(Acanthaceae) Rhinacanthus calcaratus (Wall.) Nees

Local name(s): 

Medicinal use(s): Used to treat uterine cancer.

Part(s) used: entire plant

Field Characters: Shrub about 1 meter tall.

Locality: Champasak Province, Pakse District, Nha Haek Village. GPS reading: 15o 7.74’ N; 105o 49.74’ E.

Habitat: Growing in the yard of Healer Kham.

Altitude: 132 m asl 

Collector(s): A. Libman, S. Bouamanivong

Collection number(s): LAOS 665 (= Libman 245)

Collection Date: August 31, 2004

Additional information:  

Voucher specimen is in deposit at the Field Museum (F) Herbarium, Chicago, USA under accession no. 2256456.

Synonyms, images, taxonomic description: 

Plants of the World onlineGBIF | Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Useful references:


Brimson JM, Prasanth MI, Malar DS, et al. Rhinacanthus nasutus "Tea" Infusions and the Medicinal Benefits of the Constituent Phytochemicals. Nutrients 2020,12(12):3776. doi: 10.3390/nu12123776 
Darbyshire I, Nanyeni L, Chase FM, et al. A synopsis of Rhinacanthus (Acanthaceae) in Angola and Namibia. Kew Bull 73, 21 (2018). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12225-018-9746-5#citeas 
Horii H, Suzuki R, Sakagami H, et al. New biological activities of Rhinacanthins from the root of Rhinacanthus nasutus. Anticancer Res 2013, 33(2):453-9.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23393336/