Botany
Sagai-uak is a smooth, prostrate herb. Branches are slender, straggling, 60 to 90 cms long, rooting at the lower nodes. Leaves are ovate, 3 to 6 cms long, 2 to 3 cms wide, pointed at both ends, and toothed at the margins. Flowers are crowded on short axillary and terminal racemes. Calyx in the flower is about 6 mm long, double that length in the fruit; its outer sepals are broadly ovatre and heart-shaped. Corolla is dark reddish brown. Capsules are ovate, flattened and 1 to 1.5 mm in length.
Distribution
On forested slopes at low altitudes, ascending to 400 meters, rather rare and local.
Found in Cagayan, Kalinga and Laguna Provinces in Luzaon and in Zamboanga, Mindanao.
Occurs in India to Indo-China, through Malaya to the Moluccas.
Constituents
- Plant yields an amorphous bitter glucoside, curangin, which is either nonpoisonous or only very slightly poisonous.
Properties
Plant, especially the leaves, is very bitter.
Considered aperient, febrifuge, diuretic, emmenagogue, sudorific.
Curangine, an alkaloid derived from the plant, reported to have a marked febrifuge property.
Parts used
Whole plant, leaves.
Uses
Folkloric
In the Philippines, decoction of the plant is used as febrifuge, especially for malaria.
The plant, masticated, decocted or infused, is used as stomachic and for irregular menstruation.
Leaves are aperient; a stimulant to the intestines, sudorific, diuretic and emmenagogue.
Leaves are used in the early stages of dropsy, in intermittent fevers, amenorrhea, arrested lochia, colic and lumbar pains.
In the Moluccas, used as vermifuge, for tertian fever, as liver and bile stimulant. Also used for colic.
Malays used it for its bitterness to whet the appetite.
Juice given to provoke nausea.
Decoction of leaves used for stomachache.
Leaves applied to the head in cases of headache; cooling the head and allaying the pain.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
|
