Indian Heliotrope (Heliotropium Indicum)
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''Heliotropium indicum'', commonly known as Indian heliotrope, Indian turnsole is an annual, hirsute plant that is a common weed in waste places and settled areas. It is native to Asia. It is widely used in native medicine in Tamil Nadu, India. It grows wildly on roadsides and has a curved arrangement of small flowers and velvety broad green leaves.


Description

Indian heliotrope is an annual, erect, branched plant that can grow to a height of about . It has a hairy stem, bearing alternating ovate to oblong-ovate leaves. It has small white or purple flowers with a green calyx; five stamens borne on a corolla tube; a terminal style; and a four-lobed ovary.


Distribution

The plant is native to Asia. A common weed in waste places and settled areas.


Traditional medicine

In the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, the plant is chiefly used as a
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 extracted juice from the pounded leaves of the plants is used on wounds, skin ulcers and furuncles. The juice is also used as an eye drop for
conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye or Madras eye, is inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin, clear layer that covers the white surface of the eye and the inner eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness ...
. The pounded leaves are used as
poultice A poultice or cataplasm, also called a fomentation, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is applied to the skin to reduce inflammation, soothe pain, promote healing, or otherwise treat wounds or ailments. Soft materials like cer ...
.


Toxicity

''Heliotropium indicum'' contains tumorigenic
pyrrolizidine alkaloids Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Their use dates back centuries and is intertwined with the discovery, understanding, and ...
.Fu, P.P., Yang, Y.C., Xia, Q., Chou, M.C., Cui, Y.Y., Lin G., "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids-tumorigenic components in Chinese herbal medicina and dietary supplements", ''Journal of Food and Drug Analysis'', Vol. 10, No. 4, 2002, pp. 198-21

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References


External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2249031 Heliotropium, indicum Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus