[[File:A closeup of Indian Borage.JPG|thumb|right|''Karpuravalli'', '' dodda pathre'']]
'''Plectranthus amboinicus''' once identified as Coleus amboinicus is a tender fleshy perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae with an oregano-like flavor and odor and native to Southern and Eastern Africa.
==Uses==
{{Uses|Respiratory problem}}, {{Uses|Cancer}}, {{Uses|Stress}}, {{Uses|Anxiety}}, {{Uses|Skin eruptions}}, {{Uses|Kidney problems}}, {{Uses|Fever}}, {{Uses|Irritable bowel syndrome}}, {{Uses|Sore throats}}
Plectranthus amboinicus is a large succulent herb, fleshy and highly aromatic, much branched, possessing short soft erect hairs, with distinctive smelling leaves. The stem is fleshy, about 30–90 cm, either with long rigid hairs (hispidly villous) or tomentose (densely covered with soft, short and erect hairs, pubescent). ==Parts Used=={{Parts Used|Leaves are undivided (simple), broad, egg/oval-shaped with a tapering tip (ovate) and very thick, they are pubescent (thickly studded with hairs), with the lower surface possessing the most numerous glandular hairs, giving a frosted appearance. The taste of this leaf is pleasantly aromatic with agreeable and refreshing odour. Flowers are on a short stem (shortly pedicelled), pale purplish in dense whorls at distant intervals in a long slender raceme}}.
==Chemical Composition==
Hymoquinone (5) was further identified as a nonpolar ingredient from the hexane extract of P. amboinicus to suppress the expression of lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). We then synthesized 2-alkylidenyl-4-cyclopentene-1,3-diones as the designed biomimetics of thymoquinone, and found that compounds 8a, 8b and 8d were more potent TNF-α inhibitors<ref name="chemical composition"/>
== Uses Common names=={{Common names|kn=Dodda pathre soppu, Karpoora valli|ml=Panikkurkka|sa=Karpuravalli|ta=Karpuravalli|te=Sugandhavalkam|hi=Patta ajwain|en=Cuban Oregano, Indian borage}}
The leaves are strongly flavoured and make an excellent addition to stuffings for meat and poultry. Finely chopped==Properties==Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, they can also be used to flavour meat dishesGuna - Qualities, especially beefVeerya - Potency, lamb and game. Such use as a flavouring and its geographic spread is indicated by some of the common namesVipaka - Post-digesion effect, and documented for Cambodia and South Africa. It is also used as a vegetableKarma - Pharmacological activity, for example in South East Asia. The herb is used as a substitute for oregano in the food trade and food labelled "oreganoPrabhava -flavour" may well contain this herbTherepeutics.===Dravya===
The leaves have also had many traditional medicinal uses===Rasa===Tikta (Bitter), especially for the treatment of coughsKatu (Pungent)===Guna===Laghu (Light), sore throats and nasal congestionRuksha (Dry), but also for a range of other problems such as infectionsTikshna (Sharp)===Veerya===Ushna (Hot)===Vipaka===Katu (Pungent)===Karma===Kapha, rheumatism and flatulence. The Vata===Prabhava=== ==Habit=={{Habit|Perennial plant }} ==Identification=====Leaf==={{Leaf|Simple|Evergreen|Foliage Color is cultivated in home-gardens throughout India for use in traditional medicineWhite, being used to treat malarial feverLight Green, hepatopathyGray Green}}<ref name="Leaf"/> ===Flower==={{Flower|Unisexual|2-4cm long|White, renal and vesical calculiPink, cough, chronic asthma, hiccup, bronchitis, helminthiasis, colic, convulsions, and epilepsy, Shenoy and others refer Lavender|Single|Flower Interest is Showy}} ===Fruit==={{Fruit|General|7–10 mm|Fragrant Fruit is present|Fruit Color is Sandy Brown|}} ===Other features=== ==List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used==* [[Grahanimihira Taila]] ==Where to further Indian traditional medicinal uses such as for skin ulcerations, scorpion bite, skin allergy, wounds, diarrhoea, with emphasis on get the leaves being used as a hepatoprotectivesaplings====Mode of Propagation=={{Propagation|Seeds}}, {{Propagation|Cuttings}}. ==How to promote liver health. In Indonesia plant/cultivate==Plectranthus amboinicus is a traditional food used in soup plant that ranges from warm temperate areas with dry, mild winters to stimulate lactation for the month or so following childbirth. In Cambodia uses are recorded: juice from the leaves is sweetened and then given tropical areas with dry to children as protection from colds; and leaves are applied wet climates<ref name="How to the lips. In Bahiaplant/cultivate"/> ==Commonly seen growing in areas=={{Commonly seen|Tall grasslands}}, Brasil{{Commonly seen|At meadows}}, people use the plant to treat skin lesions caused by Leishmania braziliensis{{Commonly seen|Borders of forests and fields}}. ==Photo Gallery==<gallery class="left" caption="" widths="140px" heights="140px">A closeup of Indian Borage (Oregano).JPG A closeup of Indian Borage.JPGCarranglanCentralSchooljf4357 10.JPGFile:Starr 071024-0026 Plectranthus amboinicus.jpgFile:Starr 071024-0027 Plectranthus amboinicus.jpg|Flowers</gallery> ==References==<references> <ref name="chemical composition">[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24491635 Chemical constituents]</ref> <ref name="Leaf">[http://www.learn2grow. Just com/plants/plectranthus-amboinicus-variegatus/ Ornamental Features]</ref> <ref name="How to the north, in Paraiba of the same country, the plant was extremely commonly known for use in /cultivate">[http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Plectranthus%20amboinicus Cultivation Details]</ref></references> ==External Links==* [http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-plectranthus-amboinicus-84959.html Plectranthus amboinicus on home medicationguides.sfgate.com]* [http://www. As noted above, medicinal use also occurs in Southern India, it also documented in other parts flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Cuban%20Oregano.html Plectranthus amboinicus on flowers of South East Asia and South Africaindia]* [https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Plectranthus_amboinicus.html Plectranthus amboinicus on IPFS.org]
[[Category:Herbs]]
[[Category:Lamiaceae]]
[[Category:Pages without herbs images]]
