Common Name: Litiran

General Information

Litiran is a climbing shrub.
The roots are gathered from the wild and used locally as a substitute for soap. The leaves have local medicinal uses.

Known Hazards

The bark contains saponins and is used to stupefy fish in rivers[]. Although poisonous, saponins are poorly absorbed by the human body and so most pass through without harm. Saponins are quite bitter and can be found in many common foods such as some beans. They can be removed by carefully leaching in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of food that contain saponins. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[].

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Philippines.

Habitat

Thickets at low and medium elevations[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Climber
Height	0.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Chopra reports that the leaves contain an alkaloid, and that they are used for washing ulcers. The bark is used as a shampoo. It is also either alone or with other drugs to stupefy fishes in rivers.

The leaves are used to make a wash for treating ulcers and also as a poultice for sores[].
The leaves are said to contain an alkaloid[]. They are also likely to contain saponins[].

Other Uses

The root is used as a soap substitute[, ].
The bark is used as a hair shampoo[].

Propagation

Seed -

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