Bunga Kenop, a Wild Plants Rich in Benefits
"Bunga kenop is a charming and beautiful plant. You probably often see it as an ornamental plant with other garden flowers. Interestingly, the bunga kenop is not only for our visual interest but also efficacious as a medicine. "Published by : Wahyu untara - 24/07/2024 14:24 WIB
2 Minutes read.
Bunga kenop/globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) is native to Brazil, Myanmar, India, Guatemala and Panama. In Indonesia, the bunga kenop is called bunga kancing. In addition, bunga kenops also have other names in various regions of Indonesia, such as kembang puter, bunga kenop, ratna pakaja (Sumatera); bunga kancing, udel-udelan (Jawa); taimantulu (Gorontalo).
Bunga kenop has a height of 20-60 cm, the entire plant is covered with long fine white hairs, thick stems, soft and branched. The leaves are single, smooth, grayish in color, petiole 1-1,3 cm, thin leaflets, blunt ends, wavy leaf margins with a small dotted surface. The flower buds are close together to form a round or round-elongated flowers, fluffy, appears in the axils of the leaves and the top of the branches, bright purple or bright white. The fruit of the kenop is a square, triangular, shape wrapped in a thin layer. The seeds are kidney-shaped and light brown in color and the taproot is brownish yellow.
The compounds contained in this flower are also many. For an example, the ethanolic extract of the leaf of the bunga kenop contains coumarins, saponins, alkaloids, and sugar-lowering properties. Based on the fragmentation pattern, 24 phenolic compounds were obtained. From the flowers, the compound betacyanin gomphrenin I and the processed forms of gompherenin II and gompherenin III were isolated. Other studies have identified 7 betacyanin compounds derived from bunga kenops.
Bunga kenop is not only well-known in Indonesia. Many countries also use its parts, from the roots to the shoots. In Indonesia alone, bunga kenop is used as an appetite-enhancing herb, shortness of breath medicine, and dysentery medicine. In Trinidad and Tobago, the flower of the kenop is brewed into a tea to treat colds and prostate ailments. In Hawaii, dried crown flowers are strung into necklaces. In Nepal, bunga kenops are used in wreaths for Brother’s Day. In China, the bunga kenop is used as a medicine for coughing, relieving asthma symptoms, cleansing the liver, eye health and detoxification. And, in Brazil the flower of the knob is used as an ingredient for lowering high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney problems, fever, bronchitis, reproductive and respiratory problems.
Source
Trubus. 100 Plus Herbal Indonesia: Bukti Ilmiah dan Racikan. Depok: PT Trubus Swadaya
