Mesosphaerum suaveolens, synonym Hyptis suaveolens, chia, pignut, or chan, bukumbar is a branching pseudocereal plant native to tropical regions of Mexico, Central, the West Indies, and South America, as well as being naturalized in tropical parts of Africa, Asia and Australia.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families It is generally tall, occasionally up to . Stems are hairy, and square in cross section. Leaves are oppositely arranged, long, with shallowly toothed margins, and emit a strong minty odor if crushed. Flowers are pink or purple, arranged in clusters of 1–5 in the upper leaf axils.
Traditional uses Studies have found that M. suaveolens is effective as an insecticide.Cyrille Adda, Pierre Atachi, Kerstin Hell, and Manuele Tamò. Potential use of the Bushmint, M. suaveolens, for the Control of Infestation by the Pink Stalk Borer, Sesamia calamistis, on Maize in Southern Benin, West AfricaConti et al. Hyptis suaveolens and Hyptis spicigera (Lamiaceae) essential oils:qualitative analysis, contact toxicity and repellent activity against Sitophilus granarius.
Mesosphaerum suaveolens can be made into a refreshing drink by soaking the seeds in water and refrigerating the mix. Some people add lemon or other citrus to improve the taste. In Colima, Mexico, people use the M. suaveolens seeds to prepare a traditional beverage called bate. The process consists in roasting and grinding the seeds and then mixing the resulting powder with water. M. suaveolens is also a traditional treatment for diarrhea.
See also Salvia hispanica
References
External links
Making Chan drink (spanish) Using Chan as insecticide (spanish) Evaluation as Alternative Crop for Food and Drugs (spanish) Protein value of Chan (spanish) Chan used as diarrhea treatment (spanish)