|  Botany
Tungkod-pare is an erect, smooth shrub which
grows from 1 to 3 m high from tuberous roots. Stems are simple or somewhat branched,
and marked with leaf scars. Leaves are mostly near the apex of the stem, lanceolate to oblanceolate,
and usually tinged with red or purple, 30 to 50 cm long. Panicles are terminal, purplish, laxly branched; the branches up to 30 cm in length, and slender. Flowers are pink, and about 1 cm long, slender, tubular, with
the perianth split to the middle into 6 equal lobes. Stamens 6, ovary
3-celled, 4 to 16 ovules. Fruits are globose and about 5 mm in diameter, few or one-seeded
berries.
Distribution
Widely cultivated for ornamental
purposes.
Probably originated from Malaya.
Now pantropic.
Parts
utilized
· Flowers, leaves, and
roots.
· Flowers may be collected in May. Sun-dry.
· Roots and leaves may be collected through the year.
· Rinse and cut into pieces, sun-dry.
Constituents
Yields imidazole, alkaloids, linoleic acid, saponins, sarsapogenin, smilagenin, steroids, tyramine.
Properties
Considered antiseptic, aphrodisiac, depurative, diuretic, mildly cooling, blood
refrigerant, febrifuge, laxative, purgative, hemostatic, disperses contusions, analgesic, tonic.
Uses
Edibility
In Java, young tender leaf shoots are eaten as vegetable.
Roots may be boiled and baked into food, sweet candy or a fermented drink.
In Hawaii, leaves used to preserve breadfruit.
Used as sweetener in Fiji.
Folkloric
· Hemoptysis due to pulmonary
tuberculosis, premature abortion, excessive menstruation and blood in
urine, bleeding due to piles.
· Enteritis-bacillary dysentery.
· Rheumatic bone pains, swelling pain due to sprains.
· Dosage: use 60 to 90 gms fresh leaves or 30 to 60 gms dried
roots or 9 to 15 gms dried flowers in decoction.
• In Fiji, root used for baldness, gum abscess, gingivitis, toothaches; leaf juice for eczema, abdominal pain, gastritis, eye infections; leaf buds used for lower chest pains.
• In Java, sweet rhizome used with betel leaf to cure diarrhea and dysentery. Also, used for indigestion.
• In Malaya, decoction of red leaves with Lygodium used for dysentery.
• In Sumatra, outer part of the stem used with white sale for inflammed gums.
• In Hawaii, leaves
used as heat pack; also for fever, asthma, chest congestion, headache,
back pain, burns, constipation; flower juice snorted for nasal polyps.
• Surinamese Indonesians use pieces of root in vinegar for bleeding. Leaf infusion in oil used to treat wounds. Infusion of three crushed leaves of the purple cultivar used for a hypotensive drink. Proximal part of the leaf. macerated in olive oil, used as a cataplasam or tampon for wounds.
• In Lombok, Indonesia, used for diarrhea.
• In Samoa, used for elephantiasis, gout, scrotal swellings, and back pains.
Others
· In Hawaii, used in making healer's leis, and used in ceremonial blessings - blessings, purifications, to dispel curses, and for exorcisms.
 Studies
• Antibacterial:
Study of methanolic extract of C terminalis (Cordyline fruiticosa) showed
moderate antibacterial activity against E coli, Shigella boydii, Strep
pyogenes and Staph epidermis.
• Antiproliferative:
Study isolated from the aqueous extract of C terminalis a natural nucleoside,
thymidine. Thymidine inhibited cell replication and decreased cell viability.
It also inhibited a human breast cancer line.
• Anticancer Potential:
Preliminary results showed the presence of potential MKK1 inhibitors in the crude extracts of A excelsa, C terminalis and T crispa. MMK1 (Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase 1) is one of the potentia molecular targets for cancer therapy, together with GSK-3b and PP1, that play a vital role in MAP kinase signal transduction, tumorigenesis, apoptosis and cancer metastasis.
• Anthocyanin:
Study reports an efficient and promising protocol for enhancement of anthocyanin production from the callis cultures of some ornamental plants. The highest values were obtained with celosia, cordyline and catharanthus calli cultures, respectively. Anthocyanin pigments and derivatives are flavonoids and unique to the plant kingdom, beneficial to human health with potential anti-cancer, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Toxicity
Some leaves are reported to contain
calcium oxalate raphides and should be cooked. Young raw leaf shoots
are sweet and edible.
Availability
Wild-crafted. |
