The Mua plant has many varieties, each with its own common and specific uses.
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Melastoma candidum (Image: botany.hawaii.edu) |
Mua Ba – Mua Mai – Wild Peony Melastoma candidum D. Don. Family: Melastomataceae, with pink-purple flowers, leaves with stiff hairs on the upper side and soft hairs underneath. Leaves are harvested year-round, used fresh or dried. It has a sour, sweet, and astringent taste, with a neutral property. Its functions include generating heat, detoxification, promoting diuresis, reducing swelling, activating blood circulation, dispersing stasis, relieving pain, controlling bleeding, and reducing inflammation in the intestines, liver, and blood vessels, as well as treating blood vessel obstruction, milk duct blockage, and cancer.
For sprains, dislocations, and fractures: Mix 10 g of star anise powder, 10 g of cinnamon powder, 200 g of fresh rice bark, 50 g of mulberry leaves, and 100 g of Mua Ba leaves. Crush the fresh leaves, mix with the powders to form a paste for application.
For jaundice, postpartum hemorrhage: Fry the leaves until golden and brew to drink.
For boils: Use fresh leaves, crush them, and apply them heated.
For bruises: Crush fresh leaves, mix with rice washing water for application.
For stomach cancer: Use 30 g of fresh Mua roots, 30 g of cow’s thorn, 15 g of dry grass, 15 g of Dung Thu root, 15 g of Kê Nhãn grass, 15 g of sunflower root, 10 g of birch, and 10 g of Xuyen Phá Thạch. Brew and drink one dose per day.
For thyroid cancer: 40 g of Mua roots, 30 g of honeysuckle, 40 g of Thổ Qua root, 30 g of Tước Sàng grass, 40 g of dry grass, and 30 g of white jade. Brew and drink one dose per day.
For breast cancer: 40 g of Mua roots, 40 g of white jade, 30 g of Hoàng căn, 30 g of Nhất Điểm Hồng, 30 g of Giang Bản Quy, and 30 g of Tước Sàng grass. Brew and drink one dose per day.
Mountain Mua – Low Mua – Dwarf Mua – Water Mua Melastoma dodencandrum Lour. Family: Mua – a small creeping plant with green or reddish-purple stems. The flowers are pink, typically found at the tips of the stems, in clusters of 2-3. Leaves are smooth on both sides, harvested year-round, and used fresh or dried.
For postpartum swelling: Use 50-100 g of the whole fresh plant to prepare a bath.
For boils, blood stasis, rheumatism: 8-16 g of the whole dry plant brewed to drink. Fresh plant crushed and applied locally.
For fractures: Use equal parts of Mua leaves, Si leaves, Bái leaves, Tiêu banana leaves, and Giỏ Dẻ leaves, dry and grind into powder. Mix with water to form a paste for application.
For joint dislocations: 30 g of fresh plant, crushed with 30 g of white flower leaves and 20 g of mouth ulcer leaves. Heat or roast before applying.
For cervical and esophageal cancer: 60 g of Low Mua, 60 g of Tứ Diệp Luật, and 30 g of Cẩu Cam Thái. Brew and drink one dose per day.
For bleeding stomach cancer: 30 g of Low Mua, brewed to drink one dose per day.
Mua Ong, Red Mua, Cẩm Cang (Thai) Melastoma sanguineum Sims, family: Mua. This plant can grow over 2 meters tall, with red-haired branches, thick-haired leaves, and a blood-red underside. The large flowers appear in clusters of 3-5, deep pink, harvested year-round, and used fresh or dried. It is used to stop bleeding, reduce swelling, and alleviate rheumatism. Fresh leaves can be applied directly to bleeding areas. Crushed fresh leaves can be applied to swollen and painful muscles or joints.
Climbing Mua – Medinilla spirei Guill, a climbing plant that can grow over 10 meters, with drooping spike-shaped flower clusters, in pink-red or brown-red. Harvested year-round, it treats swelling, bruises, and back pain. It can be combined with other ingredients to create a paste for application.
Dr. Phó Đức Thuần, Health and Life
