Other names:
Scientific name: Eclipta Alba
Common names: False Daisy, Eclipta bhringaraj, bringraj, han lian cao, takasaburou, yerba de tago
Ayurvedic names: Bhringaraja, Kesharaja, Kesharanjana
Chinese names: Mo Han Lian
Bangladesh names: Bhimraj
Arabic names: منكسفة بيضاء (munkasifah baydhaa’e)
Rain Forest names:
Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower)
Approximate number of species known:
Common parts used: Whole herb, sprouts
Collection:
Annual/Perennial: Annual
Height: Up to 3 feet
Actions:
Known constituents: steroidal alkaloids, ecliptine, ecliptasaponin
coumestans i.e. wedelolactone (I) and demethylwedelolactone (II), polypeptides, polyacetylenes, thiophene-derivatives, steroids, triterpenes and flavonoids.
Constituents Explained:
Description:
Eclipta is sometimes referred to a different plant Widelia calendulacea
Native to India. It also grows in China, Thailand and Brazil.
A creeping herb that likes to grow in the tropcis, and damp places.
The root is grey and round.
The stem is round, short.
The small white flowers
The opposite leaves are lance shaped (picture???)
The small white flowers
Traditional Use:
The Indians use this for a dazzling array of problems. Commonly thought of in Indian Ayruvedic medicine as a liver herb. They have used it for cirrhosis, hepatitis and jaundice. It is also used fo rhigh blooed pressure, to lower cholestero levels and to ehnance kidney function. It has also been used for memory loss, and balding.
Externally the top of the plant has been used on the skin, and for inflammation. It has also been used for fungal infections, and for snake, scorpion and ant bites.
The Indian name of Bhringaraj means ‘to give the hair a strong oclour like the bumble bee.’ It also has a black dye that can be extracted for the hair, and for tatoos.
Clinical Studies:
The combined effect of dried Eclipta alba leaf powder (3 g/day) in encapsulated form on blood pressure, diuresis, and lipid profile of 60 mildly hypertensive male subjects in the age group of 40-55 years was studied.
The subjects were divided into two groups, i.e., a control (placebo) and the Eclipta group, and were given six capsules (500 mg each) per day in three equal doses for a period of 60 days.
Clinical parameters, viz., blood pressure, urine volume, electrolytes (Na and K) in serum and urine, lipid profile, and plasma lipid peroxides, were analyzed before and after the feeding trials.
The findings revealed that the Eclipta-supplemented group showed a marked reduction in mean arterial pressure by 15%, total cholesterol (17%), low-density lipoprotein fraction (24%), triglycerides (14%), very-low-density lipoprotein fraction (14%), and plasma lipid peroxides (18%).
Results also revealed a remarkable increase in urine volume (34%), urine sodium (24%), serum vitamin C (17%), and serum tocopherols (23%) of the Eclipta group.
In conclusion, it would appear that E. alba is diuretic, hypotensive, and hypocholesterolemic and helps in the alleviating oxidative stress-induced complications in hypertensives.
References:
Rangineni V, Sharada D, Saxena S. “Diuretic, Hypotensive, And Hypocholesterolemic Effect Of Eclipta Alba In Mild Hypertensive Subjects: A Pilot Study.” 2007 March http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17472478