Persicaria minor

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Persicaria minor
Persicaria minor flower and leaves.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Persicaria
Species:
P. minor
Binomial name
Persicaria minor
(Huds.) Opiz
Synonyms [1]

Polygonum minus Huds.

Persicaria minor is species of herb in the family Polygonaceae. Common names include pygmy smartweed, [2] small water pepper and swamp willow weed. [3] This herb is native to Asia, but distributed widely in Europe and Australia. [4] It is used in South East Asian cooking.

Contents

Description

Persicaria minor is native to South East Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. [5] It grows wild in cooler highlands, but is also found in wet lowland areas near rivers, ditches, and canals. It is a creeping plant with slender stems, and grows upright to a height of 1 to 1.5 meters. The creeping stem is green with reddish tinge, is cylindrical in shape, and has short nodes about 9 mm apart. Its leaves are long and narrowly-tapering, alternately arranged, and green with short, reddish petioles. Its flowers are minute, pale violet, and are 12 to 15 cm long. [6]

Uses

Persicaria minor is an edible, aromatic herb. In Malaysia and Indonesia it has the common name "kesum", and its shoots and young leaves are eaten raw as part of salad (ulam); used as an aroma spice additive in peppery dishes such as laksa, nasi kerabu, asam pedas and tom yam; used as tea leaves; and used for topical applications in traditional medicine. [7] [8] Its oil has been used for aromatherapy and in treatments for dandruff. In Malaysian traditional medicine, P. minor has been used in post-natal tonics and for treatment of digestion. [6]

Pharmacological studies on P. minor have indicated anti-oxidant, LDL oxidation, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities, [9] [10] digestive enhancing and anti-ulcer activities, [11] cognitive enhancing activities, [12] immuno-modulating activities, [13] acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting activity [10] and as a microbial inhibitor to prevent food spoilage. [14] Comparative studies have been carried out to analyse the metabolites not only in the plant's leaves, but also in its stem and roots. [15] Clinical studies have been carried out on this plant, looking at reported abilities to improve cognition, [16] [17] mood and stress, [16] [18] and memory. [16]

Compared with other four Malaysian herbs ( Cosmos caudatus , Piper sarmentosum , Centella asiatica , Syzygium polyanthum ), the Persicaria minor showed the highest concentration of phenols and the highest antioxidant activity. It has been used as a bioactive component for packaging film for edible foods, based on a semi-refined carrageenan and glycerol as plasticizers. [19]

Persicaria minor (Synonym Polygonum minus) The leaves are cooked as a vegetable or used in peppery hot soups such as tomyam. Photo taken in The Tropical Spice Garden on Penang island in Malaysia. Persicaria minor (Synonym Polygonum minus) common name Laksa leaf. The leaves are cooked as a vegetable or used in peppery hot soups such as tomyam. Photo taken in The Tropical Spice Garden on Penang island in Malaysia.jpg
Persicaria minor (Synonym Polygonum minus) The leaves are cooked as a vegetable or used in peppery hot soups such as tomyam. Photo taken in The Tropical Spice Garden on Penang island in Malaysia.

Composition

P. minor has high content of dietary fiber, thiamine, carbohydrate, protein and minerals. [5] It is also rich in calcium, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C, which reportedly gives it a high level of antioxidant properties. [6] [5] Other constituents include quercetin, [20] quercetin-3-glucuronide, myricetin, apigetrin, hyperoside and astragalin. [21] [16]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Polygonum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the knotweed family Polygonaceae

Polygonum is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plants in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass. In the Middle English glossary of herbs Alphita, it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be defined. For example, buckwheat has sometimes been included in the genus as Polygonum fagopyrum. Former genera such as Polygonella have been subsumed into Polygonum; other genera have been split off.

<i>Persicaria maculosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae

Persicaria maculosa is an annual plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae. Common names include lady's thumb, spotted lady's thumb, Jesusplant, and redshank. It is widespread across Eurasia from Iceland south to Portugal and east to Japan. It is also present as an introduced and invasive species in North America, where it was first noted in the Great Lakes region in 1843 and has now spread through most of the continent.

<i>Tanacetum parthenium</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Tanacetum parthenium, known as feverfew, is a flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It may be grown as an ornament, and may be identified by its synonyms, Chrysanthemum parthenium and Pyrethrum parthenium. It is also used as a herbal medicine in the traditional sense and a dietary supplement to treat headache and other ailments, as well more recently in topical skin care as an antioxidant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer savory</span> Species of flowering plant

Summer savory is among the best known of the savory genus. It is an annual, but otherwise is similar in use and flavor to the perennial winter savory. It is used more often than winter savory, which has a slightly more bitter flavor.

<i>Tripterygium wilfordii</i> Species of flowering plant

Tripterygium wilfordii, or léi gōng téng (Mandarin), sometimes called thunder god vine but more properly translated thunder duke vine, is a vine used in traditional Chinese medicine.

<i>Plantago asiatica</i> Species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae

Plantago asiatica, is a self-fertile, perennial flowering plant of genus Plantago. The plant is native to East Asia. It grows really well in disturbed areas like roadsides or even dirt roads. It is valued for its use in folk medicine and it also can be used in cooking.

<i>Kaempferia galanga</i> Species of flowering plant

Kaempferia galanga, commonly known as kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry, is a monocotyledonous plant in the ginger family, and one of four plants called galangal. It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern China, Taiwan, Cambodia, and India, but is also widely cultivated throughout Southeast Asia.

<i>Reynoutria multiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Reynoutria multiflora is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae native to central and southern China. It is known by the English common names tuber fleeceflower and Chinese (climbing) knotweed. It is known as he shou wu in China and East Asia. Another name for the species is fo-ti, which is a misnomer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emodin</span> Chemical compound

Emodin (6-methyl-1,3,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone) is a chemical compound, of the anthraquinone family, that can be isolated from rhubarb, buckthorn, and Japanese knotweed. Emodin is particularly abundant in the roots of the Chinese rhubarb, knotweed and knotgrass as well as Hawaii ‘au‘auko‘i cassia seeds or coffee weed. It is specifically isolated from Rheum palmatum L. It is also produced by many species of fungi, including members of the genera Aspergillus, Pyrenochaeta, and Pestalotiopsis, inter alia. The common name is derived from Rheum emodi, a taxonomic synonym of Rheum australe, and synonyms include emodol, frangula emodin, rheum emodin, 3-methyl-1,6,8-trihydroxyanthraquinone, Schüttgelb (Schuttgelb), and Persian Berry Lake.

<i>Piper sarmentosum</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Ficus deltoidea</i> Species of Asian plant known as the mistletoe fig

Ficus deltoidea, commonly known as mistletoe fig is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Southeast Asia, and widely naturalized in other parts of the world.

<i>Persicaria capitata</i> Species of plant

Persicaria capitata, the pink-headed persicaria, pinkhead smartweed, pink knotweed, Japanese knotweed, or pink bubble persicaria, is an Asian species of plants in the genus Persicaria within the buckwheat family. It is native to Asia and grown as an ornamental in other countries. It has become naturalized in Australia, South Africa and a few scattered locations in the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisetin</span> Chemical compound

Fisetin (7,3′,4′-flavon-3-ol) is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It can be found in many plants, where it serves as a yellow/ochre colouring agent. It is also found in many fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, apples, persimmons, onions and cucumbers. Its chemical formula was first described by Austrian chemist Josef Herzig in 1891.

<i>Quercus infectoria</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus infectoria or the Aleppo oak is a species of oak well known for producing galls that have been traditionally used for centuries in Asia medicinally while also used in softening leather and in making black dye and ink.

<i>Epilobium parviflorum</i> Species of flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae

Epilobium parviflorum, commonly known as the hoary willowherb or smallflower hairy willowherb, is a herbaceous perennial plant of the family Onagraceae.

<i>Catunaregam spinosa</i> Species of plant

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References

  1. Tropicos, Persicaria minor (Huds.) Opix
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Polygonum minus". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  3. "Persicaria minor". European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  4. "Persicaria minor (Huds.) Opiz". New England Wild Flower Society. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
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