Impatiens balsamina, commonly known as balsam, garden balsam, rose balsam, touch-me-not[1] or spotted snapweed,[2] is a species of plant native to India and Myanmar.[1]
It is an annual plant growing to 20–75 cm tall, with a thick, but soft stem. The leaves are spirally-arranged, 2.5–9 cm long and 1–2.5 cm broad, with a deeply toothed margin. The flowers are pink, red, mauve, lilac, or white, and 2.5–5 cm diameter; they are pollinated by bees and other insects, and also by nectar-feeding birds.[3] The ripe seed capsules undergo explosive dehiscence.[4]
Contents
1Human use
2Chemistry
3Ecology
4References
5External links
Human use
Different parts of the plant are used as traditional remedies for disease and skin afflictions. Juice from the leaves is used to treat warts and snakebite, and the flower is applied to burns.[5] This species has been used as indigenous traditional medicine in Asia for rheumatism, fractures, and other ailments.[6] In Korean folk medicine, this impatiens species is used as a medicine called bongseonhwa dae (봉선화대) for the treatment of constipation and gastritis.[7] Chinese people used the plant to treat those bitten by snakes or who ingested poisonous fish.[8] Juice from the stalk, pulverised dried stalks, and pastes from the flowers were also used to treat a variety of ailments.[8] Vietnamese wash their hair with an extract of the plant to stimulate hair growth.[8] One in vitro study found extracts of this impatiens species, especially of the seed pod, to be active against antibiotic-resistant strains of Helicobacter pylori.[6] It is also an inhibitor of 5α-reductases, enzymes that reduce testosterone levels.[9]
In Korea, the flowers are used to produce an orange nail varnish.[10][11]
Chemistry
The naphthoquinones lawsone, or hennotannic acid, and lawsone methyl ether and methylene-3,3'-bilawsone are some of the active compounds in I. balsamina leaves.[12] It also contains kaempferol and several derivatives.[13] Baccharane glycosides have been found in Chinese herbal remedies made from the seeds.[14]
Ecology
It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, and has become naturalised and invasive on several Pacific Ocean islands.[4]
References
^ ab"Impatiens balsamina". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
^"Impatiens balsamina". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
^Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
^ abImpatiens balsamina. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).
^Plants for a Future: Impatiens balsamina
^ abWang YC, Wu DC, Liao JJ, Wu CH, Li WY, Weng BC (2009). "In vitro activity of Impatiens balsamina L. against multiple antibiotic-resistant Helicobacter pylori". Am. J. Chin. Med. 37 (4): 713–22. doi:10.1142/S0192415X09007181. PMID 19655409.
^Park JH, Kim JM, Do WI (2003). "Pharmacognostical studies on the folk medicine bong seon wha dae". Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy. 34 (3): 193–96.
^ abcChristopher Cumo. "Impatiens". Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants: From Acacia to Zinnia. Christopher Cumo, ed. ABC-CLIO, 2013. p. 523. ISBN 9781598847758
^"Naturally dyed red nails". JoongAng Daily. 12 September 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^"Summer, the Way It Used to Be..." The Korea Times. 16 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^Sakunphueak A, Panichayupakaranant P (2010). "Simultaneous determination of three naphthoquinones in the leaves of Impatiens balsamina L. by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography". Phytochem Anal. 21 (5): 444–50. doi:10.1002/pca.1216. PMID 20931623.
^Hua L, Peng Z, Chia LS, Goh NK, Tan SN (February 2001). "Separation of kaempferols in Impatiens balsamina flowers by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection". J Chromatogr A. 909 (2): 297–303. doi:10.1016/S0021-9673(00)01102-X. PMID 11269529.
^Li HJ, Yu JJ, Li P (March 2011). "Simultaneous qualification and quantification of baccharane glycosides in Impatientis Semen by HPLC–ESI-MSD and HPLC–ELSD". J Pharm Biomed Anal. 54 (4): 674–80. doi:10.1016/j.jpba.2010.10.014. PMID 21075577.
External links
Jewelweeds. Drugs.com
Taxon identifiers
Wikidata: Q845019
Wikispecies: Impatiens balsamina
AoFP: 1949
APA: 1128
APDB: 7212
BioLib: 3586
EoL: 581162
EPPO: IPABA
EUNIS: 161746
FoC: 200013288
GBIF: 2891773
GRIN: 19810
iNaturalist: 133350
IPNI: 373978-1
IRMNG: 10195080
ISC: 28765
ITIS: 29185
MichiganFlora: 534
MoBotPF: 277727
NBN: NBNSYS0200002374
NCBI: 63779
NZOR: 87ae9c56-c70e-46a5-8c57-e4528f5890c9
PfaF: Impatiens balsamina
Plant List: kew-2862179
PLANTS: IMBA
POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:373978-1
Tropicos: 3100102
WisFlora: 3925
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Impatiens balsamina.
English Journal
Bactericidal properties of the antimicrobial peptide Ib-AMP4 from Impatiens balsamina produced as a recombinant fusion-protein in Escherichia coli.
Fan X, Schäfer H, Reichling J, Wink M.SourceInstitute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology (IPMB), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Biotechnology journal.Biotechnol J.2013 Oct;8(10):1213-1220. doi: 10.1002/biot.201300121. Epub 2013 Jun 21.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a novel class of powerful natural antimicrobial agents. As AMPs are bactericidal, production of AMPs in recombinant bacteria is far from trivial. We report the production of Impatiens balsamina antimicrobial peptide 4 (Ib-AMP4, originally isolated from Impatie
Rolling with the flow: Bumblebees flying in unsteady wakes.
Ravi S, Crall J, Fisher A, Combes S.SourceHarvard University, USA;
The Journal of experimental biology.J Exp Biol.2013 Sep 26. [Epub ahead of print]
Our understanding of how variable wind in natural environments affects flying insects is limited, because most studies of insect flight are conducted in either smooth flow or still air conditions. Here, we investigate the effects of structured, unsteady flow (the von Karman vortex street behind a cy
More cells, bigger cells or simply reorganization? Alternative mechanisms leading to changed internode architecture under contrasting stress regimes.
Huber H, de Brouwer J, von Wettberg EJ, During HJ, Anten NP.SourceDepartment of Experimental Plant Ecology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525, AJ Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
The New phytologist.New Phytol.2013 Sep 13. doi: 10.1111/nph.12474. [Epub ahead of print]
Shading and mechanical stress (MS) modulate plant architecture by inducing different developmental pathways. Shading results in increased stem elongation, often reducing whole-plant mechanical stability, while MS inhibits elongation, with a concomitant increase in stability. Here, we examined how th
Noteworthy Characteristics Impatiens balsamina, commonly called rose balsam or garden balsam, is an erect, sparsely-branched, tender annual that typically grows to 6-30” tall (depending on variety). Although an old garden favorite ...