''Leucas cephalotes'' is a flowering annual herb which is a common weed that also has uses as an edible vegetable and herbal remedy. It has many common names, including Dharampusp, guma, dronpushpi or drona puspi, and tou xu bai rong cao. It is a common plant across Asia from China to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. ''Leucas cephalotes'' springs up in cultivated fields as a weed, especially after a period of rain. It is collected for use as a leafy vegetable in rural areas. It is cultivated itself for its medicinal uses and is readily available in markets. One of the plant's most common historical uses has been as a treatment for snakebite. It is also steeped in water which is then used for bathing and for washing livestock. Two

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s found in the plant are labellenic acid and beta-Sitosterol. As well, the plant contains oleanolic acid, 7-oxositosterol, 7-oxostigmasterol, 7alpha-hydroxy stigmasterol, stigmasterol, 5-hydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy flavone, pillion, gonzalitosin I, tricin, cosmosin, apigenin-7-O-beta-D-(6-O-p-coumaryl)glucopyranoside, anisofolin A and

luteolin Luteolin is a flavone, a type of flavonoid, with a yellow crystalline appearance. Luteolin is the principal yellow dye compound that is obtained from the plant ''Reseda luteola'', which has been used as a source of the dye since at least the fir ...

. Miyaichi et al. Studies on Nepalese Crude Drugs XXIV. Chemical constituents of Dronapushpi, the Whole Herb of Leucas cephalotes SPRENG. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 2006, 54 (10) 1370–1379.

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Crop Fact SheetGRIN Taxonomy
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3630307 cephalotes Flora of Western Asia Flora of China Flora of the Indian subcontinent