Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2025 | 17(6): 27159–27162

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9825.17.6.27159-27162

#9825 | Received 09 April 2025 | Final received 07 May 2025 | Finally accepted 28 May 2025

 

 

Embelia ribes Burm.f. (Primulaceae) – an ayurvedic plant with ethnobotanical notes from Manipur, India

 

Robert Panmei 1, Soyala Kashung 2, Lanrilu Dangmei 3, Akoijam Surviya 4  & Ungpemmi Ningshen 5

 

1,3,4,5 Laboratory for Ethnoforestry and Tree Systematics, Department of Forestry, Manipur University, Indo-Myanmar Road, Canchipur, Imphal, Manipur 795003, India.

2 Forest Systematics and Ethnobiology Laboratory, Department of Forestry, NERIST, Arunachal Pradesh 791109, India.

1 rpanmei4@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 ksoyala@gmail.com, 3 lanridangmei99@gmail.com, 4 akoijamsurviya1234@gmail.com,

5 ungpemminingshen@gmail.com

 

 

Editor: V. Sampath Kumar, formerly Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore, India.                Date of publication: 26 June 2025 (online & print)

 

Citation: Panmei, R., S. Kashung, L. Dangmei, A. Surviya & U. Ningshen (2025). Embelia ribes Burm.f. (Primulaceae) – an ayurvedic plant with ethnobotanical notes from Manipur, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 17(6): 27159–27162. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9825.17.6.27159-27162

  

Copyright: © Panmei et al. 2025. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding:: The study did not receive any financial assistance from funding agencies.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements:  We extend our gratitude to the head of the Department of Forestry Manipur University for the provision of essential facilities. We deeply acknowledged the local of the study area for sharing their ethnobotanical knowledge. We also thank prof. Yengkhom Raghumani Singh, Manipur University for the stereo microscope facilities.

 

 

 

Abstract: Embelia ribes Burm.f. (Primulaceae) is well known for its medicinal properties in various systems of Indian medicine. The culinary applications of the leaves from Manipur could be the first recorded gastronomic use of the species in India. Future nutritional studies and conservation measures are of immense need to ensure the promotion and sustainable use of this species.

 

Keywords: Antibacterial, antifertility, antifungal, epipetalous, gastronomic, Langol reserve forest, medicinal value, northeastern India, panicle inflorescence, taxonomic description, wild edibles.

 

 

 

Embelia ribes Burm.f., a member of the family Primulaceae (formerly placed in Myrsinaceae) is recognized for its considerable medicinal properties within the Indian System of Medicines. The species was first described by Nicolaas Laurens Burman in 1768 (Burman 1768). It is distributed from India to southern China, and western & central Malesia (POWO 2025). In India, the plant has been known by various names such as ‘Baobarang’ or ‘Barang’ (Urdu), ‘Vavding’ (Marathi), ‘Vidang’ (Assamese & Bengali), ‘Vayuvidangalu’ (Telugu), or ‘Vidanga’ (Odiya) (Siddiqui & Uddin 2023). Ancient texts, including the Charaka Samhita, document its uses for alleviating abdominal discomfort, flatulence, and skin ailments (Akbar 2020; Siddiqui & Uddin 2023). The plant is also widely used in treating mouth ulcers, sore throats, pneumonia, obesity, constipation, diarrhoea, kidney stones, snake bites, bronchitis, and promoting wound healing (Raskar et al. 2022). In Kerala, a decoction of the fruit is administered for intestinal worms (Udayan et al. 2008), while in Karnataka, it is used for antimicrobial purposes (Thyloor 2018). The fruit of the plant is also employed in wound healing and snakebite treatment in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra (Chopda & Mahajan 2009). The active compound embelin present in this species is noted for its antibacterial (Chitra et al. 2003), antifungal, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-hyperlipidemic, antifertility, antiprotozoal effects, and anthelmintic antipyretic in different parts of India (Seshadri & Venkataraghavan 1981; Atal et al. 1984; Chitra et al. 1994). The pharmacological and clinical investigations also gave promising results about its antifertility activity without any side effects (Mitra 1995). The increasing demand for the species with indiscriminate large-scale extraction greatly threatens the natural population of the species in India (Pownitha et al. 2022).

The species is reported to be vulnerable in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states of India and at lower risk in Kerala State (Ravikumar et al. 2000).

Prior research on E. ribes documented the ethnomedicinal and medicinal properties of the species from various states of the country, with no distributional record from Manipur state (Roy & Pramanik 2020; Pownitha et al. 2022). Agrawala et al. (2023) recorded this species distribution in Manipur, but the exact locality was not mentioned. During a recent ethnobotanical field expedition in Langol Reserve Forest area of Manipur, the team encountered three individuals of the plant in flowering and fruiting stages. After proper morpho-taxonomic investigation, the plant was identified as E. ribes. Details on taxonomic treatment, photographic illustration, and gastronomic uses of the species is provided here (see Image 1).

 

Taxonomic treatment

Embelia ribes Burm.f., Fl. Ind. 62, t. 23. 1768; C.B.Clarke in Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 3: 513. 1882; Kanjilal et al., Fl. Assam 3: 169. 1939; Prain, Bengal Pl. 1: 643. 1903; A.S.Chauhan in Hajra, Contrib. Fl. Namdapha 211. 1996; Chowdhery et al. in Giri et al., Fl. Arunachal Pradesh, 2: 119. 2008; Dash & Singh, Fl. Kurung Kumey 543. 2017; Mao et al., Checkl. Fl. Nagaland: 7. 2017; R.Roy & A.Pramanik in S.S.Dash & A.A.Mao, Flow. Pl. India Annot. Checkl. Dicot. 2: 52. 2020; Agrawala et al. in A.A.Mao & P.K.Mukherjee, Fl. Manipur Pict. Guide: 269. 2023. Antidesma ribes (Burm.f.) Raeusch. in Nomencl. Bot. Pl. Illustr., ed. 3: 287. 1797. Embelia sessiliflora (Burm.f.) Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 40: 66. 1871. Samara ribes (Burm.f.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex. Kurz, in J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 46: 222. 1877. Ribesiodes ribes (Burm.f.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 403. 1891.

Description: Medium sized liana spreading 5 m long or even more. Stem woody, ridged, branchlets flexuous, not armed, rusty tomentose. Leaves simple, alternate; lamina elliptic or narrowly obovate, 5.5–6.5 × 2.8–3.5 cm, apex acuminate, base cuneate or rounded, margin entire, revolute, chartaceous to coriaceous, glabrous on both surfaces; petioles narrowly winged to base, 0.8–1 cm long. Inflorescences pinnately pyramidal panicles, terminal, rachis 12–20 cm, puberulent; bracts subulate, sparsely puberulent, black punctate-lineate. Flowers small, greenish-white, pedicels 0.2–0.25 cm long, sparsely to densely puberulent. Sepals five, deltate, pellucid punctate, glandular ciliate adaxially and on margin, apex acuminate. Petals five, free, elliptic or oblong, chartaceous, punctate, densely glandular inside and along margin, apex acute to obtuse. Stamens five, slightly exserted, epipetalous, anthers ovate, connective black punctate. Ovary ovoid, glabrous, stigma capitate. Fruits deep reddish, globose or ovoid, ca. 0.3–0.5 cm in diam., smooth.

Flowering & Fruiting: April–June.

Habitat: Growing along the road side in Langol Reserve Forest (24.8310 N, 93.8840 E),  Elevation 817 m (Figure 1).

Specimen examined: Manipur, Imphal, Langol Reserved Forest, RP-98 (Manipur University), dated 27.iv.2024.

Distribution: India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu). Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malayasia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam.

Ethnobotanical notes: The species is locally known as ‘Jubabungnui’ or ‘Jukuibungnui’ by the Rongmei tribe of Manipur. The leaves are utilized as a vegetable, with mature leaves being favoured over younger ones. The mature leaves are generally cooked with Rice Bean Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) (Ohwi & Ohashi), taro or potato. It is believed that consuming these cooked leaves enhances overall vitality among the Rongmei tribe. Till date, there have been no documented culinary applications of this species in India. The study presents the first recorded gastronomic use of the species from the state of Manipur.

Future studies on nutritional value and conservation initiative by the competent authority could promote the usage and sustainable utilization of the species.

 

 

For figure & image - - click here for full PDF

 

 

References

 

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