Ipomoea hederacea Jacq.: Ipomoea: from Greek Ips which means “a worm,” and homoios which means “like,” thus Ipomoea means “like a worm”, referring to the twining habit of the plant’s growth; hederacea: of or pertaining to ivy [12].

Ivy leaf morning-glory, Woolly morning-glory (as flowers wilt after one day).

Habbun-nil (due to the blue color of its corolla nil is used for blue color in Pakistan); Kaladana (due to the black color of the seeds kala means black and dana means seed).

Habitats include abandoned fields, areas along roadsides and railroads, gardens and miscellaneous waste areas. I. hederacea is frost intolerant and is commonly found in warmer climates. This species frequently occurs in flower beds and cultivated areas. Because this species is now found throughout the World there is some confusion about its origin. It seems the this species orginates from the American tropics and it pertains to the flora of the south east of United States [5,12,13]. It is also distributed in Pakistan, Kashmir and India [14,15,16].

Ivy-leaved morning-glory is an annual trailing vine (6–8 feet tall), branching occasionally and flowering from July to September. The preference is full or partial sun, mesic conditions, and fertile soil. The seeds don’t germinate until the soil becomes warm during early summer. This plant can be aggressive and it is quite common in disturbed areas, especially cultivated fields, where it can be a major pest. This is both an attractive vine and common weed of agronomic, horticultural, and nursery crops, and can be tough to get rid of once established [17,18]. The 2 inch (5 cm) wide, funnel-shaped flowers open only in the morning and have five hairy sepals. The bases of the flowers are densely hairy. The flowers are pollinated by bumblebees and other long-tongued bees. These are generally blue, but can show traces of purple, magenta, or white. The flowering stalks develop from the axils of the leaves and are quite short (¼" or less), producing 1–3 flowers. The flowers are about 2" across and bloom primarily during the mornings on sunny days. The throat of the corolla is white, where the reproductive organs of the flower form a white column with a knobby tip. The hairy green calyx is divided into five lobes that are linear-lanceolate and about ¾" long. These lobes often curl outward at their tips. Each flower is replaced by a 3-celled rounded capsule containing 4–6 seeds. The rather large seeds are brown to black and wedge-shaped. They have a dull surface [19,20]. The leaves are alternate, and indented at the base. They are three-lobed but they are quite variable and can also be five-lobed or heart-shaped, even on the same plant. Each lobe is widest in the middle and tapers to a blunt tip. The margins of the leaves are smooth and somewhat undulating, while the upper surface is more or less hairy. The petioles are hairy and almost as long as the leaves. The leaves are usually up to 4" long and are hairy [21,22]. The round stems are light green to dull red, and more or less covered with white hair. Stem twines about surrounding vegetation with their apex in a dextral fashion, or sprawl about haphazardly or more commonly climbing, reaching 10 feet in length. Stems also have hairs that are erect. The root system consists of a taproot. This plant spreads by reseeding itself [23,24]. Cotyledons are notched at the apex, and this notch forms an angle between the lobes that is less than 90 degrees. The cotyledons are only shallowly or moderately indented, and the lobes are usually rounded or only slightly pointed. Cotyledons are also notched at the base, and are close to square in outline, with only a slight flare outwards. The first true leaf is unlobed [25,26]. The seeds resemble in shape the “quarter” of an orange, there being two flat sides meeting at an acute angle and an arched back. They are dull black, about 5 mm long and 3 mm wide, weight about 34 mg; the hilum is distinct as a brown, slightly hairy, depressed spot. A transverse section shows plaited cotyledons in which small, slightly darker resin cells may be seen. The taste is at first not marked, but is subsequently acrid [27,28,29].

I. hederacea seeds and the resin extracted from them are used as medicines. The seeds have cathartic properties like those of jalap (Ipomoea jalapa (L.). Besides the resin, an extract, a tincture, and a compound powder have been introduced into the Pharmacopoeia of India. The resin, which has been introduced into medical practice in India under the name of “Pharbitisin”, has a nauseous, acrid taste and an unpleasant odor, especially when heated [30,31]. The seeds are regarded as diuretics, anthelmintics, aphrodisiacs, blood purifiers and deobstruents, and that they are prescribed in dropsy and constipation, to promote menstruation, and to produce abortion. They are claimed to be laxative, carminative, and useful in treatment of inflammations, abdominal diseases, fevers, headache and bronchitis. The juice of the leaves is used to treat eye inflammations, cataracts and films over the eyes; in the ear, the juice helps hearing, and cures ear noises. The herb is considered useful in oedema, ascites, fever, constipation, flatulence and epistaxis. Seeds are also useful in skin diseases like leucoderma and scabies, gout, cephalalgia, hepatopathy and splenopathy [32,33]. The seeds are rubbed on the male genitals to treat erectile dysfunction and on female genitals for lubrication purposes and to increase sexual desire. Paste of seeds is applied topically for cosmetic purposes as it removes dry skin and freckles. The topical application is also believed to be associated with weight loss.

The antioxidant activity of different extracts of I. hederacea was evaluated by Rehman and co-workers by four methods, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, total antioxidant activity and Folin-Ciocalteau reagent assay for the determination of total phenolics. It was reported that an ethyl acetate soluble fraction showed the highest value of percent inhibition of DPPH (83.26%) at a concentration of 125 µg/mL, with an IC₅₀ of 60.28 µg/mL. This fraction also displayed the highest FRAP value (80 µg TE/mL), the higher total antioxidant activity (0.25 ± 0.31) as well as highest total phenolic contents (62.35 µg GAE/g) as compared to other fractions [16]. Some extracts of I. hederacea showed good antioxidant capacity, reducing different types of radicals [16]. The differences found among the previous and recent studies (Table 8) were explained in terms of difference in genotype, growing condition, agronomic practices employed, season, maturity, post-harvest storage and processing conditions and solvent used for extraction [38].

An ethanolic extract of the plant showed significant hepatoprotection in carbon tetrachloride treated rats [39].

The disk diffusion assay was employed in the study by Zia-Ul-Haq and co-workers to investigate the antibacterial potency of I. hederacea. The bacterial strains studied included Escherichia coli, Citrobacter sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Micrococcus luteus, Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus subtilis. The resultsindicated that I. hederacea had potent activity against all the tested microorganisms, being B. subtilis the most sensitive strain [40]. Singh and co-workers [41] also reported antimicrobial properties of various extracts of the plant. A methanol extracts of seeds of I. hederacea exhibited antibacterial activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2 mg/mL against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The methanol extract was found to be more active than the other extracts.

The antifungal activity of I. hederacea extracts was evaluated against nine fungal strains, viz., Aspergillus parasiticus, A. niger, A. effusus, Yersinia aldovae, Candida albicans, Fusarium solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Trichophyton rubrum by the disk diffusion assay. The extracts showed significant activity against these strains [40]. The antifungal activity of was also performed against Alternaria brassica, A. braceacola and Aspergillus niger. The methanol and chloroform extracts showed moderated as well as significant activity against the strains [41].

An ethanolic extract of the seeds of I. hederacea was evaluated for nematicidal activity against larvae of Meloidogyne incognita, Meloidogyne javanica and Cephelobus litoralis. Moderate time- and concentration-dependent activity was reported [42].

Different doses of a crude methanol extract of the plant showed insecticidal activities against Tribolium castaneum. At the dose of 0.01 to 300 mg/kg mortality was 100%, while at 0.001 mg/kg no mortality was observed; all these results are time dependant [37].

In order to discover novel antitumor agents, Nam and Lee approximately screened 180 methanol extracts of medicinal plants for their cytotoxicity in cultured human lung (A549) and colon (Col 2) cancer cells. As a result, 17 natural product extracts were found to be active in the criteria of IC₅₀ < 20 μg/mL. I. hederacea also showed cytotoxic potential [43].

Analgesic activity was investigated using Writhing test and hot plate method. I. hederacea extract inhibited acetic acid induced writhing in mice and increased the pain threshold according to the hot plate method. The methanol extract showed a promising analgesic action at lower doses. Analgesic effect was significant at 1, 0.025 and 0.0125 mg/kg doses [37].

The result of oral toxicity of a crude methanol extract of I. hederacea was observed in mice at a dose range of 0.0125–300 mg/kg. The start of lethal effects was recorded at the dose of 300 mg/kg. Oral acute toxicity indicated that there was 50% mortality at higher doses. Dose dependent toxic effects in mice behaviour included convulsions, tremors, unsteady gait and respiratory distress to death. The LD₅₀ value was found 229.2 mg/kg, while the ED₅₀ was found to be 0.0125–1 mg/kg [37].

A crude methanol extract of I. hederacea at low dose showed a promising CNS stimulant activity and potential towards improvement of muscles activity. Neuropharmacological activities were significant at 1, 0.025 and 0.0125 mg/kg doses [37].