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Archive for July, 2007

Belamcanda chinensis

July 29th, 2007

Von

English names:

Leopard lily, leopard flower, blackberry lily.

Description:

Perennial herbaceous plant, 0.5-1m. high. Rhizome horizontal, creeping, much-branched. Leaves linear, amplexicaul and distichous, forming a fan; nerves closely parallel. Flowers orange, spotted with purple. Fruit ovoid, bearing numerous seeds, shiny black.

Flowering period:

July – October.

Distribution:

Cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Parts used:

The rhizomes, collected in autumn, are used fresh or dried.

Chemical composition:

The rhizomes contain glucosides: belamcandin, tectoridin, shekanin and iridin.

Therapeutic uses:

The rhizome is well-known for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifebrile and expectorant properties. It is prescribed in the treatment of cough, sore throat, tonsillitis, laryngitis and pertussis. It is also effective for fever, dysmenorrhoea, dyschezia, dysuria, mastitis, galactophoritis, otalgia and snake-bite. The usual daily dose is 3 to 6g of dried rhizome in a decoction, or 10 to 20g of fresh rhizome pounded with a little salt, for perlingual administration.

Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)

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Tags: 6g, Antifebrile, Blackberry Lily, Chemical Composition, Decoction, Dysuria, English Names, Expectorant, Hanoi, Herbaceous Plant, Institute Of Materia Medica, Laryngitis, Little Salt, Medicinal Plants, Otalgia, Pertussis, Purple Fruit, Rhizomes, Sore Throat, Viet Nam

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Baeckea frutescens L.

July 22nd, 2007

Von

Description:

Small tufty shrub, about 1m. high. Stems slender, rigid, much-branched; bark brown. Leaves opposite, very narrow, caducous; main nerve conspicuous. Flowers white, solitary in the axil of the leaves. Capsule small; seeds angular. All parts of the plant are strongly scented.

Flowering period:

April – June.

Distribution:

Grows wild on arid soils in the mountains and the midlands.

Parts used:

The whole plant, except the roots. It is collected from July to October during its flowering period and sun-dried or heat-dried. The essential oil is obtained from the plant by distillation.

Chemical composition:

The whole plant yields 0.76% essential oil, consisting of cineol, pinene, linalol and limonene.

Therapeutic uses:

The whole plant, except the roots, possesses antibacterial, antifebrile and haemostatic properties. It is indicated in the therapy of coryza, influenza, headache, measles, colic and jaundice, in the form of a fumigation of the dried plant or the inhalation of vapour from a boiling decoction of the fresh plant. It is also prescribed against epistaxis, impetigo, dyspepsia, haemorrhagic dysentery and menstrual disorders, in a dose of 8 to 16g per day in a decoction. It is applied externally as an antiseptic in treating furunculosis and impetigo. The essential oil tincture is used for massage in cases of rheumatism.

Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)

Posted in Uncategorized

Tags: Antiseptic, Arid Soils, Axil, Bark Brown, Chemical Composition, Colic, Decoction, Dysentery, Fumigation, Furunculosis, Impetigo, Institute Of Materia Medica, Jaundice, Linalol, Medicinal Plants, Menstrual Disorders, Plant Yields, Rheumatism, Tincture, Viet Nam

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Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz.

July 22nd, 2007

Von

Description:

Perennial herbaceous plant, 40-60 cm. high. Stems cylindrical, much-branched in the upper part. Leaves alternate, toothed, the lower 3-lobed with long petiole, the upper entire, short-petioled. Inflorescence in terminal head; flowers small, lilac, all tubulous. Achene globose, with a coma of hairs.

Flowering period:

August – October.

Distribution:

An introduced species, thriving at an altitude of 1000-1500m.

Parts used:

The rhizomes are collected in November when the lower leaves begin withering. They are stripped of the small roots and sun-dried or heat-dried.

Chemical composition:

The rhizomes contain essential oil 1.5%, atractylol, atractylon; glucoside, inulin, vitamin A, potassium atractylate.

Therapeutic uses:

The rhizome is used in treating various digestive diseases for its peptic, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory and cholagogic activity. It is used in the treatment of gastritis, peptic ulcer, hepatic hypofunction, dyspepsia, vomiting, lientery, chronic enteritis, colic in pregnant women and diaphoretic fever. It is also prescribed as a diuretic, antitussive and hypoglycaemic remedy, useful for the treatment of oedema and diabetes mellitus. The daily dose is 6 to 12g in a decoction, powder or extract.

Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)

Posted in Uncategorized

Tags: 1500m, Antitussive, Chemical Composition, Colic, Diabetes Mellitus, Digestive Diseases, Dyspepsia, Globose, Glucoside, Hairs, Herbaceous Plant, Inflorescence, Institute Of Materia Medica, Lilac, Medicinal Plants, Oedema, Peptic Ulcer, Rhizome, Rhizomes, Viet Nam

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Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr.

July 21st, 2007

Von

Description:

Perennial scandent shrub with tuberous roots. Stems glabrous, spinous. Branchlets reduced to leaves (cladophylls), falciform, angular. Flowers white, small, arising in the leaf-axils. Berry globose, pale-green at first, finally white. Seeds black.

Flowering period:

May – July.

Distribution:

Grows wild among shrubs on the sea-coast; also cultivated as an ornamental plant

Parts used:

The roots, collected in winter and spring, are soaked in water or steamed and then sun-dried. The cores are removed and the roots are then soaked in alcohol and heat-dried before use.

Chemical composition:

The roots contain asparagine, mucilage, starch and sugars.

Therapeutic uses:

The root possesses pectoral, antitussive, diuretic and reconstituent properties. It is indicated in the treatment of persistent cough, haemoptysis, dry throat, fever, dysuria and constipation. It is also effective in neurasthenia. The daily dose is 8 to 16g in a decoction, extract, powder or elixir. It is often a constituent of composite restorative recipes, together with Codonopsis javanica and Rehmannia glutinosa.

Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)

Posted in Uncategorized

Tags: Asparagus, Chemical Composition, Dry Throat, Dysuria, Elixir, Globose, Hanoi, Institute Of Materia Medica, Leaf Axils, Medicinal Plants, Mucilage, Persistent Cough, Sea Coast, Shrub, Shrubs, Spinous, Starch, Tuberous Roots, Viet Nam, Winter And Spring

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Asarum maximum Hemsl.

July 20th, 2007

Von

Description:

Perennial herb, 20-30 cm. high. Leaves long-cordate, glabrous, acute at the apex; petiole long, arising from the rhizome. Flowers tubular, brownish-grey, solitary in the axil of the leaves. Fruit enveloped in an accrescent perianth, bearing numerous seeds of dark-brown colour.

Flowering period:

April – June.

Distribution:

Wild species in moist places.

Parts used:

The whole plant, collected throughout the year, is sun-dried or heat-dried before use.

Chemical composition:

The flowers contain anthocyanoside.

Therapeutic uses:

The flowers and the roots are a reconstituent, in a dose of 6 to 12g per day, in a decoction or elixir. The leaves are administered in a dose of 10 to 16g per day against dyspepsia and colic.

Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)

Posted in Uncategorized