AYAPAN

It is an important medicinal plant that is used in the treatment of various ailments. The botanical name for Ayapan is Eupatorium triplinerve Vahl which belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is also called Vishalyakarni and it is used to control the bleeding that occurs due to open wounds and blood clots. 

English - Water Hemp

Tamil - Ayapani

Hindi - Ayapan

Sanskrit - Vishalyakarna

It is an evergreen perennial plant which is originated from South America and it also widely grows in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and India. The leaves are purple and that occurs in inflorescence and are glabrous. The stem look hairless and it is red. It is a tropical American plant

Part used: Leaves, flowers, and whole plant

Taste: Bitter ,Astringent

Potency: Hot 

On chemical compound analysis of Ayapan, it includes

The leaves contain essential oil and coumarins, ayapanin and ayapin, stigmasterol, esculetin methylene ether, vitamin C, and carotene.

Action:

• Hepatoprotective
• Expectorant
• Wound healer
• Anti-vadha
• Styptic
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antioxidant
• Anti-microbial
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antinociceptive
• Anti-helminthic 

• It is widely used as a tea in the whole of its distribution area, against chronic diarrhea, as a stimulant, a sudorific and a tonic, and against badly infected wounds, thrush, lung diseases, and as an antidote for snake bites.
• The extract prepared from the dried leaves and shoots acts as a cardiac stimulant and treat irregular heartbeat
• In Brazil and the Caribbean, a gargle prepared from the leaves is used to relieve thrush, scurvy, and angina.
• In Trinidad, a decoction prepared from this plant is used to treat influenza, chest colds, pneumonia, and constipation.
• In Indonesia and Africa, it is also used as a cover in tea and rubber plantations.

The dose of the drug used according to the physician

Fresh juice: 5-10ml

• Kindly avoid using this medication if you are receiving any blood-thinning drugs because the use of this herb may get interact with these drugs
• At high doses, the use of this drug may produce a laxative effect and cause vomiting and diarrhea
• The leaves of this plant contain coumarins this should be avoided in patients who are taking anti-coagulant medications

Less information is available regarding the use of this medicine in pregnant and breastfeeding women. Kindly consult with the doctor before initiating the treatment.

Antihelminthetic activity:

They indicated that a methanol extract of ayapana could whiten the skin by interfering with melanogenesis

Ayapana has long been used in traditional medicine systems for wounds and to stop bleeding. Researchers in India studied these ethnic uses in mice and the study they published in 2010 revealed that both the fresh leaf juice and a methanolic extract of ayapana leaves decreased bleeding time and clotting time significantly which confirmed the use of ayapana in arresting bleeding and treating wounds.

Several universities have supported research concerning ayapana’s use as a food additive to stored food crops to keep common pests and insects from feeding on them.

Ayapan as a cure-all:

Ayapana remedies are quite popular and widely sold in India where it's touted as a "cure-all." The herbal products market in the United States has been slow to catch onto this rainforest remedy. It is available here only under a few labels, mostly in extracts and capsules.

With its antibacterial actions and ability to ease coughs and upset stomachs as well as lower fevers, it makes for a nice natural remedy during cold and flu season and strep throat. An ayapana leaf tea even tastes good and is mildly calming.

Ayapana is also a good herbal remedy for stomach ulcers and ulcerative colitis. Its documented actions to protect the stomach and bowel from forming ulcers, to stop bleeding, and to help heal ulcers and reduce inflammation makes it a first-line remedy for ulcerative colitis and other bowel conditions like Crohn's and IBS.

Its traditional uses against tumors and cancer still have a way to go to be clinically validated and much more research is needed.

Unfortunately, as with most natural plant remedies, those with the money to conduct these studies will continue to research the active anti-tumorous chemicals in ayapana rather than the plant itself.

This is the only way they can capitalize off of this kind of expensive research in their search for new patentable cancer drugs since natural plant extracts cannot be patented or approved as pharmaceutical drugs

Ayapan in Anti-microbial activity:

Several different research groups over the years have studied ayapana's antimicrobial actions in test-tube studies and reported good antibacterial actions against various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

In 2008, researchers in Bangladesh reported various crude extracts of ayapana evidenced good antimicrobial activity against 11 human pathogenic bacteria and six phytopathogenic fungi. In 2011, Indian researchers re-confirmed ayapana's antibacterial actions but reported it only had a mild or moderate activity against the antibiotic-resistant pathogens they tested it against.

In 2010, other researchers tested the essential oil of the aerial parts of ayapana and reported the oil had moderate antibacterial actions and strong antifungal actions.

Other researchers have studied the plant's antifungal actions. In several studies, ayapana didn't provide very good antifungal actions. Even when a leaf essential oil was tested only weak activity was shown.

The essential oil of the flowers, however, has yielded much better antifungal results than the plant itself. In 1979, researchers in India reported a strong activity against 10 strains of fungi.

In 1993, the essential oil from the flowers of ayapana was reported to possess antibacterial (against staph, cholera, pneumonia, and shigella), as well as antiparasitic (Ascaris), and anthelmintic (Taenia) actions by researchers in India. In an early animal study, the flower essential oil injected into mice was reported to have CNS depressant, pain-relieving, and sedative effects (as well as an in vitro antibacterial effect).

Ayapana has antiseptic, expectorant, liver-protecting, ulcer preventing and wound healing properties. Its oral intake stops bleeding, detoxifies the blood, cures fever, promotes sweating, and thins the blood.

Ayapana as Purgative:

Purgation or Viresanam (Siddha) is an induced cleaning process using herbs. It is done to cleanse the digestive system and is typically recommended in Pitta/Bile and liver disorders.

It is useful in piles, poisoning, skin diseases, nausea, vomiting, colitis, chronic fevers, enlarged abdomen, and jaundice.

Viresanam helps the body to get rid of ama/toxins and excess pitta. Excessive bile or Pitta in the body is responsible for many diseases such as skin diseases, pimples, rashes, vomiting, jaundice, etc.

Viresanam is not done in weak, old people, pregnant women, during menstruation, in uterus prolapse, weak digestion, Vata diseases, bleeding disorders, etc.

Ayapana has laxative and emetic properties due to which it can be used for viresanam. A decoction prepared using all five parts of the plant viz. leaves, roots, flowers, fruits and stem when taken in large doses causes vomiting and loose motions.

Ayapan juice:

Take the required amount of leaves and get juice from them. Consume this juice to treat piles

Ayapan Kwath:

Take the required amount of leaves, roots, plants, flowers, fruits, and stem boil it until it reduces to ¼ th of the water. Use this remedy to treat fever

External use:

Ayapan paste:

Take the required amount of leaves and make it as a paste. Apply this paste on an affected area to treat wound and insect bite

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Irregular heartbeat
• Increase Blood pressure

How can I use the oil obtained from ayapan?

The oil obtained from the ayapan is used as an antidote for snake bite

Is Ayapan leaves available in the market?

Yes, it is available in the market and it can be brought from online websites or ayurvedic and stores.

How to store Ayapan powder?

It should be stored in an airtight container and keep the medicines away from the heat and light and Do not keep the medicines reaching out to children