Corn Silk Tea

Nature is miraculous, so is its cure. One such extraordinary natural remedy is Corn silk hair. Corn silk has been used in traditional Chinese medicine and by native Americans for ages. Corn silk hair is the light green stigma of Corn or maize plant ( Zea mays). However, in the complete process of corn farming, corn silk hair is underutilized primarily or wasted. Many do not know; corn silk hair has tremendous health effects. If you have problems related to urinary tracts like inflammation or frequent urinary tract infections, corn silk tea is the best home remedy. Corn silk has a calming, relaxing effect on the urinary tract lining that improves urine flow. In addition, the diuretic properties of corn silk tea prevent the excess build-up of uric acid in joints of the body, which causes gout pain.

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Corn silk hair is an essential herb with potential bioactive components like volatile and fixed oils, steroids , flavonoids and tannins for healthcare applications. Corn silk has been used for Urinary tract disorder, Inflammation, kidney stones, gout, diabetes, depression, fatigue, and weight loss for ages. The easiest way to consume corn silk is in the form of tea. It has a mild sweet taste. However, people use finely chopped fresh corn silk on their salads.Fresh corn silk is not available in all seasons, and you can store it after drying when available in abundance. You can dry corn silk by placing corn silk hair on a flat surface at room temperature. In a couple of days, corn silk hair gets dry and crisp. You can store it in a paper bag or closed container for a year. Besides, you can find dried corn silk in stores easily.

Health benefits of corn silk tea

• Antihypertensive effect (1) (2) (3)

• Inhibits skin pigmentation (5)

• Improves urine flow (12)

• Promotes kidney health (9)

• Improves cholesterol mechanism (10)

• Lowers blood sugar (12)

• Reduces fatigue (13)

• Protects against cancer (6)

• Prevents kidney stone (14)

Caution: Corn silk hair is high in potassium, so it is a diuretic. It is not advisable to consume corn hair silk tea if already taking diuretics medication. Also, you should not drink this tea if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Consult your health practitioner if you have a severe liver or kidney disease history before using this tea.

Serves - 2

Preparation time - 5 mins

Cook time - 12 mins

Total time - 17 mins

Ingredients:

Corn silk fresh or dried – ¼ cup

Water- 2 cups

Ginger – ½ tsp grated (optional)

Directions:

1. Take 2 cups of water in a saucepan and boil it for 2 mins.

2. Add corn silk and ginger. Let it simmer for 10 mins.

3. Strain tea in a cup.

4. Enjoy

References

1. Corn Silk Tea for Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials - PubMed (nih.gov)

2. Corn silk (Stigma maydis) in healthcare: a phytochemical and pharmacological review - PubMed (nih.gov)

3. Antihypertensive Effects of Corn Silk Extract and Its Novel Bioactive Constituent in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: The Involvement of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibition - PubMed (nih.gov)

4. Chemical composition of the volatile extract and antioxidant activities of the volatile and nonvolatile extracts of Egyptian corn silk (Zea mays L.) - PubMed (nih.gov)

5. (PDF) Inhibitory Effect of Corn Silk on Skin Pigmentation (researchgate.net)

6. Corn Silk (Zea mays L.) Induced Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer (MCF-7) Cells via the ROS-Mediated Mitochondrial Pathway (nih.gov)

7. Antioxidant activity, phenolic profile, chlorophyll and mineral matter content of corn silk (Zea mays L): Comparison with medicinal herbs - ScienceDirect

8. Corn silk (Zea mays L.), a source of natural antioxidants with α-amylase, α-glucosidase, advanced glycation and diabetic nephropathy inhibitory activities - ScienceDirect

9. Diuretic activity of Maydis stigma extract in rats - PubMed (nih.gov)

10. Corn silk extract improves cholesterol metabolism in C57BL/6J mouse fed high-fat diets - PubMed (nih.gov)

11. High maysin corn silk extract reduces body weight and fat deposition in C57BL/6J mice fed high-fat diets - PubMed (nih.gov)

12. Physicochemical properties and antidiabetic effects of a polysaccharide from corn silk in high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice - PubMed (nih.gov)

13. International Journal of Physical Sciences - purification and anti-fatigue activity of flavonoids from corn silk (academicjournals.org)

14. The influence of Zea mays on urinary risk factors for kidney stones in rats - Grases - 1993 - Phytotherapy Research - Wiley Online Library