Elephantopus scaber.  丁 蜀 秀 Dīng shǔ xiù, Di dan cao    Elephant's foot   Family: Asteraceae     
PART USED: Whole plant
Nature: cold- cool    FLAVOR: Bitter, acrid
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Clearing Internal Heat- Neutralizing Toxins
1. Clear Heat.
2. Sedate Fire, cool Blood. Clears fever and detoxifies (reduce swelling and promote pus drainage).[1]
ACTIONS: Antibiotic.[3] Diuretic.[3] Antibacterial.
INDICATIONS- Common herb used for any kind of acute infectious symptoms.[3]
1. Colds and influenza, pharyngitis.[1] High fever in common cold, sore throat, cough, red eyes. Upper respiratory tract infections.[3]
2. Dysentery.[1] Gastroenteritis.[1]
3. Edema, acute gonorhea.[1]
4. Swollen abscesses, snakebites.[1] Carbuncle.
5. Cold injury to Large Intestine from Cold food, Wind Cold:[3] Bacterial disease, dysentery.
6. Widely used for acute infectious diseases with mild symptoms.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: This herb can produce discomfort in the Stomach and intestines.[3]
PREPARATIONS: Decoction. Whole plant 15-30 g.[1,2]

HABITAT: Grows on hillsides, grass meadows, river banks and roadsides.
ORIGIN: Found in Tropical Africa, Eastern Asia, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
DESCRIPTION: Perennial herb. Stem; height 30 to 60 cm, branching into 2. Leaves; basal, cover the ground, spatulate or long ellipsoid-lanceolate, apexes obtuse, bases gradually narrowing, margins crenate. Stem leaves; few, extremely small. Flowers; in summer, light purple, appearing in terminal style to form a capitulum inflorescence. Achene; angled; covered by stiff hairs.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents.
Research.

Antitumor activity of elephantopus scaber linn against dalton's ascitis lymphoma
Rajkapoor B; Jayakar B; Anandan R.
Vinayaka Mission's College of Pharmacy, Yercaud Road, Kondappanaickenpatty, Salem-636008
ABSTRACT: The antitumor activity of the leaves of Elephantopus scaber has been evaluated against Dalton's ascitic lymphoma (DAL) in Swiss albino mice. A significant enhancement of mean survival time of Elephantopus scaber treated tumour bearing mice was found with respect to control group. Elephantopus scaber treatment was found to enhance peritoneal cell counts. When these Elephantopus scaber treated animals underwent i.p. inoculation with DAL cells, tumour cell growth was found to be inhibited. Fourteen days after transplantation, Elephantopus scaber treated group were able to reverse the changed in the haematological parameters, protein and PCV consequent to tumour inoculation.Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2002 Jan-Feb; 64(1): 71-3 medind.nic.in
Record Identifier: NI206749