Ajuga decumbens Thunb. ex Murray

Ajuga decumbens Thunb. ex Murray

Photo flickriver.com

Latin Name: Ajuga decumbens Thunb. ex Murray

Family: Lamiaceae &; Genus: Ajuga

Synonnym Name: Ajuga decumbens f. condensata Makino; Ajuga decumbens var. decumbens; Ajuga decumbens var. glabrescens Franch. & Sav.; Ajuga decumbens var. rosea Y.N.Lee; Ajuga decumbens var. sinuata Franch. & Sav.; Ajuga decumbens var. vegeta Honda; Ajuga devestita H.Lév. & Vaniot

English Name: Decumbent Bugle, Bugle

Chinese name: Baimaoxiakucao. 金疮小草 jin chuang xiao cao

Vietnamese name: Gân cốt thảo hoa tím; Bi ga nhật

Description: Herbs annual or biennial, stoloniferous. Stems 10-30 cm tall, white villous or lanate-villous especially on young parts. Basal leaves numerous, longer than stem leaves; petiole 1-2.5 cm or more, narrowly winged, purplish green or greenish, villous; leaf blade 3-6(-14) × 1.5-2.5(-5) cm, sparsely strigose to pilose, base attenuate-decurrent, ciliate, apex obtuse to rounded. Verticillasters many flowered, basally widely spaced, apically crowded in interrupted spikes 7-12 cm; apical floral leaves bractlike, lanceolate. Pedicel short. Calyx funnelform, 5-8 mm, margin pilose; teeth triangular, to 1/2 as long as calyx. Corolla tubular, straight, basally slightly swollen, 8-10 mm, pilose, villous annulate inside; upper lip of limb straight, circular, apex emarginate; middle lobe of lower lip narrowly flabellate to obcordate, lateral lobes oblong to subelliptic. Nutlets areole to nearly 2/3 as long as adaxial side of nutlet. Flowering: March to April, fruiting: May to June.

Distribution: Growing on roadsides, forest margins, grasslands, around villages and on dank fertile soil near ditches. Distributed in East, South-central and Southwest China. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian and etc.

Cultivation Details: Ajuga decumbens is found at elevations from 400 - 2,300 metres in central and southern China, experiencing warm temperate to tropical climates.

Prefers a humus-rich, moisture retentive soil and a sunny position

Part Used: Medical part: whole plant. :

Harvest & Processing: Cut the whole plant aboveground, removed impurities, used fresh or sun-dried.

Chemistry:

Diterpenes: Decumbeside A-D, reptoside and 8-Acetylharpagide

Flavonoids: 5, 7-Dihydroxy-4’- methylflavone, Apigenin and Acacetin

Ecdysteroids: phytoecdysteroids, Ajugalactone, ecdysteroids

Others compounds: Contains ajugacumbin A, B, C, D, E, F, ajugamarin and ajugamarin A2, B2, G1, H1, F4. (6R,7E,9R)- 9-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one (64),(3S,5R,6S,7E)-5,6-epoxy-3-hydroxy-7- megastigmen-9-one (65), (6E,9S)-9-hydroxy-4,6- megastigmadien-3-one (66), 6-hydroxy-4,7- megastigmadiene-3,9-dione

Pharmacology: Cough-arresting, phlegm-resolving, asthma-alleviating and antibiosis. Antitumor activities, antibacterialactivities, antivirus activities, cytotoxicity: Myrotheciumone was found to exert cytotoxicity via induction of apoptosis in cancer cell lines

Properties & Actions: Bitter, sweet, cold. Clearing heat and detoxifying, prevent phlegm and stopping cough, cooling blood and reducing stasis.

Indications & Usage: Swelling and pain in the throat, cough with lung heat, pulmonary abscess, swelling pain induced by conjunctival congestion, dysentery, anthracia and furunculosis, venomous snake bites, injuries from falls. Oral administration: decocting, 10-30g; fresh products 30-60g; or smashed to extract juice. External application: appropriate amount, or applied in smashed form; or prepared decoction for washing.

Examples      

1. Treat odontia: white cogongrass, pound juice and smear onto the affected site, then mix with alcohol, and drink.

2. Treat tuberculosis: whole herb of Decumbent Bugle 6-9g. Dry in open air, grind into powder and swallow, 3 times a day.

References

Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database

efloras.org

Theplantlist

Boran Ni, Xiaoxv Dong, Jing Fu, Xingbin Yin, Longfei Lin, Zhenwen Xia, Yang Zhao, Dan Xue, Chunjing Yang and Jian Ni; Phytochemical and Biological Properties of Ajuga decumbens (Labiatae): A Review; Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research August 2015; 14 (8): 1525-1536