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Vitex rotundifolia

Vitex rotundifolia (Pöhinahina / Beach Vitex)

PLANT NAME: Vitex rotundifolia L. fil.

SIMILARLY USED SPECIES: V. trifolia L.

COMMON NAMES: Pöhinahina, kolokolo kahakai [Hawai'i]; man jing zi, man ching tzu [China]; beach vitex [English]; khonthee so thale [Thailand]; lagundiang dagat [Philipines (Tagalog)]; lala tahi (V. trifolia) [Tonga]; mankeishi [Japan]; namulega ("mosquito") (V. trifolia) [Samoa]; rara (V. trifolia) [Cook Islands]; tawari [Aymara].

NOMENCLATURE:
• Vitex comes from the Latin viere: to twist, referring to the twisting stems of some Vitex spp.
• Rotundifolia means, "round leaved."
• The Hawaiian name kolokolo kahakai means "beach creeper" and hinahina means "silver."
• Man jing means "trailing" in Chinese, and zi means "seed," the part used in Chinese medicine.

FAMILY: Verbenaceae (vervain family).

CATEGORY: Cool Acrid Release the Exterior.

PROPERTIES: Bitter, acrid, neutral to cold.

PLANT PART USED: Fruit and leaves.

CAUTIONS AND CONTRAINDICATIONS: Can cause respiratory irritation when trimmed as a hedge.

ENERGETIC CAUTIONS: Not with yin or blood deficiency. Traditionally not used with gypsum (shi gao) or Aconitum carmichaeli (wu tou).

PREPARATION OF MEDICINE: Decoct. Tincture the seeds [1:5, 65% alcohol].

DOSAGE: 3-15 grams.

STATUS IN HAWAI'I: Indigenous.

MERIDIAN AFFINITIES: Lung, urinary bladder, liver, stomach.

WESTERN FUNCTIONS REPORTED: Alterative; analgesic; anhydrotic; anodyne [India]; antipyretic; antiseptic [India (leaves)]; bactericide; cephalic (fruit); demulcent; diaphoretic [Samoa (V. trifolia bark and leaves)]; diuretic [India]; emmenagogue (fruit) [India]; estrogenic; expectorant [Thailand (leaf)]; febrifuge [India (powdered leaves)]; insect repellant; nervine (fruit); sedative; stimulates pituitary gland function; tonic.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE ENERGETIC FUNCTIONS (~ = extrapolated):
1) Disperses wind heat.
2) Cleanses the eyes and head.

RANGE: In coastal areas from India, China, and Japan through Australia and the Pacific Islands.

HABITAT: Does well in salty areas with little water. Up to 30' elevation. Sometimes used to bind soil.

PROPAGATION & CULTIVATION: By cuttings.

RESEARCH:
• Polymethoxyflavonoids, rotundifuran, and luteolin; all isolated from V. rotundifolia, inhibit proliferation of human leukemia [Ko 2000, 2001, 2002].
• Water extract inhibits plasma histamine [Shin 2000].
• Rotundial (a cyclopentene dialdehyde) is used as a mosquito repellant [Watanabe 1995].
• Numerous constituents of V. rotundifolia are antibacterial against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [Kawazoe 2001].
• Flavonoids in V. rotundifolia inhibit T-lymphocyte proliferation but not B-lymphocyte proliferation in mice, suggesting a possible use in autoimmune disorders [You 1998].
• Extracts of Vitex rotundifolia are analgesic in mice [Okuyama 1998].
• Alcohol and hexane extractions of Vitex trifolia inhibit mast-cell activity and reduce histamine response [Ikawati 2001; Alam 2002].
• Ethanol and petroleum ether extracts of Vitex trifolia leaves moderately inhibit gram-negative & gram-positive bacteria [Hossain 2001].

NOTES 'N QUOTES
• There are 260 species in the genus Vitex.
• A good secondary herb for PMS, redness in the eyes or face, or rheumatic pain. It is easier to buy the Chinese seeds than to find the Hawaiian ones, but I will sometimes gather the leaves. Gathering can lead us to beautiful places, inside and out.