Natural Pharmacy, January 2000

ETHNOPHARMACY:
PART 2: THE PLANETARY PHARMACY
Daniel T. Wagner, R. Ph., M.B.A.

The rainforest healers use a variety of natural health treatments. However, the most important ethnopharmacy issue for practicing pharmacists in modern nations is how they may utilize rainforest medicinals such as the following in their practices.

From Rainforest to Pharmacy

Cat's Claw/Una de gato (Uncariatomentosa): This Peruvian vine has been used for centuries by local natives because of its reputed kidney and liver tonic and other "life-giving" properties. This traditional healer's panacea vine can be used in a variety of ways, including treating intestinal derangement and parasites, viruses, and inflammatory conditions as well as enhancing phagocytosis.

This botanical has become a popular immune system supplement because its alkaloids stimulate phagocytic activity of granulocytes (white blood cells), thereby increasing proliferation and normalizing levels of human B and T lymphocytes.

Additionally, cat's claw has proven useful in treating diverticulitus, hemorrhoids, parasites, colitis, and leaky bowel syndrome when taken in tea form.

The recommended adult dosage of cat's claw ranges from 1 g to 6 g daily 30 minutes after a meal. No side effects have been linked to this herbal. But there may be some bowel tolerance difficulties with doses higher than 6 g per day.

Pau d'arco (Tabebuia impestiginosa): Taken from a Brazilian tree used as a medicinal by local natives for thousands of years, pau d'arco bark can treat skin diseases such as eczema, psoriasis, fungal infections and skin cancer. It has also been used in Argentina to treat cancer clinically, where it was found to have significant activity against some kinds of cancer after oral administration.

Lapachol, a quinone, has been identified as the "signature" compound in pau d'arco, and much of the pharmacological research done on this herbal is based on it.

The suggested dose of pau d'arco is 1.5 g to 3.5 g per day of 2:1 extract of the phytomedicine, although higher doses may be used to treat cancer. There are very few side effects reported in connection with this phytomedicine, but it is contraindicated in pregnancy.

Wild yam (Dioscorea composite): This tuber is one of the most illustrious and highly researched plants in all of Central America. American biochemist Professor Russell Marker extracted the substance known as sapagenin from the wild yam, which led to the development of diosgenin extract - an important factor for such drugs as cortisone and birth control pills.

However, wild yam has also recently become a popular natural remedy for relieving menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and night sweats because it supplements hormone deficiencies and neutralizes excess hormones. It is frequently used in combination with progesterone when used to treat menopausal symptoms.

The recommended dose of wild yam is 1/4 teaspoon to V2 teaspoon of wild yam cream once or twice daily for 14 days to 21 days a month. Wild yam products are also available in tincture and sublingual tablet forms. While no side effects have been recorded with lower doses of this herbal, some mild adverse effects have been reported with higher doses, including headaches, dry mouth, and sleep difficulties.

Red gumbolimbo bark (Bursera simaruba): This tree, commonly found in Belize, has been successfully used to treat both internal and external infections. For example, tea made from its bark has been used to treat urinary tract infections (UTI).

The most exciting new use of gumbolimbo bark is as a topical treatment for skin conditions such as topical psoriasis, eczema, insect bites, and fungus. The raw compound can be mixed with aloe, vitamin E, and cortisone or calendula to make a highly efficacious cream that serves as a good alternative to hydrocortisone and other steroid-based ointments.

Jackass biters (Neurolaena labata, Asteraceae spp.): The leaves of this common Central American plant contain sesquiterpene dialdehyde, a potent antiparasitic agent that combats amoebas, intestinal parasites, candida, and giardia. This valuable pioneer species, which can be taken internally as a tea or wine, can therefore be key in preventing and treating amoebas, parasites, and similar gastrointestinal (GI) distress.

Maca root (Lepidium meyenii): This phytomedicine from the Peruvian Andes has been used for centuries by local healers as a "cure-all" medicine especially popular with middle-aged and elderly men.

Most interesting is its support of normal sexual function in older men as well as postmenopausal and perimenopausal women. Although it contains no hormones, maca root has been shown to balance estrogen and testosterone levels through its alkaloids' ability to balance the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, thus supporting optimum function of the testes, ovaries, and adrenals.

Recommended maca dosages vary, so dose recommendations should be checked with a qualified alternative health practitioner.

Traditional herbal medicines such as these have been rediscovered by modern medicinal herb research and American pharmacies. The pharmacists who learn about these treatments by studying ethnopharmacy are in the best position to know their uses, consult patients on their efficacy, and reap profits from them.

The Giants Enter the Field
Among the new leaders in ethnopharmaceutical "bioprospecting," or the hunt for medicinal plants in the wild, are major drug manufacturers, who hope to discover future natural medicine "blockbusters."

Although drug researchers usually prefer to create their own synthetic chemicals, companies such as New York, New York-based Pfizer, Inc.; Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck & Company, Inc.; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based Glaxo Wellcome, Inc.; London, England-based SmithKline Beecham; and New York, New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Company are seeking to literally take drug research back to its roots.

For example, Pfizer, Inc. is working with the New York Botanical Gardens to research natural products from Belize; SmithKline Beecham has developed a promising anticancer agent from a Chinese tree; and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company began producing Taxol in 1992 after work was completed by the National Cancer Institute.

Major pharmaceutical companies such as these long resisted investing their resources into searching for medicinal breakthroughs in the world's rainforests. In fact, according to the Austin, Texas-based American Botanical Council (ABC), no major pharmaceutical companies were investing in natural rainforest product research in the early 1980s. However, more than half of the world's 250 pharmaceutical manufacturers are reintroducing plant-research programs that involve bioprospecting, sample collection, and laboratory testing of jungle plants.

Final Thoughts
It has been said that less than 1% of all the 250,000 flowering plants species in the world have undergone thorough modern medical analysis. Therefore, the vast majority of herbs still have vast untested health care possibilities.

It is a common belief among the native rainforest healers that for every organic disease on the earth, there is a corresponding organic remedy in nature. Ethnopharmacists are now joining these healers and other scientists to unlock the medicinal secrets of the plants.

Daniel T Wagner, R.Ph., M.B.A. is the owner of Nutri-Farmacy in western Pennsylvania and president and cofounder of the Student Rainforest Fund.

For more info...
Student Rainforest Fund (SRF)
(877) 289-7978
www.nutrifarmacy.com

Selected Resource
Arvigo R. Field Guide Rainforest Medicine Trail. San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize.

Bone K, Pengelly A. Pau d'arco: Parts 1 and 2. MediHerb Professional Review 57-58: May 1997 and July 1997.

Emerich M. What you should know about rainforest remedies. Delicious 14(3):42-44, March 1998.

Jones K. Una de gato. The Herb Report, 1994.

Keplinger K, Laus G, Wurm M, Teppner H. Uncaria tomentosa and new pharmalogical, toxicological, and botanical research results. J Ethnopharmacol 64:22-24, 1999.

Plotkin MJ. Tales of Shaman's Apprentice. New York City, New York, Viking Press, 1993.



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