Botany
Justicia procumbens is a slender, often tufted, prostrate or ascending, branched annual. Stems are 10 to 40 cm long. Leaves are elliptic to oblong-ovate or ovate, 7 to 20 mm long, 5 to 20 mm wide, obtuse at both ends, and entire or with slightly crenated margins. Flowers are pink, 6 to 7 mm long, and borne in terminal, rather dense cylindric spike 1 to 5 cms long and about 5 mm in diameter. Bracts and calyx-teeth are green, linear-lanceolate, and hairy. Fruit is slightly hairy and about 4 mm long.
Distribution
In open places at low and medium altitudes, from the Batan Islands and nothern Luzon to Mindanao.
Also in China and southward to Australia.
Constituents
- Contains a bitter alkaloid.
- Study has reported arylnaphthalene lignans as major components; some have shown antiviral and antitumor activities.
Properties
Leaves considered alterative, astringent and expectorant.
Parts used
Leaves, whole plant.
Uses
Edibility
Used as ingredient in a Taiwan herbal tea.
Folkloric
In the Philippines, leaves are used externally as astringent for the treatment of certain skin eruptions.
Infusion used for asthma, coughs and rheumatism.
Juice of leaves squeezed in the eyes for treatment of ophthalmia.
Used as laxative and diuretic.
Whole plant decoction used for backache, plethora and flatulence.
In traditional Chinese medicine, used for fever and pain associated with pharyngolaryngeal swelling.
Studies
• Cytotoxicity / Anti-Cancer: Study isolated a new lignan glycoside, procumbenoside A. and 11 known compounds. Known compounds justicidin A, diphyllin, and tuberculatin showed potent cytotoxic effects against some cancer cells in vitro. Two compounds strongly enhanced tumor-necrosis factor-a.
• Monooxygenase / Anti-Cancer: Study isolated five lignans: neojusticin A, neojusticin B, justicidin A, justicidin B and chinensinaphthol methyl ether; in vitro effects on rat hepatic cytochrome P450-catalyzed oxidations were studied. Results showed inhibition of monooxygenase activities differentially and neo B may have a role in diminishing the oxidative activation of benzo(a)pyrene.
• Anti-Platelet Aggregation: Study isolated constituents with antiplatelet effect in human platelet-rich plasma. One compound szhoswed strong inhibitgory effect on plate aggregation induced by adrenaline in a concentration-dependent manner.
• Anti-Viral Lignans: Study isolated 10 antiviral lignans from the methanolic extract of aerial parts of Justicia procumbens. Some compounds showed strong antiviral activity against vesicular stomatitis virus and low cytotoxicity against cultured rabbit lung cells.
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study of alcohol extract of Justicia procumbens showed promising antiinflammatory activity at a dose of 100 mg/kg weight.
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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