Elephantopus scaber L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 27-28

Elephantopus scaber L.

Names.

Myanmar: ka-tu-pin, ma-tu-pin, sin-che. English: cucha cara, elephantopus, soft elephant’s-foot, yerba de caballo.

Range.

Tropical Africa, Eastern Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. In Myanmar, found in Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Shan, and Yangon.

Uses.

Stem and Leaf: A decoction made from these parts is used for menstrual disorders. Root: Used as an antipyretic, analgesic, and tonic.

Notes.

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).

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).

References.

Nordal (1963), Perry (1980).