Alugbati
Basella alba · Malabar spinach
- Names in the book
- English: Malabar Night Shade; Tagalog: Alugbati, Libato, Grana; Bicol: Arogbate; Ilocano: Alugbati, Mukbati
- Used for
- Wounds, burns and boils
- Colours
- flowerwhite, pinkfruitpurple, black
- Native range
- Tropical Asia
- Family
- Basellaceae
- Printed as
- Basella rubra Linn.
- Sources
- Healing Wonders of Herbs (1985), page 65 · Wikipedia
The plant today
Basella alba is a perennial vine in the family Basellaceae. It is also known by common names including Malabar spinach, vine spinach, Ceylon spinach, alugbati and Indian spinach. The plant is native to Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea and naturalized elsewhere. It has a number of culinary uses.
Excerpt from “Basella alba” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sa Tagalog
Ang alugbati o libato, na may pangalang pang-agham na Basella alba ay isang halamang baging na perenyal sa pamilyang Basellaceae. Natatagpuan ito sa mga tropiko ng Asya at Aprika kung saan ginagamit ito bilang gulaying dahon. Kalimitan itong ipinansasalit sa espinaka. Katutubo ito sa subkontinenteng Indiyo, Timog-silangang Asya at Bagong Ginea.
Sipi mula sa “Alugbati” sa Tagalog Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 216 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 36 provinces, most often Zamboanga del Norte (30), Metropolitan Manila (17), Rizal (14), Davao del Sur (10), Davao Oriental (10), Cavite (9), Davao del Norte (7), Cebu (6), and 28 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1985 book uses it for
A record of home remedies from 1985, with the book's amounts and doses reworded. It is not medical advice.
- Abscesses and boilsCrushed leaves as a poultice.Crush 2 leaves. Apply twice a day.Page 12
Summarised from Herminia de Guzman-Ladion, Healing Wonders of Herbs (Manila: Philippine Publishing House, 1985), where this plant is shown as “Alugbati” on page 65. The book is in copyright, so its wording and photographs are not reproduced. Amounts are the book's, restated.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Seed Priming with ZnO and Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Alleviate the Lead Toxicity in Basella alba L. through Reduced Lead Uptake and Regulation of ROS
- Variation in Nutritional Components and Antioxidant Capacity of Different Cultivars and Organs of Basella alba
- Basella alba stem extract integrated poly (vinyl alcohol)/chitosan composite films: A promising bio-material for wound healing