Gen info
Clerodendrum L. is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with more the 500 species identified, with ethnomedical use in many indigenous systems (Indian, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Chinese) for a variety of disease: syphylis, typhoid, cancer, jaundice and hypertension.

Botany
· Erect, branched, shrubby or half-woody plant, 1-2 m in height. Stems are green, four-angled. Leaves, ovate, 9-20 cm long, with pointed tips, heart-shaped base, and shallow toothed margins. Flowers are odorless, bright red, slender and borne in terminal pannicles in the upper axil of leaves. Corolla-tube is about 1 cm long; limb, oblique and spreading, 5-lobed. Stamens are 2 cm long and red or purplish. Fruit is fleshy,blue, depressed-rounded, about 1 cm in diameter, with 3-4 seeds. Calyx is red, spreading, about 2 cm in diameter.

Distribution
Common in thickets, secondary forests, and damp places, at low and medium altitudes.

Constituents
Mature flowers tested positive for alkaloids, while young flowers (less than two months old) tested negative for alkaloids.

Parts utilized
Leaves, roots.

Uses
Folkloric
· Leaves, whole or pounded, used as cataplasm to relieve pains after childbirth. Also used for rheumatism and neuralgia.
· Plaster of leaves for colic in children.
· Leaves, whole or pounded applied to abdomen for abdominal post-partum compalints.
· For colic, leaves are heated over fire, then wiped with coconut oil and applied to the stomach.
· Root isa known to be purgative.
· In South East Asia, C. paniculatum leaf juice extracted with water used to treat sore eyes. Concentrated water extract also used for wounds.

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Clerodendrum and Heathcare: An Overview / Neeta Shrivastava* • Tejas Patel / Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Science and Biotechnology ©2007 Global Science Books
(2)
Initial Studies on Alkaloids from Lombok Medicinal Plants / Surya Hadi and John Bremmer / Molecules 2001, 6, 117-129