Herb of St. John – Ageratum conyzoides

Herb of St. John – Ageratum conyzoides

Ageratum conyzoides is the scientific name of this plant, a native herb of Brazil that grows spontaneously in the yards. Popularly it can be known as mentrasto, herb of St. John, catinga-de-bode and picão-roxo, but beware, because there is another plant also called herb of St. John.

Now I will show the main characteristics of this plant so that you can easily recognize it. Mentrasto is an annual herb, which means that this plant has a short life cycle, lasting only a few months. A very striking feature is that it has many trichomes, these are the hairs and in mentrasto they are whitish and even long, we can see them very clearly. These hairs are all over the stem, on the petioles, which are the stem of the leaf, and also on the leaves. When the plant is already quite mature, the stem ends up being reddish in color.

The leaves are in opposite positions to each other, they are oval with crenate margins. They have these rounded cuts on the edges and have a membranous texture. It is a soft leaf and when crushed we feel the strong aroma of this plant. The leaf is also quite rough on the upper surface due to short and stiff hairs. And the inflorescence presents these capitula with small flowers of lilac or white color.

Now I will talk about the uses and medicinal properties of mentrasto, but before subscribe to the channel and leave your report if you have already used this plant and what you thought. So mentrasto is used in popular medicine of Brazil and several other countries to treat mainly colic, pain, arthritis, rheumatism, ulcers, otitis, fever and also as an anti-inflammatory. Among the medicinal properties confirmed by scientific studies are gastroprotective, spasmolytic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, hypoglycemic, antiparasitic, antibacterial, antifungal and insecticide. As for the toxic effects, studies with the tea of Ageratum conyzoides leaves identified the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, alkaloids with toxic action. And studies of acute toxicity with extracts administered for three months in rats showed that liver, kidney and hematologic damage may occur with long-term use. For this reason, caution is advised when using parts of the plant for medicinal purposes and should not be used by those who already have some chronic health problem. This plant is even listed by Anvisa among the species that can not be used in the composition of phytotherapeutics due to possible toxic effects. So be very careful with any information that only mentions the benefits of this plant, because there are no studies that guarantee safety for internal consumption.

I finish here, if you found the information useful, give a like there to reward, subscribe to the channel. Take advantage and watch the playlist of medicinal plants that is appearing, thank you for watching and see you next time!
Fonte
Mentrasto ou erva-de-são-joão: como reconhecer, benefícios e toxicidade por Nossa Flora_Nosso Meio

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