The Jeruju plant is one of the mangrove species. It is known by various names in different regions including Jeruju (Malay), Daruju (Javanese). The Jeruju tree or Acanthus ilicifolius is a type of mangrove widespread in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia. It is a shrub that belongs to the Acanthaceae family.
Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Acanthus
Species: Acanthus ilicifolius L.
This species offers many benefits for the environment and human health. The Banjar community, living in coastal areas, often uses the Jeruju tree as part of their food resources.
The Jeruju or Acanthus ilicifolius is a mangrove plant that has potential as a traditional medicine for various issues or diseases. This species is part of the Acanthaceae family, which includes true mangroves (Lubis 2016).
Jeruju is a type of low herbaceous plant that spreads across the ground surface, is strong, somewhat woody, and can grow up to 2 meters tall. It has branches that emerge from the older parts. Aerial roots appear from the underside of the horizontal stem. Jeruju leaves have two spiny leaf stalk wings located on the stalk. The leaf surface is smooth, the edges of the leaves are serrated or zigzag like a saw and gradually narrow towards the base of the leaf. The leaves are broadly lanceolate with pointed, sharply spined tips (Noor et al. 2006).
The flower crown of the jeruju is light blue to purple and sometimes slightly white. The flower cluster can be 10-20 cm long, while the flowers consist of 5-4 petals. Acanthus ilicifolius is often found in soft, muddy soil along riverbanks and typically grows in mangrove areas. The Jeruju trees, Acanthus ilicifolius and Acanthus ebracteatus, are widely spread in Indonesia and Thailand. Both are used medicinally. This species is also found in various countries such as South India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines (Irawanto et al 2015).
Benefits of the Jeruju Tree
This plant has long been used as both food and traditional medicine. Research indicates that Jeruju contains flavonoids and amino acids. In Chinese medicine, this plant is said to have anti-inflammatory, expectorant, anti-neoplastic, and blood-purifying properties. Additionally, according to community information, Jeruju can treat liver inflammation, liver cancer, hepatitis, and several inflammation-related conditions like hastening the maturation and bursting of boils, and sore throats associated with coughing.
Jeruju fruit can be used to treat burns, as a deworming agent, for hepatitis, and as a cough remedy. The fruit can be consumed directly without processing. Jeruju leaves can be processed into various snacks such as chips and Jeruju tea, which is brewed from the leaves to reduce pain and purify the blood.
Jeruju leaf juice prevents hair loss. Acanthus ilicifolius leaves are also used to treat rheumatism, neuralgia, and wounds from poison arrows (in Malaysia). Generally, it is believed by coastal communities that chewing the leaves will protect against snake bites.
Crushed seeds of Jeruju are used to treat boils. Both species of Jeruju are also used to treat kidney stones. Water extracted from the bark is used to treat colds and skin allergies.
The Acanthus ilicifolius species can be utilized as a bioindicator in pollution studies. This tree is one of the types that experiences stress when there is an increase in pollution from industrial, domestic, and other wastes. As a phytoindicator, Jeruju is also used in monitoring the quality of an environment, providing information about the source of effects if the area is contaminated (Rahmazsanti et al 2023).
Compounds in Jeruju extract contain alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, and steroids which are widely used as antimicrobials (Forestryana and Arnida 2020).
Jeruju has the potential to become a medicinal plant because parts of this plant can be scientifically used for antiosteoporosis, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, analgesic, antiulcer, and antinociceptive properties.
Jeruju plants are widely used as medicinal plants that function as antimicrobials due to the compounds they contain. Usually, these compounds need to be extracted first.
According to research by Saptiani et al (2012), Jeruju extract has antimicrobial activity with the best inhibitory power on the leaves among the fruit, flowers, and stems of Jeruju. Meanwhile, according to research from Nusaibah et al (2021), Jeruju has the potential as an active ingredient in anti-acne cream, proven to have antibacterial activity against acne-causing bacteria.
Moreover, the high antioxidant content makes the Jeruju tree have potential as an anti-aging cosmetic and medicine to lower cholesterol. These antioxidants can also synergize with high toxicity activities as a cancer treatment.
Propagation of Jeruju Plants
Efforts to propagate Jeruju can be done by providing seedlings according to the desired needs and uniform conditions. Acanthus ilicifolius can be propagated from stem cuttings (vegetatively) and seeds.
Planting Jeruju using seeds can be directly scattered in a planting container filled with soil and a water level of 1 cm above the soil surface. Dry, brown seeds will float, then swell and the skin will peel off. After that, the seeds will stand upright and root buds will appear, followed by the development of cotyledons, which takes about 1 week. According to research from Irawanto et al (2015), the process of seed development and germination over 6 months leaves only 3 seedlings from 30 seeds. Propagation of Jeruju using seeds requires a lot of material and more time. Therefore, propagation by cuttings can be an alternative method to multiply Jeruju plants.
Stem cuttings in Acanthus ilicifolius are optimal when taken from the middle of the stem with a diameter of 0.7-1.2 cm and a length of 12-15 cm. Growth with these cuttings only requires 3 months, reaching about 30 cm in height and having 8-10 leaves. Thus, propagating Jeruju seedlings using cutting techniques is more effective than using seeds.
Efforts to Preserve the Jeruju Tree
Seeing the significantly increasing environmental pollution causes vulnerability in the Jeruju tree population. To ensure the sustainability of these trees, we carry out actions and measures focused on protection and preservation efforts for the Jeruju tree.
-YN