Traditional uses and benefits of Hugas

Sylvia

1 year ago

Hugas Quick Facts
Name:	Hugas
Scientific Name:	Microglossa pyrifolia
Origin	Tropical Africa, China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Madagascar, Comoros and Mayotte
Shapes	Achene is compressed and 4-angled, with the reddish pappus about 3 millimeters long
Health benefits	Fever, headaches, colds, malaria, dermal infections , cough, elephantiasis, wounds, ophthalmia, stomach complaints, jaundice and edemas.

Hugas scientifically known as Microglossa pyrifolia is an erect or scandent, shrubby and climbing plant belonging to Microglossa genus and Asteraceae family. The plant is native to tropical Africa, Madagascar, Bangladesh, China, Comoros Cambodia, Mayotte, Philippines, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bhutan and Indonesia. Some of the well-known common names of the plants are Hugas, Maniak and Saroka.

The plant is found growing in thickets on slopes, along forest edges, grass land, open forests, forest margins, river forests, stream banks, bush land, wastelands and edges of bamboo plantations. The plant is found growing up to 6 meter tall. Stem is branched, cylindrical becoming quickly woody. It is speckled, thickly shielded with tiny glandular hairs.

Leaf

Leaves are simple alternate, supported by tiny petiole about 10-15 mm long. Leaf blade is oval, about 5 to 10 cm long and 2.5 to 4 cm wide. Base is rounded and apex is acuminate. Margin is entire more or less corrugated with spaced, thinly marked teeth. Lower surface is pale green, enclosed with tiny glandular hairs, and a thick, ferruginous villosity on the veins. Upper surface is green and rough. It has a curved venation.

Hugas Facts

Name	Hugas
Scientific Name	Microglossa pyrifolia
Native	Tropical Africa, China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Madagascar, Comoros and Mayotte
Common Names	Hugas, Maniak and Saroka
Name in Other Languages	African: Asibogo Chinese: Guo shan long (过山龙), Li ye xiao she ju, Jiu li ming, Ko shita kiku (小舌菊), Màn mián cài (蔓綿菜), Kunori Akira (九里明), Nashi Kanō ko shita kiku (梨叶小舌菊), Xiǎo pán mù (小盘木) Congo: Muntantali East africa: Nyabungu odide Finnish: Pilviripsusäde Japanese: Shimaizuhahako (シマイズハハコ) Kinyarwanda: Umunyaragisaka, Nyakahe Kenyan: Nyabungu odide, Muhinga, Muteei, Olabai-oibor Malay: Ragin Myanman: Bizat, Bezat Nigerian: Anikan segbo, Anikan segbo torisa, Okbakakwu Papua new guinea: Gogo, Pundari Rundi: Umuhe, Muhe Tanzanian: Kichwaghwmbe, Lauhala, Mswaswaki, Uswaswaki Thailand: Khaa bia, tonghung, tonghong Vietnam: Tiểu thiệt
Plant Growth Habit	Erect or scandent, shrubby and climbing plant
Growing Climates	Thickets on slopes, along forest edges, grass land, open forests, forest margins, river forests, stream banks, bush land, wastelands and edges of bamboo plantations
Plant Size	Up to 6 m tall
Stem	Stem is branched, cylindrical becoming quickly woody. It is speckled, thickly shielded with tiny glandular hairs.
Leaf	Stalked, ovate-lanceolate, 3.5 to 7.5 centimeters long, pointed at both ends, and obscurely toothed at the margins.
Flower	Heads are numerous, less than 1 centimeter across, and clustered on the branches of rounded corymbs. Involucral bracts are lanceolate.
Fruit Shape & Size	Achene is compressed and 4-angled, with the reddish pappus about 3 millimeters long, or much longer than the minute achene.
Plant Parts Used	Leaves, root, root bark
Other Facts	It is sometimes cultivated in gardens, probably not as an ornamental, but for its medicinal virtues. They are said to be poisonous to goats in Ghana.

Inflorescence

Inflorescence is a set of yellowish white capitulums organized in a corymbiform panicle within the axils of the leaves or at the end of the axes. Capitulums are about 10-12 mm in length and 5 to 6 mm in diameter. At the base is a campanulate involucre of bracts organized on 4 to 5 rows. Outer bracts are membranous and ovate along with obtuse apex and about 0.7 to 2 mm long. They are enclosed with a thinner tubercular pubescence. Internal bracts are linear to lanceolate, 2 to 5 mm long, glabrous. Basal bracts are persistent. Receptacle of the capitulum is convex.

Flower

Outside of the capitulum are abundant ligulate florets with a filiform ligule 1 mm long. Inside the capitulum of the flower there are tubular florets, along with a tube of 2.5 mm conquered by 5 lobes.

Fruit

Fruit is an obovoid, flattened achene, nearly 1 mm long along with 3 to 4 longitudinal ridges with some fine glandular hairs at the top. Pappus consists of reddish or white bristles organized on 2 to 3 rows. Those from the outside are 1 mm long and from inside are 4 mm long.

Traditional uses and benefits of Hugas

Decoction of roots is used for stomachache.
Leaf decoction is used for colds.
Plant is used to cure fever in babies in Gold Coast.
In Liberia it is used as a cure for cough.
It is used in the treatment of cold and headaches in Tanzania.
Powdered root are used as douse to reduce colds in West Africa.
Root juice passed through fine linen, is used as eye drops in western tropical Africa.
Juice of warmed leaves is applied as cure for ringworm of the scalp.
Tea-like infusion is used for fever with headache.
Decoction is taken by women during labor.
Decoction of root bark and also root is used for treating epilepsy in Tanzania.
Bandages soaked in root decoction are used to cure wounds of incised abscesses.
Juice from its root is applied to the eyes for cataracts.
Leaf is applied inside the nose of man and cattle to treat coryza.
It is also used for backwater fever, dropsy and yellow fever.
It is used to treat malaria in Africa.
Pounded roots are soaked in water and used for headache and colds in Kenya.
Pound leaves are used for treatment of limb fractures.
It is used for the treatment of wounds and dermal infections in Ghana.
It is used for elephantiasis, wound and cough in Rwanda.
Leaves are used for mastitis in Ethiopia.
Leaf-sap is instilled into the eye for ophthalmia and to kill filarial in Congo.
It is used in Ivory Coast for numerous stomach complaints, edemas and jaundice.
The plant is considered as cure for hookworm in E Africa.
In Peninsular Malaysia a Root decoction is given to treat stomach-ache.
Vapor produced from heated leaves is blown over sore eyes and spear wounds.
Bath is used to cure epilepsy, insanity and fits in children.
Leaf poultice is applied to inflammations, or applied on the chest to reduce pulmonary troubles.
Powdered root is used locally as a snuff to reduce colds or as a local anodyne.
Leaves, roots and above ground is used for treatment of meningitis by Bench people.
Leaves are used for treatment of hard swelling on the skin by Meinit people and for treatment of jaundice and herpes by Sheko people.