate, (Punica granatum L in Latin), belongs to the family Punicaceae which includes only one genus and two species. The tree is native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region of Asia, Africa and Europe.

Pomegranate offers abundant benefits for the cardiovascular system by preventing damage to arterial walls, promoting healthy blood pressure levels, improving blood flow to the heart, and preventing or reversing atherosclerosis.

Pomegranate may benefit people with diabetes and those at risk for the disease. It helps lower after-meal blood sugar levels and protects the cardiovascular system from diabetes-induced damage.

Pomegranate shows promise in killing prostate cancer cells, whether the cells are hormone-sensitive or not. Pomegranate also helped halt the progression of prostate cancer in men who had undergone surgery or radiation for the disease.

Pomegranate may fight the degeneration of joint tissue that leads to painful osteoarthritis, and may protect the brain against oxidative stress-induced changes that can lead to Alzheimer’s. Pomegranate extracts—alone or in combination with the herb gotu kola—help kill the bacteria that contribute to dental plaque, while helping to heal gum disease. Pomegranate also appears to protect the health of the skin and liver.

Function

1.Anti-cancer of rectum and colon, esophageal carcinoma,liver cancer,lung cancer,carcinoma of tongue and skin.

2.Restrain to human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) and many kinds of microbe and virus.

3.Anti-oxidant, coagulant, descenting blood pressure and sedation.

4.Resist to anti-oxidance, senescence inhibition and skin whitening

5.Treat kinds of symptoms caused by high blood sugar, hypertension.

6.Resist to atherosclerosis and tumour.

Application

Pomegranate P.E. can be made into capsules, troche and granule as healthy food. Besides, it has good solubility in water plus the solution transparence and brilliance color, has been widely added into the beverage as the functional content.

Stevia grows best in upland areas in sub-tropical climate. In other places it can be grown as an annual. The plant prefers a lightly textured, well-drained soil to which organic matter has been added. It needs ample water so that the soil is consistently moist, but not wet. In hot, sunny climates it will do best in semi-shade. Propagation is from seed sown in spring, but germination rates can be low-expect half the seeds sown not to germinate. Plant seedlings out once all danger of frost is over. Leaves are best harvested just before flowering. The plants will also grow from cuttings,which are best taken in late winter.The concentration of stevioside in the leaves of Stevia increasing when the plants are grown under long day condition.While, cultivating stevia on a large scale, it can be grown in well-drained red soil and sandy loam soil. The soil should be in the pH range of 6.5-7.5. Saline soils should be avoided to cultivate this plant.

Stevia can be successfully cultivated all around the year all over India expect theareas, which receive snowfall, or temperatures go below 5 degree Celsius in winter.The summer temperatures actually do not affect this plant if the high summer temperatures have already been factored in the cultivation practices.Since seed germination rate is very poor,it is propagated vegetative. Though stem cuttings are used for vegetative tissue culture plants have proven to be the best planting material for Stevia. Tissue culture plants of Stevia are genetically pure, free from pathogens and haveexcellent vigor. The tissue culture plants can be planted throughout the year,expect during peak summer. An ideal planting density is 40,000 plants per acre with spacing of 25×40 cm in a raised bed system. The soil can be enriched with abasal dressing of 25 tons of well rotten farmyard manure/hectare

Soil Type
Stevia requires very good drainage any soil that retain the moisture for very long period of time are unsuitable for Stevia cultivation and should be religiously avoided.Red soil and sandy loam with a 6-7 pH are best for the cultivation of Stevia.

Raised bed preparation
Forming raised beds is the most economical way to grow Stevia. The raised bed should be of 15 cm in height and 60 cm in width. The distance between each plant 23 cm. This would give a plant population of around 40,000 per acre.

Planting Material
There are basically two options for multiplication. The first is the tissue culture and second the stem cutting. Tissue culture is the best option but many farmers are tempted to try the stem cutting method for multiplication. As per practical experience, stem cutting is sometimes more expensive to produce than the tissue culture since the success rate of the stem cuttings establishment is very low, it takes minimum of 25 weeks for the stem cutting to develop in proper feeding roots for transplantation (younger stem cuttings transplants have shown more than 50% mortality in first few weeks of transplants in main field).

Harvesting
Another important aspect of harvesting is the timing of harvest. It should be noted that at no point of time plants should be allowed to flower since after flowering the Stevioside percentage goes down rapidly and leaves are rendered unmarketable. Leaves are harvested by plucking in a small quantity, or the entire plant with the side branches is cut leaving 10 to 15 cm from the base.The first harvesting can be done four to five months after planting. Subsequent harvesting can be done every three months, for five consecutive years. The sweetener in the leaf is maximum till the plant flowers. Just before flowering, the plant should be cut completely leaving 10 cm from the ground. The new flush of leaves will sprout from here. The new plant will be ready for harvest again in three months. The plant yields around 3000 kg of dried leaves from an acre of plantation every year. Harvesting should be done as late as possible, since cool autumn temperatures and shorter days tend to intensify the sweetness of the plants as they evolve into a reproductive state.

Unlocking the sweetness in your harvest
Once all leaves have been harvested it’s required to dry them. This can be
accomplished on a net. The drying process is not one that requires excessive heat;more important is good air circulation. On a moderately warm fall day, stevia crop can be quick dried in the full sun in about 12 hours. (Drying times longer than that will lower the stevioside content of the final product.)
Crushing the dried leaves is the final step in releasing stevia’s sweetening power. The
dried leaves are powdered, sieved and the fine powder is stored in containers. This can be done either by hand or, for greater effect, in a coffee grinder or in a special blender for herbs.

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DOCUMENTARIES/VIDEOS I RECOMMEND (Watch in order):
- 101 Reasons to go Vegan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4HJc…
- The Best Speech Ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U0…
- Forks Over Knives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7iju…
- Earthlings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm7Ba…
- Cowspiracy: https://www.cowspiracy.com

My Food Processor: https://amzn.to/1DGnsqX

BREAKFAST – Homemade Granola: (Makes 5 servings)
2 mugs oats
1 mug almonds, blitzed: https://amzn.to/25aNrU9
1/2 mug sunflower seeds: https://amzn.to/25aNteD
1/2 mug pumpkin seeds: https://amzn.to/1nWLZ5L
1/2 mug dessicated coconut: https://amzn.to/1nWM5dQ
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted: https://amzn.to/1RsV5jT
1 tsp cinnamon
Handful raisins
Put dry ingredients on a lined baking tray, drizzle over coconut oil and mix well. Place in oven on 200 degrees celsius for 20-30 mins or until golden brown. Remove and leave to cool before serving. Enjoy with coconut milk or almond milk.

SNACK – Superfood Bread: (Recipe for inspiration: https://bit.ly/1j3IHJG, makes 4 slices)
1 mug oat flour
2/3 mug chia seeds: https://amzn.to/1nWM7SQ
1/2 mug sunflower seeds: https://amzn.to/25aNteD
1/2 mug pumpkin seeds: https://amzn.to/1nWLZ5L
2 tbsp onion flakes: https://amzn.to/25aNBL8
1 tsp garlic powder: https://amzn.to/25aNI9y
1 tsp oregano
Salt
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in 1 mug water and leave for 10 mins for chia to absorb the liquid. Spread out on a lined baking tray with a spatula until 1cm in thickness, neaten edges. Place in oven on 180 degrees celsius for 20 mins, remove and leave to cool. Slice into squares of ‘bread’.

LUNCH – Carrot & Coriander Soup: (Serves 2)
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
Salt and pepper
2 mugs veg stock: https://amzn.to/1nWMnkM
Large handful fresh coriander, reserve some for garnish
Fry off the onion in olive oil on a medium heat. Once browned, add in the leeks and carrots. Season with ground coriander, salt and pepper. Continue to cook uncovered for around 10 mins before adding in the veg stock. Cover and leave to simmer for 20 mins. Stir in fresh coriander and transfer to a blender/food processor, blend until smooth. Serve hot with remaining fresh coriander.

SNACK – Spicy Almonds:
1/2 mug almonds: https://amzn.to/25aNrU9
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder: https://amzn.to/25aNI9y
1/2 tsp paprika
Toast almonds in a dry pan on a medium heat. Place to one side and heat a drizzle of olive oil in the pan before adding the spices. Mix well and cook until the spices become fragrant, add the almonds back in and coat well in the mix.

DINNER – Mushroom, Leek, Lentil & Sage Sausages with Mustard Mash and Onion Gravy: (Serves 2)
For the sausages: (Makes 6)
2 leeks, chopped
1 mug lentils, cooked
1 packet (400g) mushrooms
2 tbsp nutritional yeast: https://amzn.to/20EtVKC
1 tbsp chickpea flour: https://amzn.to/25aNOOw
Salt and pepper
Handful fresh sage leaves, chopped

Mash:
5 med potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper

Gravy:
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp onion flakes (optional, they don’t dissolve and kind of float in your gravy.. tastes good though!): https://amzn.to/25aNBL8
2 tbsp tamari: https://amzn.to/1X4stRS
Pepper
1 mug veg stock: https://amzn.to/1nWMnkM
Start making the sausages by frying up the leeks in a little olive oil on a medium heat. Add in the cooked lentils and leave to cook whilst you blend up the mushrooms in a food processor until it forms a thick paste. Add mushrooms to the pan with nutritional yeast and chickpea flour, season with salt and pepper, leave to simmer for around 10 mins. Add in the fresh sage, stir through and remove from the heat, allowing it to cool. In the meantime, add the potatoes to a pan of boiling, salted water and cook until soft, around 20 mins. Make the gravy by cooking the onions in a little olive oil on a medium heat. Once softened, add in the garlic, onion flakes, tamari and pepper. Cook for a few mins before adding in the veg stock. Leave to simmer. Form sausage shapes with the mushroom mix and place on a lined baking tray in the oven on 180 degrees for around 20 mins, flipping over halfway through. Finish the mash by draining of the potatoes, mashing them up and season with salt and pepper. Stir through the mustard and add a splash of hot water to make it creamy. Serve the sausages on a bed of mash and finish with the gravy.

DESSERT – Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries:
12 strawberries
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted: https://amzn.to/1RsV5jT
2 tbsp cacao powder
2 tbsp maple syrup (you could definitely use 3-4 tbsps!)
Chopped nuts
Place the coconut oil in a bowl, stir in the cacao and sweeten to taste. Coat half of each strawberry and lay on a plate, sprinkle with chopped nuts. Place in freezer for 10 mins to fully set, enjoy cold!