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Botanical Name :Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides
Family : :Apiaceae/ Umbelliferae
Synonyms:Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lam.
Other scientific names : Hydrocotyle rotundifolia Roxb. ,Hydrocotyle nitidula A. Rich. ,Hydrocotyle hirsuta Sw. ,Hydrocotyle puncticulata Miq. Water pennywort (Engl.) ,Hydrocotyle latisecta Zoll.
Common names :lawn pennywort,lawn marshpennywort, Kanapa (Ig.), Tomtomon (Bon.), Man-t’ien-hsing (Chin.),Water pennywort (Engl.),
Habitat : Native to Asia and Africa, but introduced elsewhere where it has escaped to become a serious weed that may become invasive in wet areas or along stream banks.
Description:
Water pennywort is a creeping perennial, smooth herb with the stems rooting at the nodes. Leaves are orbicular or subreniform, thin, about 1 cm in diameter with heart-shaped base and margins somewhat lobed, the lobes being short and having 2 or 3 teeth. Umbels are very small, with few flowers. Flowers are small, white, sessile, axillary, sepals lacking, petals and stamens 5. Fruits are few, sometimes only 2 or 3 on a peduncle and less than 1 mm long, ellipsoid, usually with red colored spots.
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plant often found as a weed of gardens, pathways and lawns, but occasionally planted for its attractive, glossy foliage.This plant is a prostrate creeping herb 1 to 2 cm tall with an unlimited spread via the wiry, hollow, green stems that root freely at the nodes.
Constituents:
*Roots contain vellarin and vitamin C.
*Plant yielded 7 new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins, hydrocotylosides I-VII and one known saponin, udosaponin B.
Ediable Uses:
• Leaves are edible.
• Whole plant can be used as a potherb with its parsley-like aroma.
Medicinal Uses:
Parts used
· Entire plant.
· Gathered throughout the year.
· Rinse after collection, sun-dry before use or use in fresh state.
Properties:
Sweet tasting, slightly minty.
Juice is emetic.
Considered depurative, febrifuge, expectorant, antitussive; antifebrile, diuretic.
Folkloric
*Plant juice used for fevers.
*Poultice used for wounds and boils.
*Decoction of plant used for abscesses, colds, coughs, hepatities, infuenza, pruritus, sore throat.
*Used for headaches and urinary problems.
*In Malaya, mixed with sugar and cassia bark for coughs.
*Leaves pounded with alum for poulticing scrotal skin ailments.
*In China, used for hepatoma. Also, an ingredient in Chinese herbal concoctions used for muscular dystrophy.
*In the Arunachal Pradesh district of India, juice of the plant mixed with honey, used for typhoid fever. In the district of India, fresh plants are crushed and the *juice extracted and three tablespoons are taken twice daily for five days.
Studies
• Antitumor / Immunomodulatory: Ethanolic extract of HS showed anti-tumor activity with significantly enhanced activitiy on murine hepatic carcinoma, sarcoma 180 crocker, and uterine cervical carcinoma clones. Activity was comparable to that of antitumor agent 5-fluorouracil. The extract also mediate immunomodulatory effects as shown by promotion of thymus and spleen indices and humoral immunity in mice.
• Antioxidant / Antriproliferative: H sibthorpioides was one of four Hydrocotyle species studied. The results demonstrated that the phytochemicals might have a significant effect on antioxidant and anticancer activities related to the amount of polyphenols and flavonoids. The four species present a potential source of natural antioxidants. Of the four hydrocotyle specie, HS and H batrachium had the lowest antiproliferative activity and H nepalensis, the highest activity.
• Phytochemicals / Saponins: Study of methanolic extract yielded seven new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins, hydrocotylosides I-VII and one known saponin, udosaponin B.
• Phytochemicals / Saponins: Study of methanolic
Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider
Resources:
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Kanapa.html
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Horticulture/Hydrocotyle_sibthorpioides
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HYSI
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