|  Botany:
· Decumbent, spreading or sometimes suberect,
succulent annual herb with bristly hairs.
· Stems rather slender, usually reddish and up to 30 cm or more
in length.
· Leaves: linear-oblong to lanceolate, 1 to 5 cm long, without
petioles, entire or slightly toothed, and pointed or blunt at the tip.
· Flowers: receptacle scaly, bracts all similar, paleae (scale)
of receptacle flat and narrow. Ray flowers female, 2-seriate, fertile
or sterile, white, ligule small, narrow, entire or 2-toothed. Disk flowers
very numerous, perfect, fertile, tubular, the limb 4- or 5-fid. Flowering
heads white, 5 to 6 mm long and about 5 mm in diameter.
· Fruits: achenes black, about 3 mm long and smooth or slightly
hairy at the tip.
· The crushed leaves and broken surface of the vegetative parts
produce a black stain.
Distribution
Ubiquitous weed in settled
areas , in gardens, in open waste places, ditches, rice fileds
and low damp lands.
Parts
utilized
· Part utilized: whole
plant.
· Collect when the vegetative parts are in full bloom.
Sun-dry, either whole or cut into pieces.
Chemical
constituents and properties
Plant contains
a large amount of resin and an alkaloid ecliptine; also yields glucosides and alkaloids.
Study has yielded bioactive steroidal alkaloids, Ecliptasaponin C, a new triterpenoid glucoside with cytotoxicity activity.
Cooling, anodyne, absorbent.
Root is purgative and emetic.
Anti-bleeding. A tonic for kidney organ.
Tastes sweet-sour. Cooling nature. Astringent and coagulant.
Uses
Folkloric
· Decoction of Eclipta (15-30
g of dried material) with equal volume of Morus fruit: Used for weakness
of the kidney and/or liver causing dizziness, blurring of vision, hematemosis
and lumbar pains.
· Decoction of dried or fresh plant material: Used for internal
hemorrhage especially bleeding in the respiratory and gastrointestinal
tracts (eg, pulmonary tuberculosis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hematuria).
· For bleeding due associated with superficial injuries - get
fresh plant, crush and use as an emollient over wound to aid in coagulation.
· For bloody stool and urine of any cause: boil 4 to 9 gms of
dried drug to decoction and drink twice a day.
· External wash of decoction of 15-30 g dried material: Used
for athlete's foot, eczema and dermatitis.
· Dysentery: boil dried drug 15 to 30 gms to decoction and smaller
dosage for infants.
· For sprains, furuncle, dermatitis: 15 to 30 gms of dried material
in decoction or use pounded fresh material as poultice.
· The leaves and tops brewed in decoction are used in cases of
hepatitis. Powdered, they are employed for healing wounds.
· Poultice of leaves for wound healing.
· Poultice of leaves for wound healing.
· In Ayurveda used
for epigastric pains, nausa and vomiting in ulcer paitients. Also, used for liver ailments as cirrhosis, infective hepatitis and conditions with liver enlargement. Used as a nervine to treat mental disorders, insomnia and headaches.
· In Taiwan, used
for bleeding, hemoptysis, hematuria, itching, hepatitis, diphtheria
and diarrhea.
· In China, leaf
extract used as liver tonic.
· In China and Brazil,
used as anti-venom against snakebites.
· In India, used
to treat hepatic diseases and hyperlipidemia.
Others
· Used for tattooing and hair
dyeing.
· Pounded leaves with coconut oil used for hair growth.
Studies
• Hypoglycemic: Antihyperglycemic
Activity of Eclipta alba Leaf on Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats: Study
showed potent antihyperglycemic activity with reduction of blood glucose, HbA1c, decrease in G6-phosphatase activity, and an increase in liver hexokinase activity.
• Hepatoprotective: (1)Treatment with ethanol
extract of EA protected mice from the hepatotoxic action of paracetamol. (2) Study showed different extracts of E alba have different hepatoprotective effects on injured liver induced by acetaminophen in mice. The hepatoprotective activity of the ethyl acetate extract of E alba showed to be the best. (3) Study of E alba in rats for its hepatoprotective effects on subcellular levels showed the activity is achieved by regulating the levels of hepatic microsomal drug metabolizing enzymes.
• Diuretic / Hypotensive / Hypocholesterolemic:
Study suggests EA is diuretic, hypotensive, and hypocholesterolemic
and helps in alleviating oxidative stress-induced complications of hypertension.
• Osteoporosis: Stimulatory
Constituents of Eclipta prostrata on Mouse Osteoblast Differentiation
: Study isolated one flavonoid, diosmetin,
and two isoflavonoids. All three significantly increased osteoblast
differentiation and suggests a possible therapeutic potential for the
treatment of osteoporosis.
• Lipid lowering:
Lipid lowering activity of Eclipta prostrata in experimental hyperlipidemia:
Study showed a dose-dependent activity in albino rats and supports its
traditional use in the treatment of hyperlipidemia.
• Antibacterial / Antioxidant:
Screening of antibacterial and antioxidant activities of leaves of Eclipta
prostrata (L): Study showed EE showed antioxidant and antibacterial
activity, and that EP could be used against Salmonella typhi.
• Larvicidal: Larvicidal
effect of Hemidesmus indicus, Gymnema sylvestre, and Eclipta prostrata
against Culex qinquifaciatus mosquito larvae: Study showed leaves of
E prostata can be an environmental friendly and sustainalbe source of
insecticide for mosquite control.
• Wedelolactone / Antibacterial: Study isolated wedelolactone, a naturally occurring coumestan from the aerial parts of E alba. The compound exhibited good activity against s epidermis and Salmonella typhimurium. Results present wedelolactone as a promising antibacterial agent.
• Learning and Memory: Traditionally used for its memory enhancing property, study of extract from shade-dried leaves revealed significant improvement of retrieval memory. Luteolins in the extract may be responsible for minimizing cognitive deficits dues to cholinergic dysfunctioning. The free radical scavenging activity might insulate neuronal tissues from degeneration. E Alba presents a potential as memory modulator.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Tinctures in the cybermarket.
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