Gynura procumbens

Gynura procumbens (Mollucan Spinach) is a prolific, edible perennial that grows 10 - 25 cm tall.

Young stems are green, turning light purple with green spots. New shoots and branches appear frequently at base and leaf nodes. Fleshy branches can be trimmed and pinched regularly to grow as a low bush, or staked on trellis.

Preparation (Eating)

• Leaf vegetable - taste like green beans.
• Young leaves/ shoots can be eaten fresh by itself/ included in rice dishes/ mixed in with salads (like lettuce or spinach).
• Cook with butter /add to a casserole /soup/ stir-fried (fry garlic in a little oil and then sauté the leaves and young shoots in oyster sauce)/ sautéed lightly like one would spinach.

Medicinal Uses

• Tea
• Lowers blood sugar (diabetes), cholesterol (lipid, serum, triglyceride levels).
• Topical inflammation, rheumatism, viral ailments, diarrhea, dysentery, febrifuges, hypertension, urinary tract infection, anti-inflammatory,anti-allergic.
• Anti-cancer: Inhibition effect on growth of cancer cells.
• Contains Asparaginase, kind of enzyme to inhibit protein syntheses by hydrolyzing asparagines (amino acid which is very essentially, needed by cancer/tumor cells) into aspartic acid and ammonia, so the cancer cells/tumor cells will stop growing and die.
• Herbal companies sell the dry herb powder in capsule form.
• Poultice: relieves rheumatic and general body-pains.