Suganda(Coleus aromaticus Benth.)

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Botanical Name : Coleus aromaticus Benth.
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Plectranthus
Species: P. amboinicus
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Other scientific Names:Coleus amboinicus Lour.,Coleus suganda Blanco,Plectranthus aromaticus Roxb.

Common Names:Bildu (Sul.),Clavo (C. L. Bis.),Latai (Sub.),Latay (Sub.),Oregano (Span.),Suganda (Tag.),Torongil de Limon (Span.),Zuo shou xiang (Chin.)

Other Common Names: Cuban oregano, Spanish thyme, Orégano Brujo (Puerto Rico), Indian Borage, Húng chanh (Vietnam), Mexican thyme, and Mexican mint

Habitat :Native to Southern and Eastern Africa, but widely cultivated and naturalised in the Old and New World tropics.

Description:
Suganda is an erect, spreading, branched, rather coarse, strongly aromatic, green herb, with fleshy stems. Leaves are fleshy, broadly ovate, 4 to 9 cm long, often heart-shaped, and somewhat hairy, with rounded toothed margins, with the tip and base decurrent. Flowers are small, and occur in distant whorls. Calyx is bell-shaped; the throat is smooth inside, with two lips, the upper lip being ovate and thin, the lower lip having four narrow teeth. Corolla is pale purplish and 5 times longer than the calyx, with a short tube, inflated throat, and short lips.

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This succulent herb has the typical four-cornered stem of the Lamiaceae family. The leaves are very thick and succulent, grey-green and hairy. The plant grows to around 50 cm (20 in) tall. The leaves are highly aromatic with a strong flavour of mixed herbs.

Cultivation:
The herb grows easily in a well-drained, semi-shaded position. It is frost tender and grows well in sub-tropical and tropical locations, but will do well in cooler climates if grown in a pot and brought indoors, or moved to a warm sheltered position in winter. Water only sparingly.

Edible Uses:
The leaves are strongly flavoured and make an excellent addition to stuffings for meat and poultry. Finely chopped, they can also be used to flavour meat dishes, especially beef, lamb and game.

The herb is also used as a substitute for oregano in the food trade and food labelled “oregano-flavoured” may well contain this herb.
· As condiment, provides fragrance to salads and strong-smelling meat dishes.
· Sometimes, used as flavoring for drinks.

Constituents :
Fresh leaves yield 0.055 volatile oil, largely carvacrol.

Medicinal Uses:
Parts used : Leaves

The leaves have had many traditional medicinal uses, especially for the treatment of coughs, sore throats and nasal congestion, but also for a range of other problems such as infections, rheumatism and flatulence. In Indonesia Plectranthus amboinicus is a traditional food used in soup to stimulate lactation for the month or so following childbirth.

In Kerala, India this is called as “panikoorka” and has various uses in treating cold / cough / fever in infants.

Properties
*Aromatic, carminative, emmenagogue, diaphoretic, tonic, stimulant.
*In India, considered antilithiotic, chemopreventive, antiepileptic, antioxidant.

Folkloric:
· In the Philippines, macerated fresh leaves applied externally to burns.
· Leaves are bruised and applied to centipede and scorpion bites. Also, applied to temples and forehead for headache, help in place by a bandage.
· Leaves in infusion or as syrup used as aromatic and carminative; used for dyspepsia and also as a cure for asthma.
· The juice of the leaves for dyspepsia, asthma, chronic coughs, bronchits, colic, flatulence, rheumatism. The dose is one tablespoonful of the fresh juice every hour for adults and one teaspoonful every two hours, four times daily, for children. As an infusion, 50 to 60 grams to a pint of boiling water, and drink the tea, 4 to 5 glasses a day. For chilldren, 1/2 cup 4 times daily.
· For otalgia (ear aches), pour the fresh, pure juice into the ear for 10 minutes.
· For carbuncles, boils, sprains, felons, painful swellings: Apply the poultice of leaves to the affected area, four times daily.
· For sore throats, a decoction of two tablespoonfuls of dried leaves to a pint of boiling water, taken one hour before or after meals.
· Decoction of leaves is given after childbirth.
• In India, leaves are used traditionally for bronchitis, asthma, diarrhea, epilepsy, nephro-cystolithiasi, fever, indigestion and cough.
· The Chinese used the juice of leaves with sugar, for cough in children, asthma and bronchitis, epilepsy and convulsive disorders.
· Leaves are applied to cracks at the corners of the mouth, for thrush, headaches; against fever as a massage or as a wash.
· Used for bladder and urinary afflictions, and vaginal discharges.
· Used as carminative, given to childen for colic.
· In Bengal, used for coli and dyspepsia.
· Expressed juice applied around the orbit to relieve conjunctival pain.

Studies:-
• Antioxidant / Anticlastogenic / Radioprotective: Antioxidant, anticlastogenic and radioprotective effect of Coleus aromaticus on Chinese hamster fibroblast cells (V79) exposed to gamma radiation: The hydroalcoholic extract of CA showed dose-dependent radical scavenging against free radicals, rendered radioprotection against radiation induced DNA damage. Study results establsihed antioxidant, anticlastogenic and radioprotective activities and suggests a potential for chemoprevention.
• Antioxidant: Study of freeze-dried aqueous extract of Ca clearly established the antioxidant potency of freeze-dried extract of C aromaticus.
• Mast cell stabilization property: Study showed stabilization of mast cells in rat mesenteric tissue and suggests further studies into mast cells with its role in Type 1 hypersensitivity-mediated diseases like asthma and rhinitis.
• Antimicrobial: (1) Antimicrobial Activity Of Coleus aromaticus (Benth) Against Microbes Of Reproductive Tract Infections Among Women : Results suggests the herb could be an ideal choice for treating reproductive tract infections. (2) Study showed the antimicrobial effect of Coleus ambonicu, Lour folium infuum toward C albican and Strep mutans.
• Anticlastogenicity: Study of ethanolic extract of C aromaticus showed a protective effect against cyclophophamide and mitomycin-C induced cytogenetic damage.
• Anti-Inflammatory: In a carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model, the aqueous extract of Coleus aromaticus exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity, attributed to the inhibition of mediators released from the 2nd phase of inflammation.
• Antibacterial: Study showed both ethanol and hot water leaf extracts of Coleus aromaticus to possess potent antibacterial activity, the ethanol extract showing greater activity. Results provide scientific support for the centuries-old use of the plant as a medicinal herb.
• Forskolin / Antioxidant / Anti-Asthma / Pulmo-protective: Study isolated forskolin, a diterpenoid, from a methanolic extract of C aromaticus. C aromaticus has been used to treat asthma. Forskolin has been thought to be responsible for its pharmaceutical activity through resotration of antioxidant enzyme activity with its ability to scavenge free radicals. The results validate the use of forskolin as an anti-asthmatic agent.

Other Uses:
· Fresh leaves rubbed on clothing or hair for its scent.

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/Oregano.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plectranthus_amboinicus

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