 Botany
Endive is a cultivated plant consisting of a dense rosette of curly leaves arising from the base. Leaves are brittle, oblong, and lobed or cut. Flowers are purple, the upper ones passing into leafy bracts.
Distribution
Cultivated.
Grows best in the Baguio area.
Constituents
Excellent source of calcium and iron.
Leaves contain inosit, a bitter principle, ceryl alcohol, d- and B-lactucerol and traces of urea.
Properties
Considered resolvent and cooling.
Roots considered tonic, demulcent, stimulant, and febrifuge.
Parts used
Leaves.
Uses
Culinary
Used for salads, like lettuce.
Folkloric
Roots used for dyspepsia and fever, as a tonic and demulcent.
Fruit used for fevers, headaches and jaundice.
Studies
• Phytochemicals: Study of the roots isolated twelve known sesquiterpene lactones and a new gualanolid 10b-methoxy-1a,11b,13-tetrahydrolactucin with three known phenolic esters.
• Photoprotection: Application of a root extract on the skin prior to UVB irradiation totally prevented erythema. Study suggests C. endiva extracts might possess sun-protective qualities that make them useful as sunscreens.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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