 Botany
Sangdikit is a spreading or somewhat climbing,
half-woody plant, 1 to 2 meters high, and smooth except for glandular calyces.
Leaves are oblong-ovate, 4 to 10 centimeters long, pointed at the tip, the base
of the stalk dilated and clasping the stem. Spikes are 5 to 25 centimeters long.
Calyx is green, about 1 centimeter long and covered with long-stalked glandular
hairs. Corolla is white or very pale blue, about 1.5 centimeter in diameter,
with a slender tube, about 2 centimeters long, and spreading limb.
Distribution
- In thickets and along roadsides at low and medium altitudes in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Batangas, Rizal, and Laguna Provinces in Luzon; and in Palawan.
- Probably introduced.
- Occurs in the Old World Tropics.
Constituents
- Roots contain plumbagin.
- Leaves and stems contain a little plumbagin, fixed oil and volatile
oil.
- Fresh roots yield a greater proportion of plumbagin than stored roots.
- Phytochemical screening with various extracts yielded alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavanoids, glycosides, saponins, steroids, and tannin.
Properties
- Considered antirheumatic, antibacterial, antifungal, anticarcinogenic, carminative, disperses contusion, anthelmintic, antiinflammatory, radiomodifying
and antiphlogistic.
- Leaves minty, pungent, toxic.
- Roots, bitter tasting.
Parts used
Roots, leaves and stems.
Uses
Folkloric
- Promotes appetite, helps digestion.
- Used for dyspepsia, piles, and skin diseases.
- Roots have been used as abortifacient in some indigenous practices,
internally or as an irritant to the os uteri.
- Pounded roots for blistering; antiscabies; ecbolic.
- Rheumatic bone pains and gouty arthritis: decoction of dried roots.
- Snake bites and boils: 3 - 4 leaves, pounded with other herbs, and applied
as poultice for 15 minutes only to avoid blistering. Not to use in pregnant
women.
- In some parts of India, root is considered
abortifacient. Also used for diarrhea, dysentery, piles and peptic ulcers,
as expectorant and diuretic, for abscesses, anemia, ascites, liver ailments,
coryza, hoarseness and sore throat. In India, paste of fresh roots applied to filarial legs. Paste made from roots of P. zeylanica and stem barks of Erythroxylon monogymum and M. olifera ground in cow's milk used as external application of leg edema.
- In India, paste of root of PZ, Nerium oleander and stem bark of S. anacardium and H. integrifolia with pigeon excreta is applied to abscesses to induce maturation, facilitate rupture and healing. Root paste prepared with curd or butter used to relieve piles.
- Paste from fresh roots soaked in cow's urine used for scabies.
- Used for wound healing.
- Fine root paste instilled into the vagina to the ostium uteri to induce abortion.
- In Ethiopia, used for a variety of skin diseases.
Studies
 • Platelet
Adhesiveness: Study
showed chronic administration of PZ prolongs bleeding time through alteration
of platelet adhesiveness and coagulation.
• Anti-Helicobacter pylori Activity:
In a Taiwan study of 50 medicinal plants, Plumbago zeylanica showed
to have the highest inhibitory effect against H pylori.
• Anthelmintic: A polyherbal
anthelmintic preparation of P zeylanica leaves, Hyoscyamus niger roots
and Abultion indicum leaves showed the ethanolic superior to the aqueous
extracts and concluded that the herb mixture preparation is an effective
and better anthelmintic preparation.
• Antiviral activity: Study showed
PZ to have inhibitory activity against Coxsackie virus B3, with an weak
anti-influenza A virus activity.
• Analgesic / Antiinflammatory: Study yielded plumbagin, zeylanone among other napthaquinone
derivatives, confirmed the analgesic and antiinflammatory properties
of the extract probably through inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis
and peripheral inhibitory mechanisms.
• Dermatotoxicity Study: Study on dermatotoxicity showed showed limited toxic effects as a moderate irritant, without overt signs of toxicity.
• Antioxidant / Plumbagin: Study showed the extracts of P zeylanica and its active ingredient Plumbagin have significant antioxidant abilities which may explain some of its many reported therapeutic effects.
• Antibacterial / Phytochemicals: Study of alcoholic extract of Pz exhibited strong antibacterial activity against all test bacteria (S paratyphi, S aureus, E coli, Shigella dysenteriae). Phytochemical study of the crude extract yielded flavonoids, saponins and naphthoquinone.
• Alleviation of Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity: Study showed extract alleviated delayed-type hypersensitivity in mice, an effect attributable to the inhibition of proliferation and differentiation of T lymphocytes as well as anti-inflammatory activities.
• Hepatoprotective: Study of methanol extract of aerial parts of Pz showed significant hepatoprotection against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in wistar rats. Histopathologic studies confirmed the hepatoprotective nature of the extract.
• Antifertility : Study showed the acetone extract to be the most effective in interrupting the normal estrous cycle of rats., with a prolongation of the diestrous stage of the estrous cycle and consequent temporary inhibition of ovulation. Results indicated antifertility activity of Pz stem extract in female Wistar rats.
• Hyperglycemic Effect : Ethanolic root extract was investigated for induction of hyperglycemia. Results of enzyme activities suggest a possible increase in liver gluconeogenesis while the excessive accumulation of glycogen indicates the presence of active principles that reduced glycogen phosphorylase activity in the liver. An inhibition of phosphofructokinase activity, consequent decrease in glycolytic flux, glucose uptake and utilization of the glycolytic pathway probably contribute to the observed hyperglycemia.
• Antiplasmodial / Antimalarial Effect : Study of 80 ethanol extracts from 47 species for antiplasmodial properties showed Pz as one of five species of interest for further antimalarial studies.
• Antimutagenicity : Study of four ayurvedic medicinal plants all showed varying levels of antimutagenicity, Pz showing fourth in the study. The total phenolic content did not correlate with the mutagenic activity.
• Toxicity Studies / Protective Effect : Study of selected doses of PZ extract were not toxic but potent enough to significantly reduce the toxic effects induced by ethinylestradiol in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes.
• Hepatoprotective / Paracetamol-Induced Liver Toxicity: Study of showed a petroleum ether root extract of Plumbago zeylanica exhibited significant protection against paracetamol-induced hepatocellular injury.
• Analgesic : Study of an ethanol extract of root and callus exhibited significant peripheral analgesic activity. A root extract showed significant analgesic activity compared to the callus extract.
• Wound Healing : Study of a methanol root extract of PZ showed significant wound healing activity in an excision wound model in rats. Alkaloids and terpenoids may play a major role in the wound healing process.
• Anti-Inflammatory: Methanol extract of roots of a methanol exhibited inhibition of acute inflammation in the carrageenan-induced paw edema model.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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