erva-grossa

<div><p>Elephantopus scaber L.</p> <p>Names.</p> <p>Myanmar: ka-tu-pin, ma-tu-pin, sin-che. English: cucha cara, elephantopus, soft elephant’s-foot, yerba de caballo.</p> <p>Range.</p> <p>Tropical Africa, Eastern Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. In Myanmar, found in Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Shan, and Yangon.</p> <p>Uses.</p> <p>Stem and Leaf: A decoction made from these parts is used for menstrual disorders. Root: Used as an antipyretic, analgesic, and tonic.</p> <p>Notes.</p> <p>In Indian the leaf is used on cuts and to control vomiting; the root is used to check vomiting, for fever in children, on pimples, as an abortifacient, also for urinary problems, amoebic dysentery and other digestive disorders (Jain and DeFilipps 1991). Medicinal uses in other Asian countries follows: In China the plant is used to treat indigestion and swollen legs; in Taiwan the root is used to relieve pain in the chest; on the Malay Peninsula a decoction of the leaves is drunk to cure venereal diseases in women; in Indonesia the roots, either pounded in water or in decoction, are used as a remedy for leucorrhea, anemia in women and children, and during parturition; in the Philippines a decoction of the roots and leaves is used as an emollient, and leaves are heated and rubbed on the throat to relieve a bad cough; and in Guam the plant is used as a remedy for asthenic fever. Also, in Indo-China, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the plant is considered a diuretic and febrifuge; an infusion is taken to relieve anuria and blennorrhea and administered at parturition; a decoction of the whole plant is bechic, cleansing, and used to treat pulmonary diseases and scabies (Perry 1980).</p> <p>The leaves contain a bitter principle; the plant has no alkaloid, but a white crystalline substance, apparently of glycoside nature, has been extracted. Also, an extract of the leaves has been shown to have antibiotic activity against Staphylococcus (Perry 1980).</p> <p>References.</p> <p>Nordal (1963), Perry (1980).</p></div>