MEDICINAL PLANTS Flashcards
Any species that has potential to cure ailments
medicinal plants
Small tree, pinnate leaves, opposite leaflets, edible green sub cylindric fruit.
o Leaves are prepared into paste and applied warm to itches by Malays; fresh or fermented to cure syphilis; and as infusion after childbirth as a protecting treatment (Burkill and Haniff)
o Javanese use leaves decoction for inflamed rectum and the paste for mumps, rheumatism, and pimples and the flower infusion for coughs (Heyne).
Kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi Linn.)
Leaves opposite, oblong to elliptic in shape; fruit is round, ovoid or obovoid and green but yellow once ripe, has many seeds and strong smelling, pink pulp.
o Leaves are boiled in water and used to cleanse ulcers and wounds
o Bark and leaves when prepared in decoction are antidiarrheic (Guerrero)
o Root-bark decoction can be used as a mouthwash for inflamed gums (Nadkarni)
o Chewed leaves can also cure toothache (Kritikar and Basu)
o In Uruguay, leaves decoction is useful in washing vagina and uterus (Rodriguez).
Guava (Psidium guajava Linn.)
o Tree with rubbery leaves. oblong-ovate to elliptic or obovate- elliptic shape. broad and shortly pointed tip.
o The flowers have no stalks, aromatic, pink or almost white.
o The edible dark-purple or nearly black fleshy fruit is oval to elliptic in shape with a single large seed.
o Bark decoction is taken for dysentery and as purgative
o Ripe fruit is a medication for diabetes.
Duhat (Syzygium cumini (Linn.) Skeels)
o It has fleshy leaves which are sticky and succulent; pale green, white-tarnished, and with weak scratches along the margins.
o Filipino women mix the juice of the leaves with gugo to avoid hair fall and to treat bald-headedness.
o A stomachic stimulant in small dosages and a purgative in big amounts (Dey).
Sabila (Aloe vera Linn.)
o Leaves are green, crowded with prop roots.
o Plant’s essential oil is a purgative and used to treat leprosy (Chopra).
o Kevda oil taken out from the floral bracts can be used for headaches and rheumatism.
o Anther and top bracts powder are for epilepsy, and interior anthers powder is inhaled for sore throats.
o The root grated in milk is used to address infertility and threatened abortion (Nadkarni).
Pandan-mabango (Pandanus odoratissimus Linn.f.)
o Leaves range from lanceolate to linear-lanceolate. The crop, which is extensively grown, has very pungent rootstocks.
o The crushed rhizome, which can be mixed with oil, is antirheumatic to Filipinos.
o The decoction is a stomachic and stimulant, particularly in cases of flatulence and colic.
o It can cure colds, coughs, asthma, and indigestion (Nadkarni).
Luya (Zingiber officinale Rosc.)
o A green and grass-like spring onion with small, white and bunched bulbs.
o The fresh leaves and bulbs are important as antiseptics. In Indochina it is a diuretic (Menault).
Kuchai (Allium odorum Linn.)
o A slightly spiny tree with elliptic to oblong-elliptic leaflets, bearing white, solitary flowers with a short stalk. When ripe, the almost thin-skinned round fruit turns yellow
o The juice of the fruit can lighten freckles and can treat itching (Mendoza-Guazon).
o A remedy for coughs, itches, and can be useful as a deodorant (Valenzuela, Concha, and Santos).
Calamansi (Citrus macrocarpa Bunge)
o A grass with fragrant acuminate leaves that can reach as long as 1 meter.
o Leaves can cure headaches and ease toothaches (Bacon).
o Can help in digestion, be a diuretic, and encourage perspiration (Rumpf).
o A stomachic for children; with ginger, sugar, and cinnamon, it is useful in fever; with black pepper, it helps with dysmenorrhea and chronic malaria; with pure coconut oil, it can be a liniment for lumbago, long-lasting rheumatism, sprains, and even ringworms (Nadkarni).
Tanglad (Andropogon citratus DC.)
o A green aromatic herb with rough and fleshy stems, hairy and heart-shaped leaves.
o The crushed fresh leaves are useful for burns.
o Leaves infusion can be a remedy for asthma (Guerrero).
o Leaves help when bitten by scorpions and centipedes and when having a headache (Tavera).
o Important in urinary-related ailments and vaginal discharges (Kirtikar and Basu).
o Juice relieves pain caused by conjunctivitis when applied around the orbit (Nadkarni).
Oregano (Coleus amboinicus Lour.)
common ailments, infectious/communicable diseases, maternal care
utilization
home gardens, backyards, botanical gardens
conservation
use of medicinal plant depends on
o Need
o Utilization
o Production
o Economic Gain
o 4 to 6 meters in height; leaves entire, ovate with broad, heart-shaped base and pointed tip; flowers white or pinkish; seeds
covered with red pulp.
o Dye used with lime as an external application for erysipelas (skin infection).
o For burns and mixed with coconut, applied to throat [Father de Sta. María].
o Decoction of bark for febrile catarrhs (Geurrero).
o Febrile catarrhs - mucus build up in throat, nose
o Leaves used to treat jaundice and snake bites (Chopra).
o Leaves as poultices to relieve headaches (Standley, De Grosourdy).
o Seed decoction remedies gonorrhea (Kirlikar and Basu).
o Seed pulp prevents blisters/scars when applied to burns (Standley).
o Seed pulp alleviates stomachache (Candolle de).
Achuete (Bixa orellana Linn.)
o Leaves are shorter than the scape, cylindric, hollow, and narrowed upward to the slender apex and shorter than the inflorescence.
o Bulbs are useful in fever and chronic bronchitis.
o Mixed with common salt, a domestic remedy for colic and scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency).
o Roasted, applied as a cooling poultice to indolent boils, bruises, wounds; applied to the navel in dysentery.
o Applied hot to the soles of the feet as a derivative in convulsive disorders.
Sibuyas (Allium cepa Linn.)
o Erect, branched, somewhat fleshy, annual herbs; stem purplish; leaves blotched or colored, usually hairy and in most common form uniformly velvety-purple; flowers purplish, numerous.
o Pounded leaves used as a cure for headaches and healing of bruises (Guerrero).
o Decoction used for dyspepsia (type of abdominal pain) and dropped into eyes for ophthalmia (eye inflammation) (Burkill and Haniff).
Mayana (Coleus blumei Benth.)
o Erect grass with solid, slender stems, glabrous or bearded nodes. Callus hairs are copious (abundant).
o Decoction of fresh roots used in dysentery (Sverrero).
o Decoction of fruiting spikes is sedative (Reiz.).
o Decoction acts as a blood purifier and diuretic (Burkill).
Kogon (Imperata cylindrica (Linn.) Beauv. Var. KOENIGII)
o A stout climber with smooth branches, somewhat leathery leaves, broadly ovate to oblong-elliptic, pointed, rounded or heart-shaped base, fruits crowded.
o Decoction can be used as a mouthwash for toothache.
o Rubefacient (relieves pain) in alopecia (hair loss) and skin diseases [Sanyal and Ghose].
o Febrifuge (reduces fever) in various forms of malarial fevers with brandy and anise [Tavera].
Paminta (Piper nigrum Linn.)
o Coarse, annual; roots fleshy, pungent, and variable in size and form; leaves roughly hairy; flowers variable; seeds separated by pith.
o Juice of fresh leaves is diuretic and laxative (treats constipation) (Caius, Dymock, Kritkar and Basu, Nadkarni, Sanyal and Ghose).
o Roots are stimulant and used for gastrodynic (stomach) pain (Nadkarni, Sanyal and Ghose).
o Roots are crushed and applied as a poultice to burns and fetid feet (infections) (Stuart).
o Roots used as stomachic, anthelmintic, and useful in diseases of the heart, leprosy, and cholera (Calus).
o Seeds are employed in cancer of the stomach (Crevost and Petelot).
Labanos (Raphanus sativus Linn.)
o Small tree; corky bark, soft, white wood; leaves alternate, usually thrice pinnate, leaflets thin; flowers white; pods pendulous, three-angled, nine-ribbed; seeds, three-leaf winged.
o Young leaves as galactagogue.
o Roots decoction for cleansing sores and ulcers [Father de Sta. María].
o Roots chewed and applied to snake bite will prevent the spread of poison (Guerrero).
o Leaves as poultice are useful in glandular swellings (Nadkami).
o Leaves with purgative properties (Standley).
o Pods are anthelmintic (Kirlkar).
o Root and bark decoction relieves spasms (Dymock).
o Juice of root with milk used for asthma, gout, lumbago, spleen, or liver (Blatter).
Malunggay (Moringa oleifera Lam.)
o Erect, branched, half-woody; leaves oblong-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pointed at the tip; flowers solitary; fruit commonly red when ripe; seeds numerous.
o When eaten fresh, it promotes digestion in tropical countries.
o Warm fomentation of leaves and fruit for rheumatic pains.
o Leaves used for dressing wounds and sores.
o Fruit infusion for ringworm of the scalp.
o Internally, it acts as a stomachache (Kirlikar and Basu).
Sileng-labuyo (Capsicum frutescens Linn.)
o Erect, much-branched, smooth shrub; leaves ovate with coarsely toothed margins; flowers solitary, axillary, very large; calyx green; staminal tube slender, longer than the corolla.
o Flower buds as poultice for boils, cancerous swellings, and mumps.
o Roots, barks, leaves, and flowers in decoction used as an emollient (moisturizer) (Suerero).
o Roots are valuable for coughs (Nadkarni).
Gumamela (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn.)
o Unarmed, erect, tall palm; trunk stout, thickened at the base and marked with annular (ring-shaped) scars; leaves crowded at the apex of the trunk; leaflets numerous, linear-lanceolate, and bright green; husk outside the shell; embryo opposite one pore.
o Roots are astringent (Heyne, Datziel).
o Roots used for dysentery and other intestinal complaints (Heyne).
o Roots for strengthening the gums (Macmillan).
o Ash of bark used as a dentifrice and antiseptic; for scabies (Calus).
o Flowers are astringent (Burkill, Calus, Menaul).
o Coconut water is diuretic (Miller).
o Water of unripe fruit is cooling in urinary disorders (Chopra and Nadkami).
o Coconut water is anthelmintic in Mexico (Martinez).
o Oil used for liniments in skin medicines and for strengthening hair.
o Oil applied to the head is cooling (Macmillan).
Niyog (Cocos nucifera Linn.)
o A low herb, true stem is much reduced; bulbs broadly ovoid, several, densely crowded, angular, truncated tubers; leaves linear and flat.
o Anthelmintic (Rico), Diaphoretic (induces perspiration), diuretic and expectorant (Grieve); Bulbs for high blood pressure; Bulbs eaten fresh or burned for coughs of children and used as diuretic (production of urine) (Father de Sta. Maria)
o Bulbs, when applied to temples in poultice, are considered revulsive in headaches; mitigate the pain due to the bites of insects, scorpions, centipedes, and the like (Guerrero). Oil, recommended internally, is a stimulant to prevent recurrence of the cold fits of intermittent fevers (Nadkarni).
Bawang (Allium sativum Linn.)
o Hairy, annual herb, with ascending or spreading, hairy and branched stems; pinnate leaves are alternate, oblong-ovate; leaflets are irregular and toothed or lobed; flowers yellow, fruit variable in shape.
o Pulp and juice promote gastric secretion and act as a blood purifier, intestinal antiseptic; beneficial in cancer of the mouth, bronchitis, and asthma (Nadkarni).
Kamatis (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.)
o Coarse, commonly branched, somewhat prickly or unarmed, erect, half-woody plant; leaves ovate to oblong-ovate, hairy beneath, irregularly and shallowly lobed at the margin; flowers axillary, purple or bluish; fruit, fleshy, smooth, purple,
o Root decoction is anti-asthmatic (Guerrero). Boiled root with sour milk and grain porridge for the treatment of syphilis (Dalziel). Leaf infusion/decoction for throat and stomach troubles (Dalziel).variable in shape, rounded to oblong-cylindrical.
Talong (Solanum melongena Linn.)
o Coarse, tall, erect, half-woody, strongly aromatic herb; leaves elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, toothed at the margins, pointed or blunt at the tip and narrowed to the short petiole, often auricled or appendaged; flowering heads are stalked, yellow, numerous.
o Leaves infusion as a substitute for tea. Juice/powder of the leaves are vulnerary (healing of wounds) (Father Clain). Leaves applied to the forehead for headaches; infusion as a bath for women after childbirth; decoction, aromatic bath in rheumatism (Guerrero).
Sambong (Blumea balsamifera (Linn.) DC)
o Small tree, leaves oblong-obovate, pointed at both ends, smooth, shining, flower solitary, large and yellowish or greenish yellow, rather fibrous, white and fleshy; fruit ovoid and covered with scattered, soft, spinelike processes; skin thin, pulp is soft, rather fibrous, white and fleshy with agreeable but rather sour flavor.
o Unripe fruit for dysentery (Tavera). Seeds and green fruit, astringent (Standley). Leaves, antispasmodic (relief for spasm) and seeds, emetic (cause vomiting) (Bocquillon-Limousin).
Guyabano (Annona muricata Linn.)
o Small tree leaves compound with hairy rachises, pinnate; leaflets, linear-oblong; heads, solitary at the axis of the leaves, long-peduncled, globose with many white flowers; pods, thin, flat, strap-shaped, elliptic, compressed, shining, brown seeds.
o Roasted seeds, emollient (skin softening). Root decoction, emmenagogue (increase menstrual flow) (Guerrero).
Ipil-ipil (Leucaena glauca (Linn.) Benth.)
o Diffused spreading, half-woody herb, branched stems, sparingly prickly with numerous deflexed, bristly hairs; leaves very sensitive, falling when touched.
o Root, diuretic and used for dysentery and dysmenorrhea; decoction of entire plant, antiasthmatic (Guerrero). Root decoction, for urinary complaints (Nadkarni and Dymock). Leaves, as bath for pains of the hips and kidneys (Nadkarni).
Makahiya (Mimosa pudica Linn.)
o Rather coarse, climbing, herbaceous vine, edible, turnip-shaped, fleshy roots; flowers pale blue or blue and white; pods, wide, flat and hairy with eight to ten seeds.
o Half a seed, laxative (treats constipation) if taken internally (Burkill). Oil of seeds, purgative in 40-gram doses; tincture (extract in ethanol) of seeds, for herpes (Martinez).
Singkamas (Pachyrhizus erosus (Linn.) Urb.)
o Erect, hairy, rank-smelling, often half-woody herbs; stems leafy and branched; pinnately lobed leaves, green above and nearly smooth beneath and hoary beneath; numerous heads, ovate, occur in large numbers in spikelike, ascending, branched inflorescences; fruit (achene) minute.
o Juice of leaves – vulnerary. Decoction of leaves and flowering tops – expectorant. Leaves infusion – induce menstruation (Tavera). Leaves – carminative (relieves flatulence) and emmenagogue (stimulates menstrual flow) (Guerrero). Alternative in fomentations (poultice) for skin diseases and foul ulcers (Caius).
Damong Maria (Artemisia vulgaris Linn.)
o Prostrate, smooth, or slightly hairy, strongly aromatic, usually purplish, much-branched herb, with the stems’ ultimate branches ascending; leaves, elliptic to oblong-ovate, short-stalked, toothed in the margins and rounded or blunt-tipped; flowers born axillary, headlike whorls; calyx, triangular or lanceolate; corolla, hairy.
o Tops and leaves – carminative; when bruised, used as an antidote for the stings of poisonous insects (Guerrero). Decoction with lemon grass – febrifuge (reduces fever) (Nadkarni).
Hierba Buena (Mentha arvensis Linn.)
