Oenanthe javanica Health Dictionary

(Blume) DC.

O. stolinifera Wall. ex

Family: Apiaceae; Umbelliferae.

Habitat: Marshy places and river banks in North India from Kashmir to Assam.

Folk: Jateraa (Meghalaya); Pan- turasi (Bengal).

Action: The plant extract showed strong antimutagenic and antitu- mour activity.

From the herb, beta-sitosteryl gluco- side, stigmasteryl glucoside, isorham- netin and hyperin were isolated. The fruit yield 1.5% of an essential oil, containing phellandrene and myristicin.

Linalool (70.0%) was determined in the flower oil.

Evening Primrose is equated with Oenothera biennis L. (native to North America). The oil from seeds, known as Evening Primrose oil, contains about 70% cis-linolenic acid and about 9% cis-gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Evening Primrose oil is one of the most widely prescribed plant-derived medicines in the world. Sold under the trade name Epogam, it is recognized by the governments of Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Greece, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand as a treatment for eczema. A combination, known as Efamol Marine, used for eczema, contains 80% Evening Primrose Oil and 20% fish oil.

Evening Primrose Oil has become a frontline treatment in Great Britain for initial treatment of cyclical breast pain and fibrocystic breast disease.