Socfindo Conservation

Lawn pennywort

Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lam.

Araliaceae

Location in our garden

Lawn pennywort 1Lawn pennywort 2Lawn pennywort 3

Overview

It is probably of Asiatic origin, its native range in tropical & subtropical old world. It is very common all over South-East Asia. Due to its limited dimensions, it is an insignificant weed in agriculture, but is sometimes used to bind topsoil. This plant is both eaten and used in traditional medicine.

Vernacular Names

Ulam gunung (Malaysia), Tomtomon (Philippines), Ya-klethoi (Thai), Rau má mÆ¡ (Vietnamese).

Agroecology

H. sibthorpioides is commonly found in slightly shaded or sunny area, moist localities, such as along stream banks, between stones in pathways, alongside walls, but also found in plantations of tree crops and in meadows. It has a wide altitudinal adaptation, occurring from sea-level up to 4,000 m. Natural dispersal is by water animals and water

Morphology

  • Stems -stoloniferous, slender filiform, whitish to brownish.
  • Leaves -  alternate, glabrous or with scattered flexuous hairs near the tip, petiole up to 6 cm long, leaf-blade roundish to 5-angular in outline, stipules ovate to obovate, not sheathing at base, glabrous, segments serrate to crenate.
  • Flowers - solitary, opposite the leaves, bisexual, subsessile, calyx teeth 5, minute or obsolete, petals 5, ovate, greenish-white, disk flat, margin elevated, ovary inferior; stamens 5, alternate. Styles 2.
  • Fruits - greenish to yellowish-brown sometimes red-punctulate, broadly ellipsoid, base broadly and shallowly cordate, apex deeply emarginate, laterally compressed schizocarp, mericarp 1-1.3 mm × 0.8 mm, with 2 one-seeded mericarps, with short stiff hairs or glabrous.  

Cultivation

  • Generative propagation is by seeds - sowing it in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse.
  • Vegetative propagation is by division - division of rooted runners can be done at any time in the growing season if the plants are kept moist.

Chemical Constituents

  • Phenolics, flavonoid, alkaloid, terpenoid (A lignan, L-sesamin, caffeoylgalactoside), daucosterol, genistein, coumarin, hyperin, saponins, hydrocotylosides, stigmasterol, hibalactone, daidzein, protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, isorhamnetin, quercetin, catechin, epicatechin, and chlorogenic acid

Benefits

Medicinal Uses

  • The plant is considered depurative, febrifuge, expectorant, antitussive, antifebrile, and diuretic.
  • Studies have suggested antioxidant, antiproliferative, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective properties, anti-cancer, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal and hepatoprotective.

Traditional Uses

  • The juice of the plant is used in the treatment of fevers.
  • A paste made from the plant is applied externally to wounds and boils.
  • The plant is decocted and used in the treatment of abscesses, boils, bruises, cirrhosis, colds, coughs, hepatitis, hepatoma, influenza, itch, jaundice, sinusitis, and sore throat.
  • It is a Chinese herbal drug for hepatoma.

Simplisia

Belum tersedia

Plant Parts Used

Lawn pennywort part 1
Lawn pennywort part 2
Lawn pennywort part 3

Traditional Recipes

1. Hepatitis akut dengan ikterik (Kuning)  dan hepatitis kronis

1. 1. Hepatitis akut dengan ikterik (Kuning) dan hepatitis kronis

  • Siapkan 60 g patikim, 60 g urang aring, 15 g kie cie (fructus lycii), 15 g jahe.
  • Semua bahan dicuci bersih lalu direbus dengan 800 ml air hingga tersisa 400 ml air.
  • Minum 2 kali sehari, masing-masing 200 ml. Kie cie dapat dimakan
2. Sesak napas (asma)

2. 2. Sesak napas (asma)

  • Rebus herba patikim segar sebanyak 10-25 g dengan air secukupnya. Minum air rebusan tersebut.  
  • Tumbuk herba patikim kemudian diperas. Minum air perasan tersebut.

Reference Sources

  1. Hazarika, I., Mukundan, G. K., Sundari, P. S., & Laloo, D. (2021). Journey of Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lam.: From traditional utilization to modern therapeutics—A review. Phytotherapy Research, 35(4), 1847-1871.
  2. Kumari, S., Elancheran, R., Kotoky, J., & Devi, R. (2016). Rapid screening and identification of phenolic antioxidants in Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lam. by UPLC–ESI-MS/MS. Food chemistry, 203, 521-529.
  3. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:843698-1
  4. https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Hydrocotyle_sibthorpioides_(PROSEA)