 Botany
Barulad is an erect, more or less branched, hairy, shrubby or half woody plant, 0.5 to 1.5 meters high. Leaves are oblong-ovate or oblong, 3.5 to 9 centimeters long, rounded or blunt at the tip, slightly heart-shaped at the base, with toothed margins. Flowers are yellow, sweet-scented, about 5 millimeters long, borne in dense, shortly peduncled fascicles at the axils of the leaves.
Distribution
- A common weed in dry places in the settled areas of the Philippines at low and medium altitudes.
- Pantropic.
Constituents
- Yields mucilage, tannin and sugar; no alkaloid.
- Yields
Properties
- Plant considered astringent.
- Mucilaginous.
- Considered emollient, febrifuge, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antisyphilitic, aphrodisiac, abortifacient.
- Root considered purgative.
Parts used
Roots, leaves.
Uses
Folkloric
- In the Philippines, used as febrifuge and as antisyphilitic.
- In Tamaulipas,decoction used as remedy for eruptions of the skin and for washing wounds.
- Decoction given to infants to drink or to sniff and inhale, at teething or at birth.
- In Togo and Yoruba, infusion is given as drink and wash, to strengthen a child's resistance against fevers.
- Among the Hausas. used as purgative; decoction used as syphilis prevention or immunity.
- Used by farmers as a restorative drink during the labors of harvesting.
- In Togo, spoonful of the pulverized plant in hot water, taken morning and evening as cough medicine.
- In Surinam, used as febrifuge.
- In the Gold Coast, used as abortifacient, but in South Africa, root used as remedy for sterility and as astringent for internal hemorrhages.
- In the Antilles, used as emollient.
- In West Africa, decoction of roots and leaves, used for washing wounds. In the Ivory Coast, decoction of roots also used as aphrodisiac.
- In Nigeria, decoction of roots or chewing of fresh roots used for internal hemorrhage.
Others
Cosmetics: Extract has reported use in several cosmetic products – moisturizers, skin lightening, anti-aging.
Studies
• Anti-Inflammatory / Flavonoids: Study isolated three flavonoids from the whole plant of Waltheria indica. The flavonoids showed significant dose-dependent inhibition of the production of inflammatory mediator NO, cytokines (TNF-a) and interleukin (IL-12) in activated macrophages, without displaying cytotoxicity. Findings support the use of W indica for inflammatory diseases.
• Anti-Pneumococcal: Study of 221 crude extracts from 17 species showed 7 from 6 plants, including Waltheria indica, to have promising in vitro bactericidal activity against Pneumococcus, including penicillin-resistant strains. Results support its traditional use in the treatment of pneumococcal infections.
• Anti-Plasmodial: In a study of 13 extracts from 8 different species, five species, including W indica (roots and aerial parts) demonstrated moderate antiplasmodial activity.
• Flavones / Antifungal: Study yielded two flavones, 5,2,5'trihydroxy-3,7,4' trimethoxyflavone and 5,2'dihydroxy-3,7,4',5' tetramethoxyflavone. Both were exclusively very active against fungal microorganisms: Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, and T. mentagrophytes.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Tinctures and extracts in the cybermarket.
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