Lotus Leaves

See also : Pink Lotus

Health Benefits and Uses of Lotus Leaves

• N. nucifera leaves have recently gained popularity in Taiwan as an ingredient in health-related beverages for weight loss.
• Several studies have shown that N. nucifera possesses pharmacologic and physiologic activities, including antioxidant, antiviral and immunomodulatory effects.
• Recently, flavonoid-enriched N. nucifera leaf extracts were reported to inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo, improve lipid metabolism, and relieve liver damage resulting from a high fat diet. Moreover, the anti-obesity potential of N. nucifera leaves has been demonstrated via increased lipolysis in adipose tissue in mice.
• Another report also indicated that N. nucifera leaves possess inhibitory activity towards atopic dermatitis.
• Oxidative Stress : The phytoconstituents identified in the water and methanol extracts of N. nucifera leaves were found to be biologically active, thus confirming their role in preventing severe infections arising from microbial pathogenicity and oxidative stress caused by the over production of free radicals. Hence, we conclude that water and methanol extracts derived from N. nucifera leaves can be used as easily accessible sources of natural antioxidants for potential preventative therapies against angiogenesis-related diseases.

References

Anti-Angiogenic Effect of Nelumbo nucifera Leaf Extracts in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells with Antioxidant Potential : Jong Suk Lee1☯, Shruti Shukla1☯, Jung-Ae Kim2, Myunghee Kim1*