Tawa tawa, also known as Gatas gatas, is a traditional herbs that many people believe to have the ability to smooth up dengue fever. Euphorbia is the largest genus of the family Euphorbiaceae with around 1600 species. All species of Euphorbia exude a milky juice when broken, and Euphorbia hirta’s local name “gatas-gatas” derives from this.

This plant is wilding plant that generally live in an open grass field, side road, and any other wilding spots around us. Tawa tawa has a hairy stems with a lot of branches and leaves with 40 cm tall. The color of its leaves and entire plant are green and sometimes purple. And the uniqueness showed in tiny capsules-like parts in the middle of every fork of two leaves.

What’s Inside Tawa Tawa Plant?

Dried leaves yielded:

• Moisture content of 9.70%
• Protein 13.5% ±0.15
• Fat 1.13% ±0.06
• Ash 3.13% ±0.06
• Crude fiber 3.57% ±0.06
• Carbohydrate 69.5% ±0.20
• Vitamin content showed ascorbic acid 26.1 mg/100g, thiamine 0.60, riboflavin 1.20, and niacin 0.70.

Entire plant can be used as a source of beneficial function for our healthiness. As we all know, the most famous disease that can be cured by this plant is dengue fever. But, it doesn’t stop right there. Tawa tawa turns out to have so many health benefits for us! Here are several health benefits of tawa tawa plant that we can mention:

1. Help us with our Dengue Fever

Tawa Tawa Tea works for treating Dengue Fever. But it should not be used for more than 24 hours or up to 2 or 3 days in the beginning stages of Dengue Fever. More of the consumption steps from the freshly picked herbs are mention in the “How to Consume: Tawa tawa Tea” section below.

2. Relaxing Agent

Tawa Tawa Tea helps to reduce anxiety and stress feeling. To cure stress or depression mood, you can boil up to 50 grams tawa tawa leaves in 4 cups water. Thus, boil it for for 3 or 4 minutes till it’s done, then drinking 3 to 5 cups a day. A warmth from the water that we use for boiling could add up relaxing feeling when we drink it while it’s warm.

3. Lower Blood Pressure

Tawa Tawa Tea lowers have the natural sources to lower blood pressure. Which is by being a anti-diuretic agent containing a angiotensin enzyme that decreases urine output.

4. Fix Asthma and Bronchitis

Asthma and Bronchitis are both respiratory tract disease that make the patient difficult to breathe normally. Asthma makes your respiratory or air way tighten up. While bronchitis is an inflammatory problems in lungs or bronchus because of virus. Tawa Tawa Tea works to cure asthma and bronchitis. Meanwhile, it works as a bronchodilator to make the patients breath well.

5. Anti-Diuretic    

Tawa Tawa tea is great for health, can be alternative drink for those who is addicted to coffee or those who is drinking to much alcohol. Tawa Tawa leaf tea will help you preventing dehydration as Tawa Tawa leaf contains compound that absorbs electrolytes and water in the body system.

6. Increase Platelet Production

One study in Philippine stated that  Tawa Tawa leaf contains 194% increase in platelet production. Well, how to use it? Prepare 1 teaspoon of dried leaves in one cup of hot water for 10 minutes and drink 2 to 3 times a day.

7. Help us End our Diarrhea

Diarrhea is a really hassle kind of disease that may occur because of consuming contaminated foods. The food get contaminated by virus, bacteria, or parasite that would then make you defecate way too often. You can’t stop going to the bathroom to defecate. But don’t worry, from now on, you have an alternative herbs to consume. Study investigated the antidiarrheal activity of Euphorbia hirta extract. An active flavonoid constituent, quercitin, was isolated and showed anti-diarrheic activity. Decoction of the root used to allay vomiting, chronic diarrhea, and fevers.

8. Help us with our Skin Boils and Wounds

Tawa Tawa leaf have the sources to treat wounds, warts, and fungi. Further, Tawa Tawa leaf can treat boils, rashes, and open wounds too. How to use it? You could apply dried or fresh powder of Tawa Tawa leaves as wound aids.

9. Help us with Snake Bite

Tawa tawa crushed plants can help our body to stop bleeding. Just like the way to cure boils and wounds, you can simply cover your snake bites area with crushed tawa tawa plants and its watery liquid produced when we’re crushing it. Within a few days, your snake bite area condition will improve better.

10. Keep us Away from Microorganism with Negative Effects

Tawa Tawa leaf acts as antibacterial, anti fungal, and anti ameba. Also, one of the health benefits of tawa-tawa leaf inhibits infections that common uses for athletes foot. Thus, how to use it? You could boil 50 grams fresh leaves in four cups water, and drink it 3 – 5 cups a day.

11. Oral Ulcers

Tawa Tawa Tea used as a gargle heals oral ulcers because it kills bacteria that might cause you another mouth diseases.

12. Potential for Curing Cancer

Study investigated the in vitro anticancer effects of E. hirta. But this thing need another further studies in the future to fully complete the information needed for curing the actual cancer cell in human body.

13. Breast-milk Stimultant

The next health benefits of Tawa Tawa leaf is you can use this as traditional massage oil.

As a result, there are many health benefits of tawa tawa plant that can be your alternative for medical uses.

Additional Facts of Tawa Tawa Herbal Plant

1. Another names for this plant beside Tawa tawa and Gatas gatas: Asthma Weed, Snake Weed, Euphorbia hirta Linn, Soro soro. There actually are a lot other names but those are the most common ones that people use.
2. The entire plant are useful
3. In different location, people generally use this plant for a different purposes.
4. In Australia and elsewhere, used for asthma and pectoral complains.
5. In Brazil, decoction used for gonorrhea and asthma.
6. In Africa and Australia, used to treat hypertension and edema.
7. In India, used for treatment of syphilis; sap applied to warts. Also for affections of children, especially bowel and chest complaints. The milky juice is dropped into eyes for conjunctivitis and corneal ulcerations.
8. In the Gold Coast, ground and mixed with water and used as an enema for constipation.
9. In La Reunion, used as astringent in chronic diarrheas and dysentery.
10. The use of tawa- tawa is contraindicated in patients with infectious or inflammatory gastrointestinal conditions. It has been reported that it can irritate the git.
11. Studies conducted to date have reported conflicting results with regard to the mutagenic, carcinogenic and tumor-promoting activities of tawa-tawa.
12. Not recommended during pregnancy and lactation because it can cause unexpected muscles contraction

How to Consume Tawa Tawa Plant

In the nearest market around your place, tawa tawa possibly being sold in a form of tea, candied or capsules which can be brewed easily by soaking it down into warm water. But if you happen to see and examine the actual plant from your nearest surrounding, here are the steps to safely consume it:

• Tawa tawa Tea

How to make tawa-tawa tea:

1. Take 5-6 full whole Tawa tawa plant from the ground
2. Set off the roots because we only use the herbs part of the plant
3. Wash and clean the rest of the plant
4. Prepare to boil enough water in a pot
5. Put down the Tawa tawa plant into the pot, let it boil in the water for 1 minutes
6. It’s ready for you to drink.

Dosage suggestion for you dengue fever victim is 1-1.5 glass of Tawa tawa water for every hour until your fever slowly calm down. And don’t forget about the expired date of your natural Tawa tawa water is only 24 hours. When it’s already passed a day, you can’t drink it anymore and need to boil and brew another mixture.

Indeed, you may try the recipe at home.

• External Usage of Tawa Tawa Plant

You can easily crush its entire plant by solid material until it produces watery liquid from it. And then, simply place it in your sores, wounds, and boils part of your body. Or, when you have some problem with your ear, simply drop the watery liquid into your ear.

After knowing both Health Benefits of Tawa tawa and its side effects, would you still dare enough to try? If you do, please make sure to meet your personal doctor or consultant before start consuming natural herbs like Tawa tawa to provide another source of curer for your disease.

Because you have to remember that, even if this herbs cure some of your health problem, it may also affect another side of your health too. The components inside are so many and we need to be very careful. Good luck with your attempt to be healthier, wish you get more fit sooner!