Socfindo Conservation

Pachouli

Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth.

Lamiaceae

Location in our garden

Pachouli 1Pachouli 2Pachouli 3

Overview

This plant is a very important in traditional Chinese medicine. It has been cultivated in southern China since the Song Dynasty after being introduced from southeast Asia (e.g., the Philippines, Malaysia, and India) more than 1,000 years ago. It is the source of a well-known essential oil, which also has medicinal applications.
 

Vernacular Names

Dhalum wangi (Malaysia), Phimsen (Thailand), Pachapat (India), Guan Huo Xiang (Chinese), Hyangdukkaephul (Korean), Patchouli (French), Nilam Wangi (Indonesia), Pachuli (Spanish), Hoắc Hương (Vietnam). 

Agroecology

P. cablin is adaptive to a wide range of climate and soil conditions. For optimal growth, it needs yearly high rainfall of 2000-3000 mm. It can grow up to 2000 m above sea level although possibly it’s not tolerant of frost. Continuous full sunshine might cause bad growth, resulting in dwarfing and yellowish leaves. It grows on a broad range of soils, but for industrial scale production, very fertile soil is needed.

Morphology

  • Stems – angular in shape, branched.
  • Leaves – opposite arrangement, short hairs, oblong-ovate to ovate, 5 to 11 cm long, with coarse and simply or doubly-toothed margins, a pointed tip, many gland dots below.
  • Flowers – terminal panicle. Calyx is about 4-6 mm long; corolla is 6-7 mm long, white, lavender-blue or violet; filaments inserted in the tube.

Cultivation

P. cablin is cultivated asexually by cuttings. In Indonesia, cuttings 5-10 cm long are taken from the central part of semi-mature stems in which cuttings from 9-month-old plants give the best result.

Chemical Constituents

δ-elemene, β-patchoulene, β-elemene, cis-thujopsene, trans-caryophyllene, α-guaiene, γ-patchoulene, α-humulene, α-patchoulene, seychellene, valencene, germacrene D, β-selinene, α-selinene, viridiflorene, germacrene A, α-bulnesene, 7-epi-α-selinene, longipinanol, globulol, patchouli alcohol, 1-octen-3-ol

Benefits

  • Leaves

Boiled and used with other herbs to treat nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, colds and headache (China)

Infused to relieve painful menstruation (Philippines)

Mixed with guava and orange peel to treat diarrhea (Thailand)

Added to bath water to soothe rheumatism

  • Patchouli oil

Used as antidote to snakebite (Japan and Malaysia)

 

Simplisia

Tidak tersedia

Plant Parts Used

Pachouli part 1
Pachouli part 2
Pachouli part 3
Pachouli part 4

Traditional Recipes

1. Pembuatan minyak nilam (sakit kepala dan daya tahan tubuh)

1. 1. Pembuatan minyak nilam (sakit kepala dan daya tahan tubuh)

  • Ambil 1-2 kg daun dan tangkai nilam umur 6-8 bulan, batang berwarna hijau kecoklatan dan warna daun hijau tua. Cuci dengan air mengalir, jemur 5 jam/hari selama 2-3 hari kemudian rajang 15-20 cm lalu suling dengan cara di kukus dengan cara seperti dibawah ini.
2. Penghilang bau badan

2. 2. Penghilang bau badan

  • Rebus 100 g daun segar dengan 10 â„“ air selama 15 menit.
  • Setelah hangat dipakai untuk mandi.

Reference Sources

  1. Bunrathep, S., Lockwood, G.B., Songsakc, T., et al. 2006. Chemical Constituents from Leaves and Cell Cultures of Pogostemon cablin and Use of Precursor Feeding to Improve Patchouli Alcohol Level. Science Asia. 32: 293-296.
  2. Oyen, L.P.A. and Dung, N.X. (Editors). 2006. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 19. Essential Oil Plants (2nd ed). Prosea Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. 277 pp.