Rydingia integrifolia

(Benth.) Scheen & V. A. Albert

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(c) Aklilu Negussie Mekuria, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Aklilu Negussie Mekuria

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant.

Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A tropical shrub in the Lamiaceae family.

Medicinal Uses

By using analytical and preparative gas chromatography (GC), terpenes have been extracted from air-dried Abyssinian rose (Otostegia integrifolia) leaves. A total of 40 constituents including monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes and their derivatives were identified. The species of Otostegia have traditionally been used in folklore medicines, for treatment of ophthalmia, as an anti-microbial, antihyperglyceamic, and for its anti-oxidant properties used in preventing different kinds of sickness and disorders, of which five species have been reported in the flora of Ethiopia. Several studies suggest that O. integrifolia is a good natural anti-oxidant that can be used as health-promoting agent for various disorders including diabetes mellitus. The species O. integrifolia is well known for its pleasant odor, omnipotent medicinal values, and when its wood is fumigated has proven insecticidal properties (mosquito repellent).