Gen info
Alternanthera, also called "joy weeds" is a genus of about 80 herbaceous species belonging to the amaranth family. A study showed the leaves to be light sensitive, i.e., the darker the place, the greener the color. A. ficoidea leaves tend to curl in full sun. source

Botany
- Kutcharitas is a low and fleshy herb, with oval to broad-lanceolate leaves, variegated, in reddish-brown, orange, pink, green, or white colors. Flowers are in small heads, white or straw-colored, borne at the axils of leaves.

Distribution
- Widely distributed in the Philippines.
- Recently introduced.
- Found throughout much of the tropics and subtropics.
- Grows well in warm and sunny locations, although some bleaching may occur under full summer's sun.
- Native to Brazil.

Constituents
- Hydrophilic extract of fresh leaves that exhibited in vitro antioxidant/radical scavenging and metal chelating capacities yielded six biphenolic antioxidants. (see study below) (8)
- Lipophilic acetone extract of fresh flowers yielded Eighteen saturated [1-18] and four unsaturated [19-22] hydrocarbons, ten saturated [23-32], three monounsaturated [33-35] and one polyunsaturated [36] esters of fatty acid, including a cyclohexyl derivative [32], in addition to a saturated [37] and an unsaturated [38] higher alcohol and a fatty aldehyde [39] have been identified. A monoterpene [40] and nine acyclic diterpenes [41-49], together with a phytosterol, ergost-7-en-3-ol (24-Methyl-5-α-cholest-7-en-3-β-ol) [50]. (see study below) (13)
- Various extracts of leaves yielded various functional groups such as alcohols, carbonyls, aromatic amines, ether, alkynes, carboxylic acids, amines, esters, primary and secondary amines.
- Phytochemical screening of aerial parts yielded alkaloids, carbohydrates, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, diterpenes, tannin, terpenoids, steroid, oxalate, anthocyanin , leucoanthocyanin, xanthoprotein, coumarin, and glycosides. The ethanol extract showed higher phytoconstituent contents than the other extracts. (see study below) (16)

Properties
- Considered laxative, galactagogue, antipyretic, wound healing.
- Studies have suggested antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, antioxidant, phytoremediative, mutagenic, hypoglycemic properties.

Parts utilized
Leaves

Uses
Edibility
- Leaves and young shoots used raw in salads or boiled and used as vegetable. (5)
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- Elsewhere, used for herpes.
- Cooked vegetables given to anemic children.

Studies
• Silver Nanoparticles / Antibacterial Potential: Study reported an environmentally benign and cost effective approach in synthesizing silver nanoparticles using leaf extracts of Alternanthera ficoidea. Silver nanoparticles synthesized from leaf extract of A. ficoidea inhibited the growth of two clinical bacterial isolates i.e., Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens. The leaf extract, taken as control showed no inhibitory effect on the bacterial strains. (2)
• Arsenic Accumulation: In a study in India, among terrestrial plants evaluated, the maximum SAU (Specific Arsenic Uptake) and TF (Transfer Factor) were demonstrated by A. ficoidea and Phyllanthus amarus. (3)
• Antiviral Activity: Leaf root extract from 21 plants were evaluated for antiviral activity against foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMCV) and Aujeszky virus (ADV) in IB-RS-2 pig cell line and bovine diarrhea virus (BVD) in GCK bovine cells lines. Crude aqueous extracts of 9 plants, including Alternanthera ficoidea showed antiviral activity against ADV and/r BVD. (4)
• Antioxidant Benefit in Livers of Ovariectomized Mice: Study investigated the impact of Alternanthera sessilis (AS) and Alternanthera bettzickiana (AB) on the activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) on livers of ovariectomized induced oxidative stress in mice to clarify oxidative potentials. Results showed AS and AB possessed antioxidant benefit to improve the hepatic oxidant-antioxidant balance in the ovariectomized mice comparable to 17ß-estradiol. (7)
• Antioxidant Metabolites / Leaves: Hydrophilic extract of fresh leaves that exhibited in vitro antioxidant/radical scavenging and metal chelating capacities yielded six biphenolic antioxidants, viz., 7-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-6-C-β-D-glucopyranosylapigenin, 6-C-β-D-glucopyranosylapigenin, 8-C-β-D-glucopyranosylapigenin, (E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-enoic acid, (E)-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)prop-2-enoic acid and (E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-enoic acid. (8)
• Anti-Inflammatory / Diuretic: Comparative studies were done on anti-inflammatory and diuretic activities of Alternanthera bettzickiana, Alternanthera pungens, Alternanthera tenella and Digera muricata (9).
• Potential Halophytic Ornamental Plant: Exploration and cultivation of salt tolerant plants is a strategy for utilization of salt affected soils. Study showed Alternanthera berttzickiana to be salt tolerant, accumulating less Na+ in shoot as compared to root when grown under stress, and can be used as a salt-tolerant glycophyte that could be used for greening of salt affected soils. (10)
• Hypoglycemic / Leaves: Study evaluated fresh leaves and alcoholic extract from leaves of Alternanthera ficoides R. Br. ex R&S var bettzickiana for hypoglycemic effects using oral glucose tolerance test in comparison to tolbutamide in normal rats. Results showed significant lowering of plasma glucose levels in rats given the alcoholic extracts with half the hypoglycemic effect of tolbutamide at dose of 0.5 g/kbw, with fresh leaves showing no effects. (11)
• Hypoglycemic: Study evaluated the effectiveness of Alternanthera bettzickiana in preventing oxidative stress in the hippocampus that could induce cell aging process and neurodegenerative disorder, the possible mechanism in Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies on Alternanthera sessilis have shown possible prevention of oxidative stress in female mice attributed to flavonoids and beta-sitosterol. (12)
• Antioxidant Capacity / Lipophilic Constitution / Flowers: Study reports on the antioxidant capacity and lipophilic composition of extracts of fresh flowers. A lipophilic acetone extract of fresh flowers exhibited in vitro antioxidant/radical scavenging (ABTS and FRAP assays) and metal (ferrous ion) chelating capacities. Lipophilic constitution yielded 50 components. (see constituents above) (13)
• Phytoremediation Potential / Cadmium and Lead: Study evaluated the morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses of A. bettzickiana plant subjected to different levels of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) stress. Results suggest a potential towards Cd and Pb tolerance and accumulation especially at lower metal levels. (14)
• Antioxidant / Phenolic Concentration / Hemolytic / Leaves: A methanol extract of leaves showed 92% DPPH radical scavenging activity with IC50 value of 293.44 µg/ml. Quantitative analysis of total phenolic and flavonoids showed estimates of 63 mgGAE/g and 38.98 mgQE/g of extract. GC-MS analysis detected N N-dimethyltryptamine in the methanol extract, and FT-IR analysis yielded the presence of functional groups within the extract. On evaluation of hemolytic activity of various extracts of leaves against normal human erythrocytes, the methanol extract showed highest hemolytic activity, with lysis of RBCs increasing with concentration. (15)
• Antibacterial / Aerial Parts: Study of various extracts of aerial parts of A. bettzickiana against various gram-negative (E. coli, K. pneumonia) and gram positive (S. aureus, E. faecalis) bacteria and fungi (A. niger, E. flocossum and C. albicans) showed remarkable antimicrobial activity. (see constituents above) (16)
• Genotoxic / Cytotoxic: Study evaluated the mutagenic and cytotoxic potential of n-hexane and aqueous-methanolic whole plant extracts of A. bettzickiana. Results suggested AB exhibited mutagenic activity in a bacterial reverse mutation assay with and without activation systems. It showed limited cytotoxicity to BHK-21 cells. (17)
• Mild Steel Corrosion Inhibition: Study evaluated the inhibitive action of leaves, stem and root extracts of A. bettzickiana on mild steel corrosion. Physisorption is indicated by the decrease in inhibition efficiency as temperature increased. Thermodynamic parameters suggest the adsorption process is spontaneous. (18)

Availability
Wild-crafted.