Traditional medicinal uses: The fresh leaves of Coleus amboinicus are widely utilized both as a medicinal plant and as a herb or spice providing flavour to food (meat and poultry dishes), especially in tropical and subtropical parts of the world, where it is grown in kitchen gardens and containers and it is used the same way as thyme, hence some of the common names (Van Wyk, B-E. 2005. Food plants of the World. Briza Publications).