Mesona palustris (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Mesona palustris Blume

Protologue: Bijdr. fl. Ned. Ind.: 839 (1826).

Family: Labiatae

Chromosome number: 2n= unknown

Synonyms

• Geniosporum parviflorum Wallich ex Benth. (1830),
• Mesona wallichiana Benth. (1848),
• M. parviflorum (Wallich ex Benth.) Briq. (1897).

Vernacular names

• Black cincau (En)
• Indonesia: cincau hitam (Indonesian), janggelan (Javanese), cincau hideung (Sundanese).

Origin and geographic distribution

M. palustris originated in the region from India and Burma (Myanmar) to Indo-China. From there it spread into the Malesian region, particularly into Central Sumatra, the whole of Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa), Sulawesi, the Philippines (northern half of Luzon) and East New Guinea (Wau). M. palustris is cultivated in Java.

Uses

In Java, the dried leaves of M. palustris are used to prepare a gelatinous, cool drink. In West Java "cincau hideung" is popular: a decoction of dried leaves, to which ash of burned rice culms is added to give it a blacker colour, is mixed with sago or cassava starch and cooked. After cooling, the gel is cut into cubes, which are made into a pleasant drink by the addition of coconut milk and sugar syrup. In China "cincau" means cool leaves or medicine. The leaves are applied medicinally against dysentery, enteritis, abdominalgia, hoarseness and leucorrhoea. M. palustris is also planted for soil conservation.

Production and international trade

There is some local trade in dried leaves of M. palustris in Indonesia. Small amounts are exported to Singapore.

Properties

Per 100 g, fresh leaves of M. palustris contain approximately: water 66 g, protein 6 g, fat 1 g, carbohydrates 26 g, Ca 100 mg, P 100 mg, Fe 3 mg, vitamin A 10750 IU, vitamin B1 80 mg and vitamin C 17 mg. The energy value is about 510 kJ per 100 g. The pectin content is about 11%. The leaves also contain saponins, flavonoids and tannins. It is assumed that the blackish colour is due to the presence of tannic acid bound to the pectin and other unidentified compounds.

Description

• An annual, erect, aromatic herb, 30-50 cm tall, with a well-developed root system. Stem slender, obtusely quadrangular, often branched from the base, unbranched or only sparsely branched at the apex, thinly to densely covered with short curled hairs.
• Leaves decussately opposite; petiole 0-1.5 cm long; blade oblong-elliptical or narrowly obovate-elliptical, 2-8 cm × 1.2-3.5 cm, base narrowly acute or rounded, margin crenate or serrulate, apex acute or obtuse.
• Inflorescence axillary or terminal, raceme-like, 5-20 cm long, composed of many-flowered verticillasters.
• Pedicel 5-6 mm long; calyx campanulate, 2-2.5(-3) mm long, 8-veined, covered with white hairs, upper lip 3-lobed, lower lip oblong, rounded, in fruit calyx tubular-urceolate, 4-5 mm long; corolla pink or lilac-white, 4-5 mm long, limb 2-lipped, upper lip with 3 obtuse-rounded lobes, lower lip concave, obtuse; stamens 4, in 2 pairs, filaments long-exserted, 2 anterior ones longest, posterior pair appendaged at base; ovary 4-locular, style briefly 2-fid; disk gibbous, on the anterior side shortly tongue-shaped.
• Fruit a nutlet, ellipsoid, flattened, 1 mm × 0.4-0.7 mm, finely granular.

Growth and development

In Malesia, M. palustris flowers from March to November. Pollination is effected by insects, mainly bees and bumble-bees.

Other botanical information

M. palustris is a variable species. In the Philippines it has congested flowers, a less inflated fruiting calyx tube with less conspicuous cross-bars and pits and corresponds with plant material from Java. Intermediate types exist in Sulawesi and the Lesser Sunda Islands. In Central Java, 3 types of M. palustris are distinguished: black "janggelan" with dark purple stems and petioles with brownish hairs; purple "janggelan" with purple stems and petioles with purplish hairs; and white "janggelan" with pale green stems and petioles with whitish hairs. M. procumbens Hemsley from Taiwan may be conspecific with M. palustris .

Ecology

M. palustris grows on roadsides, along ditches, on open grassy slopes, in forest margins, on dry fields of rice, and around springs, from sea-level up to 2300 m altitude. It may be locally common and tolerates both per-humid and seasonal conditions.

Propagation and planting

M. palustris is easily propagated by stem cuttings 20 cm long, planted on small ridges in well-prepared, loose soil. They are planted 25-30 cm apart on ridges at 40 cm spacing. Near Bogor (West Java), M. palustris is planted as an intercrop with Capsicum pepper, soya bean, or maize.

Diseases and pests

Around Bogor, diseases and pests are rarely encountered in M. palustris. Livestock shun the crop.

Harvesting

M. palustris is harvested before flowering, when 3 months old. After cutting the stems at 10 cm above the ground the soil is loosened and weeded. A second harvest is possible 1 month later. If no third harvest is intended the plants are then uprooted. The third and last harvest is possible one month after the second harvest, but by then the pectin content is very low.

Yield

In Ngrayun district in East Java, which is one of the production centres in Indonesia, annual yield of dry M. palustris herb is 500-1500 kg/ha.

Handling after harvest

The leaves of M. palustris are dried in the open air and turn brownish black. When properly dried they should be stored under dry conditions.

Prospects

In Indonesia M. palustris is a traditional intercrop which may provide additional revenue to farmers. Research may generate more information on cultivation, processing, genetic resources and breeding.

Literature

• Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963. Flora of Java. Vol. 2. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. pp. 637-638.
• Heyne, K., 1927. De nuttige planten van Nederlandsch-Indië [The useful plants of the Dutch East Indies]. 2nd edition. Vol. 1. Departement van Landbouw, Nijverheid en Handel in Nederlandsch-Indië. pp. 1335.
• Keng, H., 1978. Labiatae. Mesona. In: van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (General editor): Flora Malesiana. Series I, Vol. 8. Sijthoff & Noordhoff International Publishers, Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. pp. 373-374.
• Kumalawati, E., 1982. Usaha pembuatan pektin dari daun Mesona palustris Bl. yang berkualitas farmasi [Preparation of pharmacy-quality pectin from Mesona palustris Bl. leaves]. Thesis S1. Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia. 76 pp.
• Sendiko, H., 1987. Mempelajari beberapa aspek fisiko-kimia pada pembentukan gel cincau hitam dari ekstrak tanaman janggelan (Mesona palustris Bl.) [Study on some physico-chemical aspects of the gel formation of "cincau hitam" from "janggelan" (Mesona palustris Bl.) plant extracts]. Thesis, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia. 117 pp.
• Soenardi, 1995. Etnobotani "janggelan": ulasan suatu pengamatan di kecamatan Ngayun, Poronorogo [Ethnobotany of "janggelan": review of observations in Ngayun District, Poronorogo]. Proceedings of the 2nd National Seminar and Workshop on Ethnobotany. Vol. 2. Ikatan Pustakawan Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia. pp. 422-426.

Authors

• U.A. Dasuki & S. Sunarti