The Herbal
remedy for the treatment of bleeding that I am going to discuss here is
the cordyline leaves. If you see on the photograph, this plant has red
and dark green as well as brown colors. The plant is usually used by
people in Indonesia as border line land indicator. They plant cordyline
at the corners or along the borders lines of their gardens or house
yards because the cordyline has got bright red color. Cordyline can be
found thriving in the lowland up to 1,900 meters above sea level. Synonyms:
Cordyline fruticosa backer, C. terminalis planch., C.terminalis (L.)
Kunth., Asparagus terminalis L., Dracaena terminalis Rich., Taetsia
fruticosa Merr., convallaria fruticosa L.
The herbs name of this natural medicine is Cordylinae Folium (or Andong
leaves)
The height of Cordyline is between 2 and 4 meters. The trunk is hard and
round.
From the book about herbal medicine that I am reading at the moment, it
says that young cordyline leaves can be eaten as vegetables. The mature
leaves can also be used as wrappings for cooking rice which will
eventually make the taste of the food delicious.
Properties
and medicinal function of the plant
The taste of cordyline is sweet and insipid (or no taste). The plant has
the medicinal merit of stopping the bleeding or "resfreshing" the blood.
It can even destroy the blood clot in the bruised areas.
Chemical contents
The cordyline leaves contain saphonine, tanine, flavonoid, polyphenol,
steroide, polysakaride, calcium oxalat, and iron.
Parts of the plant that can be used as medicine
Leaves, flowers, and roots have medicinal properties. Use the fresh
herbs or the dried ones.
Indication
The cordyline leaves can be used to cure:
Lung tuberculosis especially when the patient is suffering from blood
cough
Blood spots that come out during pregnancy (possibility of miscarriage),
too much blood during menstruation (menorrhagia), blood in the
urine(hematuria), and bleeding wounds.
How to use the herb
For drinking herbs, boil the leaves (15 to 30 grams), dried flower (9-15
grams) or roots (6-10 grams).
For external treatment, wash the cordyline leaves, cut them into small
pieces and add 1 gram of salt. Grind the leaves until they are
pulverized or fine. Apply it on the wound and wrap it with bandage. Example of treatment
For bleeding urinary, bleeding cough, and too much blood during
menstruation, boil fresh cordyline leaves (60 to 100 grams) or dry roots
(30-60 grams) with 3 glasses of water until they become only 1 glass.
Let it to cool down and filter it. Divide it into two equal parts. Drink
it in the morning and afternoon.
The tropical rainforest has got a lot of species of plants that have
medicinal functions. It is sad to see that at the present moment this
rich natural environment is being cut for the exploitation of its wood
and for the conversion of its land for monoculture plantation. We can
help preserve the rainforest if we are able to exploit its non-timber
forest product and improve the living condition of people living in and
around the rainforest.
