NEW YORK: The leaves of Aspilia africana, a plant used in African traditional medicine, can stop bleeding, block infection and speed wound healing, a new study from Nigeria confirms.

The leaves and flowers of A Africana, a bristle-covered herb known as the "hemorrhage plant," have been used to stanch bleeding, remove foreign bodies from the eyes, treat scorpion stings, and for several other purposes across the African continent, note Dr Charles O Okoli and colleagues at the University of Nigeria.

Dr Okoli is currently located in Sydney, Australia at the University of New South Wales.

To test the plant's medicinal properties, Okoli and his team performed a series of lab and animal experiments comparing the effects of an extract of the powdered leaves in methanol, and two different portions or fractions containing hexane or methanol. They report their findings in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

The extract and the fractions of the plant significantly reduced bleeding and clotting time in rats, the researchers found, with the methanol fraction having the strongest effect.