The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines Part 32

_Sesamum Indic.u.m_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Ajonjoli_, Sp.; _Linga_, Tag.; _Longa_, Vis.; _Langis_, Pam.; _Sesame_, Indo-Eng. (_Benne Oil_, _Til Oil_, _Jinjili Oil_.)

Uses.--The leaves are emollient and in the Philippines, India and the Southern States of North America they are commonly used to make poultices, as a subst.i.tute for linseed.

The decoction is prescribed internally as an emmenagogue and demulcent and externally as a lotion. It has the reputation of stimulating the growth of the hair and is used for this purpose quite commonly by the women of India.

The seeds are emollient, laxative, diuretic and emmenagogue; they contain an oil to which we shall refer presently. In some countries they form an article of diet; in the Philippines they are much used as a condiment. Waring reports good results in amenorrhoea, adding a handful of the bruised seeds to a hot sitz-bath. Two or 3 dessert-spoonfuls of the seeds eaten fasting and washed down with a gla.s.s of water, are very efficient in chronic constipation, both by their mechanical effect and the oil they contain; being non-irritant they are especially indicated in cases of constipation with hemorrhoids.

The seeds contain up to 45% of oil known in the Philippines under the name of _lana_, an Ilocano word meaning "oil." It is bright yellow, viscid, does not easily become rancid and is used for illuminating purposes in some Philippine provinces. In j.a.pan and among the poor of India it serves as a food; in the latter country it is also very commonly used as a cosmetic, perfumed with various essences and used to anoint the hair and the body after the bath. In America it is given in place of castor oil in doses of 30-60 grams. In pharmacy it may be properly subst.i.tuted for olive oil, especially in Linimentum Calcis prepared for burns.

Botanical Description.--A plant 2-4 high, stem straight, square, grooved. Leaves trifoliate. Leaflets lanceolate, serrate, slightly downy. Common petiole long; secondary petiole very short. Flowers pinkish white, in spikes, each flower bearing 2 small glands. Calyx with 2 bracts at the base, top-shaped, monophyllous, 5 lanceolate teeth. Corolla large, 5-lobed, bell-shaped, expanded in the middle where it is spattered with small spots. Stamens didynamous. Anthers long. Ovary downy, quadrangular. Style same length as stamens. Stigma bifid. Seed vessel quadrangular, elongated, 4 opposite grooves, 4 chambers each containing many small ovoid seeds.

Habitat.--Universal. Blooms in October.

ACANTHACEae.

Acanthus Family.

_Acanthus ilicifolius, L._

Nom. Vulg.--_Diliwariw_, _Dolo-ariw_, _Tinglog_, _Lagiwlagiw_, Tag.; _t.i.tiw_, Vis.; _Dulawari_, Pam.

Uses.--We are not familiar with the medicinal uses of this plant in the Philippines, but believe that its sole use is in the soap-making industry; the ash of the plant is rich in soda and potash salts and lye is prepared from it.

In Goa the leaves, rich in mucilage, are used locally in fomentations for rheumatism and neuralgia. Rheede mentions as useful the application of the bruised sprouts to snake bites. Bontius attributes expectorant properties to the plant. The natives of Siam and Cochin China use it as a cordial and as a medicine for paralysis and asthma.

In Concan the sweetened decoction of the plant with a little c.u.min seed is given for dyspepsia with pyrosis.

Botanical Description.--A plant about 3 high, stem straight, beset with sharp eminences. Leaves opposite, membranaceous, lanceolate, pinnatifid, large teeth ending in p.r.i.c.kles. Petioles very short, 2 thorns at the base. Flowers purplish white in spikes. Calyx double; the outer one of 2 parts, the inner 4. Corolla bell-shaped, lower lip broad, keeled, fleshy, notched above. Upper lip wanting, a notch in its place. Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary superior, conical. Style of equal length with stamens. Stigma bifid. Seed vessels 2-celled, each cell with 2 heart-shaped, flattened, rough seeds.

Habitat.--Very common in regions inundated by salt water.

_Barleria Prionitis, L._ (_Barreliera Prionitis_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kokongmanok_, _Kulanta_, Tag.

Uses.--This plant is not used medicinally in the Philippines. The natives of Bombay are accustomed to use its juice to anoint the soles of their feet during the rainy season in order to toughen the skin and prevent fissures due to prolonged maceration.

The leaf juice is bitter and acid; it is a favorite with the natives of India in the treatment of the catarrhal fevers common among their children, administered in doses of 2 tablespoonfuls a day mixed with sweetened water.

In Concan the dry bark is given for whooping-cough and the juice of the fresh bark in doses of 2 "tolas" (7.60 grams) for anasarca. Dr. Bidie states that the action is diaph.o.r.etic and expectorant.

Botanical Description.--A plant 2-3 high, stem creeping, the ends rising; enlarged at the joints, glabrous. Leaves smooth, opposite, lanceolate, finely serrate, fringed, somewhat downy below, glabrous above. Petioles short, 4 axillary spines. Flowers straw-color, axillary, sessile, solitary. Calyx deeply cleft in 4 parts, ovate, ending in spines. Corolla funnel-shaped, tube short, throat nude, limb 5-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary 2-celled. Style same length as stamens. Seed-vessel ovate, flattened and sharp-pointed, 2-celled, each cell with a flat, heart-shaped seed.

Habitat.--In Guadalupe, Mandaloyon and San Juan del Monte. Blooms in April.

_Justicia Gendarussa_, L. (_Gandarussa vulgaris_, Nees.; _Dianthera subserrata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kapanitulot_, Tag.; _Bunlaw_, Vis.

Uses.--In the Philippines this plant has the same applications as the _Lagundi_ or _Vitex_, soon to be described. In India they give a decoction of the leaves for chronic rheumatism, the action probably being diaph.o.r.etic. The juice is employed for the coughs of childhood and externally as a resolvent for enlarged cervical glands. The bark of the young branches has a purplish color; in Java it is considered a good emetic.

Botanical Description.--A shrub 5-6 high, stem straight, branches smooth, obscurely 4-angled. Stems and leaves violet color, emitting a disagreeable odor (Blanco). Leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, glabrous, obtusely serrate. Flowers terminal, white-green, in racemes of 3 sessile flowers with lanceolate bracts. Calyx, 5 long teeth. Corolla, short tube, 2-lipped, upper lip notched, lower lip broad with palate, ending in 3 lobules. Seed vessel with 4 seeds in its lower part.

Habitat.--Luzon, Mindanao, Panay.

_Adhatoda vasica_, Nees. (_Justicia Adhatoda_, L.)

Nom. Vulg.--(?)

Uses.--The Filipinos are but slightly familiar with this plant and it has no place in their therapeutical armamentarium. In India, however, it is very common and enjoys much reputation in the treatment of catarrhs, the grip, asthma and non-febrile, especially chronic, bronchial affections. The flowers, leaves and roots, but especially the flowers, possess antispasmodic properties and are prescribed in certain forms of asthma; they are bitter and slightly aromatic, and are given in infusion or electuary.

Drs. Jackson and Dott have testified from their own experience to the usefulness of the drug in chronic bronchitis, asthma and afebrile catarrh. Dr. Watt states that the natives of Bengal find relief for asthma in smoking the leaves. In Bombay its expectorant action is commonly known and its juice is used, mixed with borax and honey.

The dose of the aqueous extract made by evaporating the juice of the leaves, is .25-1 gram. The tincture is preferable, made by dissolving this extract in alcohol; dose 2-4 grams. Its efficiency is increased by the addition of pepper seeds (Waring). The Sanscrit writers recommend for cough, 3.80 grams of the leaf juice with honey. "It is very desirable that further trials be made to test the value of this remedy."--Pharmacopoeia of India.

Botanical Description.--A shrub with straight, smooth, ashy-gray trunk. Branches of same color but smoother. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, smooth on both faces, 12-15 cm. long by 3-4 broad, petioles short. Flowers irregular and hermaphrodite in axillary spikes with long peduncles, opposite, large, white, covered with rusty spots, the lower part of the 2 lips purple. Calyx gamosepalous, regular, five deep clefts. Corolla gamopetalous, irregular, short tube, limb 2-lipped, the lower lip ending in a spur. Ovary free, 2-celled, each cell containing 2 ovules. Style filiform, long, inserted in a sort of ca.n.a.l formed by the upper lip of the corolla. Stigma bilobulate. Seed vessel depressed, 4 flattened, lenticular seeds.

Habitat.--Luzon and Panay.

_Rhinacanthus communis_, Nees. (_Justicia nasuta_, L.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Tagaktagak_, Tag.; _Nagamulli_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The plant has much reputation in India in the treatment of skin diseases, and indeed its efficiency is great in the stubborn _Tinea circinata tropica_, known throughout the Orient as "dhobie-itch." In this disease it is applied for several days to the affected part in the form of a paste composed of the bruised leaves, the juice of the leaves and lemon juice. The fresh root also may be employed. The Hindoo physicians state that the root decoction in milk is aphrodisiac; the root is also regarded as an antidote for the bite of the "cobra da cabelho," but its virtue is purely imaginary. Of late years the plant has been used in Europe under the name of "tong-pang-chong,"

to treat chronic eczema.

Liborius made an a.n.a.lysis of the root in the laboratory of Dorpat, separating 13.51% ash and 1.87% _rhinocanthin_, as well as other ingredients. Rhinocanthin (C_14_H_18_O_4_) is supposed to be the active principle of the root. It is a.n.a.logous to quinon and resembles in many particulars chrysophanic and frangulic acids. It forms a resinous, amorphous ma.s.s, cherry red, odorless and tasteless, slightly soluble in water, forming a mildly alkaline solution in alcohol. It does not yield glucose when boiled with dilute hydrochloric acid. Liborius believes that it exists only in the intercellular s.p.a.ces of the "root bark."

Botanical Description.--A shrub, about 4 high, stem ash-colored, no spines. Leaves lanceolate, undulate, downy. Flowers white in spikes. Calyx gamosepalous, 5-toothed. Corolla long, filiform, limb 4-lobed, the 3 lower lobes ovate, the upper pointed. Stamens 2. Ovary free, 2 biovulate locules. Style simple. Stigma bifid. Seed vessel club-shaped, 4 seeds in the upper part.

Habitat.--Common in the gardens of Manila.