Ambrosia peruviana

Scientific name: Ambrosia peruviana Willd.

Synonym: Ambrosia paniculata var. peruviana Willd. O.E. Schulz

Synonym 2: Ambrosia paniculata var. cumanensis Kunth O.E. Schulz

Botanical family: ASTERACEAE

Vernacular names

(In territories with significant traditional TRAMIL use)

Honduras:

altamisa

Panama:

altamisa

Dominican Republic:

artamisa

Other vernacular names

Honduras:

altamisa

Panama:

altamisa

Nicaragua:

altamiz

Geographical distribution

Tropical America, from Mexico to Peru, including the Caribbean Basin.

Botanical description

Annual plant, very aromatic, erect, up to 2 m in height, covered with long hairs. Alternate or opposite bipinnatifid leaves, 3 to 10 cm in length. Greenish male flowers in long terminal buds, female flowers in leaf axils. Fruit in ovoid, angular and thorny achenes, 3 to 4 mm in length.

Voucher(s)

Ochoa,282,HPMVH
Suazo&Cardona,18,HPMVH
FLORPAN,1931,PMA
García,4624,JBSD
Ríos,404,CECALLI

stomach pain

fresh leaf, infusion, taken orally²

wind (colic)

fresh leaf and branch, infusion, taken orally¹

headhache

fresh leaf, untreated, local application³
leaf, alcohol maceration, local rubbing³

Due to the presence of allergenic pollen on the branches and leaves, it is necessary to wash the plant material before use.

For wind or stomach pain:
wash the leaves adequately, prepare an infusion by adding 2 cups (½ litre) of boiling water to 15 grams of fresh leaves. Cover the vessel, let it settle for 5 minutes, strain (filter), and drink 1 cup when symptoms occur.

For headaches:
fresh leaves: wash the leaves adequately, crush them, take 5 to 10 grams of plant material and apply to the forehead twice a day for 10 minutes.

maceration in alcohol: wash the leaves properly, chop up 200 grams of leaves and add them to a litre of alcohol (e.g. rum, wine or rubbing alcohol), leave to macerate at room temperature for 5 days, strain (filter) and store in a container. Then rub locally on the forehead when symptoms occur.

Preparations must never be stored for more than 24 hours, even if refrigerated.

According to the information available:

The use for stomach pain is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in TRAMIL surveys and toxicity und validation studies.

The use for colic and headache is classified as REC based on the significant traditional use documented in the TRAMIL surveys and the toxicity studies.

The pollen deposited on branches and leaves can produce hypersensitivity reactions.

If deterioration is observed in the patient, the colic or stomach pain persist for more than 3 days, or the headache lasts for more than 2 days, seek medical attention.

Not for use during pregnancy, breastfeeding or in children under 5 years of age.

TRAMIL Work¹⁰
The aqueous extract (infusion) from fresh leaves (5 g/kg/5 days) orally in 10 Hsd: ICR mice (CD-1) of 20.91 ± 1.48 g (5 males and 5 females) according to the EPA OPPTS 870.1100 protocol, with 12 days of observation; the control was carried out with water (0.3 ml/20 g of mouse) in animals of the same strain and characteristics. No mortality occurred during the test, nor were there any signs of toxicity. The macroscopic autopsy showed no alterations in the organs.

TRAMIL Work⁸
The raw extract (hydroalcoholic maceration 70%, room temperature) of dry and ground leaf (100 g) orally (up to 5 g/kg) at a single dose in mice did not cause any sign of toxicity during the 14 days of observation. The parameters observed included weight loss, skin or mucosal alterations, diarrhoea, seizures and other nervous system alterations.

TRAMIL Work¹¹
The aqueous extract (crushed in water) from fresh leaves, applied topically (1 g/ml over an area of 5 cm²) on injured and healthy skin of 3 New Zealand rabbits, in the dermal irritation model for 5 consecutive days, caused a primary irritation index of 0.3 (EPA standard) during the 11-day observation period, and the product was considered to be non-irritant.

TRAMIL Work¹²
The alcoholic leaf extract (98% ethanolic maceration) in topical application (0.4 g/ml over a 5 cm² area) on injured and healthy skin of 3 New Zealand rabbits for 5 consecutive days in the dermal irritation model, caused a primary irritation index of 0.39 (EPA standard) during the 11 day observation period, and the product was considered to be non-irritant.

There is no information available documenting the safety of use in children, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

TRAMIL Work⁴
The infusion (freeze-dried) of fresh leaves, by HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) determination, does not contain detectable amounts of quercetin or quercetrin.

The leaf and branch contain sesquiterpenes: ambrosin and derivatives, psilostachyin B and C, aromadendrene-4-b-10-a-diol, allodamsin, peruvin⁵.

The aerial part contains the flavonoid: hispidulin⁶.

The essential oil of the leaf contains: sabinene, β-pinene, cis-epoxy-ocimene, sylvestrene, cineol-1,8, fenchone, linalool, camphor, cis-derbenol, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, bornyl acetate, β-caryophyllene, cis-bergamotene-alpha, trans-β-farnesene, γ-curcumene, ar-curcumene, (Z)-nerolidol, δ-cadinene, carotol, junenol, cubenol; the main components found were γ-curcumene (23.99%), ar-curcumene (14.08%), bornyl acetate (10.35%), camphor (5.03%) and ocimene epoxide (4.79%)⁷.

TRAMIL Work⁸
The hydroalcoholic extract (70%), dynamically macerated for 90 minutes at room temperature, from dry and ground leaves (100 g) filtered and concentrated under vacuum at 45 °C (18 g of raw extract from which an aqueous polar fraction and a non-polar organic fraction were obtained). The crude extract and apolar fraction (1 g/kg), orally in mice in an intraperitoneal acetic acid-induced abdominal contortion (0.6%) model, showed analgesic activity with statistically significant inhibition of 49 and 42%, respectively; the aqueous polar fraction of 15% was not significant.

The aqueous extract (decoction) from dried leaves (1, 5 and 30 g/100 ml distilled water) orally in rats and mice (0.01 ml/g body weight) showed peripheral-type analgesic activity⁹.

Pharmacopoeia

Ed.3

References

1 LAGOS-WITTE S, 1988-89, 1996
Encuesta TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Histología Vegetal y Etnobotánica, Departamento de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras UNAH, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

2 GERMOSEN-ROBINEAU L, GERONIMO M, AMPARO C, 1984
Encuesta TRAMIL. enda-caribe, Santo Domingo, Rep. Dominicana.

3 SOLIS P, CORREA M, GUPTA MP, 1995
Encuesta TRAMIL (Comunidades afro-caribeñas). Centro de Investigaciones Farmacognósticas de la Flora Panameña CIFLORPAN, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Panamá, Panamá, Panamá.

4 SOLIS PN, VASQUEZ Y, AYALA H, GUPTA MP, 2002
Validación de algunas plantas TRAMIL. Informe TRAMIL. Centro de Investigaciones Farmacognósticas de la Flora Panameña CIFLORPAN, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Panamá, Panamá, Panamá.

5 GOLDSBY G, BURKE BA, 1987
Sesquiterpene lactones and a sesquiterpene diol from Jamaican Ambrosia peruviana. Phytochemistry 26(4):1059-1063.

6 HERZ W, ANDERSON GD, GIBAJA S, RAULAIS D, 1969
Sesquiterpene lactones of some Ambrosia species. Phytochemistry 8(5):877-881.

7 12 YÁNEZ CA , RIOS N. MORA F, ROJAS L, DIAZ T, VELASCO J, RIOS N, MELENDEZ P, 2011
Composición quimica y actividad antibacteriana del aceite esencial de Ambrosia peruviana Willd. de los llanos venezolanos. Rev Peru Biol 18(2):149-151.

8 SOUZA BRITO A, 1995
Toxicidad aguda dosis repetidas. Informe TRAMIL. Dep. de Fisiología y Biofísica, Universidad de Campinas, Campinas, Brasil.

9 BUZNEGO MT, LLANIO M, FERNANDEZ M, LEON N, ACEVEDO M, PEREZ H, 1998
Perfil neurofarmacológico de la Ambrosia paniculata (Willd) O.E. Schulz (Artemisa). Rev Cubana Plantas Med 3(1):42-45.

10 PAZOS L, COTO T, 2011
Toxicidad oral aguda, dosis repetida, en ratón, hoja de Ambrosia peruviana. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

11 PAZOS L, COTO T, CAIZA F, 2009
Irritación dérmica, piel lesionada en conejos, hoja fresca, de Ambrosia peruviana. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

12 PAZOS L, COTO T, CAIZA F, 2009
Irritación dérmica, piel lesionada en conejos, hoja macerada en alcohol 94%, de Ambrosia peruviana. Informe TRAMIL. Laboratorio de Ensayos Biológicos, LEBi, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, Costa Rica.

Disclaimer

The information provided is for educational purposes only for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. Since some parts of plants could be toxic, might induce side effects, or might have interactions with certain drugs, anyone intending to use them or their products must first consult with a physician or another qualified health care professional. TRAMIL has no responsibility whatsoever towards the user for any decision, action or omission made in relation to the information contained in this Pharmacopoeia.

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Ambrosia peruviana

Vernacular names

Honduras:

Panama:

Dominican Republic:

Honduras:

Panama:

Nicaragua:

Geographical distribution

Botanical description

Voucher(s)

Pharmacopoeia

References

Disclaimer