Justicia pectoralis var. Stenophylla
The Yanomami use the shade-dried leaves of Justicia pectoralis var. Stenophylla as an additive to psychoactive Virola snuffs. The microcosmic world revealed by this unassuming plant that grows throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America with a wide variety of common names is shockingly complex and beautiful. It has a plethora of medicinal uses that include alleviating prostate problems, coughs and colds, skin rashes, diabetes, menstrual pains, menopause, epilepsy, and respiratory tract disorders. Due to the presence of coumarin, the leaves of J. pectoralis have a sweet smell. Recent phytochemical research conducted by Luzia Kalyne Almeida Moreira Leal et al found that the plant “has therapeutic potential for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as asthma.”
A team of Brazilian researchers led by Thays Lima Fama Guimarães studied Justicia pectoralis for the journal Food Chemistry Advances in 2023 and concluded that this plant, known as chambá in Brazil, “demonstrated great potential, presenting a composition rich in phenolics, especially umbelliferone, presenting a higher antioxidant activity and antimicrobial action, which was visualized by its minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations on important foodborne bacteria.”
