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Botany:
A very slender, twining fern growing from 1 to 3
m in length. Somewhat pubescent or nearly glabrous. Fronds of 2 kinds
(dimorphic); the sterile pinnae 8 to 15 cm long, rarely longer, 2 to
4 mm wide. Pinnules (leaflets) 2 to 5 cm on each side, the upper ones
simple, sessile, often subconfluent (confluent , merging or blending
together) to the adjacent pinnule, entire, the intermediate ones somewhat
hastate and the lowest one stalked, pinnate or bipinnate (twice pinnate),
all oblong to linear, 1.5 to 8 cm long, tripinnate, the segments relatively
broader and shorter. Spikes (site of the fruiting bodies) 1 to 6 mm
long; spores verruculose.
Distribution
Very common throughout the
Philippines at low and medium altitudes.
Parts
utilized::
· Entire plant.
· Collect material from May to October.
· Rinse, macerate. Dry under the sun.
· Active principles concentrated in the sporangia of the
plant.
Properties and constituents
Sweet tasting, refrigerant;
antifebrile, diuretic.
Aids lymphatic circulation.
Study isolated a new 1,4-naphthoquinione and three known compounds from the roots.New naphthoquinone from the root of Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw.
Uses
Folkloric
· Decoction of 25 - 30 g of dried material
for urinary tract infections, lithiasis, renal edema. cough-fever, reddish
urine, enteritis-dysentery.
• Used as a blood tonic and for cold symptoms and urinary and kidney problems.
Studies
• Phytochemical Study: Phytochemical study isolated 3,4-dihydroxyl benzoic acide 4-O-beta-D-(4'-O-methyl)glycopyranoside, protocatechuic acid, acacetin 7-O-((6'-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-beta-sophoroside, venenin, tricin-7-O-beta-D-glycopyranoside, 2-anilino-1,4-naphthoquinone – compounds isolated for the first time.
• Ecdysteroside: Phytochemical study of the roots yielded a new ecdysteroside, lygodiumsteroside A, as well as a known ecdysteroside.
• Hair Growth Promotion: Aqueous ethanol extract of spore of Lygodium japonicum showed in vitro testosterone 5a-reductase inhibitory activity and in vivo anti-androgenic activity with hair regrowth after shaving in testosterone-treated mice. Study yielded lipophilic constituents , oleic acid, linoleic and palmitic acids, identified as the main active principles inhibiting 5-alpha reductase.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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