Family Compositae Sambong Blumea balsamifera (Linn.) DC. BLUMEA CAMPHOR Common names Alibum (P. Bis.

.) Alimon (P. Bis.) Ayoban (Bis.) Bukadkad (S. L. Bis.) Bukodkud (Bis.) Dalapot (C. Bis.) Gabuen (Bis.) Gintin-gintin (Bis.) Hamlibon (Bis.) Kaliban (Tagb.) Kalibura (Tagb.) Kambibon (Bis.) Labulan (Sub.) Lakad-bulan (Bis., Sul.) Lalakdan (Bis.) Lakdanbulan (Bis.) Sambun (Sul.) Sambong (Tag.) Sob-sob (Ilk.)` Subusub (Ilk.) Subsob (Ilk.) Sobosob (Ig.) Takamain (Bag.) Blumea camphor (Engl.) Ngai camphor (Engl.)

Other scientific names

Conyza balsamifera Linn.

Botany Sambong is a half woody, strongly aromatic shrub, densely and softly hairy, 1-4 meters high. Stems grow up to 2.5 cm in diameter. Leaves are simple, alternate, elliptic- to oblong-lanceolate, 7-20 cm long, toothed at the margins, pointed or blunt at the tip, narrowing to a short petiole which are often auricled or appendaged. Flowering heads are stalked, yellow and numerous, 6 to 7 mm long, and borned on branches of a terminal, spreading or pyramidal leafy panicle. Discoid flowers are of two types: peripheral ones tiny, more numerous, with tubular corolla; central flowers few, large with campanulate corolla. Involucral bracts are green, narrow and hairy. Anther cells tailed at base. Fruits are achenes, dry, 1-seeded, 10-ribbed, hairy at top.

Distribution Common in open fields, grasslands and waste areas at low and medium altitudes. Fowering from February to April. Propagation by cuttings and layering. Parts utilized Leaves (fresh or dried). Mature, healthy, fully expanded leaves are harvested while senescent leaves are discarded. Air-dry until they crumble when crushed with the fingers. Store in amber colored bottles in a cool, dry place. Constituents Volatile oil, 0.1 - 0.4% - l-borneol, 25%, l-camphor, 75%, limonene, saponins, sesquiterpene and limonene, tannins, sesquiterpine alcohol; palmitin; myristic acid. Properties Vulnerary, antidiarrhetic, antigastralgic, expectorant, stomachic, antispasmodic, emmenagogue, astringent, anthelmintic. Uses

Folkloric Leaves as poultice for abscesses. Decoction of roots and leaves for fevers and cystitis. Sitz-bath of boiled leaves, 500 gms to a ballon of water, for rheumatic pains of waist and back. Applied while hot over the sinuses. Used for wounds and cuts. Fresh juice of leaves to wounds and cuts. Poultice of leaves to forehead for headaches. Tea is used for colds and as an expectorant; likewise, has antispasmodic and antidiarrheal benefits. Postpartum baths. Decoction of leaves, 50 gms to a pint of boiling water, 4 glasses daily, for stomach pains. Preparations Fever: decoction of roots; boil 2 - 4 handfuls of the leaves. Use the lukewarm decoction as a sponge bath. Headaches: apply pounded leaves on the forehead and temples. Hold in place with a clean piece of cloth. Gas distention: boil 2 tsp of the chopped leaves in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Drink the decoction while warm. Also used for upset stomach. Postpartum, for mothers' bath after childbirth. Boils: Apply pounded leaves as poultice daily. Diuretic: Boil 2 tbsp chopped leaves in 2 glasses of water for 15 minutes. Take 1/2 of the decoction after every meal, 3 times a day. Camphor cultivation Can be cultivated as a source of camphor. Experiments in China produced 50,000 kilos of leaves per hectare, with a possible borneol yield of 50-200 kilos per hectare. L-borneol is easily oxidized to camphor.source New applications As a diuretic and for dissolution of renal stones. - As a diuretic in hypertension and fluid retention. Also used for dissolution of kidney stones. Some clinical studies, including double blind/placebo radomized studies, have shown encouraging results for Sambong to be both safe and effective in the treatment of kidney stones and hypertension. The National Kidney and Transplant Institute has promoted the use of this herbal medicine for many renal patients to avert or delay the need for dialysis or organ transplantation. - Being promoted by the Department of Health (DOH) as a diuretic and for dissolution of renal stones. One of a few herbs recently registered with the Bureau of Foods and Drugs as medicines. Other benefits Possible benefits in use patients with elevated cholesterol and as an analgesic for postoperative dental pain. Studies Sesquiterpenoids and plasmin-inhibitory flavonoids: Study yielded two new sesquiterpenoid esters 1 and 2. Compound 2 showed to be slightly cytotoxic. Nine known flavonoids were also isolated, two of which showed plasmin-inhibitory activity. source Anticancer: (1) Study of methanolic extract of BB suggest a possible therapeutic potential in hepatoma cancer patients. (2) Study of B balsamifera extract induced growth-inhibitory activity in rat and human hepatocellular carcinoma cells without cytotoxicity. Findings suggest a possible therapeutic role for the B balsamifera methanol extract in treatement of hepatoma cancer patients. Urolithiasis: Study shows sambong to be a promising chemolytic agent for calcium stones. Antifungal / Antibacterial: Phytochemical study of leaves yielded icthyothereol acetate, cyptomeridiol, lutein and -carotene. Antimicrobial tests showed activity against A niger, T mentagrophytes and C albicans. Results also showed activity against P aeruginosa, S aureus, B subtilis and E coli. Abrogation of TRAIL Resistance in Leukemia Cells: Study shows combined treatment with a dihydroflavonol extracted from Blumea balsamifera exhibited the most striking synergism with TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) and suggests a new strategy for cancer therapy. Antibacterial: Study of 12 crude alcoholic and aqueous extracts from 5 medicinal plants, including B balsamifera, showed potential antibacterial effect against S aureus. Radical Scavenging: Study of Blumea balsamifera extracts and flavonoids showed the methanol extract exhibiting higher radical scavenging activity than the chloroform extract. Leaf Volatile Oil Components: Analysis of leaf essential oil revealed 50 components contributing to 99.07 % of the oil: borneol (33.22%), caryophyllene (8.24%), ledol (7.12%), tetracyclo[6,3,2,0,(2.5).0(1,8) tridecan-9-ol, 4,4-dimethyl (5.18%), with

phytol(4.63%), caryophyllene oxide(4.07%), guaiol (3.44%), thujopsene-13 (4.42%), dimethoxy- durene (3.59%) and -eudesmol (3.18%). Availability Wild-crafted. Tablets and extracts in the cybermarket.