Table of contents:
- What is that vile shard?
- The potential health benefits of glass
- 1. Natural diabetes medication
- 2. Heals wounds of diabetes
- 3. Against free radicals
- Before using any herbal medicine ...
Of the various medicinal plants in Indonesia, you may not be familiar with the vile leaf. This plant, which is also known as shattered leaf, onyokelo, or keci shard, is commonly found in yards or among wild grasses. He said, this broken glass leaf is useful for treating diabetes and scratches. Is that true?
What is that vile shard?
The vile glass has a Latin name Strobilanthes crispus (S. crispus). This plant is still included in the plant family Acanthaceae, and are still brothers with the bitter plant. Actually, the shard ketchup comes from Madagascar but its cultivation circulation has spread to Indonesia.
According to research from the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan, broken glass leaves contain caffeine, vitamin C, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2 to a range of other nutrients which of course have good properties and are beneficial to health.
The leaves have been widely processed and marketed as herbal medicine. These include powdered powder, powder-filled capsules, and products that can be mixed into tea or coffee.
The potential health benefits of glass
1. Natural diabetes medication
And the vile glass is believed to be effective as a natural diabetes medicine to control blood sugar levels. However, the efficacy and effectiveness of these herbal leaves have not really been tested on humans. Alleged effects of lowering blood sugar from keci beling leaves have only been reported in lab rats, based on a 2013 study by Universiti Putra Malaysia published by Plant Foods for Human Nutrition.
This study used fermented and unfermented tea made from kecibeling leaves. After 21 days of being given fermented glass tea, the group of rats experiencing hyperglycemia showed a decrease in blood sugar. Meanwhile, normal mice blood sugar levels were not affected.
At the same time, the shattered leaves also showed a cholesterol-lowering effect in these mice. Cholesterol of diabetic rats who were given tea with fermented shard leaves seemed to slowly decrease from day 7 and day 21. However, in diabetic rats that were given non-fermented kecibeling leaf tea, on day 21 their cholesterol levels actually increased.
In normal mice that were given both types of kecibeling leaf tea, cholesterol levels in their bodies decreased slowly. Researchers believe that these blood sugar and cholesterol-lowering benefits come from their antioxidant and polyphenol content.
Further research is needed to prove the efficacy of this herbal remedy in humans.
2. Heals wounds of diabetes
For diabetics, even small wounds can get worse and take longer to heal. Well, broken glass leaves are believed to have the potential to accelerate healing of diabetic wounds. However, again, the benefits of this heinous glass leaf have only been tested on lab rats.
Still from the Malaysian study above, the researchers compared the speed of the healing process of a 2 cm incision wound on the neck of diabetic rats and healthy mice. The choice of wound medicine used is kecibeling leaf extract, acacia leaf extract, ethanol, and intracite gel which is commonly used to treat wounds.
As a result, the incisions in the two mice healed faster when treated with a vicious glass extract ointment than other drugs. In addition to accelerating wound healing, extracts of small glass also work to reduce inflammation in the body due to wounds and trigger the production of more collagen to form new skin tissue.
3. Against free radicals
Summarizing research from the Universiti Sains Malaysia, the leaves contain a number of important antioxidants. Starting from polyphenols, flavonoids, catechins, alkaloids, and tannins. This study compared fermented and unfermented leaves, as well as several other types of tea leaves such as green tea and black tea.
Green tea and black tea are still in the second top rank as the leaves with the highest levels of antioxidants. However, it was immediately followed by non-fermented shard leaves and fermented shard leaves.
Antioxidants are important for fighting the effects of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are harmful substances that cause various diseases such as cancer, heart disease, decreased vision (macular degeneration), to Alzheimer's.
Before using any herbal medicine…
Although the leaves are alleged to have the potential to be good for health, you must still be wise when consuming them. Note that research into the heinous benefits of glass has not been proven in humans so far.
You also shouldn't just eat it carelessly. Herbal plants need to be processed in certain ways so that they can be consumed safely. Moreover, herbal supplements and medicines do not have official dosage standards so the effects may vary from person to person. Not necessarily everyone who takes herbal medicine can feel the benefits.
No less important, you also need to know whether you have allergies to these herbs.
Medical treatment from doctors remains the main way of treatment for all health problems. It is better if you consult a doctor before deciding to use any herbal medicines. Later the doctor will consider the safety of using these drugs in relation to your health, as well as consider possible drug reactions.
