medicinal plants

Adelfa

English: Oleander, Aldelfa ; Tagalog: Aldelfa

Scientific name: Nerium Indicum Mil ;

Erect, smooth shrub, 1.5 to 3 mteters high with a cream-colored sticky resinous juice. Leaves are in whorls of 3 or 4, linear-lanceolate, 10-15 cm long, with numerous horizontal nerves. Flowers are showy, sweet-scented, single or double, 4-5 cm in diameter, white, pink or red, borne in termianl inflorescense (cymes). Fruit is cylindric, paired, with deep linear striations, 15-20 cm long. Seeds are numerous and compressed, with a tuft of fine, shining, white, silky hairs.

Application:
- Herpes zoster (skin): Crush leaves, mix with oil and apply on lesions. Do not apply on raw surface. Milky juice of the plant is irritating. Caution: Not to be taken internally.
- Herpes simplex: Mix 1 cup of chopped leaves and bark with 2 tablespoons of oil. Apply to lesions 3 times daily.
- Ringworm: Chop a foot long branch and mix with 1 cup chopped fresh young leaves. Mix the juice with 5 drops of fresh coconut oil. Apply 3 times daily.
- Snake bites: Pound 10 leaves and a piece of branch. Apply poultice to the wound.
- Root, locally and internally, used for abortion.
- Roots, made into paste with water, used for hemorrhoids.
- Roots and bark used externally for eczema, snake bites and as insecticide.
- Fresh leaves applied to tumors to hasten suppuration.

Constituents and properties
Glycoside, oleadrin; tannin; volatile oil, 0.25%.
Nerium oleander's leaves contain two principles: neriin and oleandrin, glucosides with properties similar to digitalin.
The seeds contain phytosterin and l-strophnathin. The bark contains toxic glycosides: rosaginin and nerlin, volatile oil, fixed oil.

Nerium odorum's bark yielded two toxic bitter principles­neriodorin and neriodorein. Another toxic principle is karabin. Both karabin and neriodorin are probably resins, rather than glucosides.

The pharmacologic actions of of neriin and oleandrin resemble those of digitalis glucosides. In human beings, toxicity manifests as nausea, vomiting, colic, decreased appetite, dizziness, drowsiness, bradycardia and irregular heart beats, pupillary dilation, and sometimes unconsciousness attributed to digitalis poisoning.

Distribution
Cultivated for its flowers; now where established.

Akapulko

Scientific name: Cassia alata L
English: Ringworm bush or shrub
Tagalog: Akapulko

Akapulko is a shrub that grows wild on Mt. Banahaw. The leaves contain chrysophanic acid. The leaves are reported to be sudorific, diuretic and purgative, being used in the same manner as senna. The leaves are commonly used for ringworm and other skin diseases. The leaves in decoction are also used to treat bronchitis and asthma.

Traditional Uses:

For fungal skin infections: Ring worm, tinea (white spots), athlete's foot

How to Use:

As anti fungal, apply juice from the pounded leaves on affected areas of the skin. Strong decoction of leaves and flowers for cleansing eczema and other skin itch.

As an ointment: Prepared from the leaves and apply twice a day.

Precaution: apply thinly on affected skin. Improvement will be noticed after 2 to 3 weeks of treatment.

Ampalaya

Scientific name: Momordica charantia L. Amargoso English: Bitter gourd, Bitter Melon Tagalog: Ampalaya

Ampalaya is a vegetable grown throughout the Philippines. It is mostly cultivated, although wild forms can be found. It grows wild in the remote areas of Mt. Banahaw. As the English name suggests, the melon has a bitter taste due to the presence of momordicin. There has been much research done on the effectiveness of using Momordica Charantia in the treatment of diabetes. It has been shown to increase production of beta cells by the pancreas, thereby improving the body’s ability to produce insulin. It has been recommended by the Department of Health of the Philippines, as one of the best herbal medicines for it's ability to help with liver problems, Diabetes and HIV. It is a common herb used in Chinese herbology. In the Philippines, the leaves are often used for children's coughs. It is also used in the treatment of skin diseases, sterility in women, as a parasiticide, as an antipyretic, and as a purgative.

Herba Buena

Scientific name: Mentha cordifolia Opiz
English: Marsh mint
Tagalog: Herba Buena

Herba Buena is cultivated throughout the Philippines, although it does well at higher altitudes. It is grown on Mt. Banahaw. This mint is known as a remedy for weakness of the stomach and for diarrhea. It is valuable as an antiseptic, and has been used in alcohol solutions for asthma.

Duhat

Scientific name: Syszygium jambolanum
English: Black plum, java plum
Tagalog: Duhat

Duhat is a fruit tree found mostly wild throughout the Philippines. Duhat seeds are known for the treatment of diabetes, as are the leaves and the juice from the fruit. The bark is astringent and in decoction is used as a mouthwash and as a gargle for ulcerations of the mouth.

Gugo

Scientific name: Entada phaseikaudes K Meer
Tagalog: Gugo

This plant is very large tree found throughout the Philippines. It grows wild on Mt. Banahaw. Gugo is used extensively in the Philippines for washing hair and for hair tonics. When the bark is soaked in water and rubbed, it produces a lather which cleanses the scalp very effectively. The active principle of the bark is saponin.

Ipil-ipil

Scientific name: Leucaena glauca L.;
Tagalog: Ipil-ipil

Small plant up to 8 m high; leaves alternate, twice compound, 15-25 cm, base of petiole enlarged; leaflets 9 to 18 pairs, 7 to 12 mm long, linear-oblong, unequilateral; flowering stalks axillary, 3.5 to 5 cm long; flowers in dense globule heads 2 to 3 cm in diameter, white; fruit a pod, strap-shaped, falttened, 12 to 18 cm long, 1 to 2 cm wide, papery, green turning brown and splits open along two edges when mature, several fruits develop from each flower head; seeds obovate, 5 to 8 mm long, 3 to 5 mm wide, shiny, brown.

Constituents:
Fat, 8.68%; crude fiber, 22.59%; nitrogen-free material other than fiber, 9.78%; nitrogen, 6.42%; sucrose; water, 14.8%; ash, 4.2%.

Uses:

Intestinal parasitism: ascaris and trichinosis.
Adults: 1 teasppon of powdered dried seeds, alone or mixed with condensed milk and followed by half a glass of water, taken as a single dose 2 hours after a meal; repeated after one week as needed.
Children: 7-8 years old: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon; 9-12 years old: 1/2 to 2/3 teaspoon.
Adverse effects: Abdominal pain, diarrhea.

Recent Studies and Uses
R&D on seed gum for a pharmaceutical substitute for the imported guar gum used as a binder in tablet formulation. In 1996, ipil-ipil was found to be an excellent liquid excipient as a suspending and thickening agent.

Kaymito

Scientific name: Chrysophyllum cainito L.;
English: Star apple; Tagalog: Kaymito

Spreading crown, grows to a height of 15 meters with numerous slender branches. Young tips are copper-collored and covered with hairs. Leaves are leathery, pointed at the tip, blunt or rounded at the base and covered with silky, golden-brown soft hairs.

Medicinal properties
Tonic, refreshing, antihelminthic

Distribution
Cultivated for its edible fruit.

Parts used and preparation
Seeds, leaves, bark, fruit.

Medicinal uses:
Dysentery: Decoction of the bark.
Tonic: Infusion of the bark is tonic and refreshing.
Abscesses: Latex.
Antihelminthic: Dried latex.