Tawa-tawa tea is said to be an effective cure for dengue. To find the truth behind tawa-tawa’s curative properties, students of the University of Sto Tomas (UST) – Faculty of Pharmacy conducted a study entitled “Investigation of the anti-thrombocytopenic property of euphorbia hirta linn (Tawa-Tawa) decoction in rat models.”

tawa-tawa

Results showed that laboratory mice treated with the decoction of “tawa-tawa” had an increase in platelet count, reduced bleeding time and decreased blood clotting time. Based on the results, researchers concluded that administering tawa-tawa decoction to animal models help improve their healing mechanism.

Euphorbia hirta or popularly known in the Philippines as “Tawa-tawa” or “gatas-gatas,” is a hairy herb that just resides in the backyard, roadsides and pathways. This common weed – tawa-tawa – is claimed to have healing properties on dengue patients as being backed up by personal testimonies, it became one of the most popular “folkloric medicine” for dengue in the Philippines.

As a folkloric treatment in the Philippines for dengue, tawa-tawa has earned many anecdotal testimonies from those who purportedly became well from the plant’s concoction: its leaves boiled like a tea and taken orally.

Tawa-tawa Tea

In preparing tawa-tawa tea, 100 grams of the fresh whole plant (including roots) are washed and boiled in half a liter (500 ml) of water for 15 minutes. After cooling and paper-filtration, the decoction is taken by the patient at one glass every hour until the fever subsides.

Sources:
http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/2012-05-23-07-46-36/2012-05-24-00-01-32/5296-tawa-tawa-contains-active-ingredients-that-may-help-dengue-hemorrhagic-fever-dhf-patients-study
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_hirta
The Farm as Pharmacy by Dr. Rafael Guerrero III MARID Agribusiness Digest
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/378205/tawatawa-study-fasttracked#.UKRN94aurOs

8 thoughts on “How to Make Tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta) Tea as Cure for Dengue”
    1. Tunay naman po talaga na mabisang gamot talaga iyan. Ang mga matatanda po ang nagsabi na gamot iyan, ang sa akin pong obserbasyon sa buhay ay halos lahat ng sinasabi ng matatanda na nakakagamot ay totoong nakakagamot. Ayaw lamang po siguro ipursige ito ng mga dambuhalang kumpanya na gumagawa ng gamot dahil tila ang gusto nila sa tao ay makulong sa karadaman at pagkakitaan sa paraan ng kanilang mga gamot, na hindi lubusang nakalulunas sa ating mga karamdaman.
      salamatpo.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *