13/03/2021
" M A Y A N A "
Scientific name: Coeus Blumei Benth
Snippets
- There was a report of psychoactive use among the Mexican Mazatecs discovered in 1962 in connection with Gordon Wasson's research into Salvia divinorum.
- There are a large number of Coleus blumei hybrids which can be mistaken for other Coleus species.
Botany
Mayana is an erect, branched, fleshy, annual herb, about 1 meter high. Stems are purplish and 4-angled. Leaves are variously blotched or colored, usually more or less hairy, ovate, 5 to 10 centimeters long, rather coarsely toothed in the margins; and in the most common form uniformly velvety-purple. Flowers are purplish, numerous, and borne in lax, terminal, simple or branched inflorescences, 15 to 30 centimeters long. Calyx is green, and about 2.5 millimeters long, with the upper lip ovate and the lateral lobes short and ovate, the lower one being 2-cleft. Corolla is about 11 millimeters long.
Uses
Folkloric
• In the Philippines, pounded leaves used as a cure for headaches, applied to the temples or nape of the neck. Also used for healing bruises.
• Decoction taken internally for dyspepsia and for wasting away.
• Decoction used as eye drops for ophthalmia and conjunctivitis.
• Bruises and sprains: Crush or pound 10-12 leaves and apply over the ankles, wrists or affected areas for 30 minutes, three times daily. Use a bandage to hold the poultice in place.
• Carminative: Take decoctions of leaves.
• Mild bleeding of wounds: Wash the young leaves; crush and extract the juice. Drop a few drops of the juice directly on the wound. Apply the crushed leaves as poultice.
• Sinusitis: Heat 10-12 fresh leaves over a fire; apply while still hot over the forehead for the frontal sinuses or over the cheeks for the maxillary sinuses, twice daily.
• Dyspepsia: Decoction, taken internally.
• Reported use in Asian traditional medicine for asthma, angina, bronchitis, epilepsy, insomnia, skin rashes and various digestive problems.
• In India, fresh juice of leaf and stem is mixed with the juice of raw Citrus fruits and applied over the skin during scorpion bite. source
• In Samoa, used to treat elephantiasis.
• In Southeast Asia, used to treat dysentery and various digestive problems.
• In Vanuatu, leaves used for abortion; also for amenorrhea. Sap is used as contraceptive, and whole plant leaves used as emmenagogue. Leaves also used to facilitate lactation by heating or softening flowers in hot water and applying the preparation on the ni***es. (14)
• In Fiji, used to treat diarrhea; juice of leaves used to treat earache.
Others
• Psychoactive: The psychoactivity of the leaves is highly controversial. (1) There are reports of psychoactive effects from the smoking of leaves. Leaves are dried and soaked alone or mixed with other herbs, and the psychoactive effect achieved with as few as 3 leaves. (2) The Mazatecs consider coleus as a member of the "family" of psychoactive herbs, using coleus as a substitute for Salvia divinorum. (3) About 30% of subjects who smoked dried Mexican Coleus blumei leaves reported effects similar to smoking a small dosage of Salvia divinorum. (4) Some experience no effects with large amounts of leaves.
• Dye: Sap from leaves of the wild, purple-black species used in tattooing. (18)
• Toxicity: Reported toxicity to dogs from ingestion of leaves.
