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Kutsay/kuchay

Allium ramosum Linn.

Kutsay/kuchay

Description

Kuchai/Kutsay is a kind of leek, ranked-scented, green, growing 20 to 40 centimeters high. Bulbs are small, white and clustered. Leaves are green, grass-like, narrowly linear, flattish, 15 to 30 centimeters long, 3 to 6 millimeters wide. Umbel has a few to many white flowers. The perianth is bell-shaped. Fruits are on pedicels of 2 to 3 centimeters long, obovoid, 3-lobed, 5 to 7 millimeters in diameter. Seeds are black, depressed, globose or reniform, 2.5 to 3 millimeters in diameter. In the Philippines, the plant seldom flowers.

Uses

  • Externally, the fresh leaves and bulbs are used as antiseptic and vulnerary.
  • used for wounds, bruises, colds, and cough.
  • Bark used for urinary tract infections
  • Leaves taken internally, act as a cordial
  • used to treat stomach ailments
  • whole plant used as a diuretic.
  • used for hemolytic anemia and insomnia.
  • used for bronchitis and asthma: fresh, whole plant diced, boiled with sugar and ginger until thick, and taken a spoonful every six hours for one week.
  • An ingredient of a herbal formulation (Allium odorum, Allium sativum, Tinospora cordifolia, Adhatoda vasica and Tridax procumbens) to treat coccidiosis.


Plant Part Used

Leaves, bark, bulb, whole plant

Distribution

  • Cultivated in the Manila area by the Chinese.
  • Native to Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, Primorye, Qinghai, Sakhalin, Tuva, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutskiya

Preparation

Decoction (Boiling for Cough, Colds, and UTI):
  • Preparation: Boil 5 to 10 fresh leaves or the whole plant in 3 cups of water. For respiratory conditions like bronchitis or asthma, traditional practice often adds a small piece of ginger.
  • Usage: Drink ½ to 1 cup three times a day for adults, or ¼ cup three times a day for children
Poultice or Mashed Leaves (For Wounds, Bruises, and Sprains):
  • Preparation: Thoroughly pound or mash fresh Kutsay leaves to extract their natural juices and create a paste.
  • Usage: Apply the mashed leaves or extracted juice directly onto the affected skin, wounds, insect bites, or bruises as a palliative antiseptic
Juice Extract with Oregano (For Cough in Children):
  • Preparation: Extract the fresh juice of kutsay leaves and mix it with an equal part of oregano leaf juice (and sometimes mother's milk).
  • Usage: Give 1 tablespoon (or 1 teaspoon for infants) three times a day

References

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