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Gen info
· Impatiens is a genus of about 850-1,000 species of flowering plants, and together with the puzzling Hydrocera triflora, the genus makes up the family Balsaminaceae. Some of the species are closer to Hydrocera than the presumed congeners. Phylogenetic studies might suggest a need to split up Impatiens.
 Botany
Kamantigi is an annual, erect,
succulent, branched herb, 1 meter high or less. Leaves are smooth, somewhat glabrous or pubescent, 3 to 5 centimeters long,
narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate, pointed at both ends, deeply serrate,
alternate, the petioles with basal glands as seen under a magnifying
glass. Flowers are axillary, showy, 2 to 3 centimeters long, usually pink,
but forms with white, red, purple, or variegated petals are also
found in cultivation. The sepal spur is long and slender. The
stamens are 5, filaments short, broad, anthers uniting. The ovary
is 5-celled, the stigma, 5-toothed, the ovules many. Fruits are loculicidal capsules, pubescent and explosive when
ripe. (Insert below) The seeds are small, tubercled, and
rounded.
Distribution
· Widely cultivated
for ornamental purposes, throughout the Philippines.
· Seed propagation.
· Native of India, now cultivated in all warm countries.
Constituents
and properties
• Leaves, sulfur and pectin; roots, peroxidase; seeds, oil and
phenol.
Napththoquinone, coumarin derivatives, falvonoid and steroid have been
reported.
• Alcoholic extract of flowers possess antibiotic activity against
some fungi and bacteria.
• Study isolated four rare baccharane glycosides from the seeds of IB.
(Link)
• Study showed the pericarp contains three dinaphthofuran-7,12-dione derivatives, all with significant anti-itching activity.
• Study isolated a natural bisnaphthoquinone, methylene-3,3'-bilawsone from the root cultures, along with lawsone, 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthquinone, scopoletin, isofraxidin and a sterol, spinasterol.
Properties
• Considered emetic, cathartic, antiinfectious, diuretic, expectorant,
tonic.
• Flowers are mucilaginous and cooling.
Parts
utilized
· Roots,
stems, flowers, and seeds.
Uses
Edibility / Culinary
· Leaves and seeds
are edible: leaves and young shoots are cooked; the seeds raw or cooked.
· In Bali, leaves are eaten.
Folkloric
· In the Philippines, pounded leaves used as poultice to dissolve whitlow.
· In Malaya, leaves used for poulticing broken and torn nails.
· In China, powdered seeds are prescribed for difficult labor.
· Flowers used for snake bites, lumbago, and intercostal neuralgia.
· For contusion, painful inflammation, joint pains, carbuncles,
dysmenorrhea, lumbago, and snake bites: use dried flowers, 3 to 6 gms or seed preparation,
3 to 7 gms or the entire plant, 9 to 15 gms, boil to decoction and drink.
· Seed is expectorant; used for cancer treatments.
· For external use on any bruise or painful area; crush fresh
plant and poultice the affected parts of the body.
· Leaf juice used for treatment of warts.
· Root and leaves used for various foreign bodies - coins or other metals inadvetently swallowed, as well as thorns or fish splinters.
· In the U.S. the most common use of jewelweed is to treat poison ivy rashes.
Others
• Dye: Dyes is obtained from flowers and leaves. In parts of Asia, flowers are used as a substitute for Henna for dyeing finger-nails.
Studies
• Antifungal / Antimicrobial: Antifungal activity of synthetic
peptides derived from Impatiens balsamina antimicrobial peptides Ib-AMP1
and Ib-AMP4: Study showed potential of Impatiens balsamina
antimicrobial peptides in combating fungal infections.
• Antimicrobial: Study isolated a single bioactive compound, 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (MNQ) which showed activity against 8 of 12 bacteria and all 8 fungi tested.
• Antianaphylactic: Antianaphylactic effects of the
ethanolic extract from the petals of Impatiens balsamina L. in mice:
Study of extracts from the white flowers of IB showed IB had significant
antianaphylactic activity.
• Kaempferol / Lawsone /  Antianaphylactic: In a study on the anti-anaphylactic effects of an ethanol extract of IB, kaempferol 3-rutinoside and lawsone from Impatiens balsamina significantly inhibited the decrease of blood flow.
• Anti-inflammatory: Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitory 1,4-Naphthoquinones
from Impatiens balsamina L.: Study showed evidence supporting
traditional useof Impatiens balsmina for rheumatism, pain and swelling.
• Antipruritic / Antidermatitic: Extract studies in atopic dermatitis model NC mice showed IB
to be effective for the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis.
• Antipruritic: (1) Antipruritic Dinaphthofuran-7,12-dione
Derivatives from the Pericarp of Impatiens balsamina:
Balsaminones were found to have significant antipruritic activity. (2) In an animal study using Dextran T40 and compound 48;80 to cause histamine release and induce itching, the ethanol extract of Ib significantly inhibited the scratching behavior. Kaempferol, quercetin and 1,4-naphthoquinone derivaties in Ib were demonstrated to show antipruritic effects.
•Anti-Tumor: Study isolated a final and activie component, 2-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, which showed an intensive in vitro anti-tumor
activity against HepG2 cells.
•Antibacterial: The kaempferl isolated from Impatiens balsamina, in combinations formulations showed the combination of clindamycin with kaempferol or quercetin showed greater synergistic effect than that of erythromycin with kaempferol or quercetin. Results suggest the combinations' potential for acne treatment.
•Anti-H Pylori Activity: The acetone and ethyl acetate pod extracts of I. balsamina exhibited very strong anti-H. pyloric activity.
•Antihelmintic: Study of five seed oils, including I. balsamina, all exhibited moderate to significant anthelmintic activity against Pheritima posthuma.
Caution
· Because of high
mineral content, concerns have been raised on regular ingestion of large
quantities of the plant, especially those with gout, urolithiasis, and
arthritis.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Cultivated for ornamental use.
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