Effects:
Traditionally, the leaves of Acanthaceae are mainly used, which are applied externally to wounds. Some studies have shown that Acanthaceae have antifungal, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antioxidant, insecticidal, liver-protective, immunomodulatory, antiplatelet and antiviral properties.
Areas of use:
For example, Acanthus ilicifolius, whose chemical composition has been extensively researched, is widely used in the ethnopharmaceutical industry, including traditional Indian and Chinese medicine. Various parts of Acanthus ilicifolius have been used to treat asthma, diabetes, leprosy, hepatitis, snake bites and rheumatoid arthritis. The leaves of Acanthus ebracteatus, known for their antioxidant properties, are used in Thailand and Indonesia to make Thai herbal tea.
Some species are medicinal plants (selection):
True hogweed (Acanthus mollis)
Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata)
Baphicacanthus cusia
Spiky water lily or called spiny water lily (Hydrophila spinosa)
Justicia gendarussa (syn.: Gendarussa vulgaris)
Justicia procumbens
Malabar nut (Justicia adhatoda, syn.: Justicia vasica)
Peristrophe japonica
Parts of the plant used:
Leaves, roots, flowers
Collection time:
Varies
Where to find:
The four main distribution areas are Indonesia and Malaysia, Africa, Brazil and Central America. Members of the family can be found in almost any habitat, including dense or open forests, scrubland, wet fields and valleys, sea coasts and marine areas, swamps and mangrove forests.
Constituents:
Orientin, Vitexin, Isoorientin, Isovitexin
Phytochemical constituents of the family Acanthaceae include glycosides, flavonoids, benzonoids, phenolic compounds, naphthoquinone and triterpenoids.
Other:
Plants of the Acanthus family have simple, opposite, decussate leaves with entire (sometimes toothed, lobed or spiny) margins and no stipules. The leaves may contain cystoliths, concretions of calcium carbonate visible as streaks on the surface. The flowers are perfect, zygomorphic to nearly radiate, and arranged in an inflorescence that is either a spike, raceme or cyme. Each flower is usually enclosed in a colorful bract; in some species the bract is large and conspicuous. The calyx usually has four or five lobes; the corolla is tubular, bilipped, or five-lobed; there are either two or four stamens arranged in pairs and attached to the corolla; the ovary is superior and bicarpellate with axillary placentation. The fruit is a two-celled capsule that bursts open somewhat explosively. In most species, the seeds are attached to a small, hooked stalk (a modified funiculus called a jaculator or retinaculum) that expels them from the capsule. This feature is shared by all members of the clade Acanthoideae. A 1995 study of seed ejection in Acanthaceae used high-speed video images to show that retinacula propel seeds away from the parent plant when fruits burst open, helping the plant achieve maximum range of seed dispersal. (English Wikipedia)
It includes 26 species native to southern and eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and Myanmar.
Subsection "Tribes and genera"
Acanthus family (229 to 250 genera and about 3500 to 4000 species)
Acanthaceae (207 genera and about 2500 species)
Justicieae
Ecbolium (26 species)
Ornamental plants
There are a number of genera in this family with some species that are suitable as ornamental plants for parks and gardens, as well as houseplants:
Acanthus
Aphelandra: for example, Aphelandra squarrosa
Barleria: for example, Barleria lupulina.
Crossandra: for example, Crossandra infundibuliformis
Eranthemum: for example, Eranthemum pulchellum.
Fittonias (Fittonia): for example Fittonia albivenis
Justicia: for example house hops and Jacobinia (Justicia betonica, Justicia brandegeeana, Justicia carnea)
Hemigraphis
Hypoestes
Odontonema
Pachystachys: for example Pachystachys lutea
Pseuderanthemum
Ruellia: for example Ruellia elegans, Ruellia simplex
Sanchezia: for example Sanchezia parvibracteata
Thunbergia for example Black-eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata), Thunbergia erecta, Thunbergia laurifolia.
Whitfieldia
Some species from the genus Hygrophila, also known as water fronds, are used as aquarium plants.