About Impatiens balsamina L.
Impatiens balsamina, commonly called balsam, garden balsam, rose balsam, touch-me-not, or spotted snapweed, is a plant species native to India and Myanmar. It is an annual plant that grows 20 to 75 centimeters tall, with a thick but soft stem. Its leaves are arranged in a spiral pattern, measure 2.5 to 9 centimeters long and 1 to 2.5 centimeters broad, and have deeply toothed margins. Its flowers come in pink, red, mauve, purple, lilac, or white, and reach 2.5 to 5 centimeters in diameter; they are pollinated by bees, other insects, and nectar-feeding birds. Ripe seed capsules of this species undergo explosive dehiscence. Impatiens balsamina is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, and has become naturalized and invasive on several Pacific Ocean islands. Different parts of the plant are used as traditional remedies for disease and skin conditions. Leaf juice is used to treat warts and snakebite, and flowers are applied to burns. This species has been used as indigenous traditional medicine in Asia to treat rheumatism, fractures, and other ailments. In Korean folk medicine, this Impatiens species is used as a medicine called bongseonhwa dae (봉선화대) to treat constipation and gastritis. People in China have used the plant to treat those bitten by snakes or who have ingested poisonous fish. Juice from the stalk, pulverized dried stalks, and pastes made from the flowers have also been used to treat a variety of ailments. People in Vietnam wash their hair with an extract of the plant to stimulate hair growth. One in vitro study found that extracts of this Impatiens species, especially from the seed pod, are active against antibiotic-resistant strains of Helicobacter pylori. It also acts as an inhibitor of 5α-reductases, enzymes that convert testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, the active form of testosterone, thus reducing testosterone activity in the body. In Nepal, balsam leaves are crushed to dye fingernails on Shrawan Sakranti, the first day of the month of Shrawan. This day is also observed as Luto Faalne Deen, or Go Away-Itch Day. In China and Korea, crushed flowers are mixed with alum to make an orange dye used for dyeing fingernails. Unlike common nail polish, this dye is semi-permanent, and any color traces can only be removed as the dyed nails grow out.
