White snakeroot

Overview

The plant is originated from the area of Northern Brazil to Suriname, and was introduced, cultivated and naturalized long ago in some Caribbean islands, Africa, India, Indo-China, the Philippines, and Java, from where it was introduced into other parts of Indonesia.

Vernacular Names

Acerang (Malay), Apana (Tagalog-Philippines), Cây bả dột (Vietnamese), Pang' kacha (Cambodian), Ayapana (French).

Agroecology

It grows at elevations up to 1,600 m. It endures heavy shade, and has excellent ground-covering and soil retaining properties. It prefers in a sunny position, well-drained soil. It prefers a mean annual temperature within the range 24–37 °C.

Morphology

• Stems - reddish, often partly decumbent, rooting at the lower nodes; young shoots often whitish, because of resinous exudate.
• Leaves - opposite, on flowering stems partially alternate, simple, lanceolate to narrowly oblong, base gradually tapering, apex obtuse, margins entire, recurved, or with a few minute teeth, blade rather thick, lowermost opposite pair of lateral veins arising above the leaf-base, dark green or tinged purple to a varying extent.
• Flowers - tubular, corolla scarcely exerted from the involucre, narrowly funnel-shaped, glabrous on inner surface, with glands on outer surface of lobes, reddish-violet, with a greenish-white base.
• Fruits - narrowly oblong achene, 2 mm long, 5-angled and sparsely hairy on the angles; pappus 3 mm long, white.

Cultivation

• Propagated generatively by seeds
• Propagated vegetatively by cuttings and suckers, which is the easiest method.

Chemical Constituents

Ayapanine (7-methoxycoumarin), ayapine (6,7-methylenedioxycoumarin), terpenes phellandrene, borneol,β-selinene, quinones thymoquinone and thymoquinone-dimethylether.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• Its reported pharmacological activities include antitussive, astringent, anticoagulant, depurative, cicatrizant, antitumoral and antiseptic.
• Leaves are sudorific, febrifuge, alterative, stomachic, and antiscorbutic.
• The plant has stimulant effect and tonic in small doses, laxative in quantities.
• A water extract of the dried leaves and shoots is used as a cardiac stimulant, increasing the force of the heartbeat but diminishing its frequency.
• Externally, the leaves are used to treat badly infected wounds.
• In Brazil and the Caribbean, a gargle prepared from the leaves is used to relieve thrush, scurvy and angina.
• In Trinidad, a decoction is taken internally or used for bathing as a remedy for influenza, chest colds, pneumonia and constipation.
• The leaves are widely used as tea, as a treatment against chronic diarrhoea, lung diseases, influenza and also as an antidote for snake bites. It is also used to regulate menstruation problems.