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 Botany
Palong-manok is an annual, erect, branching, smooth
herb, 1 meter or more in height. Leaves are variable in shape, usually
ovate-lanceolate, up to 23 centimeters in length, 8 centimeters wide. Flowers are
in pannicles or spikes, of varied colors, from white to yellow, purple
and different shades of red. Seeds are minute, black, shining, and lens-shaped.
Distribution
- Ornamental cultivation; rarely spontaneous.
- Certainly introduced.
- Occurs in all warm countries.
Constituents
Seeds contain a fatty oil.
Properties
Considered antibacterial, anthelmintic, astringent, demulcent, haemostatic, hypotensive, ophthalmic.
Parts used
Bark, leaves, flowers.
Uses
Edibility
Tender leaves
and young shoots occasionally eaten as vegetable.
Folkloric
No reported medicinal folkloric use in the Philippines.
In other countries, seeds used for emollient lotions for eye problems.
Flowers and seeds used for bloody stools, hemorrhoidal bleeding, and
diarrhea.
Flowers used for menorrhagia.
Seeds are used for dysuria, coughs, dysentery, hypertension.
In India, seeds are used
for dysuria and flowers for diarrhea.
In Indian folk medicine, used for treatment of diabetes mellitus.
In Mexico, considered antiscorbutic and antiblennorrhagic.
Others
Flowers in popular
use for the making of wreaths for All Saint's Day.
Studies
• Betaxanthins / Colorant Property: Study isolated three betaxanthins. The yellow inflorescences exhibited bright yellow color with high color purity. The three betaxanthins had higher pigment retention than amaranthine / isomaranthine.
• Anti-Diabetic: Study of alcoholic extract of Celosia argentea seeds showed anti-diabetic activity in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
• Hepatoprotective Saponin / Cristatain: Study of seeds yielded a new saponin, cristatain, together with four other saponins, celosin A, B, C, and D. Cristatain exhibited hepatoprotective effect on CCl4- and DMF-induced hepatotoxicity in mice with decreases in ALT, AST and ALP. together with histopath evidence.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Commercially: Seeds in the cybermarkets.
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