TLACHICHINOLE: FEATURES, BENEFITS AND APPLICATION - BIOLOGY - 2024

The tlachichinole (Tournefortia hirsutissima L.), tlalchicinol or rasposa grass is a shrub species belonging to the Boraginaceae family. It is widely used for medicinal purposes and has healing properties; It is used for baby chafing, kidney inflammation and diabetes.

It is a natural species of America, which is distributed from Mexico and the Caribbean throughout Central and South America. The genus name Tournefortia derives from the French physician and botanist Joseph Pitton Tournefort, who initially described it.

Tournefortia hirsutissima L. Source: Dick Culbert from Gibsons, BC, Canada, via Wikimedia Commons

This species is known in Mexico and the Caribbean as amapa, cachaza bejuco, cayaya bejuco, chigger bejuco, mata de chigger, hairy chigger, nettle, pearls or tlephtli. In the Antilles it is called chique en fleur, herbe à melingres, chiggery grapes, chiggernit, San Pedro's tears, strawberry or tiricia.

The medicinal properties of the Tournefortia hirsutissima species are ideal for treating gastric diseases, intestinal ulcers, blood problems and anemia. Likewise, it alleviates women's diseases such as internal bleeding, vaginal discharge and leucorrhea.

External applications or topical baths are effective to heal scrapes, pimples, rashes, sores and ulcers, since it acts as a healing. In addition, it is an excellent option for intimate washing of women.

characteristics

Morphology

The tlachichinole plant is a medium-sized shrub with a climbing growth that reaches 3 to 5 m in the round. The woody and thin stems - 2 cm in diameter - are slightly corked and cream-colored.

The brittle and tubular-like branches are characterized by having a hollow center when drying. The leaves are oval, petiolate, dark green, rough and arranged alternately or opposite.

The flowers are numerous, fragrant white, and are grouped in corymbiform, cymose, and terminal inflorescences. The whitish drupaceous fruits contain 2 to 4 bony seeds.

It flowers frequently between April and October, especially in June and July. The fruits grow and develop rapidly, which is why they are usually present on the inflorescences.

Distribution and habitat

The Tournefortia hirsutissima species is native to Mexico. It is located in Florida south of the United States, throughout Mexico, Central America and part of South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia.

It lives in regions with a warm and semi-warm climate, at altitude levels between 700 and 2500 meters above sea level. It grows apart from water sources and on rocky slopes, associated with tropical humid forests and premontane humid forests.

It requires sandy soils, with a high content of organic matter and a good supply of moisture. It grows as an invasive plant within the fields or in the surroundings, forming part of the biodiversity of the different ecosystems.

Taxonomy

T. pubescens plant. Source: Haplochromis, from Wikimedia Commons

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Lamiales

Family: Boraginaceae

Subfamily: Heliotropioideae

Genus: Tournefortia

Species: Tournefortia hirsutissima L. (1753)

Health benefits

The tlachichnole plant is used mainly in traditional medicine for the treatment of chafing and deflation of the belly. The topical baths of aqueous macerates of the leaves are used to heal the inflamed gums, chafing of the skin and scalding the anus.

Preparations made from the roots of tlachichinole are used as diuretics. The infusions or tea are made in combination with other plants with similar properties, in a dose of one handful for each liter of water.

The macerated leaves are used to make a poultice that is used to cover wounds and skin inflammations. The leaves boiled in a liter of water are used to prepare an infusion that is used as an antispasmodic.

In some regions of the Caribbean, such as Cuba, the tlachichnole plant is used as a cleanser and diuretic to cure venereal diseases. It is used as an ingredient in the preparation of a typical drink called chicha, with energizing properties.

The concoctions of the plant are used to cure skin diseases and ulcers in the mouth. The roots have diuretic properties, it is also useful to control diarrhea and calm vomiting.

When selecting the plant for use in traditional medicine, it is advisable not to uproot it, since it is very difficult to find this species in the wild.

Forms of application

The selection of the tlachichinole plant to be used in traditional medicine must meet certain conditions for the action to be effective. Dry or weak shrubs, with broken and worn branches, as well as the presence of pests or diseases, should be discarded

To prepare an infusion you should choose a young plant, with thin stems and branches of approximately 80 cm. It must be of young, thin and rough leaves, free of abrasions or damage by pests and diseases, preferably light green.

Chasing machines

In the case of preparing a bath to cure the chafing or scalding of a child, two short branches should be collected in a container under fire with enough water, and boiled until a dark color cooking is obtained.

Once the mixture is tempered, the bath is prepared in a larger container. It is advisable to perform sitz baths for five minutes, and then keep the child in the water for 15 to 20 minutes.

During the bath you should not press or apply too much friction on the affected area or rubbing. The procedure is repeated two to three times depending on the severity of the case.

Inflammation

For the inflammation of the belly, a decoction is prepared with three leaves of tlachichinole in a liter of water. It should be boiled for twelve to fifteen minutes until the mixture takes a dark color.

The infusion is cooled, strained and refrigerated in the fridge. It is recommended to drink a full glass two or three times a day until the patient improves.

Traditionally the leaves and branches are roasted or burned in the breaststroke or on a comal. Later it is ground to obtain a powder that is applied to heal wounds, burns and abrasions.

References

1. Manzano Mier Nayeli and Leyva Medina Eunice (2011) Medicinal uses of tlachichinole (Tournefortia hirsutissima L.). Traditional and Alternative Medicines. Recovered at: tlahui.com
2. Chigger (2018) EcuRed. Recovered in: ecured.cu
3. Tournefortia (2018) The free encyclopedia Wikipedia. Recovered at: es.wikipedia.org
4. Tournefortia hirsutissima L. (2018) GBIF Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Recovered at: gbif.org
5. Tournefortia hirsutissima L., Sp. Pl. 140. 1753 (2018) Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Recovered at: biogeodb.stri.si.edu
6. Virgili López Goretti (2017) Medicinal and spiritual guide of tropical plants. The secrets of plants from the Caribbean and the Amazon to the Mediterranean. Angels Fortune Editions ISBN 978-84-946782-4-0