Often used as wedang, don't miss the 4 great benefits of secang wood: uses, side effects, interactions

The Javanese people often process secang wood into a wedang secang drink. In addition to warming the body, wedang secang turns out to have a myriad of other healthy properties that are a pity to overlook. Indeed, what are the benefits of secang wood? Come on, find out the answer in the following review.

Get acquainted with the secang plant

The secang plant is a type of thorny tree with small leaves. Secang fruit at a glance is similar to Chinese petai which is greenish in color, but discarding the secang will turn brown when ripe. In addition, there are yellow or orange flowers at the top.

This plant has a Latin name Caesalpinia sappan or Biancaea sappan and thrives in Indonesia, India and Malaysia. The part of the secang plant that is most often used is the pith, which is the inside of the wood.

Benefits and benefits of secang wood for body health

The content of active ingredients in secang wood is believed to treat various diseases, such as diabetes, skin diseases, diarrhea, to dysentery. The following are the potential benefits of secang wood for body health, as quoted from an article written by Shrishailappa Badami and colleagues from the J.S.S Collage of Pharmacy.

1. Benefits of secang wood for anti-tumor

One of the many researched benefits of this type of wood is its anti-tumor properties. Aqueous extract of secang stem wood with the addition of 50% ethanol was reported to inhibit tumor cell development in lab rats.

A tumor is an abnormal development of cell tissue. Some tumors are benign, but some are malignant and cancerous.

2. Antibacterial causes various diseases

Bacterial infection is one of the most common causes of infectious diseases. Well, one of the benefits of secang wood according to several studies is to increase the work of the body's immune system to fight various types of bacteria. Example Basil subtilis (causes of vomiting / gastroenteritis), Staphylococcus aureus (causes of bacteremia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and skin diseases), Salmonella typhi (causes of typhus), and E. jerk (causes of diarrhea and general indigestion).

The potential benefits of secang wood to fight bacteria are known to arise when secang water is added with 95% ethanol as an essential oil solvent.

3. Benefits of secang wood as anti-inflammatory and boosts the immune system

Based on research, secang logs can be anti-inflammatory. Among 130 herbal medicines tested, secang wood is an ingredient in herbal medicines that can prevent the inhibition of hyaluronidase activity, a protein that is genetically designed to cause inflammation.

In addition, the antioxidant content of brazilin in secang can improve immune function in mice.

4. Stabilize blood sugar and maintain a healthy liver

In one study, secang wood extract was able to increase glucose metabolism in hypoglycemic rats. Hypoglycemia is a condition when sugar levels in the body are below normal. In addition, brazilin compounds are also believed to protect and maintain liver function in order to keep it healthy.