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Sambong plant 0809

Page history last edited by ecop 14 years, 10 months ago
Sambong plant

 

  Sharon Lim

 

 


Description and Rationale

 

     Sambong Plants, also known as Blumea balsamifera, are abundant in open fields, grasslands, and wastelands and flower mostly from February to April. During the early 1900s when the concept of “natural remedies” was expanding in the Philippines, the research and development of medicinal plants began. In 1992, a brochure of the top ten medicinal plants was published and the Sambong plant was one of the ten that were known for their natural remedies. In 1997, the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Acts (TAMA) was passed and it became legal to sell these plants for medicinal purposes in the Philippines.

           Are Sambong Plants taking up most of the area for farming? Is it an agricultural disturbance in the areas where better sources of food can be growing? Can Sambong Plants be used for cooking purposes also? Are these plants cut down because they look like ordinary sprouts of grass? Shouldn’t cutting these plants be banned, because after all, their medicinal purpose is known? Is it possible to educate the farmers about this plant so the plants can be preserved?

           Many people are skeptical about using natural remedies and many physicians think these “natural remedies” are a waste of time when the patient can be treated quickly in the hospital. However, that option is not available for many poor people living in the Philippines because the hospital bills exceed the amount of their regular wages. So why are many people skeptical about using natural remedies? And why do physicians think it is a waste of time? Is it because there are no exact prescriptions in which people can trust? Could it possibly be because physicians are afraid they will lose their income as people begin to turn to natural remedies? According to researchers at the University of Texas, more people are likely to suffer from kidney stones as global warming continues to worsen; and because kidney stones are most often caused by dehydration, poorer countries, like the Philippines, will be greatly affected than developed countries. If more and more poor people are educated about the use of Sambong Plants and their great effect in healing kidney stones, rheumatism, headaches, and boils, money could be saved and used for other purposes. If the skepticism could be ended and the Sambong Plants put to better use, how can the people living in urban poor areas learn grow and care for these plants?

           The initial purpose of this project is to research the biology and the ecology of the Sambong Plants. This project will also be about how the Sambong Plants can greatly improve poorer areas’ economy if they are put to proper use. Through firsthand observations, interview with the Professor of Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC), email interview with Mrs. Bibien Limlingan, and an experiment, this project will try to prove its effectiveness and help get rid of the skepticism about natural remedies. The use of Sambong leaves extract, made into tea, will be tried on the people of Navotas, an urban poor area. The diet of the people in Navotas area is a leading factor in kidney stones because they consume foods with large amounts of sodium, fats, sugar, and meat. They also do not have sufficient supply of water to rehydrate their body. Through this experiment, the results will be shown that Sambong Plants are effective medicinal plants. These initial findings will help guide the experimental phase, where key variables in the Sambong Plants’ medicinal purposes will be further explored.

           It is hoped that the uses of Sambong Plants as medicine would help improve the livelihood of the people living in Navotas, and other urban poor areas through a more informed understanding of an abundant biological resource.

 

 

 

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Biology

 

Common Names and Synonyms

 

Sambong plants are also called Blumea balsamifera. Blumea was fist named by Alphonse de Condolle in honor of a Dutch Botanist, C.L Blume (1796-1862), who is the author of Flora Javae (1828-1829) and Ramphia (1835-1848). However, Blumea was first thought of by Joannes de Louveiro in his Flora Cochinchinensis. But then, until the time of De Condolle, the most common generic name, Conzya, was used mostly by all botanical writers. Following, another new generic name, Doellia, was later found, but it was discovered to be synonymous with Blumea. Other synonyms include Sambong (Philippines); Bai mat (Cambodia); Kam phung (Northern Thailand); Ngai camphor (US); Sembung (Indonesia); and Camphrier (French).

 

 

Classification

 

Kingdom:  Plantae (Plants)

Subkingdom:  Tracheobionta (Vascular Plants)                                               

Division:  Magnoliophyta (Angiosperms)

Class:  Magnoliopsida (Dicots)

Subclass:  Asteridae (Compositae)

Order:  Asterales (Dycotyledonous flowering plants)

Family:  Asteraceae (Sunflowers)

Genus:  Blumea D.C (False ox tongue)      

Species:  Blumea balsamifera (L.) D.C (Nagi Camphor)

 

There are many different types of genus of Blumea each made up of different composition. Some genus consisting of stronger camphor oils than others.

 

 

 

 

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Morphology and Physical Description

 

EXTERNAL ANATOMY

 

           Blumea balsamifera are tall, erect underground shrubs that can grow up to four meters in height. Its bark is a smooth, soft, hairy, and grayish-brown stem with a diameter of two to eight centimeters. It is very simple at the base, and is repeatedly divided into three narrow parts with its branches cylindrical and smooth surfaced, covered with villous white-yellow hairs. The stems are striate-furrowed and branched at the top. Plants grown in highland areas are more wooly than those grown in the lowlands, because highland areas are located below the subalpine zone and have cooler temperatures and receive more rainfall than lowlands.

           Its leaves that are 6-30cmx1.5-12 cm are simple and narrowly oblong shape or oblong-egg shaped. They are pinnately (arranged in feather form) lobed serrate (saw toothed) leaves that are mostly with one to three pairs. The top of the leaf feels soft and hairy with long soft hairs covering the surface, but the bottom of the leaf is densely wooly.

            The flowering heads are yellow, and grow on the branches of a large, pyramidal leafy panicle. This plant flowers most successfully from February to April where the clusters of flowers are in panicles (irregularly branched clusters of flowers). The stalk is 3-10 mm long, but when combined with the densely wooly ring, it can be 7-9 mm longer than original stalk length.

 

 

INTERNAL ANATOMY

           Smell is the most mysterious of the five senses. An aroma creates a presence of well-being, physical, and psychological effect on humans. The aromatic vegetable origin are from shrubs, trees, herbs, roots, leaves, flowers, wood, barks, and seeds in the forms of resins, and gums. Blumea balsamifera smells strongly of camphor, a waxy white, transparent solid with a strong aromatic odor, which was first derived from the French word, camphire. The leaves of Blumea balsamifera contain 0.5% of volatile oil, rapidly evaporating oil derived from a plant, which is made up of borneol (about 25%), a rare variety of camphor that can be easily converted by oxidation. Other components include 1, 8-cineole, eucalyptol, an essential components in essential oils from Eucalyptus polybractea, limonene, a colorless liquid in room temperature that strongly smells like oranges, and camphor. Other sources state that Beta-eudesmol, beta-camphene, and myrcene were also found to be in Blumea balsamifera plants. The components may be different due to environmental factors and conditions. In the Philippines about 0.1 to 0.4% of essential oils are yielded, but in Burma (Myanmar) it was reported to contain about 1.9% oil.

 

 

 

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Cultivation Practices

 

     Blumea balsamifera plants are cultivated widely throughout East and South-East Asia. These plants grow naturally along roadsides, in open fields that are infested with Imperata, natural grazing lands, forests, including bamboo and teak forests, and wet areas near river banks. They are found on level grounds with its biophysical limits of 0-2000 meters above sea level. Blumea balsamifera plants grow widely and often have little capacity to withstand shade. Although these plants grow gregariously, the cultivator must know the requirements of herbal farming and the difficulties of growing and cultivating medicinal plants. The general conditions that must be followed in herbal farming are: the site of the farm or plantation must be far from pollution, heavy metal free soil, high quality planting stocks to produce high quality leaves, use of organic fertilizer, and no use of insecticides, fungicides, and pesticides. Too much watering may be harmful to Blumea balsamifera plants so watering should be handled with care and full sunlight is essential for the growth of these for the production of essential oils. In the Philippines, Blumea balsamifera plants responds well to a fertilizer of 40g of ammonium sulphate or 100g of solophos (0-18-0) per plant, and plants should be weeded regularly.

 

 

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Reproduction

 

     Blumea balsamifera plants are evergreen plants that flower throughout the year. They produce seeds abundantly and reproduce spontaneously. These plants can reproduce by stem planting, where a part of the stem is cut off and replanted in a different area, and new plants can grow. Also pollination by insects is probable in Blumea balsamifera plants as the insects are attracted to the strong pungent aromatic smell of the flowers. And lastly, the flowers of Blumea balsamifera plants are structured so that it can be dispersed by wind also. The tightly closed flower opens and a clump of feather-like, soft, small, flexible sticks that contain pollen are carried by the wind and many are blown away at once. During flower blooming season, the flowers bloom numerously in large clumps.

 

 

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Environmental Factors

 

     Blumea balsamifera plants grow along the edge of evergreen forests and are an invasion in ecologically disturbed areas such as roadsides, abandoned fields, and old settlement sites. These plants are called pioneer plants, first species to colonize a new territory, or opportunist, and spreads very quickly. This plant is often regarded as troublesome weeds for taking up valuable farming space, but it is easily disposable. These plants also suffer from diseases such as: Endophylum blumeae, which is a leaf rust, causing premature defoliation, and Cercospora sp., which is a circular leaf spot that leads to harsh production loss during rainy season. Blumea balsamifera plants are also a host of the parasites Amblyseius sp., Brevipalpus obovatus and Typhlodromus jackmickeyi, preventing the plant from maturing, and causing death of the plants.

 

 

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Origin and Distribution

 

     The cultivation of Blumea balsamifera has been found from India to Indo-China, southern China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines for the purpose of extracting camphor oils. In the Philippines, Blumea balsamifera plants are found mostly from Luzon to Palawan, Mindanao, and many other provincial areas. This specie is mentioned in Chinese history as early as the 10th century and it is called the “thousand-year ngai.” But Blumea balsamifera plants are native to Bengal and Assam and were imports from South East Asia, possibly as early as the Christian era and commercial expansion. Almost at the same time, the Chinese advances under the rule of Ch’in and Han (221 B.C-A.D 220) brought the concept of luxurious products of several powerful aromatic herbs. Dating as far back as the early A.Ds India has been known to be using camphor for medicinal practices, in which the Chinese has adopted the same Indian medical practices with herbs, possibly bringing Blumea balsamifera to other territories. In the Philippines, Cagayan, Leyte, and Cotabato were the first areas to have an established medicinal plantation.

 

 

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Importance to People

 

     Blumea balsamifera plants are widely used for food additives for flavoring, and medicines. This aromatic medicinal plant is commonly used in forms of teas and capsules. .

           The recognition of the value of herbal plants helps promote the conservation of forest biodiversity aside from serving as medicinal plants for people. The cultivation and use of Blumea balsamifera also dramatically changed the economic status of poor farming families. Without the expensive payment of medication and hospital bills, they were able to support their family and send their children to school. The use of medicinal plants gave the farmers extra income. Studies conducted by a professor in U.P Los Banos showed that medicinal farming is profitable. 1-ha area of land planted with Sambong produces 10,000kg to 20,000kg of fresh leaves that are sold with a price of P15.00/kg. The harvest of leaves occur twice a year with a total income of P300, 000 to P600, 000 When the production cost is deducted along with requirements for cultivating Sambong, an average farmer receives an income of P106,000 per ha in the first year. Because Blumea balsamifera plants are easily cultivated, many farmers are now active in herbal farming, rather than doing slash-and-burn activities and overharvesting of forest products

           Blumea balsamifera plants are popularly known as a diuretic that helps get rid of urinary stones, which are very common in urban poor areas. None of the parts of Blumea balsamifera are gone to waste; all parts are used for different areas as a cure. The extract from the leaves are used for treating open wounds as a disinfectant, the roots are used as a cure for colds, and the leaves are applied to the forehead to relieve headache and fever. A decoction of the plant is used as bathing water for women in childbirth, patients with rheumatism, and the tea brewed with the leaves are used to relieve stomach pains. In other areas, the extract from the leaves are used as drops to cure eyes from chronic, purulent discharges, and it is also given for worms, and chronic uterine discharges.

 

           People with professional medical degrees at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) were taking notice of Blumea balsamifera and many other medicinal plants. During the conference, Dr. Francis Gomez, a medical director of Atermed Corp, was invited to speak for the Philippine herbs and their importance. It was the first time a Filipino doctor was invited by a medical institution in the US to talk about Philippine herbs. Also, Sambong is one of the 10 plants that is approved by the Department of Health in the Philippines. The Bureau of Food and Drugs in the Philippines has also approved the Sambong production to go on sale. 

 

Many Skeptical people argue “Good medicines don’t grow on trees,” but Dr. Francis Gomez, says “Good medicines do grow on trees, but should be validated by science.”

http://www.newsflash.org/2002/05/si/si001242.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Survivability and Endangered Status

 

     Blumea balsamifera plants are found regularly in many territories and are also known to have an insecticidal property against Yponomeutidae crucifer pests and against a number of other insects, therefore, are safe from being endangered. Because Blumea balsamifera plants are being carefully examined and cultivated by many active herbal farmers and scientists nowadays, its survivability rates have been increased. Therefore Blumea balsamifera plants are likely to remain as an important and protected component in the Philippines where most of the researches are being done.

 

 

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Potential Solutions

 

     Are Sambong plants well known to be considered and used as a helpful factor in the livelihood of people? Or are their uses unknown because of the lack of knowledge on the plant? Or is it considered a troublesome weed getting in the way of farmers? The polls taken in Tangos, an urban poor area shows that out of 100 people only 15 know about Sambong. Further research and data based on Sambong plants are necessary before determining if these plants are helpful to these people living in Tangos. There seem to be several promising livelihood possibilities that may be able to benefit the poor families living in Tangos. Below are three possibilities with an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

 

Possibility 1 - Sambong Tea

 

Through an email interview with Mrs. Bibien Limlingan, the possibility of Sambong helping the livelihood of poor families increased. Two years ago Mrs. Bibien was suffering from a painful inflammation on her big toe and foot that is caused by a defect in uric acid, and she gradually began to heal after a group of missionaries in Iligan told her about the effect of Sambong tea. After a week of medication her pain began to subside and after three weeks the pain was gone all together. She then introduced the Sambong tea to a woman and a man, with kidney stones, who attended her church. According to the National Kidney Institute, doctors prescribe Sambong tea for patients with kidney stones because it is very effective in dissolving kidney stones.

 

Advantages:

1)    The income of the Tangos families could be increased in several different ways. An average working individual’s wage is about 200 pesos a day, and with that a family of up to seven people must eat and buy their daily needs. The main diet, which is usually salted foods, is a leading cause in urinary stones in that area. The closest hospital and most affordable in Tangos is the Tangos General Hospital. A kidney stone removal surgery costs P40000; most of the cost is only from the medicines and surgery tools that are used during surgery. An introduction of Sambong tea will make a positive impact on the lives of the families by saving their small income for other uses like clothing and healthy food that might prevent kidney stones in the future.

2)    If the people of Tangos learn to cultivate Sambong plants, not only will the problem of economic issues be decreased, but the wildly growing Sambong can be harvested and the land can be used for other agricultural uses for crop growing farmers without wasting the Sambong.

Disadvantages:

1)    The environment is a big factor in cultivating Sambong plants. Depending on the environment, the composition of Sambong plant may vary. The environment in Tangos is very polluted, and the water is also very polluted; this may cause changes in the composition of Sambong plant, making it less strong than the ones grown in open field with fresh air, and sufficient amount of water and sunlight.

2)    Any medications taken should be taken on a daily basis so the efficacy of the medicine can be seen. Because the body first needs to get used to the new substance entering, and once the body has recognized it as a safe material, the medicine slowly begins to cure the areas where curing is needed. The Tangos people may forget to take the medicine every day.

 

 

 

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Possibility 2 -  Sambong used in food

 

Although I’ve talked to people who knew about Sambong, none of them have ever heard of using Sambong for cooking. But if Sambong can be used in tea, why can’t it be eaten in food?

 

 

Advantages:

1)    For the people who cannot drink the tea, foods with Sambong leaves can be an alternative to the tea. It will have the same efficacy as the tea, but the strong taste of Sambong will blend with the food.

2)    Because of the unique smell of oranges and a bit of mint, using Sambong in food can make the food taste fresher and add exquisite flavorings. Especially, because mint herbs are somewhat expensive, the people of Tangos can use Sambong plant as a substitute for mint.

 

 

Disadvantages:

 

 

1)    In order to use Sambong for cooking, large amounts of leaves and other plant parts are needed so the food can be flavored. Because growing healthy and abundant Sambong plant requires number of extra care, this may be a problem for the people in Tangos because it is possible that the people will not be able to buy fertilizers such as ammonium sulphate or solophos.

2)    According to the Professor Leoncio M. Herrera, Ph.D, of U.P Los Banos, he claims that Sambong is not used in food additives. This may be a problem because if most of the people who know about Sambong do not think it should be used in food additives, it will be hard to try out this experiment because of skepticism.

 

 Possibility Potential Solution 3 Sambong Ointment

 

Sambong plants can be made into ointments to cure boils which are very common in Tangos because of the dirty environment. Boils occur most commonly in children because they do not wash with clean water. When boils occur in children, they are brought to my mom so the boil can be cleansed and healed. But usually the process is very painful and I can see the children in great pain.

 

 

Advantages:

1)    The average price of ointments to cure boils in Mercury Drug store is about P240 and is not very effective as the tolerance level of the body to the ointment builds up. But Sambong ointments are known to be more effective in curing boils.

2)    The usage of ointment will reduce pain when treating the boil and will help by preventing infection.

 

Disadvantages:

1)    Sambong ointment will be hard to make without required instruments or machines.

2)    Large amounts of Sambong production will be needed.

3)    Like any other medicines, this ointment may have a certain tolerance level.

 

 

 

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Bibliography

 

Balan, Ralph. "Herbal Med 2008-09-05 (Narrow, No Anima)." Scribd. UST Faculty of Medicne and Surgery Department of Pharmacology. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://www.scribd.com/doc/13010564/Herbal-Med-20080905-Narrow-No-Anima>.

"Blumea balsamifera." Globinmed Infohub. Ed. GlobinMed. 2007. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://www.globinmed.com/IMRContent/detail.aspx?id=BOT00060>.

"Blumea balsamifera information from NPGS/GRIN." GRIN National Genetic Resources Program. Ed. GRIN. 23 May 2008. GRIN Taxonomy for Plants. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?7276>.

Carroll, Robert T. "Alternative health practice -." The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com. 1994-2009. The Skeptic's Dictionary. 24 Apr. 2009 <http://skepdic.com/althelth.html>.

Donkin, R.A. "Dragon's brain perfume: an ... - Google Book Search." Google Paghahanap ng Libro. Dragon's Brain Perfume. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=aW6V2zKcMCUC&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=Blumea+balsamifera&source=bl&ots=A2YnKklb3F&sig=fsoGnfvRHSgPrwvxEGds6XlJEwI&hl=en&ei=rADeSeLuI6XU6gO4v5HHCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#PPA76,M1>.

Herrera, Leoncio M. "Sambong Plant uses." Personal interview. 16 Mar. 2009.

"ITIS Standard Report Page: Blumea balsamifera." Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Ed. ITIS. 9 Apr. 2009. ITIS Report. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=505923>.

Jose, Aurora S. "Financial Viability of Medicinal Plant Farming." Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau. Apr. 2003. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://erdb.denr.gov.ph/publications/rise/r_v15n1.pdf>.

Limlingan, Bibien. "About Sambong." E-mail interview. 19 Apr. 2009.

"Livestock and Poultry Production (IIRR, 1992, 106 p.): Plant-based livestock medication." New Zealand Digital Library. Ed. University of Waikato. Food and Nutrition Library. 26 Apr. 2009 <http://www.nzdl.org/fast-cgi-bin/library?e=d-00000-00---off-0fnl2.2--00-0--0-10-0--0-0---0prompt-10---4------4-0-1l--11-en-50-0--20-about--100-0-1-00-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-8-00-0-1-00-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=fnl2.2&cl=CL1.3&d=HASH010aac90b4a1b6612fccb224.9>.

"Uses and Preparation of Sambong (Blumea balsamifera)." Traditional and Modern Medicine. 9 Jan. 2007. 10 Apr. 2009 <http://traditionalmed.blogspot.com/2007/01/sambong.html>.

 

 

 

 

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