Medical Experts Warn Against Using Hydrolea Zeylanica (Diya Kirilla) as A Cancer Treatment!

Traditional medicine is popular in South Asia, and as a result, the public often exaggerates the value of some of the medicinal plants as potential cures to even terminal illnesses such as cancer. These posts can often be misleading as many tend to blindly follow some of this advice without consulting proper medical care.

Social Media Posts

A social media post claims that an 18-year-old youth is suffering from cancer and needs Hydrolea zeylanica (Ceylon Hydrolea / Blue Water Leaf) for ayurvedic treatment. The post asks for the public's help in finding the plant.

Facebook | Archived

There were a lot of similar posts on social media.

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact Check

Social media posts were circulating about a medicinal plant that was claimed to be able to cure cancer. One of the posts included a phone number, which we called.

A man from Akuressa answered the phone and told us that the plant had been used to treat his cancer-affected son, who had died due to the injuries of a road accident a few months ago. He said the plant-based traditional medical treatments had moderately improved his son's health, but the plant was not common in their area. A person from Wennappuwa had given them the plant in 2022 after detecting social media requests published by various parties. He said a whole series of incidents happened in 2022.

And we also noted beginning similar social media posts can be traced back to 2022.

We searched about the plant Diya Kirilla.

Web| Archived

This plant is an indigenous herbaceous perennial widespread in wet places around ponds and tanks, along irrigation canals, and in wet depressions of the low country, especially in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. They are flowering in March and September. Details about this can be read here. Archived

While discussing this plant, botany researcher Bhatiya Gopallowa stated the following views. Hydrolea zeylanica (Ceylon Hydrolea /Blue Water Leaf) is a common herb found in Sri Lanka,” This is also found in India, Southeast Asia, and even in the Australian region. This species is relatively common, especially in dry zone marshy habitats and paddy fields. According to the National Red List 2020, this has been categorized as an NT (Near Threatened) plant, which does not fall under threatened categories. It is believed to have antimicrobial properties in local medicine, mainly used in treating wounds. Further, some information is that this is also used in skin, eye treatments, and Urinal diseases. Also, in India and Cambodia, the leaves and bark of this plant are used as food. He emphasized that this is, anyway, not a rare plant species. An experienced botanist, Dilup Chandranimal, also stated that this plant is not rare and can frequently be found near water bodies of the dry zone.

We also asked about the ayurvedic view about this plant, and then a former lecturer at the University of Colombo Indigenous Medicine Department, Dr. Karunathilaka, expressed his views. The plant Diyakirilla is not prescribed for Arbuda (Tumors-eg. Cancers) precisely because its properties are many. Also, cancer is not only a one-specific disease. It’s a name for many diseases complex. Cancer has many varieties. Also, there is a specific treatment for different patients. It cannot be cured by using one single plant for all the patients. And it is not suitable for the body. Today, a big problem in our country is without correct knowledge of medical principles; many people are treating people. (especially in the Ayurveda/ Indigenous field).

Also Read: උණු වතුර වීදුරුවකට කරවිල පෙති දමා බීමෙන් පිළිකා සුව වනවාද?

පිළිකා ප්‍රතිකාරකයක් ලෙස ‘අහු’ ශාක නිස්සාර යොදාගන්නා ලෙස වෛද්‍යවරු නිර්දේශ කරන්නේ නැහැ!

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Conclusion

The social media post about the medicinal plant is outdated, as the youth who was suffering from cancer passed away due to an accident a few months ago. His father has requested the public not to contact him now.

Furthermore, the plant Diya Kirilla is not a rare species in Sri Lanka. It is used in various types of traditional medicine, including Ayurveda. However, Ayurvedic experts say that it is not one of the primary medicines used to treat cancer.

There are many different traditional medicine methods, and we can't analyze all of them. It is up to the individual to decide whether or not to use these medicines.