VELD VINE 四方藤

There is the owner of a hardware store in Kampung Simee, Ipoh who loves planting herbal plants outside his premise and he would dry the herbs and give them away for free to anyone who wants them. Since my mum is a regular customer, I would often accompany her there. I enjoy looking at the herbs that the owner has planted and would sometimes get some herbal plants from him to plant in the school herb garden. Last weekend, I managed to get some Veld Vine to plant. According to one of the workers at the store, the herb is good for treating boils, tumours and broken bones. In Chinese it is known as four angled vine.

Here is some information about the herb.

Common name: Veld Vine, Winged treebine, Bone setter, Veldt grape
Scientific name: Cissus quadrangularis, Vitis quadrangularis

Description:

Succulent vine with tendrils, fleshy 3-lobed leaves and quandrangular 4-winged stem and grape-shaped leaves 2 inches long (5 cm). The flowers are also typical of the grape family are greenish white and come at the end of the summer. A good basket plant. Cissus quadrangularis is an indigenous medicinal plant of India. The use of this plant by the common folk for promoting fracture healing process.

Traditional Uses:

Cissus quadrangularis is an indigenous medicinal plant of India in the grape family (Vitaceae) that has traditionally been used as an Asian culinary vegetable for curries and chutneys and as an herbal remedy in traditional Ayurvedic medicinal practice (where it is known as asthisandhana).

Current uses:

Recent studies show that an extract of Cissus quadrangularis (syn. Vitis quadrangularis ) aerial stems can help produce weight loss, lower blood glucose, and reduce total and LDL (bad) cholesterol in obese patients.

Source: http://www.theherbspiral.com/supps/herbpages/CissusQuadrangularis.htm

Use of Veld Vine in Curing Diseases :
It is mainly used in treatment of fractured bones, asthma and cardiac problems.
It is anthelmintic, digestive and analgesic.
It is useful in eye and ear diseases and in irregular menstruation.
It is useful in colic, leprosy, ulcers, tumours and skin diseases.
It is helpful in back and spine problems
Source: http://www.motherherbs.com/cissus-quadrangularis-extract.html