Madeira Vine

Overview

The Madeira vine is native to and has been introduced globally in a relatively limited region of Central and Eastern South America. Madeira vine is primarily used as an ornamental plant and, for landscaping purposes, extracts from plant parts are also widely used in Indonesia and Thailand for traditional medicines and probably also in its native range.

Vernacular Names

Luo kui shu (Chinese), Madeiraranker (South Africa), Anredera (Spanish), Madeiraranka (Sweden), 'Uala hupe (USA/Hawaii), Mùng tơi củ (Vietnamese), and Binahong (Indonesia).

Agroecology

A subtropical to tropical-area herb. It needs humus-rich soil that is well-drained and a place in full sun or good indirect light. Drought, however frost tender, can be tolerated. In its native distribution, the best annual precipitation is 500-2,000 mm, with a mean temperature of 20-35 ºC.

Morphology

• Stems - hairless (glabrous) and increasing in twining patterns. Younger stems are green or reddish colored and round cross-sectionally. They appear to be rope-like and, as they grow, turn greyish-brown in color.
• Tubers - grow to 25 cm in diameter, like potatoes, developed on aerial stems covered in warts.
• Leaves - easy, alternate, slightly fleshy, hairless and often glossy, oval or heart-shaped, shiny and bright green, 2-13 cm long and 1-11 cm wide.
• Flowers - numerous, star-shaped, thin (about 5 mm), white or cream-colored and fragrant, borne on short stalks 2-3 mm long, five small petal-like segments, five three-branched type stamens and ovaries with three small club-shaped stigmas. The petals (2-3 mm long) are fleshy, permanent in color with age, and turn dark brown or black.

Cultivation

It reproduces mainly through the proliferation of tubers and stem and rhizome fragments, both aerial and underground.

Chemical Constituents

Oleanolic, acid, saponins, triterpenoids, steroids, essential oils, ancordin, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycoside, coumarin, poliphenol, quinones, and phytol.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• In topical burn therapy, it is demonstrated to be effective.
• Another function of this plant is hepatoprotection, anti-obesity, breast milk rise, and blood pressure reduction.
• The Traditional Chinese Medicines Encyclopedia notes that during convalescence, Madeira vine may be used to treat bruises, knocks, falls, and weakness; to disperse swelling and dissipate stasis; to help kidney disease; to strengthen the lumbus, and to relieve lumbus and knee pain. Treatment has also been used for diabetes, hepatitis, and cardiovascular diseases.
• Used for tuberculosis, rheumatic, uric acid, asthma, typhoid, hypertension, hemorrhoids, use as a diuretic, postpartum recovery, wound healing and post-circumcision procedure, gastritis, colitis, and cancer.
• In folk medicine in Colombia and Taiwan to treat diabetes and as an analgesic.