HOME      •      SEARCH      •      EMAIL    •     ABOUT

Family • Urticaceae
Lipa
Laportea meyeniana Warb.
Hengchunyaorengou
"Lipang aso" and its other common names are shared by two species of differing Genus: (1) Lipang-aso (Fleurya interrupta): lopa, lipang-kastila (2) Lipa (Laportea meyeniana): lipai, lipang-kalabaw, lipang-lalaki, lipang-doton, lopa, lupa. Both possess stinging hairs and can cause intense itching on contact. Fleurya interrupta is a weed=herb, up to 1.3 meters high; Laportea meyeniana, a shrub or small tree growing to a height of 3-5 meters. Ramie (Boehmeria nivea), also is referred to as "lipang-aso."
Other scientific names  Common names
Urtica meyeniana Walp.  Adalateng (Ig.)
Urera gaudichaudiana Wedd.  Adalatang (Ibn.)
Laportea gaudichaudiana Wedd.  Adalupa (Gad.)
Urtica umbellata Blanco  Apariagua (Bis.)
Urtica ferox Blanco  Bulanbulan (P. Bis.)
Dendrocnide meyeniana Walp.  Lasngaton (Bis.)
Laportea batanensis C. b. Rob. Lingaton (S. L. Bis.)
  Lipa (Tag.)
  Lipai (Tag., Bis.)
  Lipang-kalabau (Tag.)
  Lipang-lalaki (Neg.)
  Lipang-doton (Pamp.)
  Lopa (Pamp.)
  Lupa (Ilk.)
  Tokbo (Bon.)
  Tubo (Is.)
  Hengchunyaorengou (Chin) (Is.)

Gen info
· Laportea meyeniana belongs to the Unticacea (Nettle) family characterized by the presence of stinging hairs known for causing contact dermatitis.

Botany
· Decidiuous shrub or small trree, growing to a height of 3 to 5 meters. Leaves are ovate to broadly elliptic-ovate, 20-40 cm long, 10-20 cm wide, entire, with short-pointed tips and heart-shaped bases. Upper surface is green and smooth, the undersides, paler and covered with numerous, soft and stinging hairs, abundant on the margins of the leaves.Petioles are about 20 cm long. Male inflorescence is axillary, paniculate, about 20 cm long. Flowers are numerous, crowded in small glomerules, the perianth segments about 2 mm long. Female flowers are at the end of the branchlets of the inflorescence, greenish, about 5-7 mm in diameter. Fruit is small, fleshy, white to pale violet, 5-7 mm in diameter.

Distribution
In thickets, at low and medium altitudes.

 Characteristics and Pharmacological Effects
· Contact with the leaves causes breaking of the tips of the hairs and a poison is released that causes immediate and intense skin irritation. The stings are painful and may cause the formation of blisters, immediate and possibly progressing to confluence. Ammonia is used as treatment, rubbed on the affected part. In rural Quezon, Pungapong is used as a counterirritant, rubbing the stem juice to the affected parts.
· A study has shown that it contains ninety times the free acid of European nettle.
· The poison could be formic and acetic acids, the latter in greater proportion than the former.
· Although much of the irritation is attributed to formic acid, some believe it is due to some albuminous poison.

Uses
· Dried or powdered leaves use to stop bleeding.
· Decoction used for nosebleeds.
Caution: fresh leaves sting!

Studies
· Phytochemicals / Antioxidant / Cytotoxicity: The crude methanolic extracts of four Philippine medicinal plants, including Laportea meyeniana, were studied for their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Phytochemicals yielded flavonoids, tannins, triterpenes, steroids, anthraquinones, anthrones, flavonoid glycosides and coumarins – probably responsible for the bioactivities of the plants.

Availability
Wild-crafted. 

Last Update June 2010

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities and phytochemical screening of four Philippine medicinal plants / Nonita P Peteros and Mylene M Uy / Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 4(5), pp. 407-414, 4 March, 2010
•

HOME      •      SEARCH      •      EMAIL    •     ABOUT