Gen info
- Rungia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae.
- Etymology: The genus name Rungia honors Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge (1794-1867), a German analytical chemist. (3) Species epithet pectinata means "like a comb".
 Botany
• Herbs 20-50 cm tall, annual or perennial. Stem basally prostrate and rooting at nodes then erect, minutely pubescent. Petiole 0-7 mm; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, 1-4 × 0.4-1.4 cm, glabrous except for a few trichomes along veins, secondary veins ca. 4 on each side of midvein, base cuneate and decurrent onto petiole, margin entire, apex acute. Spikes axillary or terminal, 0.5-2 cm, 1-sided, solitary or sometimes 2 or 3 compound; bracts dimorphic; sterile bracts green, elliptic, ca. 4 × 0.7 mm, glabrous, apex acute; fertile bracts circular to obovate, 4-5 × ca. 2 mm, pubescent, margin broadly hyaline, apex obtuse to rounded to emarginate and mucronulate; bracteoles elliptic, 2-3 mm, margin ciliate, apex 2-cleft and subacute. Calyx colorless, pubescent; lobes linear-lanceolate, ca. 3 × 0.5 mm, margin narrowly hyaline, apex mucronulate. Corolla blue or white, ca. 5 mm, outside pubescent; lower lip 3-lobed, lobes triangular; upper lip ovate, 1-2 mm, apex emarginate. Staminal filaments glabrous. Ovary glabrous. Capsule ellipsoid, ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous, 2-4-seeded, apex apiculate. Seeds orbicular in outline, ca. 1 mm in diam., minutely verrucose. (Flora of China)
Distribution
- Native to the
Philippines. (2)
- In the Mountain Province, Benguet, Ifugao; Nueva Viscaya.
- In open grassy slopes, 1500-1900 m.
- Also native to
Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Laos, Malaya, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Yemen. (1)
Constituents
- GC-MS analysis for essential oil
identified 38 compounds representing 94.51% of total oil composition. Primary components were trans-phytol (35.77%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (18.72%), and isophytol (3.79%). The EO contained monoterpenoids (2.45%), sesquiterpenoids (26.64%), and diterpenoids (45.52%). (6)
- Phytochemical screening of aerial parts yielded alkaloids, polyphenols, glycosides, coumarins, tannins, flavonoids, and reducing sugar, with
absence of saponins and diterpenes. Total phenolic content (TPC mg GAE/g) was 111.52, while total flavonoid content (TFC QE/G) was 47.87. (see study below) (9)
 Properties
- Studies have suggested anti-inflammatory, diuretic, antimicrobial, wound healing, antioxidant properties.
Parts used
Leaves, roots.
Uses
Edibility
- Leaves are edible; slightly bitter, used in soups, stir-firies, and curries.
- The taste is sometimes likened to that of mushroom.
- Commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine.
-
A popular dish is 'dalcha", a spicy and sour stew made with lentils and the leaves of the plant. The leaves can be cooked with eggs to make a tasty and healthy scramble, or added to salads. (4)
- In Nilgiris, Western Ghats, India, leaves used as vegetable during pregnancy period.
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
-
Leaf juice used as cooling agent and to treat small pox in children. Paste from fresh leaves mixed with castor oil used to treat tinea capitis, a scaly fungal scalp infection. Leaf paste applied to painful swelling and inflammation. (6)
- In China used for treatment of hepatitis, conjunctivitis, dyspepsia in children, dysentery, and lymphoid tuberculosis. Called "infant's herb", used to treat infantile indigestion. (6)
-
In India, roots used for fever; as diuretic and vermifuge. (6) Juice from whole plant applied for fever. (•) In Odisha, tribals apply bruised leaves to reduce muscular swelling. (12)
- In Bangladesh, juice of leaves used externally in smallpox. Bruised leaves applied to pain and swelling.
Studies
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study of evaluated inner anti-inflammatory mechanism of an ethanol extract of Rungia pectinata. Results showed the extract could not only strongly reduce production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators via blocking NF-kB activation but slightly promoted release of anti-inflammatory mediator HO-1 and suppress IL-10 secretion. (5)
• Diuretic Effects / Anti-Inflammatory / Antimicrobial / Leaves: Study of ethanolic leaf extract showed diuretic effects in Wistar rats, with increased excretion of Na+, K+, and Cl- ions. Findings were comparable to furosemide. (6)
• Antimicrobial / Diuretic Effects / Anti-Inflammatory / Aerial Parts: Study evaluated hydroalcoholic extracts of leaves of Rungia pectinata and R. repens for anti-inflammatory and diuretic activity in Wistar rats. Acute toxicity study in Swiss albino mice showed safety of extracts even at dose of 4000 mg/kg. Rungia pectinata showed better anti-inflammatory activity than R. repens. Both extracts exhibited diuretic effects by increasing excretion of Na+, K+, and Cl-. On study of antimicrobial activity of aerial parts against bacteria and fungi by disc diffusion method, ethanol extract at concentration of 30 to 60 µg/disc showed significant activity, with ethanol extract of R. pectinata showing significant activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes. (7)
• Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Studies / Leaves: Study evaluated the acute and subchronic toxicity of R. pectinata hydroalcoholic leaf extract in albino mice and rats, using doses of 1000, 2000, and 4000 mg/kg. Measured parameters included food and fluid intake, body or organs weight, hematological parameters, and liver functions. The lethal dose (LD50) was greater than 4000 mg/kg p.o. in both mice and rats. Results showed the hydroalcoholic leaf extract is non toxic in albino rats. (8)
• Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents / Antioxidant / α-Amylase Inhibitory Activity / Aerial Parts: Study evaluated the flavonoid and phenolic contents, antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities of extracts of four medicinal plants viz., Pogostemon benghalensis, Aleuritopteris bicolor, Crateva unilocularis, and Rungia pectinata growing in Nepal. Rungia pectinata showed least activity towards α-amylase inhibition with IC50 of 1149.98 µg/ml. DPPH free radical scavenging activity showed IC50 of 98.18 µg/ml. (see constituents above) (9)
• Wound Healing / Polyherbal Formulation: Study evaluated the wound healing ability of a polyherbal formulation containing three plants, name;y: Rungia pectinata, Rubia cordifolia, and Scoparia dulcis, in excision and incision wound models in Wistar albino rats. The ointment formulation containing 10% extract showed good wound healing activity with significantly high (p<0.001) levels of hydroxyproline (19.45 µg/500mg) compared to control (9.10 µg/500 mg). The maximum wound healing activity may be attributed to individual or synergistic effect of the three plants and combined action of phytoconstituents like alkaloids, saponins, and tannins. (10)
Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Herbal products in the cybermarket. (Dried herbs) |
_Nees_4.JPG)
