Justicia pectoralis Jacq. - Acanthaceae - tilo, piri piri

Herb of Middle and South America, up to 60cm tall.

"As regards other applications, it is noted for its pleasant smell and as a source of coumarin, which it produces in plenty, and which in combination with umbelliferone is responsible for many of its notable properties."  [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justicia_pectoralis]]

{{:coumarin.jpg|}} coumarin

"Coumarin was found to be the main element of an acetone extract of the herb Justicia pectoralis used in folk medicine for the treatment of cuts. ... The plant seems to influence the process of wound healing." \\
[Preliminary investigations of the wound-healing properties of a jamaican folk medicinal plant (justicia pectoralis), Mills J. , Pascoe K. O., Chambers J., Melville G. N., West indian medical journal, Vol.35 (3), 1986, 190-193 ]

"The use of Justicia pectoralis var. stenophylla as a Virola snuff admixture and also as the sole ingredient of a snuff was investigated. Extracts of the plant did not contain alkaloids, although the ubiquitous compound, betaine, was isolated because of its reaction with alkaloid reagents. Nor did extracts have any significant effect upon the gross behavioral effects, or increased spontaneous motor activity, elicited in mice by 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-tryptamine (5-MeODMT), the primary psychotropic constituent of the Virola resin snuff. Coumarin and umbelliferone were identified because they are major constituents of the plant and because of their ability to relax smooth muscle." \\
[Justicia pectoralis: A study of the basis for its use as a hallucinogenic snuff ingredient, W.Donald Macrae, G.H.Neil Towers, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol.12 (1), 1984, 93–111]