Chrysanthellum indicum
StarChrysanthellum indicum
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
In West African folk medicine the whole plant is widely employed as a tisane and decoction for liver complaints, jaundice, malaria and digestive upset; documented uses in Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali and Côte d'Ivoire describe whole-plant infusion taken to support liver function and as a mild diuretic (Adjanohoun et al., 1989; Burkill, 1985, Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa). The same plant is the source of the standardised French phytomedicines (Cynarosin and related veinotonic preparations) used clinically for chronic venous insufficiency and as a hepatoprotective adjunct; the saponin chrysanthellin and associated flavonoid chemistry underpin documented hepatic and venotonic pharmacology (Bruneton, 1999, Pharmacognosie).
Botanical Description
Chrysanthellum indicum (Asteraceae), sometimes treated as part of the C. americanum complex and known as golden chamomile or chrysanthellum, is a small annual herb of pan-tropical distribution, occurring across much of sub-Saharan Africa, India, Southeast Asia and tropical America in open disturbed ground, fallow fields, roadsides and seasonally wet grassy soils. Plants are slender, branched from the base, 5-30 cm tall, with glabrous or sparsely pubescent stems. Leaves are alternate, mostly long-petioled, 1-3 pinnately or ternately dissected into small obovate to spatulate segments, giving the foliage a finely divided appearance. Numerous small heterogamous flower heads are borne on long axillary peduncles; each head is 4-7 mm wide with 4-8 short broad yellow ray florets and a small yellow disc, subtended by a few green herbaceous phyllaries. Achenes are small obovoid, the ray achenes wing-margined and the disc achenes ribbed, both without a pappus. It flowers throughout the rainy season.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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