As we know "the deadlocked road of modern chemical and pharmaceutical drugs and the promising green path of herbal medicine with natural compounds extracted from it", this proves that nowadays, people are more and more demanding natural herbals plants to support diseases treatment because of their high treatment efficiency and safety for patients. For instance, Purslane is a wild plant that is quite popular in daily life, this is one of the most popular used medicinal plants to support many diseases treatment, including hemorrhoids - a common disease - accounting for 35-45% of the population and the number of patients with hemorrhoids is increasing.
Characteristics of Purslane
The scientific name of Purslane is Portulaca oleracea L., belonging to the family Portulacaceae. The herbaceous plant has a reddish purple stem. Leaves are glossy, oval, sessile, look like horse teeth. Flowers are yellow, growing at the tips of branches and stems. The capsule is spherical, opening with a lid (box) containing many glossy black seeds.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.)

Chemical composition
Purslane has the following active ingredients: glycozid, saponin, mucilage, organic acids, potassium salts, vitamins A, B, B2, C, PP and urease.
In some specific place, purslane accumulates nitrate, which can be consumed in moderation. The pigment in purslane is acetylated betacyanidin. Purslane contains 3-6.49% carbohydrates, 0.5% lipids, 1.4-1.8% proteins, 85 mg % Ca, 56 mg % P, 1-5 mg % Fe, 26 mg % vitamin C, 0 .32 mg % carotene, 0.03 mg % vitamin B1, 0.11 mg % vitamin B2 and 0.7 mg % PP.
Pharmacological effects of Purslane
According to traditional medicine, purslaneis sour, has cooling properties, has the effect of clearing heat, hemolytic, antiseptic, easy to defecate. Commonly used to treat high blood pressure, blood in urine, hemoptysis, boils, itchy sores, constipation, bloody dysentery, whooping cough. Also used to treat pinworms, roundworms. In addition, purslane has vasoconstrictor effects, inhibiting dysentery, typhoid, bacteria causing skin diseases and tuberculosis.
Diuretic and anti-shock, effective for dysentery, bacillus, acute, long-term cough, cure boils, swelling and pain. Purslane extract in liquid formsignificantly reduced muscle tone in patients with spasms, in some patients with spasticity, flexion or extension, a 50% reduction in electromyography was observed. Purslane extract inhibits muscle twitching pressure caused by indirect electrical stimulation through the phrenic nerve on the upper half of the diaphragm.
Purslane’s effect onhemorrhoids treatment
The research process of Dr. Pharmacist Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram and her colleagues has been carried out since 2001 up to present,on botany, chemical composition, biological effects, extraction, preparation and clinical trials. Dr. Tram extracted 5 segments of purslane extract and tested its pharmacological effects on models (vascular smooth muscle, intestinal tone and motility, coagulation - hemostasis, blood pressure, and ability to reduce blood pressure, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial). Research results show that in which there is a segment with the highest score of 13 points, this segment can be used as a raw material for the production of drugs to treat hemorrhoids, so it is recommended by the Ministry of Health to continue conducting research on this topic. The content of pharmacological research of the topic was carried out at the Department of Pharmacology, Hanoi Medical University led by Assoc. Dr. Vu Thi Ngoc Thanh performed under the advice of Assoc. Dr. Dao Van Phan.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram was granted a patent for invention No. 18740 “Process for producing a mixture of flavonoids from Amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus L.), and purslane(Portulaca oleracea L.) with vasoconstrictor and hemostasiseffects, and drugs used to treat hemorrhoids and varicose veins contain this mixture", and at the same time, Dr. Tram was also granted a plant variety protection license for purslaneTHS (Portulaca oleracea L.) No. 34.VN.2018.
Things to keep in mind when treating hemorrhoids
For the effectiveness of hemorrhoid treatment, patients need to apply measures to prevent recurrence of hemorrhoids such as:
Drink a lot of filtered water every day, adaquate from 2 to 2.5 liters of water/day
Increase fiber, iron, vitamin B3 and a number of other vitamins and nutrients found in fresh fruits and vegetables
Avoid using hot spicy foods, foods that have been fried with a lot of fat
Exercise every day, should not sit for a long time, shoulg get up and move. This will help reduce pressure on the hemorrhoids and veins, preventing the disease from developing in a bad way
Need to defecate regularly every day, do not refrain from defecation. Also practice the habit of defecation at a specific time of the day
Need to clean the anal area to avoid infection leading to superinfection