Featured ingredient: Baobab- The Tree of Life

All About Baobab

The Baobab tree is the best known of all trees in Africa. It is quite remarkable.  It  can grow as high as 65 feet tall and 39 feet across. It is a slow growing tree  and carbon dating suggests that trees of 30 feet in diameter may be up tp 2000 years old.  It is considered to be the largest succulent in the world. It can hold over 4000 liters of water and has a large hollow trunk which can serve as shelter. The bark is used to make rope and the fruit seeds are pressed to extract the oil.  The leaves and the fruit pulp are edible and also used for medicinal purposes. You can see why it is know as "the tree of life".

The baobab tree produces an oval shaped dry fruit that grows up to 8 inches long and is commonly called "monkey bread".  As with acai, blueberries, pomegranate and cranberries, baobab fruit is gaining attention as a superfood due to it's amazing nutritional properties. It can be eaten as is but is also dried into a powder and used in smoothies, added to oatmeal, baked goods, sauces and soups. The pulp powder is very fine and has a slight sweet-sour, citrus-y taste.  It is a great source of fiber at up to a whopping 50%.  The dried pulp has six and a half times more Vitamin C than oranges, five times more than strawberries and it contains significant calcium, potassium, magnesium and zinc.

The leaves are a good source of protein and Vitamin C. They are used as a substitute for spinach in a salad and as a cooked vegetable. They contain more calcium than the fruit pulp or even milk.  The leaves can also be dried and used to thicken sauces and the seeds are sometimes roasted and used as a coffee substitute.  As you can see, superfood definitely describes Baobab!

Baobab is a staple in African medicine.  Because of its astringent properties, the bark has been used to treat colds, flu and fevers. It contains an edible gum useful in wound treatment. The leaves are used for asthma, diarrhea, bladder and kidney infections. Both the leaves and bark are used to prevent malaria and the fruit pulp is used to treat diarrhea, smallpox, measles, burns and rashes as well as pain.

Significant medical research of baobab has been conducted.  Studies have shown baobab fruit to possess anti tumor and liver protection properties. Its also been shown to have antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.

Now that you are amazed by this wonderful "Tree of Life", here are a few reasons why we use Baobab oil in our products:

• Baobab oil is slow too oxidize because  of its antioxidant properties.  As a result it is helpful in decreasing DNA damage from free radicals. 
• It is non-irritating, nourishing and moisturizing making it a great skin care oil for every type of skin.
• The Vitamin D in Baobab oil helps decrease the inflammatory effects of UV damage from sun exposure.
• Vitamin A helps with cell renewal..
• It's anti-microbial properties make it a good ingredient for conditions such as acne and roseacea.
• It improves elasticity in the skin and supports collagen so the skin appears plumper.

So that's a little bit of info about why we love Baobab!  At Rozetree Botanicals we choose our ingredients carefully and with intention.  All of our ingredients serve a purpose in providing the best nutrition for your skin.

Be well friends!

Tenli