Aristolochia indica L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 19-20

Aristolochia indica L.

Names.

Myanmar: eik-thara, eik-tha-ra-muli, thaya-muli. English: Indian birthwort.

Range.

Native of India and eastward; sometimes cultivated in Indo-China. In Myanmar found in Bago, Mandalay, and Yangon.

Uses.

Whole plant: For children, a mixture of equal amounts of the leaf juice and the juice squeezed from the crushed five parts is given to heal throat blisters, mouth blisters, and canker sores. Leaf: For edema and dry coughs, the juice squeezed from the crushed leaves is taken with a small amount of salt once in the morning and once in the evening. The strained juice, made from two or three of the leaves crushed finely together with eight to ten peppercorns, is given at 15-minute intervals for venomous bites from snakes and scorpions, as well as from other sources. This medicine is also used to revive and stimulate circulation in patients who have severe colds, who have lost consciousness, or who have poor circulation. Leaf and Root: Medicines made from the roots and leaves are used to treat poisoning, coughs, heart disease, intestinal disorders in children, indigestion and gas problems, swollen and aching joints, irregular menstruation, blood irregularities, and dizziness. Root: The paste is applied topically to neutralize poison from snake, scorpion, and other venomous bites; a small amount is rubbed onto the tongue to alleviate fever from stomach upset in children and infants; and orally or rubbed on the tongue, used to quell delirium from high fevers and to alleviate heaviness of the lips, jaw, cheeks, and tongue. Root powder mixtures with black pepper powder, raw salt, and warm water, used to regulate menstruation and promote menstrual bloodflow; with equal parts of wheat ash and salt, taken orally with hot water or applied topically to swollen parts of the body to soothe aches, pains, and inflamed joints; and two parts of the root powder and one part ginger powder is given twice daily for dysentery or indigestion. The root is also used in preparations to ease childbirth, clear menstruation-related skin discolorations, and reduce fevers.

Notes.

The medicinal uses of this species in India are discussed in Jain and DeFilipps (1991) as follows: The whole plant is used for snakebite; leaf juice is used for snakebite, breast pain and suppuration, as an abortifacient; the seed is used for inflammation, joint pains; the root is used as a stimulant, emetic, emmenagogue, for fever, leucoderma (powdered and mixed with honey); to promote digestion, regulate menstruation (in small doses); on wounds, for diarrhea (paste), and for snakebite. An unspecified plant part is used to stimulate phagocytosis; also for cholera. In Indo-China the plant is used as a remedy for intermittent fever, dropsy, and loss of appetite; the root is used for the same purpose ( Perry 1980).

The essential oil contains a trace of camphor, and sesquiterpenes, ishwarene, ishwarone, and ishwarol The roots contain an alkaloid, aristolochine, a yellow bitter principle, isoaristolochic acid, and allantoin ( Perry 1980).

References.

Nordal (1963), Agricultural Corporation (1980), Perry (1980).