Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 4, 1 April 1990 — 'Miracle weed' grows in Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Miracle weed' grows in Hawaiʻi

By Arthur Manoharan M.D. Presently there is no known drug or ehemieal agent that ean be used to treat Hepatitis B. However, material presented at a recent Hepatitis B Conference in Honolulu may offer hope. The plant Phyllanthus Amarus and its therapeutic value in the treatment of Hepatitus B carriers was discussed by a research worker from New Zealand. Trial treatments in India have shown this plant has a tremendous potential in the treatment of Hepatitis B carriers. No toxic effects were found when people were treated with the plant. The information has been forwarded to the attention of Dr. John Lewin, the state's director of health, and other people interested in cancer research in the University of Hawai'i. The initial research work done by Dr. Thyeagarajan in Madras, India, in collaboration with Dr. Blumberg of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, was published in the British medical journal, "Lancet" of Oct. 1, 1988. Plants belonging to the Phyllanthus family were used widely by traditional medical practitioners for the treatment of jaundice and other diseases more than 2,000 years ago according to Indian Ayurvedic literature. The Phyllanthus species are also used in China, the Philippines, Cuba, Nigeria, Guam, East and West Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and South American. When I attended the Hepatitis B conferenee and learned about the wide use of Phyllanthus, I began to wonder if this plant could be found in Hawaii. A professor in the Botany Department at the University of

Hawaii told me this plant does grow in Hawaii and a specimen may be seen at the Bishop Museum. During my visit to the museum the botanist showed me several species of Phyllanthus. The Phyllanthus Amarus was called Phyllanthus debilis, or Phyllanthus niruri. Several specimens had been collected from the Manoa Valley in the Lyon Arboretum area. When OHA Trustee Clarence Chingand I visited the Lyon Arboretum one of the Arboretum botanists showed us several specimens growing near the parking lot, close to the taro cultivating area. The people at Lyon Arboretum are willing to cooperate in any research effort. If this plant proves to be an effective agent in the treatment of people who are Hepatitis B carriers, Phyllanthus Amarus may indeed be called a miracle weed.

Dr. Manoharan with miracle weeei'

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