PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Planta entera. 

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Antihemorrágico, cicatrizante. 

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: The essential oils of Verbesina encelioides flowers and leaves were analyzed using GC and GC/MS. The results of this study indicated the presence of 44 components in the leaves oil and 39 components in the flowers oil. Fifty nine constituents were identified from the two essential oils; the major constituents of the flower oil are pseudolimonene (24.48%), gamma-cadinene (14.67%), 9-epicaryophyllene (11.92%) gamma-eudesmol (11.76%), delta3-carene (8.13%) and viridiflorol (4.71%); While the leaves oil showed gamma-caryophyllene (16.8%), gamma-muurolene (12.6%), germacrene-D (8.93%), gamma-cadinene (7.39%), delta-elemene (5.62%), and borneol (5.3%) as the major constituents. Essential oil of flower exhibited antimicrobial activity only against Bacillus subtilus,. While the essential oil of the leaves showed neither antimicrobial nor antifungal activities. 

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: desde Estados Unidos hasta Argentina. 

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs

Verbesina encelioides is regarded as ornamental garden plant and there are many reports of its use in folk medicine as analgesic, emetic, febrifuge, insecticide and anti-inflammatory. It is even used to treat cancer, gastrointestinal disturbance, skin ailments, and snake bite. The biosynthetic and bioefficacy potentials of the cell cultures of V. encelioides were evaluated. Cell cultures were established from seeds on MS basal medium in the absence or presence of IAA, NAA, Kn and BAP singly or in various combinations. Initiation of callus was obsd. after 20 days of inoculation and callus was successfully established on MS medium supplemented with 10 mg/L NAA and 0.4 mg/L Kn. The callus was whitish brown in color and friable in nature. Various compds. viz. friedelin, epifriedelin, lupeol, alpha-, beta- amyrin, stigmasterol, betulin and beta-sitosterol have been isolated and identified using spectral studies. Different bioefficacies like antibacterial, antifungal followed by disk diffusion method and antioxidant using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were studied and compared with in vivo system. 

1) TOURSARKISSIAN, Martín. Plantas medicinales de Argentina : sus nombres botánicos, vulgares, usos y distribución geográfica. Buenos Aires : Hemisferio Sur, 1980, 178p.

2) EL-SAYED, Zeinab I. A. Essential oil composition of Verbesina encelioides (Asteraceae) grown in Egypt. Bulletin of the Faculty of Pharmacy (Cairo University) . 2006, vol.44, nº1, p.197-203.
 
3) JAIN, S. C.; SINGH, R.; JAIN, R. Biopotentialities of Verbesina encelioides cell cultures. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology . 2008, vol.13, nº3, p.224-230 .