Nur Syamila Kamarul Arefin

Paper flower petals or its scientific name Bougainvillea spp is the choice of the Malaysian community as a landscape plant because it is colorful and very beautiful placed in the yard.

Most varieties of paper flowers have thin petals and have paper-like characteristics. Paper flowers have various colors of petals, either single-layered or multi-layered and long-lasting. Unlike roses, paper flowers are very easy to care for and can live for over 20 years, making them a great choice as decorative/landscape plants.

However, apart from the beauty of the plant, most of us do not realize that the flower tree that often becomes a decoration around the house also has benefits for health.

Based on the research done by the researcher, paper flower is a plant that has long been used by traditional medicine practitioners in Mexico to treat various types of ailments, including digestive problems, skin diseases and inflammation. Not only that, it is also used in cooking, especially in Brazil and Thailand.

While in Malaysia, paper flowers are not synonymous enough to be used as medicinal herbs. However, a group of researchers in the early stages managed to detect the presence of antioxidant substances in Bougainvillea glabra.

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Dr. Puteri Edaroyati Megat Wahab said, the results of a study from the Malaysian Forestry Research Institute (FRIM), stated that there are various colors of paper flowers that contain different phytochemical content.

"The presence of these phytochemicals, among them are antioxidants. The presence of this natural antioxidant has received the attention and attention of many scientists to further study the use of other phytochemicals for medicine because it is safer and does not cause side effects that will affect health compared to the use of synthetic antioxidants. This material can slow down aging and keep you looking younger for longer.

"In addition to the flower petals that can be boiled and made into tea, the leaves can also be crushed and plastered to treat wounds (dry the blood). The leaves also have steroid components that have anti-diarrhea, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.

"The root of this paper flower tree can be boiled and drunk to lower the temperature and provide long-lasting comfort. If in the past, in traditional medicine, this paper flower was used a lot to treat boils, remove rashes/itching, hepatitis, irregular periods, vaginal discharge, menstrual periods and late periods, but now it is more developed and widely commercialized and the latest in the cosmetic industry, ” he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Lecturer, Department of Forestry Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Univeristi Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, (UPMKB), Dr. Keeren Sundara Rajoo stated that Bougainvillea spp is a flower that can be used as a herbal drink to cool the body this summer but research is still at the stage of discovery and screening.

"There are several studies that found that Bougainvillea extract has an anti-inflammatory effect that is believed to cool the body indirectly. In addition, paper flower tea is also believed to be able to treat sore throats, coughs and colds," he said.

He added that there was also a study that found paper flower leaves have antimicrobial activity against several strains of bacteria.

"In the world there are 18 species of Bougainvillea, most studies focus on 4 species of paper flowers found in Malaysia.

"In Malaysia, kantan flowers, cucumbers, and lemongrass are more often used to treat "deep heat" than paper flowers. Despite this, the Bougainvillea tree has high potential as an herbal treatment," he said.

A comprehensive study related to paper flowers as a herbal drink that can cool the body needs to be carried out in more detail so that this resource can be used again in the current hot summer. - UPM