The Origin and Benefits of Bay Leave

Salam is the name of a spice-producing tree used in Indonesian cooking. In English it is known as bay leaf or Indonesian laurel, while the scientific name is Syzygium polyanthum. Salam has spread in Southeast Asia, from Burma, Indochina, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java. This tree is found growing wild in primary and secondary forests. In addition, greetings are grown in garden gardens. Wild bay leaves are almost never used in cooking, apart from being slightly different and less fragrant, wild bay leaves also have a slightly bitter taste.

Salam plants grow on land at an altitude of 225-450 masl with rainfall of 3,000-4,000 mm / year on blackish latosols. Fertilization is done by adding enough manure at planting time.

Harvesting greetings is done by picking leaves that are already dark green. The leaves are trimmed randomly on the branches. After the leaves are obtained from the branches, the leaves are wilted by spreading them on the floor at ± 27 ° C with intensive reversal for three days. To obtain essential oil, salam simplicia is then distilled using a water and steam distiller for 10 hours.

The tree is medium in size, up to 30 m high and 60 cm tall. The bark is gray brown, cracked or scaly. Single leaves are located opposite, with a stem 12 mm thick. The leaves are oval, narrow or lanceolate, and intramarginal leaf veins are clearly visible near the edge of the blade, visible with very fine oil glands.

The garlands are panicles with many petals that appear under the leaves or sometimes under the armpits. The flowers are small, fragrant, numbered 4, petals like a bowl, about 4 mm long, red to blackish purple when ripe.

Greetings have many names, namely:

• Malay: ubar serai

• Sunda, Java and Madura: salam

• Java: manting

• Sumatra: meselengan

Traditionally, bay leaves are used as a medicine for stomach pain and to treat stroke, high cholesterol, blood circulation, diarrhea, itching, diabetes, and others.

The use of bay leaves as a medicine above is due to its content, namely in dry bay leaves there is an essential oil of about 0.17%, with the important components of eugenol and methyl chavicol in it. The ethanol extract of the leaves showed antifungal and antibacterial effects, while the methanol extract was anti-worm. The chemical content contained in this plant are essential oils, tannins, and flavonoids. Parts of the tree that can be used as medicine are leaves, bark, roots, and fruit.

Bay leaf extract 3x250 mg / day showed a tendency to reduce fasting blood sugar levels and 2 hours after eating, especially at blood sugar levels below 200 mg / dL although the difference was not statistically significant.

This spice gives a distinctive but not harsh herbal aroma. In markets and in the kitchen, greetings are often paired with laos, aka galangal.

The wood is reddish-orange brown and of medium quality. This wood which is classified as chelate wood (trade name) can be used as a building material and household furniture. Salam stem bark contains tannins which are often used for coloring and preserving, woven materials from bamboo and others. Bark and bay leaves are commonly used as traditional ingredients to cure stomach aches. People eat bay fruit too, although only children like it.

Nama : Zuhriyah Nauli Z.S

Kelas : X PB 2