Portulaca Oleracea: Krokot with Medicinal Properties

Krokot (purslane), once often regarded as wild weeds, has recently become a garden plant. The tiny and colorful krokot flowers do look attractive for the terrace or garden. No wonder many then plant it in pots, as this plant is easy to grow as well.

Along with its visual properties, krokot also have medicinal properties. In fact, krokot has been designated as one of the WHO’s list of priority plants. There are several types of krokot around us, what kind of krokot can be used for our benefits? The most widely used krokot type is Portulaca Oleracea.

Portulaca Oleracea has the following morphological characteristics.

Leaf

This type of krokot has oval round, blunt leaf tips with reddish green color on the edges of the leaves. The length of the leaves is about 1-3 cm and is directly attached to the stem or branch of the plant.

Flower

The flowers are yellow, arranged in a compound, and supported by green petals. It has circular flower petals arrangement approximately 1 cm in size.

Stem

Krokot has purplish red stems 0.5-1 cm in diameter. The stems grow into vines until they reach a length of 20-50 cm.

Fruit

Krokot fruit is green and box-shaped.

Root

Krokot roots are fibrous, branching into the ground.

Portulaca Oleracea contains beneficial substances for our bodies, such as omega-3, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, magnesium, sodium, and oxalic acid. Hence this type of krokot often applied in curing problems related to the intestine, nourishing eyes health, anticancer and anti-tumor, maintaining healthy skin, treating dysentery, maintaining heart health, and in keeping hair growth.

Here we quote a recipe from book 100 Plus Herbal Indonesia relating krokot in treating dysentery.

Ingredients

• 15 g krokot stems and leaves
• 10 g Guava leaves
• 5 g agarwood leaves
• 5 g Sambiloto/bitter leaves (Andrographis paniculate)
• 500 ml water

How to make

1. Boil water
2. Put in all the ingredients, cook until boiling. Use low heat
3. Cool the water, then filter it
4. Drink 3 times a day

References

100 Plus Herbal Indonesia Bukti Ilmiah & Racikan. Trubus Vol. 11

https://www.idntimes.com/health/fitness/iip-afifullah/manfaat-hebat-daun-krokot-exp-c1c2/5
https://jogja.tribunnews.com/2019/02/12/sejumlah-manfaat-daun-krokot-bagi-kesehatan-tubuh
https://www.kompasiana.com/darwonogurukita/5c8d294f0b531c778560a6b8/krokot-untuk-jantung-dan-kardiovaskular
http://www.satuharapan.com/read-detail/read/krokot-disebut-who-tanaman-obat-prioritas