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Botany
Kabling-gubat is a slender, smooth or hairy undershrub, 30 to 60
centimeters high. Leaves in distant pairs, narrowed into the stalk, ovate,
5 to 10 centimeters long, pointed at both ends, coarsely toothed at the margins.
Flowers are borne in very lax racemes. Calyx is bell-shaped,
with a naked throat and two slender lower teeth. Corolla is 2.5
centimeters long, smooth, white or purplish, very slender in the tube, and
thrice as long as the calyx. Nutlets are oblong and compressed.
Distribution
- In thickets, at low and medium
altitudes in Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, and Rizal Provinces in Luzon; and in Coron.
- Also occurs in India through Malaya to tropical parts of Australia.
Parts
utilized
Leaves.
Constituents
- Leaves contain a high percentage of
potassium salts (0.738 gm in 100 grams of fresh leaves.
- From dried leaves, a small amount of volatile oil and a bitter alkaloid,
orthosiphonin.
- Studies yielded flavonoids, carbohydrates, tannins, saponins, phenols, and terpenoids.
- Phytochemical screening yielded twenty compounds: nine lipophilic flavones, two flavonol glycosides, and nine caffeic acid derivatives. Caffeic acid derivatives included the major compounds rosmarinic acid and 2,3-dicaffeoyltartaric acid.
Properties
Considered anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, diuretic
and hypoglycemic.
Uses
Folkloric
- Leaves used for gout and renal disorders.
- Also used for its diuretic effect.
- Poultice of leaves or chewed leaves stuffed onto painful tooth.
- In Java, leaves made into tea for treatment of diseases of the kidney and bladder.
- In South East Asia and Australia, frequently used for renal inflammation, kidney stones and dysuria.
- In Holland and France, reported use for treatment of genitourinary diseases.
- In Malaysia, traditionally used for bladder catarrh, diabetes, kidney diseases, for hypertension and as diuretic.
Others
Java Tea is derived from Orthosiphon aristatus, touted
for its diuretic action, kidney flushing benefits for kidney and bladder
stones.
Studies
• Antihypertensive / Methylripariochromene:
Methylripariochromene A (MRC), isolated from the leaves of OA showed
blood pressure lowering effect and a vasodilating action, decrease cardiac
output and diuretic action. It supports the traditional use of the plant
for hypertension treatment.
• Na+,K+-ATPase Inhibition:
In the study of ten Thai indigenous medicinal plants, O aristatus showed
high potent inhibitory activity .
• Inhibition of Smooth Muscle Contraction:
Three Indonesian medicinal plants were studied for their biologically
active constituents. Three benzochromenes
and four isopimarane-type diterpenes isolated from the leaves of Orthoshiphon
aristatus were shown to exhibit inhibitory effects on smooth muscle
contractions caused by several stimulants
• Pimarane-type Diterpenes / Suppressive Effect on Thoracic Aortic Contraction: Study isolated pimarane-type diterpenes, neoorthosiphols A and B, and other known compounds from the water decoction of leaves of O. aristatus. The compounds exhibited a suppressive effect on contractile responses in rat thoracic aorta.
• Diuretic:
O. stamineus extract exhibited dose-dependent diuretic activity with
a significantly increased excretion of K. There was also slight increase
of BUN, creatinine and blood glucose levels, although statistically
significant when compared to control , the levels were considered within
normal range. Although less potent than furosemide and HCTZ, care should
be taken in its consumption because of alterations in kidney parameters.
• Nephrolitihiasis
Study : In a randomized control trial
of Orthosiphon versus placebo, no statistically significant difference
was found.
• Hepatoprotective
: A study on the
methanol extract of leaves of Orthosiphon stamineus against paracetamol-induced
hepatotoxicity showed treatment with OS extract brought back the altered
biochemical markers in a dose-dependent manner suggesting hepatoprotective
activity. (2) Study showed dose-dependent in vivo hepatoprotective activity of Et-F on liver injury induced by CCl4 in mice.
• Diuretic /
Hypouricemic : A study on the methanol
extract of OS showed significantly increased excretion of sodium and
potassium excretion in a pattern comparable to hydrochlorothiazide.
It also showed reduced serum urate level in hyperuricemic rats. Study
provides evidence towards a diuretic and hypouricemic effect in rats.
• Antioxidant /
Anti-Inflammatory : A study
results showed the ethanolic extract and its bioactive compound, ursolic acid, suppress LPS-induced NO and PGE2 production by inhibiting ROS generation, along with reducing expression of iNOS and COX-2 in RAW 264.7 cells.
• Radical Scavenging Activity /
Flavonoid : Study concludes a correlation between flavonoid content and radical scavenging activity. In the study, F obovata, D lobbiana and O aristatus exhibited the highest free radical scavenging activity.
• No Diuretic Effect / Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study: In a study of four traditional Vietnamese herbal remedies (Z mays, I cylindrica, Plantago major, O stamineus) claiming to increase diuresis, no diuretic effect was seen in a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover model.
• Antioxidant / Hepatoprotective : Study showed dose-dependent in vivo hepatoprotective activity of Et-F on liver injury induced by CCl4 in mice. An n-butanol fraction showed higher in vitro antioxidant activity on FRAP assay than others in the DPPH assay. Results show O. aristatus is a potential source of natural antioxidants and hepatoprotective agents.
• Nephroprotective: Study in rats investigated the nephroprotective effect of O. stamineus in gentamicin-induced renal damage. Lab parameters were improved and the extent of renal damage was decreased by a methanolic extract of O. stamineus.
• Histamine Antagonist / Anti-Asthma: Study showed Oa exhibited bronchodilator and antihistamine action as theophylline did. Results propose several mechanisms of actions: (1) chemical constituents that might stimulate adenyl cyclase that stimulates increase cAMP production from ATP, with consequent vasodilatation and bronchodilation. (2) extract may inhibit phosphodiesterase with consequent increase in cAMP (3) extract could be a histamine antagonist, or (4) anticholinergic activity.
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study of leaf extracts showed anti-inflammatory activity. The flavonoid rich chloroform extract fraction containing sinensetin, eupatorin, and 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone, significantly reduced rat hind paw edema, NO, and decreased dye leakage. Results suggest the anti-inflammatory effects may be due to the presence of flavonoid compounds affecting the NO pathway.
Toxicity
Study
•
Chronic Toxicity Test :
A study on the chronic toxicity of water extract of Orthosiphon aristatus
on Wistar rats showed that high doses of the extract caused a reduction
of serum sodium levels in all extract-treated groups and increase alkaline
phosphatase level and incidence of hydrocalyx in male rats, therefore
advising that the prolonged use of OA should be avoided.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Tea, powders, extracts in the cybermarket.
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