Linum usitatissimum L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 106

Linum usitatissimum L.

Names.

Myanmar: bi-thawar, hnan-kyat, migyaung-kumbat, paiksan. English: flax, linseed.

Range.

Probably Asia; an ancient cultigen, widely grown in temperate regions for fiber, and seed for linseed oil. Cultivated in Myanmar.

Uses.

Seed: Used to treat ulcers and for production of linseed oil; oil used as a base for ointments.

Notes.

In India the bark and leaf are used to treat gonorrhea; the flower is a cardiac tonic and nervine; dried ripe seeds are used as a demulcent poultice for rheumatism and gout, as well as employed internally for gonorrhea and urinogenital irritations; and the seed’s oil is mixed with limewater and applied to burns ( Jain and DeFilipps 1991). In China the whole plant and its oil are used in making medicines; the seed is used for emollient cataplasm and catarrh; and oilseed cake is used to treat mental deficiencies in adolescents ( Duke and Ayensu 1985).

The oilseed cake contains the amino acid arginine and 4% dry weight glutamic acid. L-glutamic acid is used in its free state in the treatment of metal deficiencies in infants and adolescents ( Perry 1980). The genus Linum contains the anti-cancer agents 3'-demethylpodophyllotoxin, podophyllotoxin, and beta-sitosterol ( Duke and Ayensu 1985).

References.

Nordal (1963), Perry (1980).