Melastoma malabathricum L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 117

Melastoma malabathricum L.

Names.

Myanmar: kyet-gale, linda-pabyin, myetpye, nyaung-ye-o-pan, sahkao, shame, wachyang, wagangga. English: Indian rhododendron, melastoma.

Range.

India, southeastern Asia, Malay Archipelago, New Guinea, and the Philippines. In Myanmar, found in Ayeyarwady, Taninthayi, and Yangon.

Uses.

Leaf: Used in for chronic diarrhea and dysentery.

Notes.

In India the bark of the species is used for skin diseases; the leaf for smallpox and wounds; and the root for diarrhea and dysentery ( Jain and DeFilipps 1991). In China the leaf is used as a febrifuge and for rickets ( Duke and Ayensu 1985). In Taiwan the plant is used as a febrifuge and for rickets; on the Malay Peninsula for its astringent property and, in combination with the leaves of Ageratum conyzoides and Hedyotis capitellata , to treat dysentery ( Perry 1980). In Indo-China the plant is used for treating diarrhea, leucorrhea, and dysentery; the leaves, flowering tops and roots are an astringent drug ( Perry 1980).

Reference.

Nordal (1963).