The Tomorrow Herb, aka. Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei) has the amazing ability to resprout quickly—the next very next day after harvesting a leaf—thus, its common name as the “Tomorrow Herb”.
The Tomorrow Herb is an endemic herbaceous perennial of Japan that is from the carrot family, producing typical large white umbels and dissected leaves.
It has been long consumed as a food, with its leaves eaten raw or cooked, and its roots cooked or pickled. It is also used in Japan in the preparation of foods such as soba, tempura, ice cream, and tea, and varieties exist that are less bitter for these purposes.
The plant’s yellow sap and fibrous stems historically had applications in dye production and were used as medicinal poultice, while the leaves serve as animal fodder to improve livestock health and milk quality.
Extracts are also used in skincare products for their antioxidant content.
The Tomorrow Herb is used in traditional medicine as a tonic and thought to increase longevity, improve digestion, urinary health, elimination, and topically for wound healing.
It is thought of as a general health tonic in both Japanese and Chinese herbal practice.
Through scientific investigation, preliminary studies on The Tomorrow Herb have shown promise for diabetes, heart health, blood lipid balance, liver health, antimicrobial activities, anticancer, obesity, as an antioxidant, longevity and inflammation.
In an interesting recent preclinical study, The Tomorrow Herb juice was shown to reduce high-fat-diet induced obesity by modulating metabolic genes and the gut microbiome.
In another, it led to improvements in blood glucose levels, muscle fiber structure, strength, motor stability, and antioxidant enzyme activity, as well as reduced cardiac aging markers.
The extract appeared to promote healthy aging by moderating redox signaling pathways and suggested potential for dietary supplementation to address chronic age-related diseases.
Another study found the leaf extract to enhance spatial memory and cognitive function in an animal brain-aging model, supporting traditional claims of its tonic and neuroprotective benefits.
The Tomorrow Herb, for Forever? ♾️ 🌿
