Articles

Synonyms

Nepeta indica L., Anisomeles ovata R.Br

Vernacular Names:

General Information

Description

Anisomeles indica (Lamiaceae) is a camphor-scented perennial woody shrub. It was found growing wild along borders of settled areas at low and medium altitudes in Southeast Asia including India, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as Australia. It is erect about 1-2 m in height, with a 4-angled, pubescent stem. The leaves are thin; ovate 3-12 cm long; long-stalked and pointed at the tip with round-toothed margins. It has numerous, crowded and almost stalk-less flowers and occur in spike-like racemes 5-25 cm long and 2-3 cm in diametre. The calyx is about 6 mm long, hairy and pointed-toothed; the tube is long and bell-shaped. The corolla is purplish, 10 -12 cm long, strongly zygomorphic, the upper lip being oblong-ovate and the lower lip have two middle lobes (1).

Plant Part Used

Entire plant

Chemical Constituents

Anisomelic acid (terpenoid), ovatodiolide (terpenoid), 4,7-oxycycloanisomelic acid (terpenoid), iso-ovatodiolide, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, flavones, and apigenin and yields an essential oil.

7-methoxy-3 ,4 ,5,6-tetrahydroxyflavone, methylgallate, methylgallate, 7-O- -d-glucuronide methyl ester, apigenin 7-O-glucuronide, desrhamnosylverbascoside, cistanoside F, betonyoside A, campneoside II, acteoside and isoacteoside (6).

Traditional Used:

It possesses carminative, astringent and tonic properties. The dried or fresh material (9-15 g) was used as a wash for external afflictions, eczema, pruritis and skin problems such as snakebites. The leaves were chewed for toothaches. It has been used in rheumatism, cold, fevers, abdominal pain, intermittent fever, and dyspepsia (2). The plant is burned to act as a mosquito-repellent. A decoction from the aerial parts of the plant is used in Sri Langka as an analgesic (3).

In China and India, Anisomeles Indica is used to treat gastric dysfunction, inflammatory disorders, and hypertension (9). A decoction from the pre-flowering stage leaves and stems shown to has anti-histamine, free radical scavenging, membrane stabilizing, and cyclooxygenase-I inhibitory activities (6).

Pre-Clinical Data

Pharmacology

The cytoprothic effects of HIV-1 infection was inhibited by ovatodiolide over a modest concentration range with EC₅₀ of 0.10 μg/mL and IC₅₀ of 1.20 μg/mL with maximum cellular protection of 80–90%. Ovatodiolide was completely cytotoxic to the host cells at 5.0–6.0 μg/mL. The anti-HIV activity of ovatodiolide was compared to that of AZT, a known anti-HIV drug which showed an EC₅₀ of 0.0037 μg/mL (2).

Anti-Helicobacter pylori activity

The ethanol (95%) extracts of the leaf and stem of Anisomeles indica showed strong anti-H. pylori activities with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 2.56 to 5.12 mg/mL against 3 strains of H. pylori (4).

The leaves and stems of pre-flowering and flowering Anisomeles indica were extracted with water and tested for analgesic and anti-hyperalgesic activities with aspirin as the control compound (3). Testing for analgesic activity was conducted in male and female rats using the hot plate and the tail flick techniques. While testing for antihyperalgesic activity was conducted in male rats which were injected with 1% carrageenan suspension and the reaction time assessed using the hot plate technique. The extract from pre-flowering plant showed a dose-dependent analgesic effect up to 6 h of treatment in both tests. The analgesic effect of the pre-flowering plant extract was not affected by the gender nor by the stage of the estrous cycle and was not abolished by naloxone. This extract also showed a dose-dependent antihyperalgesic activity. In contrast, the extract obtained from flowering plants showed no analgesic activity at 500 mg/kg (3).

The extract from pre-flowering plants reduced the amplitude of spontaneous contractions of the isolated diestrous rat uterus and induced plasma membrane stabilization of rat erythrocytes in a dose-dependent manner, all of which suggests that the analgesic and antihyperalgesic effects are mediated by the impairment of prostaglandin synthesis through inhibition of COX-1 (3).

Toxicities

Rats treated with oral doses of aqueous extracts obtained from pre-flowering plants (125, 250 & 500 mg/kg) and flowering plants (500 mg/kg) did not show any overt signs of acute toxicity or stress (5). The body weights of the rats were not altered nor were the serum activities of AST and ALT (liver marker enzymes) or serum concentration of albumin. Rats given the extract from pre-flowering plants for 30 days showed a markedly reduced serum creatinine concentration (5).

Phytotoxicity effect from leaf and root of A. Indica towards little seed canary grass makes it a useful herbicide in wheat fields (8).

Genotoxicities and Mutagenicity Studies

No documentation

Clinical Data

Clinical Trials

No documentation

Adverse Effects in Human:

No documentation

Used in Certain Conditions:

Pregnancy / Breastfeeding

No documentation

Age Limitations

Neonates / Adolescents

No documentation

Geriatrics

No documentation

Chronic Disease Conditions

No documentation

Interactions

Interactions with drugs

No documentation

Interactions with Other Herbs / Herbal Constituents

No documentation

Contraindictions

Contraindications

No documentation

Case Reports

No documentation

References

1. Brown R . Anisomeles, Prodr. 503. 1810. Flora of China. 1994; 17: 188
2. Shahidul Alam M, Quader MA and Rashid MA. HIV-inhibitory diterpenoid from Anisomeles indica. Fitoterapia. 2000; 71: 574-576
3. Dharmasiri MG, Ratnasooriya WD, Thabrew MI. Water extract of leaves and stems of preflowering but not flowering plants of Anisomeles indica possesses analgesic and antihyperalgesic activities in aats. Pharmaceutical Biology (Formerly International Journal of Pharmacognosy). 2003; 41(1): 37-44
4. Wang YC, Huang TL. Screening of anti-Helicobacter pylori herbs deriving from Taiwanese folk medicinal plants. FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology. 2005; 43 (2): 295-300
5. Dharmasiri MG, Ratnasooriya WD, Thabrew MI. Anti-inflammatory activity of decoctions of leaves and stems of Anisomeles indica at preflowering and flowering stages. Pharmaceutical Biology. 2002; 40(6): 433-439
6. Yerra Koteswara Rao, Shih-Hua Fang, Shih-Chuan Hsieh, Tsung-Hsien Yeh, Yew-Min Tzeng. The constituents of Anisomeles indica and their anti-inflammatory activities. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 21 January 2009;2(21):292-296
7. Shih-Chuan Hsieh, Shih-Hua Fang, Yerra Koteswara Rao, Yew-Min Tzeng. Inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators and tumor cell proliferation by Anisomeles indica extracts. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 19 June 2008;1(118):65-70
8. Daizy R. Batish, Manpreet Kaur, Harminder P. Singh, Ravinder K. Kohli. Phytotoxicity of a medicinal plant, Anisomeles indica, against Phalaris minor and its potential use as natural herbicide in wheat fields. Crop Protection. July 2007;7(26):948-952 
9. Yu-Yi Hou, Mu-Ling Wu, Yu-Chun Hwang, Fang-Rong Chang, Yang-Chang Wu, Chin-Chung Wu. The natural diterpenoid ovatodiolide induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human oral squamous cell carcinoma Ca9-22 cells. Life Sciences. 1 July 2009;1-2(85):26-32