Group 1

Christian John Adra

Rommel Joy Aspe
Alfie Benedict Espedido
Mark Raven Fraile
Experiment 1
PLANT SAMPLE
TARO
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Colocasia esculenta
FAMILY NAME
Araceae
ORIGIN
Colocasia esculenta is thought to be not native to Southern India and Southeast
Asia, but is widely naturalized. It is a perennial, tropical plant primarily grown as a
root vegetable for its edible starchy corm, and as a leaf vegetable. It is a food staple
in African, Oceanic and South Indian cultures and is believed to have been one of
the earliest cultivated plants
PHARMACEUTICAL USES
- Used for asthma, arthritis, diarrhea, internal hemorrhage, skin disorders.
- Juice of petioles sometimes used for earache and otorrhea.
- Juice of the corm used in alopecia.
- Leaf juice also used for internal hemorrhages, otalgia, adenitis.
- Internally, a good laxative. Also, used for piles.
- Also, used as antidote for wasp and insect stings. Leaf juice applied to scorpion stings and
snake bites.
- Heated tubers are applied locally to painful rheumatic joints
PLANT SAMPLE
MAIS
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Zea mays

FAMILY NAME
Poaceae
ORIGIN
Most historians believe maize was domesticated in the Tehuacan Valley of
Mexico. Recent research modified this view somewhat; scholars now indicate the
adjacent Balsas River Valley of south-central Mexico as the center of domestication.
PHARMACEUTICAL USES
Diuretic: Take decoction of hairs or cobs as tea.
Decoction of pith of cob as tea is used for stomach complaints.
Decoction of roots, leaves, and corn silk used for dysuria, bladder complaints, and bed-wetting.
The water in which unhusked corn is boiled is a pleasant tasting remedy for urinary tract
infection.
The corn silk decoction is also thought to be diuretic.
Good emollient poultice used for ulcers, rheumatic pains and swellings.

PLANT SAMPLE
CASSAVA
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Manihot esculenta
FAMILY NAME
Euphorbiaceae
ORIGIN
South American forests
PHARMACEUTICAL USES
The flour produced from the cassava plant, which on account of its low content of
noncarbohydrate constituents might well be called a starch, is known in world trade
as tapioca flour. It is used directly, made into a group of baked or gelatinized
products or manufactured into glucose, dextrins and other product.

PLANT SAMPLE
RICE
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Oryza sativa
FAMILY NAME
Poaceae
ORIGIN
Debates on the origins of the domesticated rice are numerous. In 2011, genetic
evidence shows that all forms of Asian rice, both indica and japonica, spring from a
single domestication that occurred 8,20013,500 years ago in China of the wild rice
Oryza rufipogon. A 2012 study, through a map of rice genome variation, indicated
that the domestication of rice occurred in the Pearl River valley region of China.
From East Asia, rice was spread to South and Southeast Asia.
PHARMACEUTICAL USES
A good source of magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium, iron, folic acid,
thiamine and niacin. It is low in fiber and its fat content is primarily omega-6 fatty
acids, which are considered pro-inflammatory.

PLANT SAMPLE
GINGER
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Zingiber officinale
FAMILY NAME
Zingiberaceae
ORIGIN
Ginger is a plant with leafy stems and yellowish green flowers. The ginger spice
comes from the roots of the plant. Ginger originated in the tropical rainforest in
Southern Asia. Ginger is native to warmer parts of Asia, such as China, Japan, and
India, but now is grown in parts of South American and Africa. It is also now grown in
the Middle East to use as medicine and with food.

PHARMACEUTICAL USES
It is commonly used to treat various types of "stomach problems," including motion
sickness, morning sickness, colic, upset stomach, gas, diarrhea, irritable bowel
syndrome (IBS), nausea as well as loss of appetite.
Other uses include pain relief from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis,
menstrual
pain,
upper
respiratory
tract
infections, cough,
respiratory
problems, migraine headache, bronchitis, and diabetes.

PLANT SAMPLE
SAGO
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Metroxylon sagu
FAMILY NAME
Arecaceae
ORIGIN
South East Asian forests

PHARMACEUTICAL USES
The tree is of commercial importance as the main source of sago, a starch obtained
from the trunk by washing the starch kernels out of the pulverized pith with water.
This starch is used in cooking for puddings, noodles, breads, and as a thickener. In
the Sepik River region of New Guinea, pancakes made from sago are a staple food,
often served with fresh fish. Its leaflets are also used as thatching which can remain
intact for up to five years. The dried petioles (called gaba-gaba in Indonesian) are
used to make walls and ceilings; they are very light, and therefore also used in the
construction of rafts.

PLANT SAMPLE

POTATO
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Solanum tuberosum
FAMILY NAME
Solanaceae
ORIGIN
Southern Peru& Northwestern Bolivia
PHARMACEUTICAL USES
The fleshy part of the root (potato) is commonly eaten as a vegetable. Potato is also
used to make medicine. People take raw potato juice for stomach disorders and
water retention (edema). A purified protein powder made from potato is mixed with
water and used to control appetite for weight loss.

PLANT SAMPLE
BANANA
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Musa acuminata
FAMILY NAME
Musaceae
ORIGIN
Southeast Asia and the South Pacific
PHARMACEUTICAL USES
Control high blood pressure
Promote Weight Loss