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Botany
Erect, very branched shrub growing up to 1.5
- 4 m high. Leaves in clusters on short branches, 3-6 cm long, entire
or somewhat toothed or lobed near the apex and pointed at the base,
short stalked and rough on the upper surface. White flowers are small,
axillary, solitary, 2 or 4 on a common stalk. Fruit yellow when ripe,
4-5 mm in diameter, fleshy, with a 4-seeded stone.
Distribution
Easily found in thickets and
secondary forests, at low and medium altitudes.
Parts utilized
Leaves
Uses
Culinary
Tea made from the leaves.
Folkloric
Leaf decoction or infusion
for abdominal colic, cough, diarrhea and dysentery.
Root decoction used as an antidote for vegetable poisoning.
For diarrhea: Boil 8 tbsp of chopped leaves in 2 glasses of water for
15 minutes; strain and cool. Use 1/4 of the decoction every 2 or 3 hours.
Decoction has also been used as a dental mouthwash.
Decoction of leaves used as disinfectant wash after childbirth.
New Application
• Being promoted by the Department of Health (DOH) as an antispasmodic;
for stomach/abdominal pains.
• One of a few herbs recently registered with the Bureau of Foods and
Drugs as medicines.
Studies
• Antiallergic Activity: Tsaang gubat, together with
Lagundi and Sambong, were studied for
possible anti-allergic subtances to counter the histamine release from
mast cells that cause type-1 reactions. From tsaang-gubat, rosmarinic
acid and microphyllone were isolated.
• Antibacterial
/ Antinocicpetive / Anti-inflammatory: Study of CR leaves yielded an intractable
mixture of triterpenes– a-amyrin, ß-amyrin and baurenol
and a wide range of bioactivity. The mixture showed analgesic, anti-inflammatory,
anti-diarrheal and antibacterial activities.
• Antimutagen: An antimutagenic principle was extracted from the leaves of C retusa with ethyl alcohol.
• Triterpene Bioactivities/ Analgesic / Anti-inflammatory / Anti-diarrheal / Antimicrobial: Study yielded an intractable mixture of triterpenes, a-amyrin, ß-amyrin and baurenol, from the leaves of C retusa.
It exhibited analgesic activity, some anti-inflammatory activity, anti-diarrheal activity, and moderate antimicrobial activity against S aureus, C albicans and T mentagrophytes.
• Anti-Tumor: Carmona retusa leaf extracts were tested for anticancer property and results showed it can be used as an anticancer agent.
Availability
Wild crafted.
Commercial: Tablets and tea bags |
