 Botany
Añgañgi is a smooth herb that grows in water or marshy places. Stems are stout, erect, simple, 30 to 60 centimeters in length, and rarely branched above. Leaves are linear-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 2 to 6 centimeters in length, 0.5 to 1 centimeter in width, opposite and whorled, with pointed tip, rounded and clasping base, and toothed margins. Flowers are pink or pale purple, and borne singly or in whorls in inflorescences at the axils of the leaves, with long, very slender pedicels 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. Calyx is about 4 millimeters long, glandular, and divided into lanceolate segments. Corolla is 1.2 centimeters long. Capsules are oblong and pointed at the tip.
Distribution
- In marshes and open wet places at low and medium altitudes, ascending to 1,600 meters.
- Found in Ilocos Norte, Bontoc, Benguet, Nueva Viscaya, and Camarines Provinces in Luzon; in Palawan, Polilo and Mindanao.
Occurs in India to Taiwan and southward through Malaya to tropical Australia.
Constituents
- Analysis of essential oil showed the major components were limonene (15.09%), (+)-trans-isolimonene (14.52%) and a-humulene (6.04%).
- Other oil constituents are perillaldehyde and a monoterpenoid ketone, cis-4-caranone.
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Properties
- Plant emits a turpentine-like odor.
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Sour, slightly bitter.
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Considered antiseptic, aperient, appetizer, digestive, carminative, anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, cooling, emollient, febrifuge, galactagogue.
Parts used
Plant, leaves, roots.
Uses
Edibility
- Plant used as spinach, eaten raw or steamed.
- Herb has an intense lemon-like flavor.
- In Java, plant is eaten raw or steamed; thought to be good for quieting the stomach after eating durian.
- A popular culinary herb in Vietnamese cuisine.
Folkloric
- Leaves are used for poulticing sores on legs.
- Decoction of leaves and roots given for fevers.
- Plant used as a cooling medicine for fevers.
- Used by nursing mothers when their milk is sour; also used as a galactagogue.
- In Ayurveda, used in vitiated conditions of pitta. Also used for foul ulcers, agalactia, galactic impurities, anorexia, dyspepsia, helminthiasis, constipation, inflammations and strangury.
- Plant juice used as cooling medicine for fever and pharyngitis.
Studies
• Antioxidant: Study of the antioxidant properties of a methanol extract, essential oil and related compounds showed the methanol extract and essential oil exhibiting free radical scavenging, NO radical scavenging and antilipid peroxidation. However, both showed less potent antioxidant activity than the reference compounds, torlox and curcumin.
• Antioxidant / Vascular Protective: Study of three popular Thai dietary and herbal plants, Cratoxylum formosum, Syzygium gratum and Limnophila aromatica for antioxidant and vascular protective activities in in vitro and in vivo models showed the plant extracts to possess antioxidants and have potential roles in prevention of vascular dysfunction.
• Antimicrobial: Study of L. aromatica extract showed antimicrobial activity against B. cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas fluorescens, S. typhimurium, S. aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica. The activity may be attributed to its essential oil consisting of limonene and peril-aldehyde as major compounds, flavone, and flavonoids.
• Volatile Oil Constituents: Study of essential oil isolat3d from the aerial parts of L. aromatica yielded 29 components representing 99.3% of the total oil. The oil was rich in Z-ocimene (39.2%), terpinolene (17.2%) and camphor (12.9%).
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study of anti-inflammatory activity of extracts of Thai spices with lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages showed the extract from L. aromatica to be the most robust dose-dependent suppression of NO production without exerting cytotoxicity.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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