Enicostemma Littorale

Enicostemma_littorale

Enicostemma Littorale is an erect, perennial plant, 5 -30 cm tall, simple or branched from the base. The stem is cylindrical, glabrous, with a crest decurent under each leaf. Sessile leaves are sometimes restricted in a stem-like core, longer than internodes. Lamina is (5.0-8.0 x 0.3-1.0) cm, linear lanceolate or narrow oblong, entire, obtuse, and mucronata at the top, narrowing somewhat towards the base. Flowering occurs in several ancillary flowers groups, numerous in the axils of each leaf pair. The flowers are white with green lines, yellow, sessile or subsessile, long bracts, shorter than the calyx, lanceolate acuminate, crenate. Calyx tube is 1-2 mm long, lobes are usually unequal 0.7-1.5 × 0.4-0.7 mm, triangular to lanceolate, acute at the top and narrow at the edge, or obovate to subcircular, obtuse and mucronata at the top, with wide margins. Corolla tube is 3.5 – 6.0 mm long; lobes (1.5-2.0 × 0.7-1.0) mm, oval and sharply narrowing to a sharp point or mucronata.

Chemical composition – Contains flavonoids – apigenin, genkwanin, iasovitexine, saponarine, 5-o- glucosylisoswertisin and 5-o- glucosylwertisin, quercetin and swertisin. Sapogenin triterpene- betuline, monoterpene alkaloids – enicoflavin, gentiocrucine, flavon C-glucoside – Verticiliside. Phenolics- vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxy benzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid. Amino acids such as L-glutamic acid, tryptophan, alanine, serine, aspartic acid, L-proline, L-tyrosine, threonine, phenyl alanine, L-histidine, methionine, iso leucine, L-arginine monohydrochloride, DOPA, L glycine, 2-amino butyric acid and valine.

Properties – Anti diabetic, hepatoprotective, hepatomodulator, hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antitumor, hypolipidemic and antihelminthic, urinary astringent, antimicrobial, antiedematologenic.

Recommendation – Diabetes, fever, rheumatism, skin problems, stomach disorders, obesity, urinary disorders, hyperlipidemia etc..

This plant is incorporated in natural remedy DAITAB.