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Family Rubiaceae
Hedyotis auricularia

Oldenlandia auricularia F. Muell.
Pu di zhan cao

Scientific names Common names
Exallage auricularia (L.) Bremek. No local name
Hedyotis auricularia Linn.  
Oldenlandia auricularia F. Muell.  
   

Other vernacular names
CHINESE: Er cao, Pu di zhan cao.
MALAYSIA: Kerekah batu, Kenikah batu.
THAI: Tong haeng.
VIETNAMESE: An dien tai, Ngoi tai.

Botany
Hedyotis auricularia is a suberect or diffused, prostrate, branched, hairy herb, with the branches 15 to 45 centimeters long. Leaves are ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 2 to 7.5 centimeters long, and 0.8 to 1.5 centimeters wide, smooth or scabrid on the upper surface, and often hairy beneath. Flowers are white with very short stalks and borne in axillary, very dense cymes. Calyx-teeth are small, shorted than the indehiscent fruit. Fruit is crowded, ovoid, about 1.5 millimeters in diameter, and clasped by a persistent calyx.

Distribution
- In open places and thickets at low and medium altitudes in Ilocos Norte, Benguet, Bulacan, Rizal, Camarines, and Albay Provinces in Luzon; and in Mindanao.
- Also occurs in India to southern China and through Malaya to Australia.

Constituents
- Anthraquinones, iridoid glycosides and alkaloids are common constituents of Hedyotis species.
- Yields tritepenoids, saponins, alizarin, and alkaloid hedyotine.
- Study yielded an alkaloid, auricularine.

Properties
Emollient, antidysenteric, antidiarrheal.

Uses

Folkloric
- Plant used as an emollient and prescribed for dysentery and cholera in India.
- In southern India, decoction of green leaves and roots used for treatment of colitis.
- In Sri Lanka used for dysentery, diarrhea, and lowering blood pressure.

Studies
Chemical Constituents:
Study of whole plant yielded a new glycoside, 1 '-deoxy-6 '-O-(1-hydroxymethyl-2-hydroxy-l-methoxy )ethylglucopyranoside, along with 1 '-0-ethyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside, 2-formyl-5-hydroxymethylfuran, stigmasta-5,22-diene-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, ursolic acid and oleanolic acid. (3)
Hypotensive / Bronchodilation / Alkaloid:
A new water soluble alkaloid isolated from Hedyotis auricularia showed both hypotensive and bronchodilating properties. The maximum dose produced no mortality. (5)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Last Update April 2014

IMAGE SOURCE: / Illustration /Oldenlandia auricularia (L.) Schumann [as Hedyotis auricularia L.] Rheede tot Drakestein, H.A. van, Hortus Indicus Malabaricus, vol. 10: t. 32 (1690) / PlantIllustrations.org
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE: Hedyotis auricularia L. / Angla Stemmel Hedyotis / Yaeyama-hashika-gusa / Plants of the Philippines / e-amo.net

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Phytochemical studies and pharmacological activities of plants in genus Hedyotis/oldenlandia / Nordin Lajis and Rohaya Ahmad / Studies in Natural Products Chemistry, Vol 33, Part 13, 2006, Pages 1057-1090
(2)
HEDYOTIS AURICULARIA: A NEW REMEDY FOR COLITIS / Can Med Assoc J. 1929 November; 21(5): 591.
(3)
Contribution to the study on chemical constituents of Hedyotis auricularia L.,(Rubiaceae)
/ Kim Phi Phụng, Phạm Đình Hùng /TC Hoá học . -2007. -Vol 45. -No 2. -p. 233-236.
(4)
Structure of auricularine, a bis-indole alkaloid from Hedyotis auricularia / Kozhiparambil K Purushothaman, Ayyapath Sarada / Phytochemistry,1981,Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 351-352
(5)
PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIONS OF AN ALKALOIDAL FRACTION ISOLATED FROM HEDYOTIS AURICULARIA, LINN. AND H. HISPIDA, RETZ. N.O.-(RUBIACEAE): PRELIMINARY STUDY. / AMITA MUKHERJEE,N K DUTTA,S R CHAVAN / Ind.Jour.Med,Res.,55,10,October.1967pp1103-1106


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