At my younger age ,I and my friends see this leaf as a dangerous leaf because of its bitter taste.However, we call it in Igbo dialect 'Onugbo' which means 'leaf that has so bitter taste'.Most times as a child, when we play around our small garden and see bitter leaf,we usually use matchet to cut it down. Even when we wish to fetch goat feed,we despised it because our goats don't eat it. As a little child, i never knew the benefits of this leaf to our health and it's uses in the preparation of our meals until my mother told me that it is medicinal and good for health.
One day I saw my mother planting the stem of this leaf which she cut into sizes about 12 inches long each,I didn't hesitate to ask the usefulness of this leaf. My mother patiently explained vividly the importance of the leaf and how to grow it around our neighborhood.
Bitter leaf as my mother called it has a botanical name known as Vernonia Amygdalin.Bitter leaf as it's commonly called has a bitter taste and it grows so high mostly when the soil is fertile .
The washed bitter leaf can be preserved by drying it under hot sun or freezing it to make it last longer.
As she was saying this , she weeded the area she wants to plant it, softened the soil with her small hoe,but she didn't make any heep but just like garden,she planted the stem of the leaf . She also said that the bitter leaf seed can also be planted by spreading the seeds all over the garden,when rain fails or by irrigation it will start growing, but the easiest means of growing it is through the stem then apply regular irrigation and weeding to for quick growth.
I never knew at that early stage of my life that most of the meals prepared by my mom was done with this leaf. She said that if she wish to use the leaf for soup,she would squeeze it with clean water to remove the much bitter taste of the leaf.When she is done ,she adds it as vegetable to the soup.
She also said Apart from it being used for soup making,the extract from the squeezing of the bitter leaf can also be beneficial to health. According to her when someone has stomach ache, constipation and lacks appetite to eat, or has sore throat and cough, The extract( the water gotten from the squeezed bitter leaf) must be taking very early in the morning before breakfast.
One day I overheard my mother discussing with a man and his wife ,who has been barren for three years without a child. she told them to try drinking the extract of the bitter leaf every early morning before breakfast. She said they must not eat breakfast immediately after drinking it ( 2-3 hours before meal). She said that the leaf is an anti-bacterial and anti- fungal agent that cleanses the body system from infections which could be the cause of the infertility.
I never knew what my mom used in washing my head when I had ringworm and scabies on my head,she used the bitter leaf oil or the the extract of the squeezed bitter leaf,after squeezing the leaves with clean water ,the extract was used to wash my head and any part of my body that was infected.After scrubbing and washing the affected parts with the extract from the squeezed bitter leaf.She said most Researchers have proven that bitter leaf has much other health benefits such as an antidote for the cure or treatment of diabetes, fever reduction, and recently as a non-pharmaceutical solution to persistent fever, headache, and joints pain etc.
Bitter leaf according to my mom can aid in the treatment of abdominal issues including aiding weight loss.
She also said that bitter leaf is a natural herb for the treatment of several ailments and infection and has indeed proven to have
saved so many lives.