Botany
Botonesan is a stout, erect, nonaromatic, hairy, annual herb, about
0.5 to 1.5 meters high, with green or purplish 4-angled stems. Leaves
are lanceolate, 8 to 14 centimeters long, with toothed margins. Flowers are numerous,
crowded in long-peduncles, growing up to 10 centimeters in length and the heads
1 to 2 centimeters in diameter with basal involucres of hairy bracts. Calyx is green,
4 millimeters long, accrescent, 8 millimeters long in fruit. Corolla is white, 6 millimeters long.
Distribution
- From northern Luzon (Cagayan) to Mindanao, In all or most islands and provinces, as a weed in
settled areas, occurring in open, waste places, fallow rice paddies, etc.
- Introduced from Mexico.
- Now also established in the Marianne and Caroline Islands in Taiwan, in Java, and in Amboina.
Constituents
• Contains alkaloids, camphor, cyanogenic glycosides and alkaloids.
• Study isolated
two new compounds: a lignan and a pyrone; with no alkaloids.
• Yields ursolic acid (3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic) (UA) (4), a pentacyclic triterpene. (8)
• Alcoholic extract of air-dried leaves yielded a glavonol glucoside. On Hydrolysis, it yielded kaempferol, glucose, and rhamnose. (10)
• Study of flowers for essential oil yielded 46 compounds representing 66.0% of the oil of which non-terpenoid compounds constituted the major fraction (41.0%). Major compounds were oct-1-en-3-ol (23.3%) and linalool (13.8%). An earlier study on aerial parts showed monoterpenes, borneol (16.7%) and piperitone oxide (14.8%) as major constituents. One of the identified compound was hydroquinone (3.8%), a topoisomerase II poison, because of which the essential oil of flowers of H. capitata cannnot be recommended for perfumery. (13)
- Study of alcoholic extract of dried leaves
yielded a flavonol glycosides. Further study by methylration and hydrolysis yielded an aglycone, which was assummed to be 5, 7, 4′-trime-thylkaempferol and the original glycoside, kaempferol-3-rhamnoglucoside. (14)
 Properties
- Tonic, stimulant, carminative, vulnerary.
- Studies have suggested cytotoxic, antioxidant, antinociceptive properties.
Parts utilized
Leaves, roots
Uses
Folkloric
- In the Philippines, decoction of leaves used to clean
wounds.
- Crushed leaves applied to cuts.
- Decoction of roots used for amenorrhea.
- Used by the Maranaos for dry cough and toothaches; gas pains in infants
and convulsions in children.
- In Malaysia, used for
stomach ache; the young leaves are pounded into a paste and applied
to the affected areas.
 - In Martinique, used as tonic and excitant.
- In Antilles, used as a stimulant.
- In Costa Rica, plant decoction held in mouth to alleviate toothaches. Also drunk for gastrointestinal distress.
In Jamaica, plant decoction used as cold remedy.
In El Salvador, plant used as tonic and stimulant. (7)
- In Bangladesh, leaf juice is taken orally for malaria. Root and leaf paste is applied to cuts and abrasions to prevent infection.
- In the French Guianas, whole plant decoction used as cough medicine. Infusion of macerated stem and leaf used as refreshing drink to calm an upset stomach. Infusion of crushed leaves used for persistent colds. (15)
Studies
• Cytotoxicity / Huan Colon HCT-8 Tumor Cell Line: Bioassay-directed fractionation of methanolic extract of H. capitata isolated five triterpene acids including new hyptatic acids -A and -B. Hyptatic acid-A and 2α-hydroxyursolic acid demonstrated in vitro cytotoxicity in human
colon HCT-8 tumor cells. (2)
• Oleanolic Acid / Pomolic Acid / Anti-HIV Activity: Oleanolic acid was identified as anti-HIV principle from several plants, including Hyptis capitata. Study also isolated pomolic acid from H capitata, also identified as an anti-HIV agent. (4)
• Antinociceptive / Antioxidant: An ethanolic extract of H. capitata showed antinociceptive activity with significant reduction of acetic acid induced writhing in mice and mild to moderate antioxidant activity in DPPH free radical scavenging assay. (11)
• Antibacterial Activity / MRSA / Leaf Ointment: Study evaluated the antibacterial activity of a leaf extract in ointment formulation against Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in albino rabbits. Results showed the leaf extract was not toxic and non-mutagenic and showed promising zone of inhbition on MRSA ATCC 43300, with similar potency as Vancomycin. (12)
• Essential Oil / Hydroquinone / Flowers: Study of flowers for essential oil yielded 46 compounds representing 66.0% oof the oil of which non-terpenoid compounds constituted the major fraction (41.0%). Major compounds were oct-1-en-3-ol (23.3%) and linalool (13.8%). One of the identified compound was hydroquinone (3.8%), a topoisomerase II poison, because of which the essential oil of flowers of H. capitata cannnot be recommended for perfumery. (see constituents above) (13)
Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Seeds in the cybermarket.
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