Urena lobata L.

DeFilipps, Robert A. & Krupnick, Gary A., 2018, The medicinal plants of Myanmar, PhytoKeys 102, pp. 1-341 : 116-117

Urena lobata L.

Names.

Myanmar: kat-say-nei, kat-sine, nwar-mee-kat, popee (Chin). English: aramina, bur mallow, Caesar weed, congo-jute, hibiscus burr.

Range.

Tropical regions of both hemispheres. Grows naturally throughout Myanmar.

Uses.

Bark: Dried and powdered, combined in equal amounts with sugar, and taken with milk twice daily to increase virility and sperm production. Twig: Chewed for toothaches. Leaf: A mixture of the crushed leaves and black pepper is taken once each morning and each night to remedy weight loss and low energy or with equal amounts of black sesame seeds and cooked over a slow fire to make an ointment applied to reduce edema. Leaf, Root: Used as a diuretic and expectorant. With equal parts of sweet, sour, astringent, hot, and spicy tastes, the leaves and roots are used in medicines to reduce phlegm and fever, prevent sores, for bile problems, to control venereal and urinary tract infections, and alleviate leprosy and skin diseases. Used to treat rheumatism. A decoction in ten times their weight in water is reduced to half its starting volume and given orally two to three times daily to reduce fever. A paste of the ground root with water applied twice daily is considered a cure for drooping breasts. Root powder, mixed vigorously in milk to form froth, is taken twice daily for asthma and bronchitis. The powder is also taken with hot water daily for chronic indigestion. A decoction of the roots is taken for fevers; and reduced to half its starting volume it is taken for inflamed and aching joints. A decoction of root bark is used to treat venereal disease and other debilitating conditions.

Notes.

Reported medicinal uses for this species include the treatment of headache, stomachache, gastritis, diarrhea, sore throat, fever, inflammation, colic, bronchitis, pneumonia, and as an expectorant; for sores, wounds, eruptions, boils, swelling, burns; as diuretic, for bladder and urogenital problems, and gonorrhea; for blennorrhagia, cataplasm, dysentery, hepataitis, pleurisy, dysentery, hematochezia, and yaws; as hemostat, emmenagogue, and anodyne; also as an emollient, for gingivitis, and for hangovers ( Duke 2009). The medicinal uses of this species in India are covered in Jain and DeFilipps (1991). Medicinal used of this species in China are discussed in Duke and Ayensu (1985). Perry (1980) discusses the uses of the species in China, the Malay Peninsula, Indo-China, and the Philippines.

References.

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