 Botany
Barubo is a low, shrubby, smooth plant, attaining a height of 1 meter or more. Leaves are oblong or oblong-elliptic, 14 to 21 cm long, 3.5 to 7 cm wide, with obtuse base and tapering pointed apex. Fruit is obovoid or oblong-obovoid, 2 to 2.5 cm long. The species differ from Aristolochia tagala in the shape of the leaves and in having a smaller fruit.
Distribution
Endemic species.
In thickets at low and medium altitudes, ascending up to 900 meters, in Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Ifugao, Benguet, Pangasinan, Zamales, Rizal, Quezon, Laguna, and Sorsogon Provinces in Luzon; in Palawan; Bancalan; and Negros.
Constituents
Yields aristolochic acid.
Properties
Stomachic, emmenagogue.
Parts used
Roots.
Uses
Folkloric
Decoction of roots used by Filipinos to relieve stomachache and promote menstruation.
Others
Others
Studies
• Aristolochic Acid: Analysis of South-East Asian troidine swallowtails showed high variability in the content of aristolochic acids among individuals. One plant specie, Aristolochia philippensis, a food plant source for the larvae, contained a high concentration of aristolochic acids. Whether the aristolochic acid provides a function in the chemical defense of the swallowtails is still an open question.
• Aristolochic Acid / Nephrotoxic: The more than 100 cases of nephropathy reported from the use of Chinese snakeroot (Aristolochia fangchi) highlights the risk of using preparations containing aristolochic acid, of which the Philippine specie contains a high concentration of. This study systematically assessed the scientific literature available on the local and traditional uses of Aristolochia spp. worldwide.
• Aristolochic Acid / Toxicity Study: (1) In a 1970 study, mice treated with aristolochic acid 1, the acute toxic manifestations were tachycardia, increases respiratory rate, ataxia, sedation and marked vasodilation. Short-term chronic toxic effects included hepatotoxicity, marked renal damage and mild hematologic dyscracias. (2) Aristolochic acide nephropathy, a progressive renal interstitial fibrosis, was reported in more than 100 patients after taking a Chinese herb, Aristolochia fangchi. Another report of a series of more than 2000 Indian patients from a population that used more than 7500 plant species raises the question that some of them could be related to Aristolochia species, including A bracteata, A tagala and A indica.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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