Aspilia

Aspilia mossambicenisis

Aspilia Wild Sunflower Parts used Uses Habitat and cultivation

A perennial, aspilia is a semi-woody herb or shrub. Leaves are rough, lance shaped, creased accordion-style, and covered with short, flexible hairs called trichomes.

PARTS USED

Leaf.

USES

In African countries people who use aspilia call it a variety of names. In Nigeria, where it is known as "headband", "friend of pepper; and "to draw out mucus", aspilia is grazed by cattle and sheep. It is traditionally seen as a male plant and tied around the head or hidden in the house to attract notice of the opposite sex. A decoction of aspilia is used as a wash for horses, as a dye, and as an ingredient in plaster.

Aspilia came to the recognition of modern research because of its use by chimpanzees in Gombe National Park and Mahale Mountains National Park of Tanzania. Chimps swallow the leaves whole and then defecate them intact. The leaves show no visible evidence of having passed through the digestive tract. In one study, more than 20 worms and 56 leaves were expelled in a single instance of defecation. Short flexible hairs on the leaves surfaces have a "Velcro effect", attaching to and expelling worms as they travel through the intestine. This action is enhanced by the release of chemicals that may inhibit the parasites' ability to adhere to intestinal walls. Aspilia is not only a powerful antiparasitic but also an effective antibiotic. Scientists have found traces, in the root of this plant, of thiarubrine A, a red oil that kills parasites, viruses, fungi, and bacteria. It has also been found to kill cancer cells in solid tumors, such as those found in the lung and breast. Africans use aspilia for many illnesses, including lumbago, sciatica, scurvy, malaria, rheumatism, tuberculosis, and gonorrhea.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Aspilia is indigenous to East Africa and grows throughout tropical Africa.