\u201cThe dried leaves of the plant are used to treat arthritis in Nigeria, while the young leaves are boiled in coconut oil to treat sores in Indonesia,\u201d the researchers noted.<\/p>\n
Beach morning glory is an abundant and resilient vine that carpets tropical beaches around the world. But where coastlines are upended by plantations, sand mining, infrastructure or heavy erosion, the green shoots and purple flowers can disappear from shorelines.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been observing the disappearance of coastal batata for a long time,\u201d Gusnar told Mongabay Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Here on the northern coast of Sulawesi, an island besieged by the global rush for nickel, some residents see the medicinal plant\u2019s loss as a signal of wider ecological ill health.<\/p>\n
The broad field of traditional medicine occupies an uneasy place in global public health, spanning practices dismissed as superstition<\/a> to remedies with proven or potential medical value.<\/p>\n That may be beginning to change as international health workers build an arena for practitioners to share knowledge and raise the profile of proven remedies, like the batata Gusnar uses to alleviate the effects of mild venom.<\/p>\n In December, traditional practitioners and more than 800 delegates from around the world convened in the Indian capital, New Delhi, for the World Health Organisation\u2019s second Global Summit on Traditional Medicine.<\/p>\n \u201c[Traditional medicine\u2019s] rapid growth has not always been matched by strong evidence standards, regulatory frameworks or sustainable governance,\u201d WHO chief scientist Dr. Sylvie Briand<\/a> said in a statement.<\/p>\n Briand said a new Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine, which was launched at the Delhi summit, would help \u201cclose this gap.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTraditional medicine can help to address many of the threats to health of our modern world: the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases; inequitable access to health services; and climate change,\u201d said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general.<\/p>\n Beach morning glory is a well-known plant with medicinal properties demonstrated in laboratory studies, but not yet by the double-blind placebo trials necessary to prove effectiveness and safety in humans.<\/p>\n In 2024, researchers in the semiautonomous Indonesian province of Aceh, the westernmost point of the country, recorded antimicrobial properties in a lab study designed to find treatments for the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, which can lead to fatal infections like pneumonia and sepsis.<\/p>\n \u201cPrevious phytochemical analyses of the plant have revealed pharmacologically active components, such as alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, terpenoids, and flavonoids,\u201d the South Korean study published in Marine Drugs noted.<\/p>\n Traditional medicine attributes a wide array of uses to the plant, from treating joint pain to gastroenteritis, and credits beach morning glory with antimicrobial and antihistamine properties.<\/p>\n \u201cThese phytoconstituents are responsible for the wide range of biological activities possessed by I. pes-caprae plant parts and extracts,\u201d the researchers concluded.<\/p>\n Gusnar splits a young leaf stem of beach morning glory and rubs the translucent sap into his skin.<\/p>\n If a fisher is stung by a jellyfish or steps on a stonefish, a potentially fatal event, they\u2019ll do this as a simple analgesic, he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cOr if they\u2019re needled by the spines of a catfish, which in the Gorontalo language is called tola lo huwa, they\u2019ll immediately look for this plant,\u201d Gusnar said.<\/p>\n But here in Gorontalo, the vine supports not just human health, but the health of the coast itself.<\/p>\n Beach morning glory is a pioneer species that helps stabilize coastlines by binding sand. Much as the root network of trees anchors soil and protect communities from landslides, the vine helps hold sandy shores together against abrasion.<\/p>\n And that role is becoming increasingly significant as climate change and human development increase risks to coasts around the world.<\/p>\n A 2018 study in Scientific Reports estimated coastal abrasion had already erased around 28,000 square kilometers (11,000 square miles) of land worldwide \u2014 an area around 10 times the size of Hong Kong. A 2020 study warned coastal flooding could \u201cradically redefine the coastline of the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n Globally, the coastal population has swelled from 1.6 billion to 2.5 billion people in just three decades, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. More than three-quarters of that number live in low- and middle-income countries like Indonesia.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the coastal batata disappears, abrasion will occur on the coast and also along the estuary,\u201d Gusnar said.<\/p>\n The experience in Gorontalo aligns with what\u2019s happening in other parts of the world. In Mauritius, in the southwest Indian Ocean, the Liane Batatran project, initiated by Coral Garden Conservation, has planted 19,000 propagated Ipomoea pes-caprae plants on critical beaches to prevent erosion \u201cwhile supporting the natural dynamic of coastal ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n The project managers report a survival rate of 81%, and say they expect the initiative to support the retention of 826 metric tons of beach sand.<\/p>\n \u201cBy integrating ecological restoration with community participation, [Coral Garden Conservation] has successfully developed a sustainable model for shoreline protection,\u201d the nonprofit said in its summary of the project.<\/p>\n In Gorontalo, Gusnar points to a hamlet in Sumalata subdistrict that has already been claimed by the sea through coastal abrasion. Other settlements are on the same path. Homes and the ground people once lived on are slowly slipping into the water, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis plant is often overlooked,\u201d Gusnar said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a weed \u2014 for us it\u2019s a lifeguard and a life saver.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image: This plant is classified as a halophyte, or capable of surviving in high-salinity environments. Image by Vengolis via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>).<\/p>\n This story was first published here<\/a> in Indonesian on March 17, 2026.<\/p>\n Bangladesh witnesses coastal erosion, salinization as tourism crushes a flowering creeper<\/a><\/p>\n Citations:<\/p>\n Akinniyi, G., Lee, J., Kim, H., Lee, J., & Yang, I. (2022). A medicinal halophyte Ipomoea pes-caprae (Linn.) R. Br.: A review of its botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, and bioactivity. Marine Drugs, 20(5), 329. doi:10.3390\/md20050329<\/a><\/p>\n Gazali, M., Umar, W., Nufus, H., Fadly, S. A., Syafitri, R., & Zuriat. (2024). The investigation of the Ipomea pes-caprae leaf extract as antimicrobial of Staphylococcus aureus. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1410(1), 012011. doi:10.1088\/1755-1315\/1410\/1\/012011<\/a><\/p>\n Mentaschi, L., Vousdoukas, M. I., Pekel, J.-F., Voukouvalas, E., & Feyen, L. (2018). Global long-term observations of coastal erosion and accretion. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 12876. doi:10.1038\/s41598-018-30904-w<\/a><\/p>\n Taherkhani, M., Vitousek, S., Barnard, P. L., Frazer, N., Anderson, T. R., & Fletcher, C. H. (2020). Sea-level rise exponentially increases coastal flood frequency. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 6466. doi:10.1038\/s41598-020-62188-4<\/a><\/p>\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Railroad_Vine_Flower_ipomoea_pes-caprae-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>The beach morning glory \u2014 also known as katang-katang \u2014 is a plant commonly seen along coastal shores. Image by MarvinBikolano via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>).
\nBrought to heal<\/p>\n![\"Around](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/beach-morning-glory.jpg\")
<\/a>Around the world, coastal communities have long self-medicated with batata to treat common ailments. Image by Forest and Kim Starr via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY 3.0 US<\/a>).
\nStem discipline<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/984c3ac7bb33b43ec7c2bbb0edeb7fdc36f31cd45fe0f34699b66914a5af0494.png\")
<\/p>\n