Ophiorrhiza mungos L.

Sarhati (Ophiorrhiza mungos) is a herb 10-50 cm tall from the Rubiaceae family spread from Southwest China to Indonesia, nicknamed 'snakeroot' because it is used to treat snake bites. Research shows sarhati has anticancer and antiviral activity against herpes simplex. This plant is also traditionally used as a laxative and sedative.

Sarhati grows in primary and secondary forests, shaded and moist to wet areas at elevations up to 400 m asl. (Limited information available.)

• Roots at the lower node.
• Leaves 7-15 x 3-6 cm, elliptical or elliptical-lanceolate, base thinning, tip tapering, papery, hairy on the veins below, petiole up to 1.5 cm, sessile leaves needle-shaped, 3-5 mm long, 2-fid at the tip.
• Flowers compound, appearing at the branch terminal, scorpioid cymes (secondary shoots developing alternately along the stem), dense. Stalk length up to 2.5 cm, stiffly hairy. Calyx tube 1 mm long; lobes indistinct. Corolla 0.8-1 cm long, white with a pink pattern on the lobes.
• Fruit a capsule 2.5-3 cm long, 4-6 mm wide, obcordate (inverted heart-shaped), laterally compressed, hairless, loculicidal dehiscence.
• Seeds numerous, angular.

Propagation generatively using seeds. Seeds are better sown at the beginning of the rainy season.

Alkaloids (camptothecin, hydroxyl camptothecin, 10-methoxy camptothecin), 9-methoxy camptothecin, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, 5α-ergosterol-8(14)-ene-3β-ol, 5α-ergosterol-7-ene-3β-ol, phenolic compounds, tannin, hydrocyanic acid, and flavonoid.

A laxative and sedative remedy, treats cancer (including colon, lung, ovarian, and cervical cancer), fights head and neck cancer, treats snake bites, keeps skin moist and soft, serves as a bitter tonic and stomach remedy, fights pathogenic protozoa such as Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma brucei (which cause leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness respectively), treats wounds, boils. Has antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus and antitumor activity.

No information found. Further research needed.