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Botanical Name : Acalypha indica Linn/Acalypha caroliniana Blanco
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Subfamily: Acalyphoideae
Genus: Acalypha
Species: Acalypha indica Linn.
Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Euphorbiales
Common Name :Muktajhuri, Kuppi, Chalmari, Arithamanjara, Indan Acalypa, Swetbasanta(Beng.) Maraotong (Ilk.) ,Taptapiñgar (Ilk.) Indian nettle (Engl.) Indian copperleaf (Engl.) , Indian acalypha (Engl.)
Vernacular Name:
Sans. –Arittamanjarie.
Eng. –Indian acalypha.
Hind. – Kuppu; Khokali.
Ben. –Muktajhuri; Sveta-basanta.
Guj.– Vanchi Kanto.
Mab.—Khokli ; Khajoti.
Tel. – Kuppichettu; Harita-manjiri; Kuppinta or Muripindi.
Tam. – Kuppivaeni; Kuppaimeni.
Can.—Kuppigida.
Mal. – Kuppamani.
Kon.—Kunkmiphal.
Uriya.—Indramaris.
Sinb .—Kupa-menya.
Habitat :Common annual shrub in Indian gardens, backyards of houses and waste place throughout the plains of India.A common weed in and about towns, in thickets and waste places throughout the Philippines.
Description:
An erect, simple or branched, slightly hairy annual herb, growing to a height of 40-80 cm. Leaves are ovate. 3 to 6 cm long, shorter than the long stalks, with toothed margins. Flowers are sessile, greenish, borne on numerous lax axillary spikes. The male flowers are very small, clustered at the summit. Female flowers are solitary and scattered, with a large and leafy bract, 5-6 mm long. Capsules are 2 mm long and concealed by the bract, containing one seed which is ovoid and smooth.
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You may click to see more pictures .
Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Plant, Leaf, Root
In India during famine it was eaten asfood, leaves eaten as vegetable.
Main Constituents:
Contains an alkaloid, acalyphine. Anthelminthic, cathartic, emetic, expectorant, laxative.
Medicinal Uses:
Folkloric
*Decoction of leaves used for dysentery.
*Juice of the root and leaves given to children as expectorant and emetic.
*The leaves, in decoction or powdered form, is used as a laxative.
*For constipation, an anal suppository of the bruised leaves helps relax the constricted sphincter ani muscle.
*Leaves mixed with garlic used as anthelminthic.
*Leaves mixed with common salt applied to scabies.
*Poultice of bruised leaves used for syphilitic ulcers, to maggot-eaten sores and as emollient to snake bites.
*Powdered dried leaves for bed sores.
*Juice of fresh leaves, mixed with oil or lime, used for rheumatic complaints.
*Decoction of leaves used as instillation for earaches and for periauricular poultice or compress
*Root, bruised in water, used as cathartic.
*Bruised leaves used as “suppository” in constipation.
In Indian pharmacopoeia, used as an expectorant. Also used for the prevention and reversal of atherosclerotic disease.
In Tamilnadu, India, the Paliyar tribes of Shenbagathope use the entire plant for bronchitis, a decoction of the herb for tooth- and earaches and paste of the leaves applied to burns.
For more knowledge click to see :Review of Acalypha indica, Linn in Traditional Siddha
Medicine by Thomas M.Walter
Studies:-
• Post-Coital Infertility Activity: Petroleum ether and ethanol extracts of A. indica were found to be effective in causing significant anti-implantation activity.
• Flavonoids: Four known kaempferol glycosides–mauritianin, clitorin, nicotiflorin and biorobin were isolated from the flowers and leaves of A. indica.
• Phytochemicals: Studies yielded fatty acids (eicosatrienoic acid methyl ester, hexatriacontaine, trimethyl undecatriene and trifluoroacetic acid), volatile essential oil (phytol), and flavonoids (naringing, quercitrin, hesperitin and kaempferol; most of the identified components having their own medicinal properties.
• Antibacterial: Study have shown it to possess antibacterial activity against Aeromonas hydrophylla and Bacillus cereus.
• Anti-ulcer: Ethanol extract has an anti-ulcer property.
• Antifungal / Antimicrobial:(1) Study of fresh, dried and powdered samples of leaf, stem and root of Acalypha indica showed activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and E. coli. An active compound showed more activity than clotrimazole. (2) Study concludes the plant has potential antifungal properties providing a scientific basis for utilization of the plant for treatment of antifungal infections. Results of study were negative for antibacterial activity against E coli and S aureus.
• Antimalarial: Results of leaf extract of A. indica show promising larvicidal and ovicidal activity against malaria vector A. stephensi.
•Neuroprotective / Neurotherapeutic: Results of water extract study showed A indica has neuroprotective and neurotherapeutic effects ex vivo on m. gastrocnemius frog.
• Antioxidant: Ethanol and aqueous extract of root of A indica showed nitric oxide scavenging activity in a dose-dependent manner.
• Antibacterial / Antioxidant: Study of Acalypha indica and Ocimum basilicum showed antibacterial activity against E coli, K pneumonia, S aureus, P aeruginosa and Proteus sp, the ethanol more effective than the acetone extract.
Additional Sources and Suggested Readings:-
(1)
Post-coital antifertility activity of Acalypha indica L. / Journal of Ethnopharmacology Vol 67, Issue 3, 30 November 1999, Pages 253-258/doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(98)00213-X
(2)
Flavonoids from Acalypha indica / A Nahrstedt, M Hungeling, F Peterelt / Fitoterapia Vol 77, Issue 6, September 2006, Pages 484-486 / doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2006.04.007
(3)
Preliminary studies on the analysis of fatty acids, essential oils and flavonoids in Acalypha indica L. / J. Trop. Agric. and Fd. Sc. 32(2)(2004): 16R3. –Su1r6i,9 H.
(4)
Isolation, Identification and Study of Antimicrobial Property of a Bioactive Compound in an Indian Medicinal Plant Acalypha indica (Indian-Nettle) / World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Volume 21, Numbers 6-7, October 2005 , pp. 1231-1236(6) /
(5)
Studies on effect of Acalypha indica L. (Euphorbiaceae) leaf extracts on the malarial vector, Anopheles stephensi Liston (Diptera:Culicidae) / Govindarajan,MJebanesan,APushpanathan,TSamidurai,K/ Parasitology Researc / 2008vol.103(no.3)
(6)
IN VITRO ANTI-BACTERIAL AND ANTI-FUNGAL PROPERTIES OF Acalypha indica (KUCING GALAK) / Azhmahani A et al /
(7)
NEURO-PROTECTION AND NEURO-THERAPY EFFECTS OF Acalypha indica Linn. WATER EXTRACT EX VIVO ON Musculus gastrocnemius Frog / Ernie Purwaningsih et al / Makara Kesehatan. Vol 12, No 2, Dec 2008: 71-76 /
(8)
The Evaluation of Nitric Oxide Scavenging Activity of Acalypha Indica Linn Root / Balakrishnan N et al / Asian J. Research Chem. 2(2): April.-June, 2009
(9)
Isolation of potential antibacterial and antioxidant compounds from Acalypha indica and Ocimum basilicum / K Ramya Durga et al / Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 3(10), pp. 703-706, October, 2009
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.org/Maraotong.html
http://www.bitterrootrestoration.com/medicinal-plants/acalypha-indica.html
Click to access Microsoft_Word_-_Acalypha.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Acalypha_indica_Blanco2.266-cropped.jpg
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