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Botany
Puñgapung is a perennial, stemless herb. Corm is depressed-globose, up to 30 centimeters in diameter, flowering before leafing every year from the previous year's corm. Stem-like structure, which bears the lamina, is merely the petiole, 1 meter or more high, radically developed from the corm. Leaves are usually solitary, the blades up to 1 meter in diameter,
trisected, the segments dichotomous, the ultimate ones pinnately divided into oblong to oblong-obovate, acuminate lobes. Spathe is sessile, broadly campanulate, dull-purplish, the margins somewhat spreading or recurved, waved and crenulate, up to 30 centimeters
in diameter. Spadix (a spike of flowers contained in the spathe)
is hardly longer than the spathe, the appendage ovoid, variously sulcate or depressed, up to 15 centimeters long, are malodorous when
flowering.
Distribution
- Common in most or all, provinces of Luzon and in Mindoro, in thickets
and secondary forests, along roads, trails, etc., at low and medium altitudes in settled
areas.
- Occurs in India through Malaya to Polynesia.
Constituents
• Corm analysis: 74% moisture; 0.73% ash; 5.1% protein; 18% carbohydrate, 0.61% crude fiber, giving 1,000 calories per kilo. In food value, comparable to kalabasa, superior to sinkamas.
• Yields amblyone, a tritepenoid with antibacterial and cytotoxic activities.
• Phytochemical screening of various tuber extracts yielded alkaloids, carbohydrates, coumarins, steroids, saponins.
• Tubers yielded an active diastatic enzyme- amylase, betulinic acid, B-sitosterol, stigmasterol, B-sitosterol palmitate, lupeol, triacontane, amino acids, carbohydrates, saponin, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and carotene.
Graphic >
Spathe prior to
malodorous flowering stage.
Properties
- Corms are caustic, stomachic
and tonic.
- Raphide crystals on the corm, petiole and leaves produce irritation upon contact with the skin.
- Tubers are considered appetizer, antibacterial, antifungal, anodyne, aphrodisiac, antiinflammatory, antihemorrhoidal, cytotoxic, emmenagogue, hemostatic, expectorant, carminative, digestive, stomachic, anthelmintic, liver tonic, rejuvenating and tonic.
Parts
utilized
Corm, roots, leaves.
Uses
Edible
• Leaves and roots.
• Rhizomes preferably cooked, acrid when raw. May cause
perioral burning and itching.
• Petioles of young unexpanded leaves are edible when thoroughly
cooked.
• In time of scarcity, corms are sometimes eaten. Corms provides about 1,000 calories per kilo; comparable in food value
to kalabasa, superior to singkamas.
Folkloric
• Poultices of corm are antirheumatic. Also used for hemorrhoids.
• Plants used for cough.
• Roots are used for boils and hemorrhoids.
• Tubers are also used for hemorrhoids.
• In India, corm is considered stomachic and tonic; used in piles and given as restorative in dyspepsia and debility. Tuberous roots are used for treatment of piles, abdominal
pains, tumors, spleen enlargement, asthma and rheumatism. Also, corms used as restorative in dyspepsia, debility, etc. Roots used for boils and ophthalmia; also as an emmenagogue. Petioles used in scorpion bites and dysmenorrhea. Tubers also used for post delivery problems, migraine, and neck swelling.
• In Ayurveda, traditionally used in arthralgia, elephantiasis, tumors, inflammations, hemorrhoids, hemorrhages, vomiting, cough, bronchitis, asthma, dyspepsia, colic, constipation, hepato-splenopathies, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, seminal weakness, fatigue and general debility.
• In Unani medicine, given as vegetable in sluggish liver.
• Corms applied externally to relive the pain of rheumatic swellings. When fresh, acts as acrid stimulant and expectorant.
Others
• Feed: Leaves and corms are common feed for hogs.
Studies
• Antibacterial / Cytotoxic / Amblyone:
Amblyone, a triterpenoid isolated from A campanulatus showed to
have good antibacterial activity and moderate cytotoxic activity.
• Antibacterial / 3,5-diacetylambulin: 3,5-diacetylambulin, a flavonoid isolated from A. campanulatus showed antibacterial activities against 4 gram positive and 6 gram-negative bacterial
• Antioxidant / Hepatoprotective: (1) Study on
ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Amorphophallus campanulatus showed antioxidant activity. Results showed potent hepatoprotective action against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic damage. The possible mechanism of antioxidant activity may be due to the free radical scavenging potential from the flavonoids in the extracts. (2) Study of dried tuber on acetaminophen-induced hepatic injury in albino rats showed increase in levels of superoxide dismutase (DOS), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) suggesting hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties.
• Analgesic: Study in mice was done on a methanol extract of A campanulatus tuber for in-vivo analgesic activity using a tail flick and acetic acid induced writhing methods. Results showed significant dose-dependent analgesic activity. Effect might be due to plant phytoconstituents which inhibit cyclooxygenase enzyme or through an effect on central opioid receptors (µ-receptors).
• Immunomodulatory: Study of a methanol extract of AC tuber on immunological function in mice exhibited immunomodulatory activity by causing a decrease in charcoal clearance, spleen index and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response.
• Phytochemicals / Anthelmintic: Corms yielded steroids, alkaloids, tannins, glycosides, carbohydrates, phenols, flavonoids, saponins, starch and proteins. Results showed the corm chloroform and methanol extracts and crude tannins showed good anthelmintic activity close to the standard drug albendazole.
• CNS Depressant Activity: Study showed a dose-dependent decrease in CNS activity with sedation and decrease in locomotor activity of the experimenting animal.
• Antioxidant: Study evaluated the antioxidant activity of a methanolic and aqueous extract of tubers for free radical scavenging property on DPPH, NO, and reducing power assays. Results showed the aqueous extract with more antioxidant activity compared to the methanolic extract.
• Hepatoprotective in Paracetamol-Induced Liver Damage: Study of methanol and aqueous extracts of tubers in paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats showed hepatoprotective activity. There was significant reduction of hepatic enzyme values, almost comparable to silymarin. The hepatoprotective activity was confirmed by histopathologic examination of control and treated animals.
• Cytotoxicity / Anticancer Potential: Study evaluated the cytotoxic property of different solvents of A. paeoniifolius tuber using Allium cepa root tip cells and HEp-2 cell line invitro models. Results exhibited cytotoxic activity, predominant in the petroleum ether and ethanolic extracts with dose-dependent antiproliferative activity on HEp2 cells.
• Antioxidant Against Thioacetamide-Induced Oxidative Stress: Study evaluated the protective effect of extracts against thioacetamide-induced oxidative stress in rats. Silymarin was used as control. Results showed a methanolic extract to have higher antioxidant and radical scavenging activity than an n-hexane extract, attributed to higher phenolic and flavonoid content. There was histopathological support for the dose-dependent effects.
• Anticonvulsant: Study evaluated petroleum ether extracts of A. paeoniifolius for anticonvulsant activity. Diazepam was used as standard drug. Results showed dose-dependent activity regarding onset of convulsion.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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