Acalypha indica L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 65

Acalypha indica L.

Names.

Myanmar: kyaung-yo-thay pin, kyaung-se-pin, kyaung-yo-the. English: Indian acalypha, copperleaf.

Range.

Old World tropical regions. Found growing on plains all over Myanmar, except in cold mountainous regions.

Uses.

Leaf: A mixture of the juice and that of the leaves from the neem tree ( Azadirachta indica ) acts as an expectorant and is given for bronchitis, diarrhea, and vomiting. Cooked leaves are eaten to alleviate asthma, hypertension, impurities in the blood, and to treat various illnesses in infants. Other preparations are taken to relieve inflammation of the joints, fevers caused by chest colds and infections, asthma, and a burning sensation in the windpipe. A decoction is used as an emetic to cure pleurisy, cleanse and clear breathing passages, and alleviate swelling of the windpipe, as well as to cure asthma, hypertension, and skin problems caused by impurities in the blood. The juice is considered a remedy for ringworm, scabies, and rashes; a mixture of the juice and neem ( Azadirachta indica ) oil is used for various skin diseases that cause itching. A mixture of the leaves and castor oil is applied to relieve joint aches. Leaf juice is also used as eardrops for ear infections, earaches, and other ear problems. Crushed and applied as a poultice, leaves are used to heal sores. Stir-fried, they are eaten with large prawns to alleviate exhaustion and fatigue but with dried nga-mway-toh ( Mastacembelus armatus ) fish to prevent inflammation of the appendix; the same mixture is used to alleviate constipation, diarrhea, and nagging stomachaches. Boiled leaves made into a salad are eaten to treat lung disease, neurological disease, ringing in the ear, earache, gastric pain, and stomach-ache.

Notes.

The medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Perry (1980) lists the uses of the species in India, Indo-China, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

A cyanogenetic glucoside, triacetonamine, and quebrachitol have been islolated from South African material of this species ( Perry 1980).

Reference.

Agricultural Corporation (1980).