|
Botany:
· A coarse, rambling or erect, distantly
branched annual herb, 0.5 to 2 m high.
· Leaves are oblong-ovate to elliptic or obovate, 6 to
15 cm long, pointed at both ends, more or less hairy, though
often nearly smooth.
· Flowers are green and about 5 cm in length. Sepals 4
or 5, filaments connate at the base, the stamens and staminodes
square toothed or fimbricate, pale purplish. Ovary oblong, 1-ovuled;
flowers unisexual. The spikes are rigid, elongated and 10 to
15 cm long. Buds point upwards but when the flowers open, they
spread out from the sides.
· Seeds oblong, brown and 2 to 3 mm long. Fruits utricles,
oblong or ovoid, indehiscent.
Distribution
Weed found throughout the Philippines
at low and medium altitudes.
Parts
utilized
Entire plant.
Collect from May to October.
Rinse, macerate, sun-dry.
Chemical constituents
and properties
• According to Ayurveda, bitter,
pungent, heating laxative, stomachic, carminative.
• Considered slightly cooling, antipyretic-diuretic.
• Aids lymphatic circulation, strengthens musculatured, improves
blood circulation.
• Contains triterpenoid and saponins.
Uses
Culinary
Leaves and seeds are edible.
Leaf used as potherb.
Seeds rich in protein.
Folkloric
• Cold with fever, heat stoke
with headache, malaria, dysentery.
• Urinary tract lithiasis, chronic nephritis, edema.
• Rheumatic arthralgia (joint pain)
• Dosage: use 30 to 60 gms dried material in decoction.
• In Ayurveda, used for treatming vomiting, bronchitis, heart
problems, hemorrhoids, itching, abdominal pains, ascites, etc.
• In India, used
as abortifacient
• Decoction of leaves used in treatment of diarrhea and dysentery.
• Poultice of leaves used for rabies, hysteria, insect and snake
bites.
Others
• Ash from burnt plant, mixed
with mustard oil and pinch of salt, and used as powder for cleaning
teeth.
• Dried twigs used as toothbrush>
• Ash is a rich source of potash. Used for washing clothes.
Studies
• OB-Gyn
Uses: ETHNOMEDICINAL USES OF ACHYRANTHES
ASPERA L. (AMARANTHACEAE) IN MANAGEMENT OF GYNAECOLOGICAL DISORDERS
IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH (INDIA):
The study records the ethno-medicinal
use of A. aspera in rural areas in India: abortion, inducing labor pains,
expel dead fetus, expel placental remains, stopping excessive bleeding,
dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, etc.
• Antifertility:
Effect of achyranthes aspera L. on fetal abortion, uterine and pituitary
weights, serum lipids and hormones:
Methanolic leaves extract AA possesses anti-fertility activity. It suggests
a potential option for population explosion.
• Antiinflammatory: Effect
of alcohol extract of Achyranthes aspera Linn. on acute and subacute
inflammation: Alcohol extract of
Achyranthes aspera showed inhibition of carrageenin-induced rat paw
edema,
• Post-coital antifertility activity
of Achyranthes aspera Linn. root: Study suggests the
ethanol extract possess both anti-implantation and abortifacient activity.
It also exhibited estrogenic activity,
• Larvicidal activity:
All extracts showed moderate larvicidal effects against A aegypti and
C quinquefasciatus. It investigates the potential of crude extracts
of medicinal herbs as a measure to control the vector of dengue and
lymphatic filariasis.
• Immunomodulatory Activity: Extract
of AA was found to enhance the induction of ovalbumin-specific humoral
antibody response in mice on intraperitoneal extract injection along
with OVA. Results confirm the immunostimulatory
properties of A aspera.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
|
