Matalafi: This Traditional Samoan Medicinal Plant Is As Effective As Ibuprofen

A medicinal leaf that Samoans have been using for hundreds of years is as good at treating inflammation as ibuprofen, a new study has found.

Many medicinal plants from Asia have natural compounds that are approved as pharmaceutical drugs, the researchers of a new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said. However, traditional medicine from Samoa has been rather "understudied."

The leaves of the matalafi plant (Psychotria insularum), for instance, have been widely used in Samoa as a traditional medication for hundreds of years, Medical Xpress reported. It has been used for various inflammation-related ailments, from fever, body aches and skin infections to elephantiasis, abdominal distress and wounds.

"However, the bioactive components and underlying mechanisms of action are unknown," the researchers wrote.

In their study, the team discovered that matalafi is actually an iron chelator, which means that it can easily bind with iron.

"Disease sometimes arises when there is iron dysregulation, or where there is excess iron in the body, or when iron regulation is not functioning well in the body, and that is where iron chelation as a medication or treatment comes in," said Dr. Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni of the Scientific Research Organization of Samoa, Stuff reported. Molimau-Samasoni, who is an indigenous Samoan, is one of the study's authors.

The researchers also identified two flavonol glycosides – rutin and nicotiflorin – as its bioactive iron chelators and tested it on mammalian immune cells.

"Translating results to mammalian immune cells and traditional application, the iron chelator activity of the P. insularum homogenate or rutin decreased proinflammatory and enhanced anti-inflammatory cytokine responses in immune cells," the researchers wrote.

When the researchers compared its efficacy to that of ibuprofen in treating inflammation, they found that its anti-inflammatory activity is "equally effective," Medical Xpress noted.

Matalafi can also have other possible applications "beyond traditional use," study co-author Dr. Helen Woolner noted in a news release from Victoria University of Wellington. Iron chelators such as matalafi have even been identified as "prospective agents" against other diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

"These are traditional medicines our people have been using for hundreds of years, and we are now finding science that supports that there is genuine activity in some of our medicines," Molimau-Samasoni said. "I do want to stress that traditional medicines need to be investigated scientifically before they are administered widely … there are still more steps to be done."

"Our research is also remarkable for the integration of the indigenous researcher – community engagement, which has not always been the case with previous studies of Samoan traditional medicine by commercial researchers," Dr. Woolner said.