Eclipta alba is a plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. It is an erect or highly branched, almost hairy, prostrate herb. Root is straight and very thick, stem is branched and herbaceous. The leaves are sessile, sub-sessile, opposite, 2.2-8.5 cm in length, usually of oblong lanceolate shape, sub-acute or acute, having hair on both the surfaces. Inflorescence is heterogamus with companulate involucre of bracts, the bracts are biseriate, and wider from outside. Flowers are ligulate and bi-lipped and those tubular bisexual flowers are with five lobbed, stamens are five epipetalous, syngenesious. Ovary is inferior and unilocular.
Chemical composition – Contains alkaloids such as ecliptine and bio-active steroidal alkaloids verasine, ecliptalbine, dehydroverasine, coumarine, such as wedelolactone and its derivative, demethylwedelolactone, isodemethylewedelolactone and strycholactone. Containing hydrocarbons such as ecliptal, α-formyltertyenil, triterpenene as saponin, eclalbatine with α -amyrine, β-amyrine, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid and Wedelic acid. The roots contain polyacetienic thiophene, 5-senecyoiloximethylene-2-dithiophene, 5-tigloyloximethylene-2-dithyophene. The entire plant comprising of sterols- phytosterols, phytosterol β-glucoside, stigmasterol daucosterol-3-O-glucoside, flavonoids, such as apigenin, luteolin and luteolin-7-glucoside.
Properties – Hepatoprotective, liver tonic, anti-aging, rejuvenative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, immunomodulatory, antiviral, supports hair growth, antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, bronchidialator.
Recommendation – Viral hepatitis, hepatomegaly, edema, fever, rheumatic joint pain, loss of appetite, indigestion, upper respiratory congestion, biliary stasis, memory problems, abrasions, burns, hair loss.
This plant is incorporated in natural remedies LIVECOM Syrup, LIVECOM Tablets, HEENA.