Description

Arogya Pacha is a perennial herb, with slender rhizome. Leaves are ovate-lanceshaped, pointed or blunt, apiculate, base deeply heart-shaped, up to 12 x 7 cm; 5-7 ribbed, leaf-stalk up to 5 cm. However, leaves can be quite variable in shape. Flowers are fascicled at the base of the leaf-stalk. Flowers are dark brown, bell-shaped, tepals lanceshaped. Stamens are 6, anthers apiculate. Fruit is three-sided, purple-brown; seeds dorsally grooved. Arogya Pacha is found in Southern Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Flowering: March-October. People take Arogya Pacha for improving stamina, boosting the immune system and losing weight. They also take it to treat liver disease, stomach ulcers, fatigue, and sexual performance problems. Arogya Pacha is also used to increase sex drive. There isn’t enough reliable information to know how Arogya Pacha (Scientific Name: Trichopus zeylanicus) might work as medicine. Research in animals suggests that it might stimulate the immune system, reduce swelling, and increase sex drive. However, no research has been conducted in people, so no one knows if Trichopus zeylanicus has the same effects in people.

Characteristics:

Arogya Pacha is a perennial herb, with slender rhizome. Leaves are ovate-lanceshaped, pointed or blunt, apiculate, base deeply heart-shaped, up to 12 x 7 cm; 5-7 ribbed, leaf-stalk up to 5 cm. However, leaves can be quite variable in shape. Flowers are fascicled at the base of the leaf-stalk. Flowers are dark brown, bell-shaped, tepals lanceshaped. Stamens are 6, anthers apiculate. Fruit is three-sided, purple-brown; seeds dorsally grooved. Arogya Pacha is found in Southern Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Flowering: March-October. It is a creeping shrub up to 30 cm tall. Leaves triangular, dark green. This is probably why the plant got the name Healthy Green. It has very small flowers and small fruits like cardamom. Unripe nuts are oily.

Medicinal Uses:

Arogya Pacha has been in use for centuries by the Kaani tribal community of the Agastya Koodam ranges in Kerala, for its medicinal properties. It was an accidental discovery made a team lead by Scientists of TBGRI during the Ethnomedico-Botanical exploration to the Agastyar valley areas of Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala, India, which is located in the southern most part of the Western Ghats that this plant has restorative and anti-fatigue properties. The discovery of the unique property of the plant was based on the leads obtained from disclosures by the Kani tribe people who accompanied the group as Porters and Guides.