PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 19-year-old lady presented with a bleeding, fungating breast mass worsened with topical herbal concoction. Examination revealed a 10 × 15 cm fungating breast mass that obliterated her nipple- areolar complex (NAC). Computed Tomography (CT) scan reported a huge heterogeneously enhancing mass 10.6 × 14.5 × 15.1 cm with loss of normal fat plane with the overlying skin but a clear fat plane with the pectoralis muscle posteriorly.
DISCUSSION: Giant breast masses that fungate and ulcerate usually indicate a sinister pathology. Traditional remedies have been reported to exacerbate growth. In cases where most of the breast parenchyma and NAC has been destroyed, it is no longer possible to proceed with breast conserving techniques. Breast reconstruction is crucial in adolescents and should be tailored to the patient's existing breast size as well as body habitus.
CONCLUSION: In juvenile giant fibroadenomas where breast parenchyma and NAC has been destroyed, breast reconstruction is the goal. The lack of consensus in both diagnosis and management further compounds the difficulty in dealing with this sensitive population. Awareness needs to be raised regarding negative effects related to traditional medicine.
THE AIM OF THE REVIEW: The aim of this review is to summarize the current studies on ethnomedicinal practices, phytochemistry, pharmacological studies and a potential study of Acalypha indica in different locations around the world. This review updates related information regarding the potential therapeutic treatments and also discusses the toxicity issue of Acalypha indica.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This review was performed through a systematic search related to Acalypha indica including the ethnomedicinal practices, phytochemistry and pharmacological studies around the world. The data was collected from online journals, magazines, and books, all of which were published in English, Malay and Indonesian. Search engine websites such as Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Researchgate and other online collections were utilized in this review to obtain information.
RESULTS: The links between ethnomedicinal practices and scientific studies have been discussed with a fair justification. Several pharmacological properties exhibited certain potentials based on the obtained results that came from different related studies. Based on literature studies, Acalypha indica has the capability to serve as anthelmintic, anti-inflammation, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-obesity, anti-venom, hepatoprotective, hypoxia, and wound healing medicine. For the traditional practices, the authors also mentioned several benefits of consuming the raw plant and decoction.
CONCLUSION: This review summarizes the current studies of Acalypha indica collected from many regions. This review hopefully will provide a useful and basic knowledge platform for anyone interested in gaining information regarding Acalypha indica.