Persicaria minor explained

Persicaria minor is species of herb in the family Polygonaceae. Common names include pygmy smartweed, small water pepper and swamp willow weed.[1] This herb is native to Asia, but distributed widely in Europe and Australia.[2] It is used in South East Asian cooking.

Description

Persicaria minor is native to South East Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5] [6] 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.

Pharmacological studies on P. minor have indicated anti-oxidant, LDL oxidation, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities,[7] [8] digestive enhancing and anti-ulcer activities,[9] cognitive enhancing activities,[10] immuno-modulating activities,[11] acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting activity and as a microbial inhibitor to prevent food spoilage.[12] Comparative studies have been carried out to analyse the metabolites not only in the plant's leaves, but also in its stem and roots.[13] Clinical studies have been carried out on this plant, looking at reported abilities to improve cognition,[14] [15] mood and stress,[16] and memory.

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.[17]

Composition

P. minor has high content of dietary fiber, thiamine, carbohydrate, protein and minerals. It is also rich in calcium, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C, which reportedly gives it a high level of antioxidant properties. Other constituents include quercetin,[18] quercetin-3-glucuronide, myricetin, apigetrin, hyperoside and astragalin.[19]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Persicaria minor . European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) . 12 April 2021.
  2. Web site: Persicaria minor (Huds.) Opiz . New England Wild Flower Society . 2017-03-28 .
  3. Book: Wan Hassan, W.E . 2010 . Ulam: Salad Herbs of Malaysia . Masbe . 9789834466404 . 190–191 .
  4. Book: Joseph . Samy . M.. Sugumaran . Kate . Lee . 2005 . Herbs of Malaysia . Times Editions - Marshall Cavendish . 9833001793 . 198–199 .
  5. Web site: Chris . Kilham . 2017-02-26 . South Asian herb dubbed 'smart weed' . FoxNews.com . 2017-08-11 .
  6. Nur Huda . Faujan. Noriham . Abdullah. Norrakiah . Abdullah Sani. Abdul . Salam Babji. Antioxidative activities of water extracts of some Malaysian herbs. ASEAN Food Journal. 2007. 14. 1. 61–68 .
  7. Parayil . Christapher . Subramani . Parasuraman . Review on Polygonum minus. Huds, a commonly used food additive in Southeast Asia . Pharmacognosy Research . 2015 . 7 . 1 . 1–6 . 4285636 . 10.4103/0974-8490.147125 . 25598627 . free .
  8. George . A . 2014 . Anti-inflammatory effects of Polygonum minus (Huds) extract (Lineminus™) in in-vitro enzyme assays and carrageenan induced paw edema. . BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 14 . 355. 10.1186/1472-6882-14-355 . 25252832 . 4181702 . free .
  9. Qader . Suhailah Wasman . Abdulla . Mahmood Ameen . Chua. Lee Suan. Hasnah. Mohd Sirat. Salehhuddin. Hamdan. 2012 . Pharmacological mechanisms underlying gastroprotective activities of the fractions obtained from Polygonum minus in Sprague Dawley rats. . International Journal of Molecular Sciences . 13 . 2 . 22408403 . 10.3390/ijms13021481 . 3291972 . 1481–1496. free .
  10. Annie . George . Chee Pern . Ng . Matthew. O'Callaghan. Gitte. S Jensen. Hoi Jin. Wong. In vitro and ex-vivo cellular antioxidant protection and cognitive enhancing effects of an extract of Polygonum minus Huds (Lineminus™) demonstrated in a Barnes Maze animal model for memory and learning. . BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine . 2014 . 14 . 161 . 10.1186/1472-6882-14-161 . 24886679 . 4036647 . free .
  11. George . Annie. Sasikala . Chinnappan . Yogendra . Choudhary. Praveen. Bommu. Murthy. Sridhar. 2014. Immunostimulant Immunomodulatory activity of an aqueous extract of Polygonum minus Huds on Swiss albino mice using carbon clearance assay. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease . 4 . 5. 398–400. 10.1016/S2222-1808(14)60594-6 . free.
  12. Book: The Wonders of Kesum . Suzana Shahar . Hanis Mastura Yahya . Annie George . University Kebangsaan Malaysia Press . 2021 . 95–99 .
  13. Ahmad . R . Baharum . SN . Volatile profiling of aromatic traditional medicinal plant, Polygonum minus in different tissues and its biological activities . Molecules . 25420073 . 2014 . 19 . 11 . 10.3390/molecules191119220 . 6271663 . 19220–42. free .
  14. Huijin . Lau . Suzana . Shahar . Mazlyfarina . Mohamad . Nor Fadilah . Rajab . 2020 . The effects of six months Persicaria minor extract supplement among older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a double-blinded, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial . BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies . 20 . 1 . 315 . 10.1186/s12906-020-03092-2 . 33076878 . 7574246 . free .
  15. Jay . Udani. 2013 . Effects of SuperUlam on Supporting Concentration and Mood: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Study. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine . 2013 . 1–10 . 238454 . 10.1155/2013/238454 . 24371452 . 3863557 . free .
  16. Hanis . Mastura Yahya. Suzana . Shahar. Siti. Nur Arina Ismail. Ainor. Farihin Aziz. Normah. Che Din. Bibi. Nabihah Abdul Hakim. 2017. Mood, Cognitive Function and Quality of Life Improvements in Middle Aged Women Following Supplementation with Polygonum minus Extract. Sains Malaysiana. 46 . 2. 245–254 . 10.17576/jsm-2017-4602-09 . free.
  17. Antioxidant Activities and Total Phenolic Content of Malaysian Herbs as Components of Active Packaging Film in Beef Patties. Wan Amnin Wan Yahaya. Noraziah Abu Yazid. Nurul Aini Mohd . Azmanand María Pilar Almajano. Antioxidants. Basel. 8. 7. July 1, 2019. 204. 10.3390/antiox8070204. 31269679. 6680856. free.
  18. Book: The Wonders of Kesum . Suzana Shahar . Hanis Mastura Yahya . Annie George . University Kebangsaan Malaysia Press . 2021 . 25 .
  19. Abdullah. Mohamad Zakkirun. Mohd Ali. Johari. Abolmaesoomi. Mitra. Abdul-Rahman. Puteri Shafinaz. Hashim. Onn Haji. Anti-Proliferative, in Vitro Antioxidant, and Cellular Antioxidant Activities of the Leaf Extracts from Polygonum Minus Huds: Effects of Solvent Polarity . International Journal of Food Properties. 2017. 20. 20. S846–S862 . 10.1080/10942912.2017.1315591 . free.

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