Herbs from Distant Lands

Monday, August 10, 2015

Ehretia microphylla - Fukien Tea, Fujian Tea, Philippine Tea, Forest Tea, Wild Tea

Polska wersja

PLANT PROFILE

Ehretia microphylla is a tropical shrub, quite popular in South-east Asia, from India, Sri Lanka and China (it is said to be native to Fujian province of China or to north Philippines), throughout Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines to Australia. It has long traditions of uses in most of these countries, where it is drunk as a tea and used as a medicine. But even though its popularity as a tea brought it its names like Fukien Tea, Fujian Tea, Wild Tea, Philippine Tea, Tsaang Gubat and Chaang Bundok (which means Forest Tea and Mountain Tea in Tagalog), it is more commonly known as a ornamental shrub. Its neat look, tiny shiny leaves, easy maintenance and hight ability for shaping by cutting, made it famous as a garden and park plant in tropics, and bonsai type houseplant around the world. Ehretia microphylla is quite popular as a medicinal herb in The Philippines, where it was promoted by Department of Health, and is one of those herbs for which demand on markets far exceeds the production.
Still many people in the Philippines forgot about their own indigenous healthy tea. Recently I was in Suyo, Ilocos Sur, Luzon, giving a speech for the farmers at the City Hall, about potential of rare and underutilized herbs to generate more profits than conventional crops. After my presentation I suggested that instead of further discussion in assembly hall, we better go outside for a walk in the forest behind the building, to exchange our knowledge about local herbs showing live examples of plants. So we went out. There was over forty listeners, all of which was around fifty years old, and not ordinary farmers, but heads of local farmers communities, the most experienced and wisest of all. But when I saw just in front of the City Hall, the first medicinal plant on our trip, growing in the garden, trimmed into a ball. And I asked them if they know what it is. They said that it is just a commonly grown in gardens, purely ornamental plant. They was very surprised when I told them that it is medicinal herb, one of the original, indigenous, old Filipino remedies.
But later on that walk, one old women joined us. And as we was going back, reaching City Hall, I asked that lady if she knows the value of that round shaped shrub. And she said that she knows it well. That it grows wild in many places, and the tea from it's leaves is a good remedy for stomach ache. I told her how surprised I was that earlier none of our companions recognized it as a medicinal plant. She said that in the past it was not used for ornamental purposes, but it was used to make a tea, that was commonly drunk not only for stomach problems but also just as an everyday beverage. But then coffee came, and become more and more popular, and more widely available. And when everyone there started to plant their own coffee and drink it daily, everyone started to forget about Tsaang Gubat - the indigenous drink of their ancestors.
Fukien Tea is also known under latin name Carmona retusa, its other synonyms, that are rather out of use today, include Ehretia buxifolia, Carmona microphylla, Carmona heterophylla, Cordia retusa, Ehretia retusa, Ehretia heterophylla, Ehretia dentata, Ehretia monopyrena. It is also known as Baapanaburi in India, Ji Ju Shu in China, Scorpionbush in Australia, Kinangan in Indonesia, Fukumangi in Japan, Khoi Cheen in Thailand to give just few.

CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING

Fukien Tea is a evergreen shrub with weeping branches, that can reach up to 4m high and same in diameter. It grows wild both in wet thickets, forests and dry open spaces in tropical regions of South-east Asia and Australasia. It requires full sun or partial shade and thrives in high temperatures and humidity but is quite drought resistant. Ehretia microphylla does not tolerate temperatures lower than 0'C, but is well known for being easy to grow as a houseplant in temperate regions, and is one of the most popular plants in the world, for forming into bonsai. It is perfect plant for cutting and creative shaping into fancy shrubs and live fences, with its thick nature and nice little, glossy leaves. It has tiny white flowers and orange berries. Whole stems with leaves can be gathered at any time, to be used fresh or to dry.

CULINARY USES

Fresh, well chopped leaves can be boiled for around 15 minutes, or dried crushed leaves can be prepared in a way as green tea, to make refreshing, caffeine-free drink, delightful both hot and cold. Its tiny stony berry fruits are edible.

MEDICINAL USES

Ehretia microphlla is widely used in the Philippines where it is usually called Tsaang Gubat or Chaang Gubat. Philippine Department of Health endorsed this plant in list of 10 thoroughly tested and clinically proven herbs recommended for home use in '' Traditional Medicinal Program ''. In form of decoction from fresh shredder or dried crushed leaves and stems, it is used for: intestinal motility, stomach pain, diarrhoea, dysentery, gastroenteritis, colic, cough and fever. And also as a disinfectant wash for eczema, scabies, after childbirth, and as a mouth gargle for tooth decay (it have high fluoride content). Tsaang Gubat is hardly but available on market in form of teas, extracts, pills and capsules.
In the Siddha Medicine System ( traditional medicine of Sri Lanka) it is called Kuruvichi or Kuruvichi poondu, and is used for fevers, cough, stomach and bowels complains, leprosy, eczema due to venereal diseases, skeletal fractures, infertility and diarrhoea in children. The roots decoctions are used for cachexia, syphilis, diabetes and as a antidote for viper bites and certain poisonous plants, including raw cassava.
Ehretia microphylla contain microphyllones, kampferols (astragalin, nicotiflorin), baurenol, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, sterols (stigmasterol, stigmastanol, daucosterol, ehretianone [chemical that protect against action of snake venom], cholesterol, campesterol, beta-sitosterol), triterpenes (a-amyrin, b-amyrin), flavonoids, quinones, alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, tannins and fluoride.
It is antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antibacterial, analgesic, antiallergic, antimutagenic, antitumor, antidiarrheal, stomachic, febrifuge, antispasmodic, antifungal and alterative. Laboratory studies shown that dried powder of Ehretia microphylla can be used for treating irregular ovulation disorders and promotes fertility in female. In small quantities this herb is safe for babies and is given as a colic treatment for bottle-fed babies. Methanolic extract of leaves of Ehretia microphylla has shown strong antihistamine release properties.

Sources

'' Medicinal Plants of the Philippines '' - dr. Eduardo Quisumbing, Katha Publishing 1978
'' Useful Plants of the Philippines '' Volume 3 - William H. Brown, Acorn Press 1950
'' Medicinal Plants Research in Asia - Volume I : The Framework and Projects Workplans '' - Bioversity International
'' Ethnopharmacology of Medicinal Plants : Asia and the Pacific '' - Christophe Wiart, Springer Science and Buisness Media 2007
'' Indian Medicinal Plants : An Illustrated Dictionary '' - C.P. Khare, Springer Science and Buisness Media 2008
'' CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants '' - Umberto Quattrocchi , CRC Press 2012

http://www.philippineherbalmedicine.org/tsaang_gubat.htm
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Tsaang.html
http://www.medicalhealthguide.com/articles/tsaanggubat.htm#c
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/270957123_Pharmacognostical_studies_on_Ehretia_microphylla_Lamk
http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Carmona+retusa
http://www.rjpbcs.com/pdf/2014_5(1)/[29].pdf
http://www.saintlucianplants.com/floweringplants/boraginaceae/beurrvirg/beurrvirg.html
http://www.samarnews.com/news2008/nov/f1900.htm
http://keys.trin.org.au/key-server/data/0e0f0504-0103-430d-8004-060d07080d04/media/Html/taxon/Carmona_retusa.htm
http://lyfe.aasaysay.com/page/id/321/?cat_id=89&item_id=235
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/98632/#b
http://www.ijipsr.com/sites/default/files/articles/IJIPSRMNR-300.pdf
http://www.environment.gov.au/node/16342
http://www.ijpbs.net/vol-3/issue-3/pharma/31.pdf
http://bonsaibeginnings.blogspot.com/2011/09/ehretia-buxifolia-poor-mans-tea.html
http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon
http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/ethnobot.pl?ethnobot.taxon=Ehretia%20microphylla
http://www.herbs-info.com/wild-tea.html
http://www.mellobonsai.com/care/Fukien-tea-bonsai.aspx
http://www.slideshare.net/lopao1024/10-doh-approved-herbal-medicine-pm-zabat
http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0envl--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-10-0utfZz-8-00&cl=CL2.4&d=HASH01290cc2cf502a77dfae1d72&gt=2

Friday, July 3, 2015

Garlic Vine, Ajos Sacha - Mansoa alliacea, Pseudocalymma alliaceum, Cydista aequinoctialis

Polska wersja

PLANT PROFILE

Garlic Vine is a highly ornamental, tropical climbing plant, native to Amazon rainforest, where it is commonly known as Ajos Sacha (or Ajo Sacho or Ajossacha), which means False Garlic in Spanish. The reason for that is its characteristic garlic-like smell of leaves when crushed. This smell is caused by the same chemicals that are found in Garlic, and so this vine share Garlics taste and medicinal values. Because of the beauty of its flowers it can be found in gardens of Southeast Asia (it is called Blue Shower in Pakistan) and other tropical regions, as well as like a house plant in temperate zones. But its medicinal properties are barely known outside its motherland, where it is playing significant role in traditional healing and modern herbalism. Ajos Sacha is also one of plants that is used in spiritual rituals of Amazonian tribes. It is often taken before Ayahuasca ritual - to cleanse the blood and body, bring both physical and mental well being, to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. For this purpose it is often burned in houses.
Garlic Vine have many other common names that relates to Garlic - Garlic Creeper, Garlic Shrub, Garlic Rope, Amazonian Garlic Bush, Bejuco de Ajo, Ajos del Monte, Sucho Ajo and Cipo de Alho, to mention just some. Its most popular latin name is Mansoa alliacea but it has so many synonyms that are still in use that it can cause every botanist a headache. Here are some of it : Pseudocalymma alliaceum, Cydista aequinoctialis, Bignonia alliacea, Bignonia aequinoctialis, Adenocalymma alliaceum, Adenocalymma pachypus, Pachyptera alliacea, Pseudocalymma sagotti, Pseudocalymma pachypus.

CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING

Mansoa alliacea is evergreen, semi-woody vine that can climb even up to 12 m, but usually it is around 3 m tall. It often clings to tree trunk, fence or wall (usually needs support to attach) to climb, or form kind of a bush on its own. As a tropical plant it likes high temperatures and humidity. Temperatures below 0'C can easily kill this plant, which makes it suitable only as a houseplant in temperate regions. It can grow in half shade, but to produce abundance of flowers it require full sun. It might flower intensively 2 - 3 times a year, and its beautiful flowers lasts around 3 weeks, changing its colour from lavender-violet to bleak-violet into alost white. To support growth of new flower buds, clusters of old wilted flowers should be cut off, othervise plant will produce seed pods instead new flower buds. Garlic vine releases its garlicky smell only when crushed or pruned. It can be propagated thru seeds or cuttings, for both ways it require heat. Leaves can be picked at any time of year.

CULINARY USES

In Amazon Rainforest, local people are using leaves of Garlic Vine as a seasoning and spice. Fresh young and soft leaves and stems can be chopped and uses like chives to sprinkle on salads, sandwitches, mashed potatos or any other food. Old tough leaves can be used fresh crushed or chopped, or dried and crushed or powderized, it can be used for cooking as a Garlic substitute.
Flowers when young and dark violet, has nice crispy texture and unique freaky taste. It is sweet and fruity with garlic aftertaste. As it turns older its colour is getting bleak into light pink and its texture become more papery, it is still useful but less sweet and fruity.

MEDICINAL USES

Ajos Sacha is commonly used in traditional medicine of Amazon tribes, for fevers, colds, flu, cough, asthma, pneumonia and other respiratory problems, rheumatic and arthritic pains and other inflammations, malaria, cancer, myalgia, mycosis, lumbago, headache, nervousness, nervous shock, neurosis, uterine disorder, epilepsy, cramps, wounds, swellings, high cholesterol, indigestion and constipation.
Leaves can be eaten fresh or dried, and all parts of plant including roots can be taken in form of infusion, decoction (some of it properties might be lost due to long, high heat exposure), tincture, or capsules, but decoctions and tinctures are usually made from bark or root. Its properties are analgesic, anodyne, antioxidant, antifungal, antiarthritic, antirheumatic, antiinflammatory, antispasmodic, antitussive, antiviral, antibacterial, stomachic, febrifuge, astringent, tonic, depurative, laxative, vermifuge and insecticidal.
Mansoa alliacea contains alkaloids, tannins, phenols (i.a. lapachol derivatives), flavonoids (anthocyanins), glycosides, saponins, lignins, triterpenoids, quinones and sterols (beta sitosterol, stigmasterol, daucosterol, fucosterol) . It is most characteristic for containing the same sulphur compounds that are found in Garlic, like alliin and allyl sulphides. These chemical compounds are known to lower cholesterol level and inhibit absorbtion of cholesterol in the intestines. The wood of Garlic vine contain two lapachone chemicals, that have proved anticancer activity.
Decoctions of stems with leaves are applied externaly on rheumatic and arthritic pains, muscular fatigue, swellings and inflammations of skin. A tincture of the root in cane alcohol is taken as a overall regenerative whole body tonic. Tea made from leaves is taken by the Amuesha people of Peru to aid women fertility. Leaves are often added to baths by some tribes, to fight flu, fevers, body aches, cramps and fatige. It is also used as a insect and snakes repellent. Crushed leaves can be applied as a patch on forehead for headache.