Buzzing on Buchu

As Pictured: Sexy Buchu Water is unique in its purity, created through oil extraction from the Buchu plant in Paarl mountains, using a high vacuum, low steam process. Sexy Buchu Water is a 100% natural condensate, carrying a fraction of soluble oil of Buchu. Distilled at extra low temperature below 70’C with spring water from the undisturbed natural environment.

There’s something about drinking Buchu water that’s completely addictive. For some, the initial taste is an assault on the senses and elicits an immediate reaction of shock.

For other’s the taste is instantly appreciated and palatable. “It’s a bit like drinking nature’s finest distilled whiskey, yet without the alcohol,” says James Kuiper, lymphatic cancer survivor and distributor of Sexy Buchu Detox water. “Once you acquire the taste, you can’t help drinking more.” He admits to being a complete Buchu addict and polishing off up to a bottle a day. “First there’s the minty green aftertaste, no mouthwash or toothbrush leaves your mouth feeling as sexy and fresh. Then there’s the energy – it’s like a rocket boost for your body. Besides that, it’s a strong natural detox, alkalinizes your pH levels, drops anxiety, gives clarity to the brain, prevents hangovers, fixes up creaky joints. It’s a total elixir for life.”

Undisputedly, the benefits are enormous. The converted claim a daily dose is an irreplaceable tonic that provides heightened energy and immeasurable zest, and takes care of countless ailments from urinary infections to muscular strains, inflammation and more.

Did you know?

According to the indigenous Khoisan, when the fragrance of Buchu enters into the body, it carries a potency that encourages the inside of the body to be in the ‘right place’. It has an invigorating quality that can open up the senses through its ability to transfer power. This potency can be carried into the body through the ears, nose, mouth or skin pores.

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More than anything we have the Khoisan and their recognition of the multiple value of plants and herbs to thank for this all round medicinal wonder. For hundreds of years, Buchu has been the mainstay of their pharmaceutical lore. Buchu was a daily ritual amongst the Khoisan. It was mixed with fat and applied externally to aid healing, alleviate pain and heal poisoned wounds. It was also rubbed onto new-born babies.

Besides other gems like the Cancer Bush, Wild Garlic, African Potato, Renoster Bush, Elephant’s Foot and Mountain Sage, Buchu is arguably the most potent of them all. It’s packed with bioflavonoids (naturally occurring anti-oxidants) capable of preventing cell destruction by free radicals. It is a valuable source of vitamins A, B, C, and E and numerous minerals.

BENEFITS OF BUCHU

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY – muscular strains and sprains and pain and inflammation associated with arthritis, gout, rheumatism and other joint related diseases

DETOX – flushes out toxins and has a great effect on the kidneys, prevents hangovers and other symptoms of overindulgence and fatigue, treating obesity and water retention

URINARY TRACT – urinary tract infections, cystitis

PROSTRATE – prostate infections, impotence and low sperm count. It also boosts libido

CARDIOVASCULAR – lowers high blood pressure, and promotes a healthy cardiovascular system

INDIGESTION – stabilises bloating, heartburn, stabilizes blood sugar levels

ANTISEPTIC – anti-microbial, antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal and antispasmodic (helps relieve premenstrual cramping and bloating)

GENERAL TONIC – immunity, coughs and colds, anxiety, fatigue

WOUNDS – external application for bruises and wounds

INSECT REPELLANT – rubbed on skin as a mosquito repellant

The Khoisan believed Buchu was an elixir of youth. They would chew the fresh or dried leaves or make infusions and poultices to heal a wide range of ailments and injuries. It was mixed with animal fat and used as an insect repellent, deodorant and moisturizer.

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CAUTION: Buchu is a natural diuretic and can deplete the body’s store of potassium, so when taking larger quantities it’s recommended to increase consumption of potassium-rich foods like bananas, dark green veg, whole grains and fish.

Together with Rooibos and Honeybush tea, Buchu is one of three South African medicinal plants used in international medicine and is recognised by the British Pharmacopoeia as a medicine for ‘cystitis, urethritis, nephritis and catarrh of the bladder’.

KHOISAN POTENCY

Khoisan cosmology attributes an incredibly important role to scent. The fragrance of things like rain and wind is said to represent their power and carry their potency. Odour is a medium for the transference of power and regarded as an agent of physical and mental transformation. Trees and plants are avatars of potent spirit divinities that make their presence known through their scent.

Buchu then, with its rich smell, scores high on the San potency scale with an important role in healing and ritual. Anyone who has experienced Buchu knows how intense the smell is. As the San say, “It is strong.” In healing dances, Buchu powder, kept in a small tortoise shell would be rubbed onto participants. Sometimes they would put a smoldering coal in the shell and waft the fragrance around the dancers. Khoi women kept Buchu, ground with other herbs, as an aromatic powder. This perfume was symbolic of her feminine potencies and ability to give life. During puberty rites the initiate, represented ‘the rain’s magic power’ and was required to sprinkle Buchu on standing water to appease the water snake or rain bull.

Buchu was introduced to Dutch colonists as early as 1652. Medicines sent from Europe were expensive and so they used local remedies. From this time Buchu became part of the Afrikaner folk medicine chest as a panacea for all ills. It was dried and used as tea or steeped in vinegar or brandy. Steeped in vinegar it was used for fractures, swellings and slow healing wounds. Buchu Brandy was used as a digestive, for nausea, rheumatism, bladder and kidney infections and coughs and colds. The tea was used to ease cramps, colic, indigestion, chills, coughs and anxiety.

Currently, Buchu oil is one of the most sought after and expensive indigenous essential oils. In 1970 Edward Godfrey from Waterfall Health Farms in Paarl pioneered oil extraction from the Buchu plant, using a high vacuum, low steam process. This meant a superior Buchu oil ripe for export to international fragrance houses. The diosphenol and isomenthone content of Buchu essential oil is a valuable raw material for the flavour and fragrance industries. Buchu is the only plant in the world that produces the chemical component diosphenol genetically. It is the unique molecular structure of this component that gives the black currant scent and flavour. These qualities have made it invaluable as an export where it is welcomed by flavour houses as a flavour fixative and enhancer in food products. About 80-85% of Buchu oil is used in the food flavour market.

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You find Buchu in the mountains of Western Cape in South Africa, in the fynbos strip up to Clanwilliam in the north, Stanford in the south, and to the Outeniqua mountains. It needs specific conditions to grow and doesn’t easily grow outside of this habitat. From the more than 130 species of Buchu, two of these are used commercially. Crenulata and Betulina have a high oil content and are the main source of commercially harvested Buchu.

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