Hussar button – ingredients, effect and application

Hussar button, called Jambú in South America, is a cultivated plant with a unique taste, a sour tingle. The leaves are chewed against toothache or used on the skin against rheumatic pain. Jambú is currently spreading as a party plant.

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Spilanthes oleracea
• Common names: Jambú, paracress, paracress herb, paracress, prickle buttons, Sichuan buttons
• Family: Asteraceae
• Distribution: South America / northern Brazil
• Plant parts used: leaves, flowers
• Ingredients: essential oils, tannins, fats, phytosterol, cerotic acid, resins, pungent substances, spilanths, spilanthol
• Areas of application: light anesthesia, toothache, inflammation of the gums, mouth and throat, headaches, asthma, fungal infections, insect repellent, rheumatic diseases, bacterial infections, obesity

Hussar button – an overview

• The taste of the leaves and flowers is surprising in this country. It tingles like effervescent powder, is salty and sour at the same time, the mouth is slightly numbed and saliva production increases.
• Paracress is a cultivated plant that is mainly grown in northern Brazil and is probably descended from Acmella alba from Peru.
• The pain-relieving effect led to the name “toothache plant” in English.
• The German name Para-cresse is misleading. Jambú is not related to the local garden cress or to the nasturtium.
• In Central Europe Jambú is also called the Hussar button. This refers to the flower heads, which are shaped like hemispherical buttons.
• Paracress is used in the cosmetics industry. Ingredients of the plant have a similar effect to Botox, but milder, and have the advantage that they do not need to be injected.
• The ingredient spilanthol anesthetizes, and this effect occurs when the leaves are chewed.

Paracress – ingredients

Spilanthol, the most important medicinal ingredient, belongs to the group of fat-soluble carboxamides. Hussaren Knopf also contains essential oils, tannins, fats, phytosterol, cerotinic acid, resins, pungent substances and spilanths.

Hussar button or Jambú has many interesting medicinal properties, not all of which have been fully researched yet. (Image: YuiYuize/stock.adobe.com/own editing heilpraxis.de)

How does Jambú work?

Jambú relieves pain and numbs. It inhibits inflammation and promotes saliva flow.

It smoothes the skin and promotes digestion. The tannins it contains pull tissue together, which slows blood flow in wounds and promotes defense against pathogens.

Chewing Jambú leaves acts like a local anesthetic. That’s why they are used to relieve toothache.

They also counteract inflammation. In the case of infectious diseases in the mouth, throat, tongue and gums, they not only reduce the pain, but also slow down the inflammation.

Medical and cosmetic effects of spilanthol

The spilanthol contained acts as a local anesthetic. This substance is the reason why Jambú is used in Brazilian folk medicine as a remedy for headaches, toothaches, rheumatic pains and asthma.

The bioactive benefits of spilanthol are diverse. According to a Brazilian review from 2016, these include neuroprotective effects, as well as effects against microbes and insect and parasite defense. In addition, according to the review, spilanthol works against cancer and cell changes.

A 2019 study from Taiwan showed that spilanthol slowed weight gain in mice on a high-calorie diet. So it could also be suitable for diet food.

In 2019, a Hungarian study scientifically demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects of the substance on skin inflammation and pancreatic diseases.

Jambú for the skin

The substance is used in the cosmetics industry to combat wrinkles. Spilanthol relaxes muscles, thereby slowing down micro-contractions in the face.

It calms the nerve receptors in the epidermis. In this way, skin tension is released and the resulting lines on the forehead, eyebrows, eyes and around the mouth are smoothed out. In contrast to Botox, the facial expressions of the respective person are preserved.

Essential oils and pungent substances

Jambú contains many essential oils. These are effective against fungal diseases and can be used in aromatherapy.

They are absorbed by the mucous membranes and develop their effect in the bloodstream. Jambú also supplies spicy substances.

These promote the production of saliva and gastric juice and thus promote digestion. In addition, the pungent substances have a sedative effect and promote blood circulation.

Does Jambú work against bacteria, parasites and infected wounds?

The tannins have an astringent effect. They contract capillary blood vessels, which stops bleeding and accelerates wound healing.

Tannins also disinfect and deter microbial pathogens. The contraction makes it more difficult for bacteria to enter the body.

Phytosterol in Jambú helps against prostate problems. Jambú definitely works against insects and ticks, as well as skin fungus.

This has now brought the plant into the interest of science. Jambú extract is considered a hot candidate for developing new insecticides and tick anti-tick agents.

Medical applications

In folk medicine, Jambú products are used against gout, rheumatism, inflammation of the gums and skin fungus. The leaves are also often used as an insecticide.

In Brazil, the simplest use is to chew the fresh leaves for inflammation and painful sores in the mouth. Since the anti-inflammatory, anesthetic and astringent substances are present in full concentration, this is significantly effective.

In folk medicine, the flowers and leaves of the plant are also dried and later brewed into a tea. Applied externally to wounds, ulcers or skin diseases or drunk internally to treat mouth infections, digestive problems or toothache.

Because the fresh leaves cause a slight anesthesia in the mouth, they are often eaten in Latin America to make very spicy dishes digestible. Eating Jambú leaves is considered a way to dampen overly hot chilies.

The anesthesia is also used to make compresses that are covered with a paste made from the leaves to relieve wound pain. To do this, the herb of the plant is mashed until a pulp is obtained.

However, there are also ready-made preparations that contain Jambú extract and are applied to wounds. Or as a cosmetic cream that relaxes expression lines.

Jambú in the kitchen

Jambú is a popular culinary plant in northern Brazil. Two common dishes are Pato no Tucupi, duck with jambú vegetables, and the soup Tacacá, in which jambú is prepared with cassava starch and shrimp.

Both dishes are mainly served around the city of Belém. Although Jambú comes from South America, the leaves are now particularly popular in Japan.

What does paracress taste like?

The leaves and flower heads are easy to eat, but the taste is surprising for people from Europe. Because they taste completely different to the plants that are eaten in this country.

They tingle in your mouth like effervescent powder, then it tastes sweet, then sour, then fiery hot. At the same time, the tongue feels numb. Because of this unique taste experience, Jambú is becoming increasingly popular as a party food in Europe and the USA.

Jambú – flowers and fruits

On the flower button, yellow flowers are arranged around a “red button”, while the long stem forms notched leaves. Flowering lasts from May to October.

Seeds form from the flowers. Jambú develops fruits, the achenes. These are reminiscent of nuts.

The leaves themselves grow oppositely, are triangular, egg-shaped or sometimes heart-shaped and stalked. They have a notched to sawn and sometimes prickly leaf edge, and are pointed or round-pointed.

The petiole grows up to 6.5 centimeters long. The hairs reach up to 10.5 centimeters in length.

Where does Jambú grow?

Jambú is mainly grown in Brazil and probably comes from northern Peru. Today the plant grows in tropical countries around the world.

Especially in the islands of the Indian Ocean and South Asia. It was probably planted here by Portuguese sailors during the time when Brazil was a Portuguese colony.

Growing paracress

Jambú is grown in Brazil and the suspected wild form comes from northern South America. So it doesn’t know frost and is very sensitive to temperatures below zero.

That is why the plant cannot be grown in the garden all year round in Central Europe. You can leave Jambú in the garden throughout the summer, but in September it should be moved into the greenhouse, inside the house or into a winter garden.

The temperature should never fall below ten degrees Celsius. Jambú needs consistently moist soil and cannot tolerate prolonged dry periods.

The seeds can be grown in clay pots in spring and are now easy to purchase online. You can harvest the leaves all year round.

Snails love paracress. That’s why you should always install snail protection outside, otherwise the snails will be happy about the leaves. (Dr Utz Anhalt)