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Botany:
· A prostrate or ascending, slender
herb, the branches numerous, spreading from the root 8 to 20
cm long, somewhat wooly or nearly glabrous, leafy.
· Leaves: 1 cm long or less, oblong-ovate to oblanceolate,
with few coarse teeth on the margin.
· Heads sessile, globose, 3 to 4 mm in diameter, many
flowered. Outer flowers female, many-seriate, the corolla small,
disk hemispheric, the bracts 2-seriate.
· Fruits: achenes, about 1 cm long, 4-angled, hairy on
the angles, pappus none.
Distribution
In open waste places, rice
paddies, etc., occasional flowering during December to June,
widely distributed in the Philippines.
Parts
utilized:
Entire plant.
Collect from February to July.
Rinse and sun-dry.
Chemical constituents
and properties
• Considered anodye, antiphlogistic,
anticontusion, antitussive, diuretic, depurative, antiinfectious, antirheumatic.
• Pungent-warming, clears out nose, ear cavity, invigorates blood
circulation, relieves gastrointestinal disorders
• Study yielded three antibacterial
sesquiterpene lactones.
• Study yielded two monoterpedoids together with five known
thymol derivatives. (Link)
Uses
Folkloric
• Rhinitis: Ointment made dried
pulverized material with camphor or yerba buena (Mentha arvensis) to
make a 10% valenine ointment) applied to the nose for rhinitis.
• Rheumatic lumbar and leg pains.
• Sprains, bone fractures, poisonous snake bites, furuncle.
• Dosage: use 3 to 9 gms dried material or 9 to 15 gms fresh material
in decoction.
• Poultice used for sprains, contusions and snake bites.
• In Nepal, used
to treat sinus infections.
• In China, used
for nasopharyngeal cancers.
Studies
•
Antibacterial:
(1) Antibacterial constituents of the Nepalese
medicinal herb, Centipeda minima:
Study yielded three antibacterial sesquiterpene lactones which showed
activity against Bacilus subtilis and Staph aureus. (2) Study isolated two new monoterpenoids with five known thymol derivatives. All the agents tested exhibited antibacterial effects against all the bacteria investigated. Thymol, as a component of volatile oils, has been shown to possess antimicrobial activities. Results suggest C. minima could be a potential source for antibacterial substances for food preservation.
• Antimicrobial / Chemical Composition:
Study showed the extract to have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial acitivity
against all tested strains, esp Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia,
Staph aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica. Twenty three compounds were
identified. Results show the extract to be a good antimicrobial agent
with a potential for public health applications.
•
Allergic Rhinitis: Treatment
with active extract in in an allergic-rhinitic animal model induced
by ragweed pollen showed significantly decreased pathologic changes,
with decreased infiltration of eosinophils and mast cells in the connective
tissue. Results conclude that Cm is effective in treating allergic rhinitis.
•
Antiinflammatory:
Study showed the volatile oil of Centipeda
minima to have a protective effect on acute pleural effusion in rats
induced by an intrapleural injection of Car.
•
Anti-Protozoal:
Study isolated a sesquiterpene lactone,
brevilin A, which was found to have antigiardial activity and similarly
active in vitro against Entamoeba histolytica and against Plasmodium
falcifarum. Three falvonoids were isolated: quercetin, quercetin 3-methyl
ether and kaempferol 7-glucosylrhamnoside.
•
Antiproliferative:
Study isolated a sesquiterpene lactone,
IF (2B-(isobutylryloxy)florilenalin that showed a significant dose-
and time-dependent inhibition on the growth of human nasophayngeal carcinoma
epithelial cells. Overall, Cm showed potent antiproliferative effect
on NPC cells and suggests further investigation of its medicinal potential.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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