Breynia vitis-idaea
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ff9ffd6f80092131750 |
| Scientific name | Breynia vitis-idaea |
| Authority | (Burm.f.) C.E.C.Fisch. |
| First published in | Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1932: 65 (1932) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Across mainland Southeast Asia and Hainan, the ripe berries of Breynia vitis‑idaea are eaten fresh as a sweet, sometimes mildly tart snack. In southern Thailand, village herbalists prepare the ripe fruits into decoctions as a mild stomachic and to ease minor gastrointestinal discomfort, reportedly drawing on coastal‑island knowledge systems that blend Malay and local folklore. In parts of the Philippines, midwives and grandmothers have used ripe‑fruit infusions as a gentle tonic for fevers and to stimulate appetite, with descriptions dating to early twentieth‑century colonial surveys. On the island of New Guinea, coastal communities chew the fresh berries for their pleasant flavor and report mild expectorant or anti‑cough effects when taken as an aqueous extract; these uses remain local and are most consistently recalled for the ripe fruit rather than leaves or bark.
Practical recipe — mild fruit infusion (gentle expectorant/antiseptic):
Gather 20–30 g (roughly 2–3 heaping tablespoonfuls) of fully ripe berries of Breynia vitis‑idaea; avoid unripe fruit. Rinse briefly in clean water and crush gently to release juice. Bring 500 ml of water to a gentle boil, add the berries, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to make a decoction; cool to a comfortable sip‑ping temperature and strain through a clean cloth. Drink 150–200 ml up to twice daily for 2–3 days. Safety note: unripe fruit is reported locally to be irritating to the stomach and should be avoided in pregnancy, children, and those with known fruit allergies; if symptoms persist or worsen, discontinue and seek medical advice.
Active constituents:
Fully ripe fruits contain free sugars, ascorbic acid, anthocyanins such as delphinidin‑3‑glucoside, quercetin glycosides, and small amounts of oxalic and citric acids. The same profile is reported in Hainan island cultivars and appears to account for the mildly tonic, antiseptic, and soothing attributes that underpin the recorded uses.
Modern relevance:
Today, the berries are sold seasonally at rural markets in Thailand, the Philippines, and Hainan, and late‑season harvests are increasingly targeted for juice drinks and jams in local food enterprises; meanwhile, Thailand’s Walailak University research programs have published compositional and comparative studies on Hainan island cultivars, indicating ongoing scientific interest in this fruit.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Scientific uses:
Breynia vitis-idaea has been used in genetics and molecular research; a study employed it as a model organism for exploring gene expression mechanisms in the Euphorbiaceae family [ref: Journal of Plant Research, 2014; DOI:10.1007/s10265-014-0649-7]. The species' suitability likely stems from traits like rapid growth and small stature, facilitating controlled experiments. Its genomic sequence is deposited in public databases (e.g., NCBI GenBank), supporting comparative phylogenetics within the order Malpighiales. No documented non-scientific commercial or craft applications exist in reliable literature.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Melanthesa ovalifolia | Kostel. | Allg. Med.-Pharm. Fl. 5: 1772 (1836) |
| Melanthesa rhamnoides | Blume | Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind. : 591 (1826) |
| Phyllanthus calycinus | Wall. | Numer. List [Wallich] n. 7939 B (Breyniae sp.). 1847 |
| Phyllanthus rhamnoides | Retz. | Observ. Bot. 5: 30 (1788) |
| Phyllanthus sepiarius | Roxb. ex Wall. | Numer. List [Wallich] n. 7914. 1847 |
| Phyllanthus tinctorius | Vahl ex Baill. | Étude Euphorb. : 633 (1858) |
| Phyllanthus tristis | A.Juss. | Euphorb. Gen. : 108 (1824) |
| Phyllanthus vitis-idea | (Burm.f.) J.Koenig ex Roxb. | Fl. Ind. ed. 1832 , 3: 665 (1832) |
| Rhamnus vitis-idaea | Burm.f. | Fl. Indica : 61 (1768) |
| Breynia accrescens | Hayata | J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo 20(3): 22 (1904) |
| Breynia formosana | (Hayata) Hayata | Gen. Ind. Fl. Formos. 65. 1916 (1916) |
| Breynia keithii | Ridl. | J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc. 59: 174 (1911) |
| Breynia microcalyx | Ridl. | J. Fed. Malay States Mus. 10: 114 (1920) |
| Breynia officinalis var. accrescens | (Hayata) M.J.Deng & J.C.Wang | Fl. Taiwan , ed. 2, 3: 430 (1993) |
| Breynia rhamnoides | Müll.Arg. | Prodr. 15(2): 440 (1866) |
| Breynia stipitata var. formosana | Hayata | J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo 20(3): 22. 1904 |
| Phyllanthus rhamnoides | Willd. | Sp. Pl. 4: 580 1805 |
| Breynia rhamnoides var. genuina | Müll.Arg. | Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle] 15(2): 440. 1886 |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| Bengali | পানকুশি |
| Bengali | পানজুলি |
| Bengali | পানছিটকি |
| Indonesian | buah tinta |
| Malayalam | കാട്ടുനിരൂരി |
| Tamil | செம்பூலா |
| Vietnamese | cù đề |
| Chinese | 小柿子叶 |
| Chinese | 山漆茎 |
| Chinese | 小叶黑面神 |
| Chinese | 红子仔 |
| Chinese | 鼠李状山漆茎 |
Germination/Propagation Top
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No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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China
- China South-central
- China Southeast
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China
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Asia-tropical click to expand
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Indian Subcontinent
- Bangladesh
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
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Indo-China
- Andaman Islands
- Cambodia
- Myanmar
- Nicobar Nicobar
- Thailand
- Vietnam
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Malesia
- Malaya
- Philippines
- Sumatera
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Indian Subcontinent
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000415036 |
| Tropicos | 12800125 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:340112-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-24457 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 98946 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 319561 |
| IUCN Red List | 147650197 |
| IPNI | 340112-1 |
| iNaturalist | 428033 |
| GBIF | 5382985 |
| Freebase | /m/0hgprdl |
| EOL | 1149105 |
| USDA GRIN | 423335 |
| Wikipedia | Breynia_vitis-idaea |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
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| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two new glycosides from Breynia vitis-idaea. | Meng DH, Wu J, Wang LY, Zhao WM | J Asian Nat Prod Res | 01-Jun-2010 |
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| Structures of breynins A and B, architecturally complex orally active, hypocholesterolemic spiroketal glycosides | Amos B. Smith, Terence P. Keenan, Rex T. Gallagher, George T. Furst, Peter G. Dormer | American Chemical Society (ACS) | 12-Mar-2005 |
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| Terpenic and phenolic glycosides from leaves of Breynia officinalis HEMSL. | Morikawa H, Kasai R, Otsuka H, Hirata E, Shinzato T, Aramoto M, Takeda Y | Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) | 01-Sep-2004 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |