AbutaCissampelos pareira

Did you know?

• Abuta grows wild on three continents, from Brazil and Peru to East Africa, India and Southeast Asia^{[1, 2, 3]}.

• In South America abuta is known as the midwives' herb, and one of its French names, herbe des sages-femmes, means the same^{[4, 6]}.

• In India's Ayurvedic tradition it is known as laghu patha^{[3, 5]}.

• Its English name is velvetleaf, and its slender stems are often softly hairy^{[2, 5]}.

• Every abuta plant is either male or female: each vine carries only one kind of flower^{[2, 5]}.

• Its tiny fruits ripen orange to red, and each holds a single horseshoe-shaped seed^[2].

Origins and history

Abuta is a twining vine, or sometimes a scrambling shrub, that climbs through the plants around it^{[1, 2]}. Its leaves are broad and almost round, up to about 5 inches (12 cm) long, and its flowers are tiny^{[2, 5]}. It is at home in rainforest, bushland and cleared or disturbed ground, from the lowlands up to about 6,500 feet (2,000 m)^{[2, 3]}. Like most of its relatives in the moonseed family, it is a woody climber of tropical forests^{[5, 7]}.

A plant that grows on three continents collects names. It is known as abuta, pareira or false pareira, as velvetleaf in English, as butua in Portuguese, and as laghu patha in the Ayurvedic tradition of India^{[2, 3, 5, 6]}. The bitter root is the part used most often, usually steeped as an infusion or boiled as a decoction, though the leaves and stems are used too^{[2, 6]}. In parts of Asia the leaves are occasionally eaten, and crushed in water they set into a jelly that is taken as a refreshment^[2].

Traditional uses

Clinical studies of abuta in people are still few^{[3, 6]}, but its traditional use is rich, and much of it centers on women^{[2, 4, 6]}. That use is recorded across Africa and Asia as well as the Americas^{[2, 3, 4]}.

• Women's health through the monthly cycle

  In folk traditions across the tropics, women have long taken abuta root through the monthly cycle. Abuta supports women's health through the monthly cycle.*^{[2, 4, 6]}

• Occasional cramps

  Abuta is traditionally taken for occasional cramps associated with the menstrual cycle.*^{[2, 4, 6]}

• Digestive comfort

  The root has also been taken as a stomach tonic. Abuta supports digestive comfort.*^{[2, 6]}

• Urinary tract health

  The root has a long tradition of use for the urinary tract. Abuta helps promote urinary tract health.*^{[2, 6]}

Plant compounds

Abuta contains naturally occurring plant compounds called isoquinoline alkaloids, which make up the main group of constituents found in the plant so far^{[3, 4]}. The best known belong to a subgroup called bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, among them hayatine and hayatidine, which are found in the root^{[2, 4]}. The root and leaves also contain a related alkaloid called cycleanine^[2].