Sambong, Blumea balsamifera DC, a medicinal herb, is widely distributed in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. It has been used in folk medicine for its many health benefits that include the treatment of septic wounds, respiratory infections, stomach pains, and kidney stones.
Sambong, Blumea balsamifera is used in traditional herbal medicine for the common cold and as a diuretic.[rx][rx][rx] It is also used for infected wounds, respiratory infections, and stomach pains in Thai and Chinese folk medicine.[rx] The genus Blumea is found in the tropical and sub-tropical zones of Asia, especially the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Blumea balsamifera is one of its species that is used in Southeast Asia. A weed, this plant is a ruderal species that often grows on disturbed land,[rx] and in grasslands.[rx] It has been described physically as Softly hairy, half woody, strongly aromatic shrub, 1-4 meters (m) high. Simple, alternate, broadly elongated leaves, 7-20 cm long, with toothed margin and appendaged or divided base. Loose yellow flower heads scattered along much-branched leafy panicles. Two types of discoid flowers: peripheral ones tiny, more numerous, with tubular corolla; central flowers few, large with campanulate corolla. Anther cells are tailed at the base. Fruit (achene) dry, 1-seeded, 10-ribbed, hairy at top.
Scientific Name: Blumea balsamifera L. DC
Also knows as:
Alibum,Lakad-bulan, Alimon, Lalakdan. Sambong (Tag.), Dalapot, Sob-sob, Gabuen. Subusub, Blumea camphor (Engl.), Kambibon, Ngai camphor (Engl.).
Sambong is used as herbal medicine and is a shrub that grows wild in tropical climate countries such as the Philippines, India, Africa and is found even in the eastern Himalayas. Sambong is widely used in the Philippines as herbal medicine. Sambong leaves are known for its Ngai or Blumea camphor that is used as herbal medicine to treat kidney stones, wounds and cuts, rheumatism, anti-diarrhea, anti spasms, colds, and coughs, and hypertension. The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) has developed the technology for a sambong herbal medicine tablet.
Sambong is an aromatic shrub, that grows from 1 to 4 meters in height. It is considered a weed in some countries and is difficult to eradicate. Sambong has yellow flowering heads that are 6 mm long. Sambong leaves are green blood that spreads in a pyramidal pattern. Sambong bears fruits that are ribbed and hairy on top. Sambong fruit has 1 seed.
Sambong | Bulme balsamifera Medicinal Uses
Sambong in Traditional and Folkloric Medicine
- Sambong roots and leaves are used as an herbal treatment for fevers, sambong leaves and roots are pounded then dissolved in cold water. Applied with a soft cloth over the nape, forehead, underarms, and other body parts to bring down the body temperature.
- Sambong roots and leaves are also used as herbal medicine treatments for rheumatism. Sambong roots and leaves are pounded and applied as a poultice on the affected body part. Sambong roots and leaves may also be boiled and are applied as warm compress onto the affected area
- Sambong is also used to treat headaches, among leaves are pounded and applied as a poultice over the forehead.
- Sambong tea is also used as herbal medicine for colds and coughs.
- Sambong tea is also used for the herbal treatment of diarrhea and stomach spasms.
- Sambong juice is also used for the treatment of cuts and wounds.
Science-Based Health Benefits from Sambong | Blumea balsamifera Herbal Medicine
Sambong Mechanism of action in disease prevention
- Sambong as a diuretic for hypertension and fluid retention. Sambong herbal tea is used as a diuretic for fluid retention and hypertension conditions. Sambong herbal tea incites the body to urinate thereby removing excess body fluids and sodium. Clinical studies have shown that high levels of sodium in the blood is a major cause of hypertension.
- Sambong delays or averts renal failure. The Philippine National Kidney and Transplant Institute recommend taking sambong herbal medicine for patients with renal problems. Favorable results were noted that sambong may help to delay or avert dialysis or even kidney transplant.
- Sambong for the Dissolution of Kidney Stones. The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) has been promoting Sambong herbal tea and tablets as a diuretic and for the dissolution of kidney stones. Sambong has been recently registered in the Bureau of Foods and Drugs as medicine.
- Sambong as Anticancer: Sambong contains a methanolic extract that has been found to have therapeutic activity against hepatocellular carcinoma cells. A study of sambong (balsamifera) extract inhibits the activity in rat and human hepatocellular carcinoma cells without cytotoxicity. This study suggest a possible therapeutic effect of sambong extracts (balsamifera) in the treatment of hepatoma cancer patients.
- Sambong as Antibacterial and Antifungi: A Phytochemical study indicates that sambong leaves contain the chemicals icthyothereol acetate, cyptomeridiol, lutein and ß-carotene that has been found to have positive activity against microbes such as A niger, T mentagrophytes, and C Albicans. Results also showed activity against P aeruginosa, S aureus, B subtilis and E coli.
Sambong Preparations, Usage, and Side Effects
Sambong Preparation and Usage
Sambong tea preparation:
- gather fresh sambong leaves, cut in small pieces
- wash with fresh water
- boil 50 grams of sambong leaves to a liter of water
- let it seep for 10 minutes
- remove from heat
- drink while warm 4 glasses a day for best results.
Sambong poultice
- gather fresh leaves and roots
- wash with fresh clean water
- pound in a mortar
- grounded leaves may be applied or a juice extract may be used
Sambong Capsules and tablets
Powdered Sambong leaves are available in 250 mg tablets at the DOH’s Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) Tel # (632)727-6199.
Sambong is also available online in Amazon as listed : Sambong Leaf Urisam 100tabs
Sambong Warnings and Side Effects
- The use of topical Sambong is not associated with significant side effects.
- Sambong even when taken internally is generally considered safe.
- Special Precautions & Warnings: Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Not enough is known about the use of sambong during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.
- Sambong can cause allergic reactions for people sensitive to ragweed plants and their relatives. Side effects may include itching and skin irritation.
Sterols
Apart from the above constituents, a small number of sterols were also isolated from B. balsamifera. Zhao et al. obtained colorless acicular as well as sheet crystals from B. balsamifera by silica gel column chromatography [rx], where the crystals were identified to be stigmasterol and β-sitosterol by TLC and melting point measurement. Chen isolated β-sitosterol, daucosterol, and 5α,8α-epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol from the aerial sections of B. balsamifera collected from Mengla, Yunnan by MS determination [rx]. Liang et al. yielded seven compounds, which were isolated from ethyl acetate and chloroform extract, including daucosterol [rx].
Sesquiterpene Lactone (SLs)
Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a group of common chemicals in many Asteraceae plants. They were famous because they had cytotoxic and potential to be tumor inhibitors [rx,rx]. In sambong, a member of the Asteraceae family, there were three sesquiterpene lactones, Blumealactone A, Blumealactone B, and Blumealactone C. Fujimoto et al. isolated them by extracting its dried leaves with 90% ethanol [rx].
Other Constituents
There were some other constituents in this plant. Chen found two coumarin constituents, such as umbelliferone and hydranngetin, in B. balsamifera. He also found a lignans constituent, which was syringaresinol [rx].
Biological Activities
Antitumor Activity
Hasegawa et al. extracted a dihydroflavonol from B. balsamifera as a result of screening among more than 150 plant materials [rx]. The dihydroflavonol components showed the most significant synergism with tumor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). It enhanced the level of TRAIL-R2 promoter activity and promoted the expression of surface protein in a p53-independent manner. The ethanol extract of B. balsamifera leaves was tested on male mice to investigate its hepatoxicity. The results exhibited that the hepatic cells, cytoplasm, nucleus, and sinusoid of the mice liver were damaged through some changes in the liver color and texture [rx]. The methanol extract of B. balsamifera inhibited the growth in rats and showed no cytotoxicity on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The methanol extract decreased the expression of cyclin-E and phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb) protein resulting in cell cycle arrest. Likewise, it decreased the level of the proliferation-related ligand (APRIL) [rx,rx]. Moreover, the methanol extract of B. balsamifera was used to determine its cytotoxicity on a panel of human cancer cell lines by MTT assay. There was no regular or acute cytotoxicity on the cells of HepG2, HCT-116, T-47D, NCl-H23 and CCD-18Co [rx]. Saewan et al. found six compounds out of nine isolated flavonoids to have cytotoxicity against KB, MCF-7, and NCI-H187 cancer cell lines [rx]. These six compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity against KB, MCF-7, and NCI-H187 cancer cell lines. Three compounds were active against the KB cells with the IC50 values of 17.09, 47.72, and 17.83 µg/mL, respectively. Another three compounds exhibited moderate activity against the NCI-H187 cells with the IC50 values of 16.29, 29.97, and 20.59 µg/mL. Luteolin-7-methyl ether showed strong cytotoxicity against human lung cancer (NCI-H187) cell lines with an IC50 of 1.29 µg/mL and a moderate toxicity against oral cavity cancer (KB) cell lines with an IC50 of 17.83 µg/mL. Li et al. studied the antitumor activity determined by means of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay [rx]. The three endophytic streptomycetes strains of B. balsamifera, including YIM 56092, YIM 56093, and YIM 56099 exhibited anticancer activity. Yet, different strains displayed different antitumor activities. The YIM 56092 strain displayed a cytotoxic activity on polyketide synthases I (PKS-I) nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) and P388D1. The YIM 56093 strain displayed a cytotoxic activity on PKS-Ⅱ, NRPS, and P388D1. The YIM 56099 was on the PKS-I, PKS-II, and NRPS. Fujimoto et al., extracted blumealactone A, B, and C from sambong’s dried leaves and found them could inhibit the growth of Yoshida sarcoma at the concentration of 5–10 μg/ml [rx]. Lee disclosed a medication combination including sambong (Ainaxiang) and found it could enhance the efficiency of curing hepatoma and pancreatic cancer treatments [rx].
Hepatoprotective Effects
Xu et al. demonstrated that oral blumeatin (5,3′,5-trihydroxy-7-methoxy dihydro flavone) exhibited significant protective activity against the liver injury caused by paracetamol and prednisolone [rx]. Furthermore, Xu and Zhao have shown that five other blumea flavanones possessed protective activity for acute experimental liver injury [rx]. Pu et al. further verified the five blumea flavanones protecting the hepatocytes against lipid peroxidation, which was induced by CCl4 or FeSO4+cysteine. Certain concentrations of the five compounds (10–100 μmol/L) inhibited the malonaldehyde production, GSH depletion, and GPT leakage of hepatocytes [rx]. Furthermore, blumea flavanone II showed the strongest activity. They also reported that the blumea flavones had protective effects against acute liver injury induced by different chemicals [rx].
Superoxide Radical Scavenging Activity
The methanol extracts of B. balsamifera leaves showed a higher radical scavenging activity than the chloroform extracts. However, the pet-ether extracts had less activity against nonenzymatically generated superoxide radicals. The capacity of nine kinds of flavonoids (100 mmol/L) of the plant was decreased as follows: quercetin > luteolin > 5,7,3′,5′-tetrahydroxyflavanone > blumeatin > rhamnetin > tamarixetin > luteolin-7-methyl ether > dihydroquercetin-4′-methyl ether > dihydroquercetin-4′,7-dimethyl ether. The flavonoids showed more activity than methylated compounds [rx]. Zhao and Xu studied the antioxidant activities of five compounds of blumea flavanones [rx]. As a result, five compounds with the concentration of 10−5–10−4 mol/L of blocked malondialdehyde formation in homogenates and in liver mitochondria of rats in vitro.
Antioxidant Activity
Nguyen et al. demonstrated the methanol extracts of B. balsamifera (collected in Lam Dong province) with strong xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 6.0 μg/mL [rx]. They also verified the seven compounds of B. balsamifera methanol extract in Vietnam, which exhibited significant xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity. Three compounds among them, such as (2R,3S)-(−)-4′-O-methyl-dihydro quercetin, quercetin, and quercetin-3,3′,4′, showed a higher potent inhibitory activity, with their IC50 values ranging from 0.23 to 1.91 mmol/L, as compared to that of the positive control allopurinol (IC50 of 2.50 mmol/L) [rx]. Furthermore, Nessa et al. have found that the methanol extract of B. balsamifera exhibited a higher xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity as compared to that of the chloroform and pet-ether extracts [rx]. The activity of the isolated flavonoids’ order was as follow: allopurinol > luteolin > quercetin > tamarixetin > 5,7,3′,5′-tetrahydroxyflavanone > rhamnetin > luteolin-7-methyl ether > blumeatin > dihydroquercetin-4′-methyl ether > dihydroquercetin-7,4′-dimethyl ether > l-ascorbic acid. The plant of B. balsamifera was collected in Taiwan and the dry powder of the whole plant was extracted twice with methanol. The methanol extracts showed an activity on scavenging 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals with an IC50 value of 72 g/mL. The superoxide anion scavenging activity was over 200 g/mL [rx].
Anti-Microbial and Anti-Inflammation Activity
Ongsakul et al. claimed that the crude aqueous and ethanolic extracts of B. balsamifera displayed no significant antibacterial activity against the strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli [rx]. However, the stain of B. balsamifera, including YIM 56092 and YIM 56093, displayed a significant activity against S. epidermidis, such that YIM 56099 was active against E. coli. There seems to be no antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Candida albicans [rx]. Chen isolated twelve new compounds [rx], four of which displayed inhibitory activities against LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 with the IC50 values of 40.06, 46.35, 57.80, and 59.44 μg/mL, respectively. Sakee et al. reported the essential oil of B. balsamifera to have a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 150 µg/mL and 1.2 mg/mL against Bacillus cereus, S. aureus, and Candida albicans, respectively [rx]. Furthermore, the hexane extract inhibited Enterobacter cloacae and S. aureus. These results suggested that the extracts of B. balsamifera possessed activity against certain kinds of infectious and toxin-producing microorganisms. It could potentially be utilized to prevent and treat microbial diseases.
Antiplasmodial Activities
According to the traditional efficacy of relieving fever, the methanol extract of B. balsamifera from Forest Research Institute Malaysia was investigated for any potential antiplasmodial activity. The extracts of roots and stems exhibited some activity against Plasmodium falciparum D10 strain (sensitive strain) with an IC50 value of (26.25 ± 2.47) μg/mL and (7.75 ± 0.35) μg/mL, respectively [rx].
Antityrosinase Activities
The ethyl acetate extract consisting of nine flavonoids was isolated from the leaves of B. balsamifera. Their antityrosinase activities were surveyed by Saewan et al. [rx]. According to their reports, compared with arbutin, two dihydroflavonols, dihydroquercetin-4′-methyl ether and dihydroquercetin-7,4′-dimethyl ether, and three flavonols, quercetin, rhamnetin, and tamarixetin, showed a significantly higher inhibitory activity, but another two flavanones, 5,7,3′,5′-tetrahydroxyflavanone and blumeatin, and two flavones, luteolin and luteolin-7-methyl ether, showed lower inhibitory activity. The possible mechanism of the antityrosinase activity might be the cause of chelating with copper in the active center of tyrosinase.
Platelet Aggregation Activities
The concentration of 1.26 μmol/L blumeatin displayed a significant promoting activity on the rat and human platelet aggregation caused by arachidonic acid, 5-hydotypamice, and epinephrine. However, concentrations of 0.315 and 2.52 μmol/L inhibited platelet aggregation. It suggested that the effects of blumeatin on the platelet aggregation were dependent upon the concentration used. The injection of B. balsamifera extracts decreased the blood pressure, expanded the blood vessels, and inhibited the sympathetic nervous system in order to address the high pressure and insomnia. The infusion of the plant also had the function of diuresis [rx].
Enhancing Percutaneous Penetration Activity
The l-borneol, as the main effective compound of B. balsamifera, showed a percutaneous penetration enhancer effect. The essential oil camphor and 1-menthol of the plant specifically promoted the percutaneous absorption of nicotinamide [rx]. Fu et al. further verified the 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% B. balsamifera oil enhancing albuterol sulfate transdermal absorption, respectively [rx]. The percutaneous penetration of a combination of 1.0% B. balsamifera oil and 1.0% azone was less than that of their separate uses.
Wound Healing Activity
Wang et al. discovered that the external application of B. balsamifera oil on the intact and damaged skin of rats exhibited no acute toxicity [rx]. The rats with pure B. balsamifera oil exposure at a dosage of 2000 mg/kg for 24 h showed no allergic reaction or acute toxicity reaction, but a better wound recovery activity as compared to the one treated with non-B. balsamifera oil formulations. The results were consistent with the traditional use in ethnic minorities, Li and Miao, in China in order to heal the skin wound and itch [rx].
Anti-Obesity Activity
Kubota et al. reported that the extracts of B. balsamifera inhibited the lipid accumulation and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activities [rx], which mainly decreased the expressions of key adipogenic transcription factors, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, CCAAT element-binding protein, and leptin in the 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Therefore, the extracts of B. balsamifera might possess antidiabetic, antiatherogenic, and anti-inflammatory functions. The methanol extracts of B. balsamifera (100 μg/mL) were used to investigate the ability to inhibit blood vessel formation by the method of rat aortic ring. The results exhibited that there were no remarkable differences between B. balsamifera extracts and vehicle control treatment [rx].
Disease and Insect Resistant Activity
Luo et al. reported that the acetone extracts of B. balsamifera possessed an activity against Pryicutaria oryzae, Fusarium oxysporum sp., Colletorichum musae, C. gloeosporioides, C. capsici, and F. oxysporum f. sp. in vitro, with an inhibition rate of over 90.0% [rx]. The volatile oil of B. balsamifera inhibited Aeromonas hydrophila, F. graminearum, and Magnaporthe grisea [rx]. Wang et al. also demonstrated that the extract of B. balsamifera leaves showed a 60.8% insecticidal activity against the adult Aleurodicus disperses [rx]. Furthermore, the essential oil of B. balsamifera showed fumigant toxicity against the maize weevils, such as Sitophilus zeamais [rx]. The crude oil also induced the death in the S. zeamais adults. The results suggested that the extracts of B. balsamifera possessed significant disease and insect resistant activities, and could be used as new potential plant pesticides.
Dr. Md. Harun Ar Rashid, MPH, MD, PhD, is a highly respected medical specialist celebrated for his exceptional clinical expertise and unwavering commitment to patient care. With advanced qualifications including MPH, MD, and PhD, he integrates cutting-edge research with a compassionate approach to medicine, ensuring that every patient receives personalized and effective treatment. His extensive training and hands-on experience enable him to diagnose complex conditions accurately and develop innovative treatment strategies tailored to individual needs. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Harun Ar Rashid is dedicated to medical education and research, writing and inventory creative thinking, innovative idea, critical care managementing make in his community to outreach, often participating in initiatives that promote health awareness and advance medical knowledge. His career is a testament to the high standards represented by his credentials, and he continues to contribute significantly to his field, driving improvements in both patient outcomes and healthcare practices.
