In Papua, people frequently use the idiom “A small paradise that fell to earth.” The sentence from a lyric piece of the song “I am Papua” describes the abundance of medicinal herbs from West Papua.
This expression seems to also apply to researchers, makers or makers and sellers of traditional Papuan medicines. Mainly because of the various types of conventional Papuan drugs.
8 Medicinal Herbs from West Papua
1. Sampare Leaf
Sampare leaf is a herbaceous plant with a height of 2-3 meters. You can find this leaf in Biak Papua and grow wild.
Papuans said that Sampare leaves to treat malaria. Local people’s ancestors have used these medicinal herbs from West Papua in Biak Papua for generations.
2. Seaweed
A different remedy for COVID-19 symptoms is honey with seaweed.
“Because the virus is acidic, if honey is mixed with seaweed, the body’s pH will be neutral and the virus will weaken,” said Made, who is known as the discoverer of the benefits of Papuan red fruit.
Reporting from Papua.go.id, seaweed cultivation in Papua is widely available on the coast, including in Biak Numfor Regency, Yapen Islands, Supiori Regency, and Nabire Regency.
3. Buah Merah Papua
The Papua red fruit is another plant from Papua that can boost resistance or stamina. It’s common to refer to meah fruit as a multivitamin.
The content of tocopherol and beta-carotene is very much, making red fruit juice oil needed by the human body because it contains various vitamins and minerals.
4. Tempuyung, Medicinal Herbs from West Papua
This plant with the Latin name Sonchus arvensis is also known as tempuyung, radish ari, jombang clay, galibuk, and rayana. Its appearance is similar to the tread of a liman, but it can grow tall and produce yellow flowers. Meanwhile, the track of liman has purplish flowers and grows horizontally on the ground.
Tempuyung helps treat various diseases, including fever, swelling, difficulty urinating, poor blood circulation, and poisoning. Usually, tempuyung is used as a medicinal herbs in West Papua.
5. Tali Kuning
The yellow rope plant is still the mainstay of the Moi Kelin tribal community in Malaumkarta Village, Sorong Regency, West Papua Province, to cure various kinds of internal diseases and increase body resistance.
“The yellow rope grows wild in the forest of Malaumkarta Raya and has been consumed by local people for generations as a traditional medicine to cure various diseases,” said Hermanus Do, a youth from the Moi Kelin tribe in Malaumkarta Raya Village.
6. Empatung
Empatung (Papua) or the ki Sampang plant (Java Island) is a shrub, flowering all year round, growing in forest areas, and belonging to the citrus group that raises a lot in Indonesia, especially the eastern part of Indonesia, namely Papua. It is a wild plant that is only utilized by Papuan mountain tribes as a source of lightweight building materials.
Most Indonesians use this plant as an ornamental plant in the yard, and have no benefits. There have been many previous studies on the genus Melicope, and they have shown various efficacy. The Indian community uses the leaves of Melicope Xanthoxyloides for skin medicine or the leaves for vegetables.
7. Sawi Langit
Sawi Langit (Cyanthillium Cinereum) is a pitcher, leuleuncaan, capeutuhur, elephant bow, sampu wind, maryuna, nyawon, sarap, and pearl gofu.
According to Doctor Sehat, this plant can cure various ailments, including fever, cough, diarrhea, hepatitis, exhaustion, sleeplessness, ulcers, snake bites, wounds, and sprains. The pitcher plant’s roots and leaves are the only edible components. This plant has glycosides that can soothe coughs and stomachaches.
8. Kayu Ular
Kayu Ular is a type of medicinal herbs from West Papua. It has the Latin name Strychons Lucida, and the whole stem of this plant has a bitter taste.
The Papuan people formerly thought that this plant could heal malaria by boiling the water and ingesting it. Several other components can also treat several ailments.
Some of the contents of this snake wood include gallic substances and tannins, which reduce fever, are anti-inflammatory, and launch urine. While other compounds, saponins (steroids and triterpenoids), are effective to lower blood sugar.
Final Takeaway
Thus various types of medicinal herbs from West Papua have many benefits for health and beauty.
