NAME: Cardiospermum halicacabum
FAMILY: Sapindaceae
COMMON NAMES: Balloon vine, heart seed, balsam apple
LOCAL NAMES: Shaworo, erapoo, Mpikpo, Fadama, Garafunin
MORPHORLOGICAL DESCRIPTION:
Cardiospermum halicacabum is a scrambling, creeping or climbing deciduous plant. It is branched from the base, climbs by means of tendrils and attains about 3 m in length.
USEFUL PART(s): Leaves, root, stem, seed
GENERAL USES:
Leaves are eaten as vegetable
seed is used in making beads
basket making
ornamental plant
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION:
Wayne County, Australia, North America
WHY IS IT GREEN?
Skin eruption
Piles
Rheumatism
syphilitic sores
Gonorrhea
Amenorrhea
Emetic
nervous disorders
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
It is aggressive and invasive species. It contains toxic that may be toxic to animals
FUN FACT
It has the ability to form big mats.
FURTHER READINGS
Govindarajan, M., & Sivakumar, R. (2012). Repellent properties of Cardiospermum halicacabum Linn. (Family: Sapindaceae) plant leaf extracts against three important vector mosquitoes. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2221-1691(12)60105-1
Malaviya, S., Nandakumar, K., Vaghasiya, J. D., Bhalodiya, Y. S., Jivani, N. P., Sheth, N., Manek, R. A., & Chauhan, S. P. (2009). Anxiolytic activity of root extracts of Cardiospermum halicacabum in mice. Internet Journal of Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.5580/1e23
Respondek, U. (2007). Cardiospermum halicacabum. Zeitschrift Für Klassische Homöopathie. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-938377
Sheeba, M. S., & Asha, V. V. (2009). Cardiospermum halicacabum ethanol extract inhibits LPS induced COX-2, TNF-α and iNOS expression, which is mediated by NF-κB regulation, in RAW264.7 cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2009.04.020
Veeramani, C., Al-Numair, K. S., Alsaif, M. A., Chandramohan, G., Al-Numair, N. S., & Pugalendi, K. V. (2012). Protective effect of Cardiospermum halicacabum leaf extract on glycoprotein components on STZ-induced hyperglycemic rats. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1995-7645(12)60178-3