Impatiens balsamina
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Impatiens balsamina 28 08 2009.JPG
|genus = Impatiens
|species = balsamina
|authority = L.
}}
Impatiens balsamina, commonly known as balsam, garden balsam, rose balsam, touch-me-not{{GRIN | access-date = 20 April 2019}} or spotted snapweed,{{PLANTS | symbol = IMBA | taxon = Impatiens balsamina | access-date = 20 April 2019 }} is a species of plant native to India and Myanmar.
It is an annual plant growing to 20–75 cm tall, with a thick, but soft stem. The leaves are spirally-arranged, 2.5–9 cm long and 1–2.5 cm broad, with a deeply toothed margin. The flowers are pink, red, mauve, purple, lilac, or white, and 2.5–5 cm diameter; they are pollinated by bees and other insects, and also by nectar-feeding birds.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}. The ripe seed capsules undergo explosive dehiscence.[http://www.hear.org/pier/species/impatiens_balsamina.htm Impatiens balsamina.] Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).
Human use
Different parts of the plant are used as traditional remedies for disease and skin afflictions. Juice from the leaves is used to treat warts and snakebite, and the flower is applied to burns.Plants for a Future: [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Impatiens+balsamina Impatiens balsamina] This species has been used as indigenous traditional medicine in Asia for rheumatism, fractures, and other ailments.{{cite journal |vauthors=Wang YC, Wu DC, Liao JJ, Wu CH, Li WY, Weng BC |title=In vitro activity of Impatiens balsamina L. against multiple antibiotic-resistant Helicobacter pylori |journal=Am. J. Chin. Med. |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=713–22 |year=2009 |pmid=19655409 |doi=10.1142/S0192415X09007181}} In Korean folk medicine, this impatiens species is used as a medicine called bongseonhwa dae (봉선화대) for the treatment of constipation and gastritis.{{cite journal |vauthors=Park JH, Kim JM, Do WI |year=2003 |url=http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search/display.do?f=2004/KR/KR04009.xml;KR2004004760 |title=Pharmacognostical studies on the folk medicine bong seon wha dae |journal=Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=193–96}} Chinese people used the plant to treat those bitten by snakes or who ingested poisonous fish.Christopher Cumo. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ja7WAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA523 "Impatiens".] Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants: From Acacia to Zinnia. Christopher Cumo, ed. ABC-CLIO, 2013. p. 523. {{ISBN|9781598847758}} Juice from the stalk, pulverised dried stalks, and pastes from the flowers were also used to treat a variety of ailments. Vietnamese wash their hair with an extract of the plant to stimulate hair growth. One in vitro study found extracts of this impatiens species, especially of the seed pod, to be active against antibiotic-resistant strains of Helicobacter pylori. It is also an inhibitor of 5α-reductases, enzymes that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (active form of testosterone), thus reducing action of testosterone in our body.{{cite journal |vauthors=Ishiguro K, Oku H, Kato T |title=Testosterone 5α-reductase inhibitor bisnaphthoquinone derivative from Impatiens balsamina |journal=Phytother Res |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=54–6 |date=February 2000 |pmid=10641051 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1099-1573(200002)14:1<54::AID-PTR540>3.0.CO;2-Q|s2cid=84734429 }}
In Nepal, the balsam leaves are crushed to dye fingernails on the day of Shrawan Sakranti (Shrawan 1). The day is also observed as Luto Faalne Deen (Go Away-Itch Day). Similarly, in China and Korea, the flowers are crushed and mixed with alum to produce an orange dye that can be used to dye fingernails. Unlike common nail varnish, the dye is semi-permanent, requiring dyed nails to grow off over time in order to remove any traces of color.{{cite news |title=Naturally dyed red nails |url=http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2468075 |work=JoongAng Daily |date=12 September 2004 |access-date=29 August 2010 }}{{cite news |title=Summer, the Way It Used to Be... |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/06/203_25800.html |work=The Korea Times |date=16 June 2008 |access-date=29 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616025041/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/06/203_25800.html |archive-date=16 June 2008 }}
Chemistry
The naphthoquinones lawsone, or hennotannic acid, and lawsone methyl ether and methylene-3,3'-bilawsone are some of the active compounds in I. balsamina leaves.{{cite journal |vauthors=Sakunphueak A, Panichayupakaranant P |title=Simultaneous determination of three naphthoquinones in the leaves of Impatiens balsamina L. by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography |journal=Phytochem Anal |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=444–50 |year=2010 |pmid=20931623 |doi=10.1002/pca.1216|bibcode=2010PChAn..21..444S }} It also contains kaempferol and several derivatives.{{cite journal |vauthors=Hua L, Peng Z, Chia LS, Goh NK, Tan SN |title=Separation of kaempferols in Impatiens balsamina flowers by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection |journal=J Chromatogr A |volume=909 |issue=2 |pages=297–303 |date=February 2001 |pmid=11269529 |doi=10.1016/S0021-9673(00)01102-X}} Baccharane glycosides have been found in Chinese herbal remedies made from the seeds.{{cite journal |vauthors=Li HJ, Yu JJ, Li P |title=Simultaneous qualification and quantification of baccharane glycosides in Impatientis Semen by HPLC–ESI-MSD and HPLC–ELSD |journal=J Pharm Biomed Anal |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=674–80 |date=March 2011 |pmid=21075577 |doi=10.1016/j.jpba.2010.10.014}}
Ecology
It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, and has become naturalised and invasive on several Pacific Ocean islands.
In popular culture
Balsam flowers are referenced in the Okinawan folk song Tinsagu Nu Hana, where the way children use them to color their nails is compared to how parents color (teach and guide) the minds of their children.
The Japanese vocaloid song Housenka (鳳仙花, which translates to Impatiens Balsamina) describes a person who doesn't fit in with a social group despite wanting to.{{Citation |title=【Yuzuki Yukari】Balsam【Original】 |date=2013-07-31 |url=https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm21479692 |language=ja |access-date=2022-05-30}} In the music video, the singer laments this fate and compares herself to the plant. She references its "touch-me-not" nickname and the Hedgehog's Dilemma-esque explosive dehiscence of its seeds by saying:
"Don't touch me," the balsam [says], fallen silent. And yet it can't leave seeds unless it breaks from its shell.
Gallery
File:Balsam (Impatiens balsamina) plant in West Bengal, India.jpg|Balsam plant in West Bengal, India.
File:Impatiens balsamina bd.jpg|Impatiens balsamina grown in Bangladesh.
File:Impatiens balsamina 2019-07-23 Beechview 05.jpg|Balsam (Impatiens balsamina) blooming in a garden in the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh
File:Impatiens balsamina var. balsamina (6155470489).jpg|Impatiens balsamina
File:Balsam (Impatiens balsamina).jpg|Balsam
File:Impatiens balsamina var. balsamina (2748898911).jpg|Impatiens balsamina
File:Impatiens balsamina (2).JPG|Phoenix, nail tree
File:Balsam (Impatiens balsamina) 3.jpg|Impatiens balsamina
File:Impatiens balsamina Blackberry Trifle 0zz.jpg|Location taken: Brookside Gardens, Maryland.
File:Impatiens balsamina Peppermint Stick 0zz.jpg|Location taken: Brookside Gardens, Maryland
File:Balsamina Impatiens.jpg|Impatiens balsamina
File:Seeds of Impatiens balsamina.jpg|Seeds of Impatiens balsamina
File:Impatiens balsamina saplings.jpg|Saplings of Impatiens balsamina. The cotyledons are visible.
File:Hoa móng tay.jpg
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [https://www.drugs.com/npp/jewelweed.html Jewelweeds.] Drugs.com
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Category:Flora of India (region)