What is Tagetes minuta used for?
Tagetes minuta (mint marigold) is an erect, woody annual herb, usually 0. It is a native of South American grasslands and mountain regions, where the local people use it as a flavouring herb and for mosquito control; it is also used as a vegetable. Tagetes minuta, commonly known as Black Peruvian Mint or Huacatay, is a member of the Marigold family but is more commonly used as a culinary herb. It has a minty taste that is minty, with hints of citrus, basil, tarragon, and licorice.
How is Tagetes minuta used in cooking?
The plant’s decoction and/or tea preparations may be consumed either warm or cooled and may be sweetened to individual’s taste. Tagetes minuta is popularly used in rice dishes and as flavoring agent in stews in Chile and Argentina since antiquity. In traditional medicine, Tagetes minuta has been used to treat urinary, intestinal and gastric pathologies and, in general, as an anti-microbial plant with anti-bacterial, biocidal, antifungal, antiseptic and anthelmintic qualities.
What are the benefits of Tagetes?
Tagetes is a plant. The parts that grow above the ground are used to make medicine. Tagetes is used for digestive tract problems including poor appetite, gas, stomach pain, colic, intestinal worms, and dysentery. It is also used for coughs, colds, mumps, fluid retention, and sore eyes; and causing sweating. Bioactive extracts of different Tagetes parts exhibit nematocidal, fungicidal and insecticidal activity. Nematocidal activity of roots is attributed to thienyls while the biocidal components of the essential oil from flowers and leaves are terpenoids. Also carotenoid pigments from Tagetes are useful in food coloring.