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Botany:
Kanapa is a delicate, creeping, nearly smooth herb with
the stems rooting at the nodes. Leaves are orbicular or subreniform, thin, about 1 centimeter in
diameter with heart-shaped base and margins somewhat lobed, the
lobes being short and having 2 or 3 teeth. Umbels are very small, with few flowers. Flowers are small, white, sessile, axillary, sepals lacking,
petals and stamens 5. Fruits are few, sometimes only 2 or 3 on a peduncle and
less than 1 millimeter long, ellipsoid, usually with red colored spots.
Distribution
- Along small streams in shaded
ravines, ascending to 1,600 meters, in Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Bontoc, Benguet, Laguna, Bataan, Quezon, Pangasinan, and Rizal Provinces in Luzon, and occaional in Manila in damp
shaded gardens at sea level.
- Occurs in India to Japan, Malaya, and the Mascarene Islands.
Parts
utilized
· Entire plant.
· Gathered throughout the year.
· Rinse after collection, sun-dry before use or use in
fresh state.
Constituents
- Roots contain vellarin and vitamin C.
- Plant yielded 7 new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins, hydrocotylosides
I-VII and one known saponin, udosaponin B.
- Study yielded ten compounds: stigmasterol, daucosterol, hibalactone, genistein, daidzein,methyl-3, 4-dihydroxybenzoate, protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, isorhamnetin, quercetin, hyperin. (See below)
- Study yielded 28 compounds, seven isolated for the first time: Chlorogenic acid methyl ester, 5-Hydroxymaltol, (-)-Angelicoidenol 2-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, n-butyl-β-D- fructopyranoside, Apigenin, Kaempferol, 4,2′,4′-trihydroxychalcone, and Oleanolic acid.
 Properties
Sweet tasting, slightly minty.
Juice is emetic.
Considered depurative, febrifuge, expectorant, antitussive; antifebrile,
diuretic.
Uses
Folkloric
- Plant juice used for fevers.
- Poultice used for wounds and boils.
- Decoction of plant used for abscesses, colds, coughs, hepatities, infuenza,
pruritus, sore throat.
- Used for headaches and urinary problems.
- In Malaya, mixed with
sugar and cassia bark and given to children for coughs.
- Juice considered emetic.
- Leaves pounded with alum for poulticing scrotal skin ailments.
- In China, used for hepatoma.
Also, an ingredient in Chinese herbal concoctions used for muscular
dystrophy. Also, used in treatment of hepatitis.
- In the Arunachal Pradesh district of India, juiceof the plant mixed with honey, used for typhoid fever. In the district of India, fresh plants are crushed and the juice extracted and three tablespoons are taken twice daily for five days.
Culinary
• Leaves are edible.
• Whole plant can be used as a potherb with its parsley-like aroma.
Studies
• Antitumor / Immunomodulatory:
Ethanolic extract of HS showed anti-tumor activity with significantly
enhanced activitiy on murine hepatic carcinoma, sarcoma 180 crocker,
and uterine cervical carcinoma clones. Activity was comparable to that
of antitumor agent 5-fluorouracil. The extract also mediate immunomodulatory
effects as shown by promotion of thymus and spleen indices and humoral
immunity in mice.
• Antioxidant / Antriproliferative:
H sibthorpioides was one of four Hydrocotyle species studied.
The results demonstrated that the phytochemicals might have a significant
effect on antioxidant and anticancer activities related to the amount
of polyphenols and flavonoids. The four species present a potential
source of natural antioxidants. Of the four hydrocotyle specie, HS and H batrachium had the lowest antiproliferative activity and H nepalensis, the highest activity.
• Phytochemicals / Saponins:
Study of methanolic extract yielded seven new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins, hydrocotylosides I-VII and one known saponin, udosaponin B.
• Constituents / Liver Studies:
Study yield.ed 10 compounds, viz., Stigmasterol, Daucosterol, Hibalactone, Genistein, Daidzein,methyl-3, 4-dihydroxybenzoate, Protocatechuic acid, Cafeic acid,isorhamnetin,Quercetin, Hyperin. The herb showed no toxicity of Hep G2 2.2.15 cell, and its water extract exhibited inhibition to HBsAg at 1 mg/ml concentration with an inhibition ration of 27%.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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