Wireweed

In Ivory Coast, traditional healers commonly use the plant to treat malaria, prepared as a water decoction of the powdered plant ^{2Reference 2Banzouzi et al. · 2004In vitroStudies on medicinal plants of Ivory Coast: investigation of Sida acuta for in vitro antiplasmodial activities and identification of an active constituent (cryptolepine)View study →}. It is also one of the traditional antimalarial plants of Burkina Faso ^{1Reference 1Karou et al. · 2003In vitroAntimalarial activity of Sida acuta Burm. f. (Malvaceae) and Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. (Fabaceae) — in vitro comparative studyView study →}.

In Burkina Faso the plant is used as well for pain, including pain from abdominal infections ^{8Reference 8Konaté et al. · 2012AnimalToxicity assessment and analgesic activity investigation of aqueous acetone extracts of Sida acuta and Sida cordifolia — in vivo animal studyView study →}.

In Indian traditional medicine the root is used for liver disorders, for nervous and urinary diseases, and for disorders of the blood and bile ^{10Reference 10Sreedevi et al. · 2009AnimalHepatoprotective studies on Sida acuta Burm. f. — in vivo rat modelView study →}.

Some classical Ayurvedic sources name Sida acuta as a kind of bala, a group of Sida species whose exact botanical identities are still debated ^{20Reference 20Subramanya et al. · 2016Simultaneous determination of vasicine and vasicinone by HPLC in roots of eight Sida species — analytical studyView study →}.

Across its tropical range, a decoction of the whole plant is taken for fevers, and the root is chewed for toothache ^{23Reference 23FernTropical Plants Database: Sida acutaView study →}. The juice of the plant is taken for indigestion, and an infusion for dysentery ^{23Reference 23FernTropical Plants Database: Sida acutaView study →}.

The leaves are used as a diuretic. A leaf decoction is used to bathe wounds, boiled leaves are applied as a poultice to ulcers and sores, and a leaf poultice is placed on the head for headache ^{23Reference 23FernTropical Plants Database: Sida acutaView study →}. The plant is also used for kidney-related complaints ^{5Reference 5Smanthong et al. · 2022In vitroAnti-Proteus mirabilis and anti-struvite activity of Sida acuta leaf extract — in vitro studyView study →}.

A 2003 study screened four traditional plants of Burkina Faso against fresh clinical isolates of P. falciparum. S. acuta was the most active (IC50 < 5 µg/mL), and its activity was linked to its alkaloids ^{1Reference 1Karou et al. · 2003In vitroAntimalarial activity of Sida acuta Burm. f. (Malvaceae) and Pterocarpus erinaceus Poir. (Fabaceae) — in vitro comparative studyView study →}.

A 2004 Ivory Coast study tested the traditional water decoction and an ethanol extract against a chloroquine-resistant strain (FcM29) and a chloroquine-sensitive strain, with IC50 values of 3.9–5.4 µg/mL. Purifying the active fraction identified cryptolepine as the antiplasmodial constituent ^{2Reference 2Banzouzi et al. · 2004In vitroStudies on medicinal plants of Ivory Coast: investigation of Sida acuta for in vitro antiplasmodial activities and identification of an active constituent (cryptolepine)View study →}.

A 2022 Cameroonian study isolated cryptolepine, among other compounds, from S. acuta and S. rhombifolia. Across the crude extracts, fractions and isolated compounds of both species, IC50 values ranged from 0.18 to 20.11 µg/mL against the chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain and 0.74 to 63.09 µg/mL against the chloroquine-resistant Dd2 strain ^{3Reference 3Kamdoum et al. · 2022In vitroChemical constituents of two Cameroonian medicinal plants: Sida rhombifolia and Sida acuta; in vitro antiplasmodial activityView study →}.

Gap: All in vitro against cultured or fresh-isolate parasites — no animal malaria model with survival endpoints and no human trial. Cryptolepine’s narrow therapeutic window (it is cytotoxic) is unaddressed for oral herbal use.

Leaf and aerial-part extracts inhibit common bacteria in several studies, consistent with the traditional use of the leaf on wounds ^{23Reference 23FernTropical Plants Database: Sida acutaView study →}.

An ethyl-acetate fraction of the aerial parts killed clinical multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC 32–256 µg/mL). It also worked with β-lactam, fluoroquinolone and tetracycline antibiotics, lowering their MICs up to 64-fold. Docking studies pointed to resveratrol and biochanin A acting on outer-membrane assembly and efflux targets ^{4Reference 4Seukep et al. · 2026In vitroDual anti-pseudomonal and resistance-modulatory actions of Sida acuta — in vitro assays with molecular docking (in silico)View study →}.

A leaf ethanol extract inhibited Proteus mirabilis isolates from kidney-stone patients (MIC 8 mg/mL). At half that concentration it reduced the bacteria’s swarming and urease activity, and it reduced struvite-crystal formation. The extract contained catechin, chlorogenic acid, rutin and ferulic acid ^{5Reference 5Smanthong et al. · 2022In vitroAnti-Proteus mirabilis and anti-struvite activity of Sida acuta leaf extract — in vitro studyView study →}.

The effective concentrations are high compared with antibiotics, the active preparations differ from study to study, and none has been tested in an infection model.

In a fractionation study, the ethyl-acetate and dichloromethane fractions had the most polyphenols and the strongest DPPH, ABTS and FRAP antioxidant activity. They also inhibited lipoxygenase and xanthine oxidase ^{6Reference 6Konaté et al. · 2010In vitroIn vitro antioxidant, lipoxygenase and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities of fractions from Cienfuegosia digitata, Sida alba and Sida acutaView study →}.

The one in-vivo study is in poultry. Adding S. acuta leaf meal (2.5 or 5.0 g/kg of feed) to aflatoxin-contaminated feed lowered serum markers of oxidative DNA damage (8-OHdG) and the inflammatory regulator NF-κB in roosters, and restored anti-inflammatory cytokines ^{7Reference 7Olarotimi et al. · 2023AnimalAmeliorative effects of Sida acuta and vitamin C on serum DNA damage, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in roosters fed aflatoxin B1 — in vivo animal studyView study →}.

The chemistry is whole-plant and unstandardised, and the human-relevant dose is unknown.

An aqueous-acetone extract produced dose-dependent pain relief in mice in the acetic-acid writhing and hot-plate tests ^{8Reference 8Konaté et al. · 2012AnimalToxicity assessment and analgesic activity investigation of aqueous acetone extracts of Sida acuta and Sida cordifolia — in vivo animal studyView study →}. An ethanol leaf extract reduced writhing and paw-licking in the formalin test ^{9Reference 9Ibironke et al. · 2014AnimalCentral nervous system activity of the ethanol leaf extract of Sida acuta in rats — in vivo animal modelView study →}.

The extract inhibits lipoxygenase in vitro ^{6Reference 6Konaté et al. · 2010In vitroIn vitro antioxidant, lipoxygenase and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities of fractions from Cienfuegosia digitata, Sida alba and Sida acutaView study →}, and in the poultry study it lowered TNF-α, IL-1β and NF-κB ^{7Reference 7Olarotimi et al. · 2023AnimalAmeliorative effects of Sida acuta and vitamin C on serum DNA damage, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in roosters fed aflatoxin B1 — in vivo animal studyView study →}.

No dose-response ceiling has been established, and no study has compared it with standard anti-inflammatory drugs.

A methanolic root extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) protected Wistar rats against paracetamol-induced liver injury. It lowered serum transaminases, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin, histology confirmed less damage, and it shortened hexobarbitone sleeping time in mice. The authors attributed the effect to ferulic acid in the root ^{10Reference 10Sreedevi et al. · 2009AnimalHepatoprotective studies on Sida acuta Burm. f. — in vivo rat modelView study →}.

This matches the root’s traditional Indian use for liver disorders ^{10Reference 10Sreedevi et al. · 2009AnimalHepatoprotective studies on Sida acuta Burm. f. — in vivo rat modelView study →}.

Gap: A single unreplicated model in one acute-toxicity paradigm. No chronic-injury model, no other laboratory has confirmed it, and the marker compound (ferulic acid) is a common plant phenolic rather than anything distinctive to S. acuta.

Cryptolepine isolated from the whole plant made human gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells sensitive to TRAIL-induced cell death at 1.25–5 µM ^{11Reference 11Ahmed et al. · 2011In vitroCryptolepine, isolated from Sida acuta, sensitizes human gastric adenocarcinoma cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis — in vitroView study →}.

Activity-guided fractionation of the whole plant yielded alkaloids (quindolinone, cryptolepinone, 11-methoxyquindoline) that strongly induced the detoxification enzyme quinone reductase. In a mouse mammary organ-culture assay, cryptolepinone, N-trans-feruloyltyramine and a synthetic derivative (5,10-dimethylquindolin-11-one) inhibited DMBA-induced precancerous lesions by 67–83% at 10 µg/mL ^{12Reference 12Jang et al. · 2003In vitroCompounds obtained from Sida acuta with the potential to induce quinone reductase and to inhibit DMBA-induced preneoplastic lesions in a mouse mammary organ culture model — in vitroView study →}.

Gap: These are single-molecule results in cells and organ culture. Cryptolepine is itself cytotoxic, and there is no animal tumour or human evidence for the whole herb.

In male mice, an ethanol leaf extract reduced immobility in the forced-swim and tail-suspension tests, a pattern seen with antidepressants. It also relieved pain and did not affect apomorphine-induced stereotypy. The authors concluded the extract contains psychoactive constituents ^{9Reference 9Ibironke et al. · 2014AnimalCentral nervous system activity of the ethanol leaf extract of Sida acuta in rats — in vivo animal modelView study →}.

This is one study in one rodent species, with behavioural endpoints only and no neurochemical mechanism.

In a screen of 72 Salvadoran plant extracts against herpes simplex virus 1, S. acuta was among the active extracts, confirming earlier reports of anti-herpes activity. Effective concentrations across the active extracts ranged from 6.31 to 203 µg/mL, with selectivity indexes of 2.57–55.91 ^{13Reference 13Franco-Espínola et al. · 2023In vitroScreening of medicinal plants from El Salvador for anti-viral activity against herpes simplex 1 — in vitro screenView study →}.

A related screen found a hydroethanolic extract of S. acuta killed Schistosoma mansoni larvae (LC50 ≈ 28 µg/mL) ^{14Reference 14Membe Femoe et al. · 2022In vitroAnticercarial, cytotoxicity and phytochemical profiles of Sida acuta and Sida rhombifolia hydroethanolic extracts — in vitroView study →}.

This is screen-level only, with no compound isolation and no follow-up, and the selectivity figures are pooled across the whole panel.

Acute toxicity. An aqueous-acetone extract had an intraperitoneal LD50 of 3.2 g/kg in mice. In a 28-day oral study in rats, blood and biochemical values varied with dose but showed no clinically meaningful pattern ^{8Reference 8Konaté et al. · 2012AnimalToxicity assessment and analgesic activity investigation of aqueous acetone extracts of Sida acuta and Sida cordifolia — in vivo animal studyView study →}. A review of the genus notes that the three Sida species tested were found safe for oral use in rats ^{17Reference 17Dinda et al. · 2015ReviewThe genus Sida L. — a traditional medicine: ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and pharmacological reviewView study →}.

Antimalarial drugs. In cultured muscle cells, S. acuta extract reduced cell numbers on its own. Combined with artesunate/amodiaquine, more than 30% of cells died, and the combination with artemether/lumefantrine also destroyed cells. The authors describe the effect as additive ^{16Reference 16Daubrey-Potey et al. · 2021In vitroArtemisinin-based combination therapy synergized with medicinal plants (Sida acuta) to induce musculotoxic effects — in vitroView study →}.

Cytotoxic alkaloid. Cryptolepine is toxic to human cells as well as to parasites ^{11Reference 11Ahmed et al. · 2011In vitroCryptolepine, isolated from Sida acuta, sensitizes human gastric adenocarcinoma cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis — in vitroView study →}. The root also contains the alkaloid vasicine ^{20Reference 20Subramanya et al. · 2016Simultaneous determination of vasicine and vasicinone by HPLC in roots of eight Sida species — analytical studyView study →}.

Stimulant cautions. Cautions about ephedrine, stimulants, decongestants and MAOIs come from the ephedrine content of related Sida species ^{19Reference 19Aminah et al. · 2021ReviewSecondary metabolite compounds from Sida genus and their bioactivity — reviewView study →}. Ephedrine in S. acuta itself is not well established, and in zebrafish embryos the extract slowed the heart rate ^{15Reference 15Kannan et al. · 2012In vitroCynodon dactylon and Sida acuta extracts impact on the function of the cardiovascular system in zebrafish embryos — in vitro/zebrafish modelView study →}. None of these interactions has been studied.

Other interactions. No study has examined effects on drug-metabolising (CYP450) enzymes, anticoagulants or blood-pressure medicines.