Botany
Tikas is stout herbaceous plant with a tuberous rootstock. Whole plant is green and smooth, growing 1.5 meters high. Leaves are lanceolate or ovate, 10 to 30 centimeters long, 10 to 20 centimeters wide. Inflorescence is somewhat waxy-glaucous, erect, with a peduncle about 30 centimeters long. Flowers are red, solitary or in pairs, the bracts about 1.3 centimeters long. Sepals are 1 to 1.5 centimeters long, greenish-white though sometimes tinged with red, and lanceolate or oblong. Corolla tube about 1 cm long, the involute lobes being red or reddish, 2.5 to 3 centimeters long. The staminodes are bright-red, petal-like, the outer one being about 4 centimeters long, somewhat spatulate, acute, or slightly acuminate, and the others somewhat smaller, though the anther-bearing ones are as long as the outer one, about 4 centimeters wide, and recurved about the insertion of the anther. Inflorescence somewhat waxy-glaucous, erect, with a peduncle about 30 centimeters long. Fruits are capsules, green oblong-ovoid, softly echinate (spiny), and 2 to 2.5 centimeters long. Seeds are about the size of a pea, somewhat spherical, with shining, black seed-coat.

Distribution
- Throughout the Philippines in settled areas, occurring in waste places and near settlements.
- Native of tropical America, and now pantropic in distribution.

Parts utilized
· Rhizome.
· May be collected during any time of the year.
· Rinse, remove appendage or roots, section into pieces sun-dry or use fresh.

Constituents
- Rhizomes yield fat, traces of an alkaloid, gum and starch.
- Phytochemical screening yielded phenols, sterols, flavonoids and saponins.

Properties
Sweet-tasting, slightly cooling-natured, antipyretic, relieves gastrointestinal disorders.
Rhizomes considered demulcent, diaphoretic, diuretic, antipyretic.
Seeds considered cordial and vulnerary.
Roots considered acrid and stimulant.

Uses
Folkloric
· Principally used in the treatment of acute jaundice type of hepatitis. Use 15 to 30 gms dried material or 60 to 90 gms fresh rhizome material in decoction. Commonly, recovery from jaunditic symptoms may be observed after one week of administration.
· In the Philippines, decoction of rhizome used as diuretic. Also, when macerated in water, used to alleviate nosebleeds.
· In Costa Rica infusion of leaves used as diuretic; rhizomes used as emollient.
· Decoction of rhizomes used in fevers, dropsy and dyspepsia.
· Flowers may be used for external wound bleeding - use 10 to 15 gm dried material in decoction.
• In Bangladesh, paste of plant used for tonsillitis.
• In Thailand, rhizome has been used with other herbs for cancer treatment.
• In southwest Nigeria, leaves used for malaria.

Studies
• AIDS / HIV1-RT Inhibition: Canna indica was one of twenty Thai medicinal plants used to treat AIDS tested for their HIV type 1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory activity. C indica rhizomes showed HIV-1 RT inhibition ratio higher than 90% at 200 bug/ml concentration. Further study of C indica and two proteins isolated showed significant HIV-1 RT inhibition.
• Cannagenin / Molluscicidal: (1) Study yielded cannagenin, which had a highly synergistic with chlorophyll on the morality of snails. (2) Study showed C indica to have time and dose dependent mollusicidal activity in a dose that was not toxic for the fish Colisa fasciatus, which shares the same habitat as the snail L acuminata.
• Hepatoprotective: (1) Study showed the methanol extract of aerial parts of Canna indica has liver protective effect against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity. (2) Study of hydroalcoholic extract showed significant antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity. Results were compared with reference drug Silymarin.
• Cytotoxicity / Anticancer: Study yielded two pure compounds, stigmasteril and 6-beta-hydroxystigmasta-4, 22-diene-3-one and two other toxic minor components. They showed cytotoxicity against P388 leukemia cells.
• Antioxidant: Study results clearly indicate the aerial parts of C indica is effective in scavenging free radicals and has the potential to be a powerful antioxidant.
• Flower Anthocyanins / Antioxidant / Pigment Source: Study of red flowers of Canna indica isolated anthocyanins. Four anthocyanin pigments were isolated from quercetin and lycopene. The compounds showed good antioxidant activity. Results suggest a promising pigment source for food applications.

Availability
Wild-crafted.