Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin. ex Steud.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 143

Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin. ex Steud.

Names.

Myanmar: kyu, kyu-a, kyu-kaing, kyu-wa-kaing. English: carrizo, common reed.

Range.

Widely distributed in the warm and temperate zones; common in marshes and wet places. Reported from Myanmar.

Conservation status.

Least Concern [LC] ( IUCN 2017).

Uses.

Root: Used as a diuretic and diaphoretic.

Notes.

The many medicinal many uses of the species in China are discussed in Duke and Ayensu (1985) as follows: The leaf is used for bronchitis, cholera; ash for foul sores The flower is decocted in water to treat cholera, fish and shrimp poisoning, ashes styptic. The stem shoot is antidotal, antiemetic, antipyretic, refrigerant, for cholera; ash is applied to foul sores. The root is decocted as an antiemetic, antipyretic, diuretic, febrifuge, sialogogue, stomachic for abscess, arthritis, cough, earache, fever, hematuria, hiccups, nausea, pulmonary abscess, sore throat, sunstroke, and toothache. They additionally note that the herb is said to be used in Chinese medicine for leukemia. Perry (1980) discusses the medicinal uses of the species in China and the Malay Peninsula.

Reported constituents include asparagine, proteins, and glycosides ( Perry 1980).

Reference.

Nordal (1963).