''Ayapana triplinervis'' (aya-pana, water hemp) is a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

American shrub in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

. This plant has long slender leaves which are often used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

. The flowers are pale pink and the thin, hairless stem is reddish in color.

Description

''Ayapana triplinervis'' is an ascending, slender perennial. Its leaves are purple, subsessile, lanceolate, 3-nerved, acuminate, subentire, and glabrous. Inflorescence is a lax, few-headed corymb, heads pedicellate, about 20-flowered. Flowers are slaty blue.

Chemical constituents

''Ayapana triplinervis'' is a source of several

coumarin Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by an unsaturated lactone ring , forming a second six-me ...

derivatives. The leaves contain a volatile

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

, ayapana oil, 1.14%. This oil contains the coumarins ayapanin (herniarin) and ayapin, as well as other chemical compounds including

stigmasterol Stigmasterol – a plant sterol (''phytosterol'') – is among the most abundant of plant sterols, having a major function to maintain the structure and physiology of cell membranes. In the European Union, it is a food additive listed with E nu ...

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

, and

carotene The term carotene (also carotin, from the Latin ''carota'', "carrot") is used for many related unsaturated hydrocarbon substances having the formula C40Hx, which are synthesized by plants but in general cannot be made by animals (with the ex ...

. The essential oil also contains thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether. The plant yields cineol, α-phellandrene, alpha-terneol, ayapanin, ayapin,

borneol Borneol is a bicyclic organic compound and a terpene derivative. The hydroxyl group in this compound is placed in an '' endo'' position. The exo diastereomer is called isoborneol. Being chiral, borneol exists as enantiomers, both of which are fou ...

, coumarin,

sabinene Sabinene is a natural bicyclic monoterpene with the molecular formula C10H16. It is isolated from the essential oils of a variety of plants including Marjoram, holm oak (''Quercus ilex'') and Norway spruce (''Picea abies''). It has a strained ...

, and

umbelliferone Umbelliferone, also known as 7-hydroxycoumarin, hydrangine, skimmetine, and ''beta''-umbelliferone, is a natural product of the coumarin family. It absorbs ultraviolet light strongly at several wavelengths. There are some indications that this c ...

, among many others. Phytochemical analysis of a

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...

ic extract yielded hexadecanoic acid (14.65%), 2,6,10-trimethyl,14-ethylene-14-pentadecane (9.84%), 7-butyl-bicyclo .1.0eptane (2.38%), 8-methyldecanoic acid methyl ester (3.86%), 1-undecanol (7.82%), 1-hexyl-1-nitrocyclohexane (2.09%), 1,14-tetradecanediol (6.78%), and 2-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid 1,3-propanediyl ester.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2715933 triplinervis