Asian Pigeongeart (Clitoria ternatea)

Plant Description
Clitoria ternatea (CT) or commonly known as Asian pigeonwings, bluebellvine, blue pea,
butterfly pea, cordofan pea and Darwin pea which originates from the Fabaceae family. It can be
found in tropical region of India. The plant bear a flower that has a vivid, deep-blue and white
colouration and it is usually used as a natural colourant in food preparation especially in the local
culinary scene.Moreover, this plant could act as a food source for the livestock due to the taste
and nutritious value it has. Besides that, parts of the plant such as its leaves, flowers, and roots
are believed to possess sought-after medicinal values such as analgesic, antipyretic and anti-
inflammatory properties. The plant also possesses a number of advantages such as antioxidant,
antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antihelminthic, hepaprotective and antiasthmatic properties that are
beneficial and useful in reducing health disorders. This shows the potential of clitoria ternatea in
terms of modern innovation to medicine, agriculture and as food colorants ( Ezzudin & M.S,
2018 ).
A relatively easily maintained, herbaceous twining vine, the butterfly pea produces deep
blue to purple flowers capable of blooming nearly year-round (Park and Knox, 2016). For this
reason, clitoris ternatea is also abundant as a natural colorants and it is widely used as a food
colorants. According to Azima (2017), the extracts of the flowers of the butterfly pea (Clitoria
ternatea) can serve as a natural blue colorant, tend to be convenient to use, and possess a longer
shelf life than comparable plant-based colorants .

Herbal Properties
Clitoria ternatea has been used for centuries as a memory enhancer, nootropic,
antistress, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, tranquilizing and sedative agent. A wide
range of secondary metabolites including triterpenoids, flavonol glycosides, anthocyanins and
steroids has been isolated from Clitoria ternatea Linn. Its extracts possess a wide range of
pharmacological activities including antimicrobial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic,
diuretic, local anesthetic, antidiabetic, insecticidal, blood platelet aggregation-inhibiting and for
use as a vascular smooth muscle relaxing properties. This plant has a long use in traditional
Ayurvedic medicine for several diseases and the scientific studies has reconfirmed those with
modern relevance (Gollen, 2018).

Chemical Constituents
The preliminary phytochemical screening showed that the plant contained tannins,
phlobatannin, carbohydrates, saponins, triterpenoids, phenols, flavanoids, flavonol glycosides,
proteins, alkaloids, antharaquinone, anthocyanins, cardiac glycosides, Stigmast-4-ene-3,6-dione,
volatile oils and steroids(56-58) . The fatty acid content of Clitoria ternatea seeds includes
palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. Seeds also contained cinnamic acid,
anthoxanthin glucoside, a highly basic small protein named finotin, watersoluble mucilage,
delphinidin 3, 3’, 5’-triglucoside and beta-sitosterol(59-63) . The aqueous extract of Clitoria
ternatea flower (CTE) was investigated to determine the total phenolic compounds, flavonoid,
and anthocyanin by Folin-Ciocalteu assay, AlCl3 colorimetric method, and pH differential
method, respectively. The results demonstrated that the content of total phenolics, flavonoids and
total anthocyanins in CTE was 53 ± 0.34 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dried extract, 11.2 ± 0.33
mg catechin equivalents/g dried extract, and 1.46 ± 0.04 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents/g
dried extract, respectively(64) . However, others found that the amount of total phenolics and
flavonoids in Clitoria ternatea leaf extract were 358.99 ± 6.21 mg/g gallic acid equivalent and
123.75 ± 2.84 mg/g catechin equivalent, respectively (Al-Snafi, 2016).

References:
Ezzudin, M. (2018). A potential of Telang tree (Clitoria ternatea) in human health. Retrieved from
https://www.myfoodresearch.com/uploads/8/4/8/5/84855864/_2__fr-2018-073_ezzudin_2.pdf

Siti Azima, A.M., A. Noriham, and N. Manshoor, 2017. Phenolics, antioxidants and color
properties of aqueous pigmented plant extracts: Ardisia colorata var. elliptica, Clitoria
ternatea, Garcinia mangostana and Syzygium cumini. Journal of Functional Foods 38:232–241.
Al-Snafi, A. (2016). Pharmacological importance of Clitoria ternatea – A review. Retrieved from
http://www.iosrphr.org/papers/v6i3/G0636883.pdf

Gollen, et al. (2018). Clitoria ternatea Linn: A Herb with Potential Pharmacological Activities: Future
Prospects as Therapeutic Herbal Medicine. Retrived from https://www.longdom.org/open-
access/clitoria-ternatea-linn-a-herb-with-potential-pharmacological-activitiesfuture-prospects-as-
therapeutic-herbal-medicine.pdf