I found a new medicinal plant that works GREAT!!! for skin afflictions such as eczema. Cardiospermum aka Balloon vine or Heart Pea.
Botany
· A slender, herbaceous, more or less hairy vine, 1 to 3 m in length.
· Leaves: trifoliate, and 5 to 9 cm long. Leaflets are ovate to lanceolate, and 1 to 5 cm long, coarsely toothed or lobed margins.
· Flowers: small, white, and about 2.5 mm long. Sepals 4, concave, the outer ones small. Petals 4, 2 larger ones usually adhering to the sepals and with an emarginate scale above the base, the smaller 2 ones distant from the stamens. Stamens 8, excentric, filaments free or connate at the base. Ovary 3-celled, style 3-fid, ovules solitary.
· Fruits: inflated, obovoid, 1.5 to 2.5 cm long, somewhat triangular and 3-keeled capsules. Seeds are round and black, with a prominent, white, heart-shaped aril at the base.
Botany
· A slender, herbaceous, more or less hairy vine, 1 to 3 m in length.
· Leaves: trifoliate, and 5 to 9 cm long. Leaflets are ovate to lanceolate, and 1 to 5 cm long, coarsely toothed or lobed margins.
· Flowers: small, white, and about 2.5 mm long. Sepals 4, concave, the outer ones small. Petals 4, 2 larger ones usually adhering to the sepals and with an emarginate scale above the base, the smaller 2 ones distant from the stamens. Stamens 8, excentric, filaments free or connate at the base. Ovary 3-celled, style 3-fid, ovules solitary.
· Fruits: inflated, obovoid, 1.5 to 2.5 cm long, somewhat triangular and 3-keeled capsules. Seeds are round and black, with a prominent, white, heart-shaped aril at the base.
Distribution
Throughout the Philippines in thickets, waste places, etc. in the settled areas.
Constituents and Properties
• Mild, bitter and pungent tasting, cooling in effect.
• Considered antiphlogistic, analgesic, blood refrigerant, anti-infectious, emetic, emmenagogue, laxative, stomachic.
• Plant yields saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidin, apigenin, phytosterols
Uses
Folkloric
• Cold, fever, renal edema, urinary tract infections.
•Furuncle, carbuncle, eczema.
•Sprains and external wounds.
•Dosage: use 12 to 15 gms dried material or 15 to 30 gms fresh material in decoction. Pounded fresh material may be used as poultice, decoction of fresh material may be used as external wash.
• Elsewhere, poultice of leaves used for rheumatism and swelings.
• Leaf juice used for earaches.
Nutrition / culinary
• Edible: leaves.
• Leaves and young shoots, cooked, used as spinach.
Others
• Seed oii reported to be an effective insect repellent.
Studies
• Antiinflammatory: Studies have shown CH to antiinflammatory, antibacterial. Also reported to be cyanogenic.
• Antifilarial: Study of extracts of CH was done on adult worms and microfilariae of Brugia pahangi. Results showed that the aqueous extracts had mild but definite direct macrofilarial action on B pahangi.
• Antiparasitic: Extracts of CH tested in vitro against third-stage larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis showed immobilization (nonmotility) rates better than ivermectin and piperazine.
• Antidiarrheal: Study showed the antidiarrheal activity of the extracts of C halicacabum, probably due to the presence of phytochemicals–sterols, tannins, flavonoids and triterpenes.
• Antiinflammatory: Study showed inhibitory effects of CH leaf extract on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators, nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. CH exhibited antiinflammatory properties that justifies its use in rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
• Antihyperglycemic: Study results show that CHE extract possesses an antihyperglycemic activity and provides evidence for its traditional use in diabetes control.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
