Heliopsis longipes

Heliopsis longipes is a rare species of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It has been found only in the states of Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, and Querétaro in north-central Mexico.[2][3]

Heliopsis longipes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Heliopsis
Species:
H. longipes
Binomial name
Heliopsis longipes
Synonyms[1]

Philactis longipes A.Gray

Locally called chilcuague, Azteca gold root, and many other names, it was considered powerful medicine for the prehispanic populations of México.

Use and healing properties

The root is chewed to numb the tongue and relieve pain in the teeth and throat. It has antibiotic properties (so it is traditionally used against throat infection, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis, esophagitis, gingivitis and other infections even on the skin), it is also recognized as a powerful antifungal (traditionally used against athlete's foot, onychomycosis, dandruff and candidiasis or milkweed), is analgesic,[4] antiseptic, anesthetic it is traditionally used in the painful dentition presented by babies helping to immediately eliminate the discomfort caused by the appearance of the first teeth).

It is also used as a condiment in foods and alcoholic beverages. It has depurative properties. Upon ingestion, it produces abundant secretions of bodily fluids such as saliva, sweat and urine due to its influence on the maxillary gland, which is why it was used by Chichimecas both as a condiment and as a natural medicine.

The word chilcuague has its origin in the Nahuatl because this plant was recognized as Chilcoatl (chil for spicy and coatl for the shape of its root that looks like a snake), in the markets it is also known with the following names: herb grindstone, chil cuas, chilcuan, chilcmecatl, Aztec root, gold root, chili de palo, palo de duende, among others. When chewing it has a sialogogous effect or that stimulates the production of saliva which generates several effects in the organism, among them those produced by the digestive enzymes present in saliva (amylase and lipase), its buffering or buffering effect that supports neutralizing. The pH of the stomach and oral cavity instantaneously controlling reflux, acidity and gastritis, saliva also promotes the secretion of endorphins.

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References
  1. "Heliopsis longipes (A.Gray) S.F.Blake". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) – via The Plant List.
  2. Article: El género Heliopsis (Heliantheae; Asteraceae) en México y las alcamidas presentes en sus raíces, Journal: Acta Botánica Mexicana 2004 (69:115-131), Authors: |Abraham García |Enrique Ramírez |Jorge Molina | in Spanish with English summary; color photos of leaves of several species on page 119, photos of achenes on page 120
  3. Gray, Asa. 1879. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 15: 35 as Philactis longipes; description in Latin, commentary in English
  4. Cilia-López, VG; Juárez-Flores, BI; Aguirre-Rivera, JR; Reyes-Agüero, JA (2010). "Analgesic activity of Heliopsis longipes and its effect on the nervous system". Pharm Biol. 48: 195–200. doi:10.3109/13880200903078495. PMID 20645840.


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