Leonurus japonicus, commonly called oriental motherwort[3] or Chinese motherwort, is a herbaceous flowering plant native to Asia, including Korea and Japan, and China to Cambodia.

Leonurus japonicus
Leonurus japonicus[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Leonurus
Species:
L. japonicus
Binomial name
Leonurus japonicus
Synonyms[2]
  • Leonurus artemisia (Lour.) S.Y.Hu
  • Leonurus heterophyllus Sweet
  • Leonurus sibiricus auct. pl.
  • Stachys artemisia Lour.

Description

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Plants are annual or biennial, growing from taproots. The stems are upright growing to a height of 30 to 120 cm (12 to 47 in). The flowers are sessile and produced in verticillasters. The calyx is tubular-campanulate shaped and 6 to 8 mm (0.24 to 0.31 in) long with broad triangle shaped teeth. The corolla is white or reddish to purplish red in color. Plants bloom from June to September.[4]

It has escaped cultivation and become naturalized in other parts of the world including South and North America, Europe and Africa.

Uses

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Leonurus japonicus is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called yìmǔcǎo (Chinese: 益母草), literally "beneficial herb for mothers". It is used in cases of menstrual and delivery disorders caused by blood stasis such as dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea.[5]

Chemical constituents

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Chemical compounds found in Leonurus japonicus include guanosine, rutin, syringic acid, and stigmasterol.[6]

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References

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  1. ^ Flora de Filipinas, Gran edicion, [Atlas II].[1], by Francisco Manuel Blanco circa 1880
  2. ^ a b "Leonurus japonicus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  3. ^ English Names for Korean Native Plants (PDF). Pocheon: Korea National Arboretum. 2015. p. 513. ISBN 978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017 – via Korea Forest Service.
  4. ^ Flora of China
  5. ^ Miao, Lu-Lin; Zhou, Qin-Mei; Peng, Cheng; Liu, Zhao-Hua; Xiong, Liang (2019-09-01). "Leonurus japonicus (Chinese motherwort), an excellent traditional medicine for obstetrical and gynecological diseases: A comprehensive overview". Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. 117: 109060. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2019.109060. ISSN 0753-3322. PMID 31195353. S2CID 189815900.
  6. ^ "Natural Products isolated from Leonurus japonicus - BioCrick".
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