Determining the Effects of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis(L.

) Vahl as a Wound Healing

Background of the study

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis Is a species of plant in the Verbenaceae family, native throughout the

Caribbean. It has many common names including blue porterweed, blue snake weed, bastard

vervain, Brazilian tea, Jamaica vervain, and light-blue snakeweed. It is unclear whether S. indica is a

separate species. It is usually found along country roadsides and it grows also well as a ruderal plant on

disturbed terrain. It is an invasive species in some places.This plant can be also found on St. Croix, where it is

locally known as "worryvine".A small, long-lived (i.e. perennial), shrub usually growing 50-120 cm tall, but

occasionally reaching up to 2 m in height. Its stems are square in cross-section when young and the leaves

are oppositely arranged. Its stems and leaves are mostly hairless and its leaves have sharply, but finely,

toothed margins. Its light blue, blue or mauve flowers are arranged on long, curved, relatively thick spikes at

the top of the branches.these flowers are tubular in shape with five broad petal lobes (about 8 mm across).

Younger stems are green or purplish in colour, mostly hairless (i.e. glabrous) except for a few hairs near the

joints (i.e. nodes), and somewhat square in cross-section (i.e. quadrangular). These branched stems are

produced from a woody rootstock and tend to become rounded, light brown in colour, and somewhat woody

as they mature. Numerous flowers are arranged on long, curved, relatively thick spikes (15-50 cm long and 3-7

mm thick) at the top of the branches (i.e. in terminal spikes). These flowers are stalkless (i.e. sessile) and

either pale blue, blue or mauve in colour. They are tubular in shape (7-11 mm long) with a slender tube and

five broad petal lobes (about 8 mm across). Each flower also has five sepals (5-7 mm long), that are fused

together for most of their length (i.e. into a calyx tube), and two fully developed stamens. Only a small number
of these flowers are open at any one time, and each is subtended by a persistent, small, green bract (5-8 mm

long and 1-2.5 mm across) with a pointed tip (i.e. acuminate apex). Flowering occurs throughout the year, but

is most abundant during spring, summer and autumn. Reproduction is almost entirely by seed. These seeds

are most commonly spread in dumped garden waste, soil, and contaminated agricultural produce. They may

also become attached to animals, clothing, vehicles and machinery.S. jamaicensis is widely known for its high

medicinal importance in traditional and folk medicinal systems in various countries. This plant has been

reported to possess pharmacological effects due to the presence of various bioactive phytochemicals.

The wound healing effect of the hydroalcoholic leaf extract of S. jamaicensis was evaluated in the study

done by Pandian et al. Several herbal plants that have medicinal benefits can be obtained in the locality.

Extracts of these plants have immense potential for the management and treatment of wounds as some of

them were used traditionally. One of the plants traditionally applied to wounds for healing purposes is

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis Linn. Vahl, locally known as kandikandilaan. The plant is a common weed

distributed in open and waste places at low medium altitude in settled areas throughout the Philippines. The

medicinal use of S. jamaicensis would considerably be enhanced through the effective integration of chemical

composition of extracts on understanding its wound healing properties. Benefits derived from using

medicine obtained from plants are that they are relatively safer than synthetic alternative

by offering profound therapeutic benefits and more affordable treatment (Iwu et al.,

1999).