Gen info
- Ainsliaea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus in 1838. (2) It comprises about 70 species worldwide.
- Etymology: The genus name Ainsliaea honors Sir Whitelaw Ainslie, a 19th century doctor and author employed in India. The specific epithet latifolia derives from Latin, meaning "broad-leaved".

Botany
• Broadleaf Ainsliaea is a perennial herb, 30-90 cm tall. Leaves are in a basal rosette; leaf-stalk broadlywinged, 4-9 x 4-30 mm (at upper point); leaf blade ovate or narrowly ovate, 5-10 x 3-8 cm, papery, palmate-pinnate veined, concolorous, bristly on both surfaces with long straight trichomes, or more commonly slightly discolorous with lower surface bristly-woolly and upper surface sparsely bristly, base constricted and decurrent into leaf-stalk, margin callose-finely toothed and straight, tip blunt or pointed. Flower-heads are nearly stalkless or shortly stalked, (1 or)2-4 clustered, arranged in spikes or panicles, 3-flowered. Involucre is cylindric, about 3 mm in diameter; phyllaries about 5-seriate, papery, below sparsely hairy, outer phyllaries ovate, about 1.5 mm, inner elliptic, about 8 mm. Florets are bisexual. Open florets are tubular, 0.8-1.1 cm, deeply 5-lobed, lobes oblong, unequal, anther appendages rounded. Achenes are subspindle-shaped, about 5.5 mm, ribbed, densely hairy; pappus absent or present, brownish, 8-10 mm. Closed florets are tubular, minutely 5-lobed, about 4 mm, hidden in pappus. Achenes are subspindle-shaped, about 6 mm, ribbed, densely hairy; pappus brownish, 8-10 mm. (Flowers of India)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sumatera, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam, West Himalaya. (1)

Constituents
- Study isolated 8 new triterpenoids (1-8) and one known triterpenoid (9) from Ainsliaea latifolia. Compounds 4-6 were identified as rare trinorcucurbitane or t3tranorcucurbitane triterpenoids. (see study below) (3)
- Study of whole plant isolated two new compounds including one new sesquiterpenoid and one new monoterpenoid, together with 10 known compounds. All compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activities. (5)

Properties
- Studies have suggest COX-2 inhibitory properties.

Parts used
Roots, whole plant.

Uses
Edibility
- No study found on edibility.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- In southwest China, long used as folk medicine for treatment of rheumatism, traumatic injuries, edema, stomach ache, and anorexia. (3)
- In Kunjapuri Hill, India, roots used for treatment of abdominal pain and cholera. (6)

Studies
• Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitory / Triterpenoids : Study isolated 8 new triterpenoids (1-8) and one known triterpenoid (9) from Ainsliaea latifolia. Compounds 4-6 were identified as rare trinorcucurbitane or t3tranorcucurbitane triterpenoids. Compound 4 showed significant inhibitory effect against COX-2 with IC50 of 3.98 µM, comparable to positive control NS-398 with IC50 4.14 µM. (3)
• Cytotoxic Terpenoids / Whole Plant: Study of whole plant isolated two new compounds including one new sesquiterpenoid and one new monoterpenoid, together with 10 known compounds.
(Results on cytotoxicity study not available). (5)

Availability
- Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Ainsliaea Latifolia / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
(3)
Triterpenoids from Ainsliaea latifolia and Their Cyclooxyenase-2 (COX-2) Inhibitory Activities / Wen-Lin Yuan, Xue-Yun Dong, Zheng-Rui Huang et al / Natural Products and Bioprospecting, 2019; 10(1): pp 13-21 / DOI: 10.1007/s13659-019-00228-x / PMCID: PMC7046841  PMID: 31786736
(4)
Ainsliaea latifolia: An Adulterant of Indian Podophyllum / HS Puri, SP Jain / Planta Med, 1988; 54(3): 269 / DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-962428
(5)
Terpenoids from Ainsliaea latifolia and their cytotoxic activities / Xue-Yun Dong, Guo-Wei Wang, Zhi-Guo Zhuo, Wei-Dong Zhang et al / Journal of Asian Natural Products Research, 2016; 18(3): pp 232-238 /
DOI: 10.1080/10286020.2015.1082550
(6)
ETHNOMEDICINAL SURVEY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS FOUND IN KUNJAPURI HILL NOT MENTIONED IN NIGHANUS / Chityanand Tiwari, Suresh Chaubey, RC Tiwari / EJBPS: European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2019; 6(11): pp 135-142 / ISSN: 22349-8870

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)