Herbarium

Herbarium: Iracambi Medicinal Plants by Eleanor Gallia. 2000, Revised 2003

The fourteen plants illustrated in the herbarium are the chosen pioneers of Iracambi Rainforest Medicine. Selected for their scientific, conservational and commercial qualities, these plants represent the pilot stage of a unique rainforest co-operative. They are propagated in the nursery and planted out in the forest before being sustainably harvested and dried for use in medicinal products.

Ethnobotanical research

Plant stories from Senhor Olavo, herbal cuttings from Dona Maria, medicinal recipes from Senhor Turco, these are the essence of the herbarium. The primary input, each flavoured with the all-healing staple of beans and rice. The storytellers are the elders of the farming families in the hills above Iracambi. For the most part they have always lived here, they have always used these medicines. They know the forest. Many of their herbal remedies come from the Puri Indians who lived in the mountains of Rosário da Limeira until the middle of the 20th century, but other than their use of plants, their ways of life are very different. These are farming families who depend on their land for their livelihood, for their immediate survival as well as any chance of an income. And if they need to stretch out their workable land by clearing some forest, then so be it. Although part of their lives, the forest is not seen as economically valuable and its wisdom somehow outdated.

In research terms, this is ethno botany, the study of people and their use of plants. Gathering information in this way we now have a database of over 100 trees, flowers, and vines. Traditional uses and favoured habitats are the first seeds of knowledge in the development of a project designed to give value to the forest and a livelihood to her people.

Scientific research

Of the 10,000 species in the Atlantic rainforest only some have been classified, a small handful of which have been analyzed pharmaceutically. To create a conservation programme that depends on the marketing of rainforest medicine for its economic viability, it is vital that we focus on registered species. We need to balance ancient folklore with active constituents. These too join the database.

Commercial value

The next step is to choose the plants that can reach beyond the forest. Iracambi's aim is to make the conservation of the forest more attractive than its destruction. This means giving commercial value to the natural resources. In Brazil, the medicinal plant market splits into several tiers. There are the street vendors selling dried herbs and the pharmacies selling tinctures. In the high street, rainforest medicines battle for space amongst European herbs. Recognized now as pandemic, the Western favourites such as Calendula officinalis and Rosemarinus officinalis threaten to dominate the phytotherapeutic market.

Iracambi Rainforest Medicine is primarily a conservation project. Designed to counter deforestation through the support of local farmers, each of the selected plants has an ecological role. Whether as a shade provider like Emba úba or a nitrogen fixer like Pata de vaca, these plants play an important part in the reforestation of degraded areas and second generation forest. We need to know the niche and understand the propagation and growing needs for every plant included in our programme of forest sustainability.

Our initial focus is on the following species, the selected pioneers of Iracambi Rainforest Medicine.

Latin Name:	Baccharis trimera, B. genistelloides, B. triptera
Brazilian Name:	Carqueja
English Name:
Family:	Asteraceae
Description:	A perennial green herb that grows almost straight up to a height of 1.5 feet tall with creamy yellowish orange capitulate, compact flowers at the top of the plant. The bright green, flat, leafy stalks are split into three planes, each more or less of a uniform width, running down the whole stem. Many stems grow out of one base, each branch of stem being 0.5-1.5 cm wide, generally leafless. Grows in small thickets increasing in size every year. Rhizomes are short and cylindrical. Roots are fibrous.
Habitat:	Found on forest edge and swampy areas throughout the Atlantic and Amazon rainforests in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia as well as tropical parts of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is believed to be native to Minas Gerais.
Parts Used:	Aerial parts
Key Constituents:	Flavonoids - rutin (known for modulating inflammation), quercetin, saponin mixture - echinocystic acid as the major aglycone. apigenin, camferol, carquejol, clerodane derivatives, diterpenoids, essential oils, glycosides, hispidium, hispidulin, luteolin, neptin, resins, saponins, squalene.
Therapeutic Action:	Anti-inflammatory, analgesic (due to inhibition of prostoglandin biosynthesis), anthelmintic and vermifuge, antihepatotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antipyretic, anti-ulcerogenic, antiviral, aperient, anti-rheumatic, depurative, digestive, diuretic, febrifuge, gastrotonic, hepatic, hepatoprotective, hepatotonic, hypoglycemic, laxative, refrigerant, stomachic, tonic, vermifuge (due to diterpenoid action), cosmetic-hair rinse, antacid and anti ulcer properties, due to ability to reduce gastric secretions and gastro intestinal hyperactivity. Hypoglycaemic action lowers blood sugar levels and so is of use in diabetes.
Indications:	Intestinal worms, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, dyspepsia, constipation, fever, anaemia following blood loss, intestinal weakness, gout, flatulence and bloating, diabetes (hypoglycaemic), general debility, gall stones, liver ailments, leprosy, mouth infection, ulcers, cough (see below for recipe) hair thinning.
Contra Indications:	Should be used with caution during pregnancy. Long-term use entails a risk of allergenicity. (Cf: Professor Gilbert, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz.)
Preparation and dosage:	Simple infusion of 2 cups of dried Carqueja in 1 litre of water. Dosage: one cup 3 times daily on empty stomach.
Harvesting Information:	The aerial parts are collected in August. The action is strongest before flowering, at the beginning of the wet season.
Ethnobotanical Information:	Used locally as a shampoo and hair rinse, decocted with Jaborandi. (Pilocarpus jaborandi). Other traditional local uses include infusing 2 Carqueja stems with 2 sprigs of mint, administered as a vermifuge, once every 3 months (Cf: Joel, Iracambi). Also used for indigestion and toxic related headaches. A local cough remedy uses 10g carqueja + 10g fedegoso + 4 orange leaves + salt. (Cf: Carminha, Graminha.) A local recipe for equine worms uses 3 stems of carqueja, 3 leaves of café de mato, 3 parts of the bark of Cura madre and 1.5 litre of water. This is boiled in a tightly covered pan for 15 minutes and left to steep for a further 15 minutes. This should be administered on an empty stomach. The horse should be tied up for 2 hours before and 1 hour after treatment.
Propagation details:	Can be grown from seed or from cuttings. Cuttings should be taken in the hottest months of the year and planted out at intervals of 0.5 m in rows of 1m spacing and intercropped with other species. Areas of bare earth between the rows produce a poorer and more contaminated harvest.
Additional Information:	Carqueja's uses in herbal medicine were first recorded in Brazil in 1931 by Pio Corrêa who wrote about an infusion of Carqueja being used for sterility in women and impotency in men. Corrêa described Carqueja with the therapeutic properties of tonic, bitter, febrifuge and stomachic with cited uses for dyspepsia, gastroenteritis, liver diseases and diarrhoea. The plant is used extensively as a slimming tea.

Latin Name:	Carpotroche brasiliensis
Brazilian Name:	Sapucainha, pau-de-lepra
English Name:
Family:	Flacourtiaceae
Description:	The tree is less than 10 metres tall. The leaves are simple. Pubescent leaves are 14 - 18 cm long. Flowers are yellow and brownish at the centre and pale to white on the outer surfaces. There are male, female and hermaphrodite plants.
Habitat:	Small and old forests. In Brazil, it is found in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais and São Paulo
Parts Used:	Seed oil
Key Constituents:	Sulfones (anti-leprosy), chaulmoogric, hydnocarpic & gorlic acids. Cyanogenetic glycosides in seeds & pericarp
Therapeutic Action:	Leprosy treatment, insecticidal, parasiticidal, depilatory, anti-dandruff.
Indications:	Leprosy, parasites.
Contra Indications:
Preparation and dosage:	The oil is used externally.
Harvesting Information:	The seeds are collected from August through September.
Ethnobotanical Information:	Traditionally used to make soap.
Propagation details:	Remove seeds from spherical pods and either germinate directly, or remove seed from hard, outer shell. It can take up to 6 months to germinate. Do not germinate deep in soil. It is also possible to collect seedlings from under tree. Do not take more than 50% of the seedlings.
Additional Information:

Latin Name:	Casearia Sylvester, Sammy pavilion, Casearia pavilion, Anhinga say da
Brazilian Name:	Glaciating
English Name:	Wild coffee
Family:	Flacourtiaceae
Description:	A shrub / small tree, small white-cream flowers.
Habitat:	Native to Mata Atlântica, halophyte, pioneer, selective hydrophilic. Occurs in secondary forests and is characteristic of dryer forests.
Parts Used:	Leaves, bark, roots
Key Constituents:	Leaves & twigs contain apache, chlordane intervenes (essential oils of leaves) have anti-tumour action, HIV replication inhibitor, antibiotic. Common flavorous.
Therapeutic Action:	Wound-healing (bark & leaves), anti-inflammatory (bark and leaf), anti-gastric ulcer, tonic, detractive, and anti-rheumatic (leaf), analgesic (bark and leaf), sexual stimulant, anti-diarrhoeal, anti-heretic.
Indications:	Wounds, gastric ulcer, inflammation, fevers, chest and body pain (roots), diarrhoea and herpes (leaves), snake bites (bark and leaf protect against Bathos Ararat venom).
Contra Indications:
Preparation and dosage:	An oil or tincture is used externally.
Harvesting Information:	In September, harvest the leaves by pruning branches of the tree selectively and remove leaves from stems.
Ethnobotanical Information:
Propagation details:	Seeds can be collected from August until September. They are collected when they start to open. Leave in the sun to open completely to release the seeds. Seeds are small and brown. Cover them lightly in seed trays in semi-shade. Seedlings emerge after 20 to 30 days. Low germination rate.
Additional Information:	Harvesting the leaves from the central branches allows light into the tree and so promotes growth. Nine Glaciating trees are being monitored at Iracambi. The re-growth is recorded by observing the cuts made on the harvested branches and the overall shade produced by the canopy. It is expected that those trees harvested at 30% should be harvest able every year; those at 50% every other year, and anything above this may take 3 years or more to be harvest able again. Recording an comparing these figures allows us to find the maximum sustainable yield of the trees and their preferred mode of harvest.

Latin Name:	Cero gladioli, C. Holyoke
Brazilian Name:	Embay Cuba
English Name:	Umbrella tree
Family:	Moraceae
Description:	Fast growing pioneer tree with straight hollow trunk, 20-30cm in diameter with no side branches, growing from 6-16m tall. Large foliate leaves with 6-10 profoundly separate lobes, each 25-30 cm long. The female flowers are odourless, grey and do not fall from the tree. The male flowers are dark and stronger smelling and fall readily to the ground. There are many bunches of small cylindrical fruit each consisting of many seeds. The fruit has a meaty texture and a sweet taste. C. hololeuca is a smaller tree with more downy leaves. The trunk of C. glaziovii is smoother and darker and the leaves are smaller with red veins.
Habitat:	C. glaziovii is native to the Atlantic Rainforest. Both species are found throughout the South of Brazil in secondary forest where they sprout quickly in "capoeira" scrubland and recent clearings to provide shade.
Parts Used:	Roots, latex, leaves.
Key Constituents:	Isovitexin (flavonoid), coumarins, catechins.
Therapeutic Action:	Hypotensive - used to lower high blood pressure. It has both calcium channel blocking and ACE inhibiting activities. Cardio tonic, anti-asthmatic, astringent, anti-depressive, emmenagogue, tranquilliser, diuretic.
Indications:	Hypertension, early heart disease, dropsy, asthma, cough, bronchitis. Also used in gastric ulcers due to the inhibitory action on gastric acid secretion. The latex is used traditionally for gangrenous ulcers, ranging apparently from verrucas to cancerous sores. Leaves used for leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, dysentery and respiratory ailments.
Contra Indications:	No known toxicity
Preparation and dosage:	Infusion: 2 teaspoons of dried leaf, or one third of a fresh leaf, with 1 litre of freshly boiled water. Cover and leave for 5 - 10 minutes before straining.
Harvesting Information:	The leaves can be collected every year, cut with the stalk. The drying temperature should be 40°C (The stalk takes longer to dry than the leaf) and the leaf should be brittle when stored. The tree can be pruned every two years to allow for accessible harvest, but this may affect the shade provided for secondary plant growth.
Ethnobotanical Information:	This tree's rapid growth in forest clearings and efficient photosynthesis allows it to maximise sunlight. This is the reasoning behind its traditional use in depression in Terésopolis, where it is associated with an equivalent to seasonal adjustment disorder, where depression results from an imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain due to lack of sunlight (Ary Moraes, Traditional Herbalist -Teresopolis, Rio de Janerio). Locally, the roots are used medicinally. The hypotensive action is seen traditionally as reflecting the tree's ability to provide shade in barren areas, so relieving the pressure of scorching in the heat of the wet season.
Propagation details:	Cuttings from young growth, or seeds (preferred). To collect seeds, the fruit is gathered between November and February when the birds begin to eat them. Use a bamboo pole with a curved blade on the end (Lash two bamboo poles together for length, and attach lamina to end) to cut the inflorescences of female trees (recognised by their odourless grey flowers). The fruit is left in water or in plastic bags for 24 hours, until they begin to decompose; they are then rinsed under running water in a sieve (seeds are very small 1kg=2 000 000 seeds) to remove the mucilage, before being sown lightly into seed trays in semi shade. The soil should be rich in clay and organic material. Cover seeds very lightly with earth. Water once or twice a day. Germination takes 3-4 weeks. Low germination rate. Pot when about 10 cm. tall.
Additional Information:	The hollow trunk is home to ants that feed off the glucose rich nectar stored in the Mullerian bodies. This is the end product of the very efficient photosynthesis of this heliotrophic tree. In return the ants defend the tree against herbivores.

Latin Name:	Croton urucurana
Brazilian Name:	Adrago, Sangue-de-drago
English Name:	Dragon's blood
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Description:	This tree is 7 - 14 m in height, with simple heart-shaped, pubescent leaves, which are silvery on the underside. The white/cream flowers, a raceme, appear in January. It is a pioneer tree species, sun loving, and adapted to swampy ground.
Habitat:	Humid areas, in forests, along streams, rivers and ponds, from Rio de Janeiro to Rio Grande do Sul. Almost exclusive stands of Adrago can be found in various forest formations.
Parts Used:	Resin, bark (decoction made locally from fresh bark) and leaves (heated in oil).
Key Constituents:	Methanolic extract contains Acetyl aleuritolic acid (shows inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhimurium microbes), stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol, campesterol, beta-sitosterol-O-glucoside, sonderianin, catechin and gallocatechin. The main component of the gum exudate is the polysaccharide fucoarabinogalactan.
Therapeutic Action:	Cicatrizant (helps to heal wounds), Astringent, Anti-diarrhoeal, Anti-bacterial.
Indications:	Open wounds / blisters; Insect bites
Contra Indications:
Preparation and dosage:	Leaves warmed in oil are placed over blisters. A decoction is made by simmering the bark in water. Tincture of Adrago: 200g bark into 1L of 80% alcohol solution (800ml pure alcohol: 200ml deionised water) to be left in the dark for 30 days. (From Dr Marcelo Crespo, Artemésia, Muriaé.)
Harvesting Information:	The resin, bark and leaves are collected once the seeds have been collected for propagation (before August). For bark, harvest from limbs greater than 25cm circumference. Take vertical strips 1cm wide, 50cm long. Cut down to white wood in depth.
Ethnobotanical Information:	Sr. Turco of Graminha uses the following preparation as a powerful healing wash for wounds: Make a decoction of the bark by simmering the bark in water for 3 to 4 hours. As the decoction cools, stir in honey until well mixed.
Propagation details:	Collect fruit directly from the tree when it starts to open spontaneously. Leave in the sun in a jar to open completely and shed seeds. Seed viability is short (max. 4 months). Place seeds for germination in seed trays with a substrate of loam and organic matter in semi-shade, cover lightly with fine layer of substrate and water twice daily. Seedlings emerge after 15 - 25 days. Germination rate is usually high. Transplant into individual containers when seedlings are 4 - 5 cm high.
Additional Information:	Pure resin is sold preserved in a 10% alcohol solution, which can be used externally or internally (added to water).

Latin Name:	Echinoderms macrophyllus
Brazilian Name:	Chapéu de Couro
English Name:	Leather hat
Family:	Alismataceae
Description:	Erect aquatic perennial, growing to 50 - 170 cm tall. The lower part is immersed in water, while the leaves and flowering stalk are above water. It can stay totally immersed in water but will not flower. Leaves are simple, base, erect, long peceolate, or cordeform, shaped like an inverted heart. 11 or 13 prominent veins run longitudinally with many fine veins running laterally. The texture of the leaves is leathery, hence the name. Numerous white flowers with yellow interiors are arranged on a thick yellow green flowering stalk 50-150 cm tall. The flowers are hermaphrodite.
Habitat:	Native to the American continents, found mainly in Brazil, Mexico, Antilles, USA. Grows in marshy areas and flood plains, riverbanks and lakesides.
Parts Used:	Aerial parts
Key Constituents:	Flavonoids - rutin (known for modulating inflammation), quercetin, saponin mixture - echinocystic acid as the major aglycone. Apigenin, camferol, carquejol, clerodane derivatives diterpenoids, essential Oils, flavonoids, glycosides, hispidium, hispidulin, luteolin, neptin, resins, squalene
Therapeutic Action:	Astringent, diuretic, depurative, anti-rheumatic, laxative, stimulant, hepatogogue, cholagogue
Indications:	Rheumatism, arthritis, liver ailments, kidney and urinary infections, syphilis, dermatitis, cutaneous eruptions.
Contra Indications:	It is used to produce a soft drink called Maté Couro, which is testament to its safety.
Preparation and dosage:	Infusion: 20 grams of fresh leaves, 3 times a day. In baths for chronic ulcers. In gargles for sore throats.
Harvesting Information:	Mid-wet season, prior to flowering (January).
Ethnobotanical Information:	Chapéu de Couro is especially popular in the state of Minas Gerais where the tea made from its leaves is known as "Chá Mineiro" (tea of Minas Gerais). Echinodorus comes from the Greek "echnos", which means bristly and spiky. It translates as hedgehog because of its leathery rough skin. This plant is traditionally used for skin conditions. In religious traditions the hedgehog is often considered impure. Interestingly, this plant is renowned as a depurative. It is used externally as a bath to treat the skin.
Propagation details:	Can be grown from seed, (seeds collected in March) or from stem cuttings. It is a very sensitive plant, preferring damp and shady areas.
Additional Information:

Latin Name:	Hymenaea courbaril
Brazilian Name:	Jatobá
English Name:	Brasilea Gum, Copal tree, Courbsil, Locust tree, Sting toe, South American locust tree
Family:	Caesalpiniaceae
Description:	Jatobá can reach 40m tall and has very large crown and alternate, peceolate leaves, each with two closely situated leaflets. Flowers are small and white. Fruit is a hard, green-brown leguminous pod 20-24cm long and 6-8cm wide. The pod, either round or oval, contains 4 or 5 seeds covered in a sweet yellow floury pulp. The trunk and branches excrete large quantities of resin which drips to the ground where it hardens into amber that releases an incense-like odour. The gum is alternatively called trapuca, jutaicica, resin aoa, goma copal, copal da america, copal do brasil. Internationally, the gum is known as 'Brazilian copal'. The sap, which flows from bore holes in the trunk is considered fortifying and is used for treating urinary problems, anaemia, chronic bronchitis and prostatitis.
Habitat:	Found in forests, fields and roadsides in various parts of the country but specific to Minas Gerais, Bahia and Pernambuco.
Parts Used:	Resin (potent medical action), sap, bark (decoction), fruit pulp (powder).
Key Constituents:	Seeds contain mucilage. Trapuca (the gum) is soluble in mineral oil heated to 180deg C.
Therapeutic Action:	Tonic, soothing, respiratory tonic, stomachic, vermifuge expectorant and cough soothing (resin), fortifying and wound healing (sap), astringent, pectoral, skin diseases and anti-diarrhoea (bark decoction), mild laxative (pulp in seed pods), demulcent bladder tonic, carminative.
Indications:	Cough, asthma, laryngitis, Bronchitis (sap), diarrhoea, dysentery, flatulence, colic (bark), wounds, bladder infections, urine retention, anaemia, prostatitis.
Contra Indications:
Preparation and dosage:	Bark decoction or tincture. For skin diseases, a bark decoction is used in baths.
Harvesting Information:	Collect March to July, during wet season. Take vertical strips of bark, 1m long, preferably on branches, not trunk. Mark into 8 areas, two sections of 50cm long, each into 4 sections, around the circumference of the limb. Take material from 2 areas each year.
Ethnobotanical Information:	The bark is commonly used for colic around Iracambi (Joel, Iracambi). The wood is of high economic value, being hard, resistant and durable. Locally, the bark is tinctured with cereal alcohol rather than that of sugar cane, as it is believed to be more compatible.
Propagation details:	This woodland tree grows easily from seed. It prefers waterlogged, sandy soil. The locust trees are a pioneer genus and thrive in nutrient-poor environments. It produces fruits in August. Seeds can remain dormant for 1 year. The roots are very strong, thus the seeds must be planted in a large seed bay 30 * 20 cm. (Seeds must be full and round. The seeds that are not fully rounded are hollow and are too light to plant).
Additional Information:

Latin Name:	Maytenus ilicifolia
Brazilian Name:	Espinheira-santa
English Name:
Family:	Celastraceae
Description:	Espinheira-santa is a small bushy tree with many branches. Leaves are alternate, simple, glaborous, and lanceolate, with spiny indentations. Flowers are hermaphrodyte and occur in yellow-green inflorescences. The fruit is a red-yellow capsular berry that darkens upon maturation.
Habitat:	Native to South Brazil, found in woodland, in particular the Atlantic Rainforest, Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul.
Parts Used:	Leaves.
Key Constituents:	Antibiotic compounds mayteine and maytansine, flavonoids, alkaloids. Triterpenes, friedelan-3beta-ol 1 and friedelin 2. Tannins.
Therapeutic Action:	Anti-ulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory, depurative, anti-febrile, anti-acid, cicatrizant (external), cytotoxic activity.
Indications:	Peptic ulcer, dyspepsia, stomachache, atonic digestion, hyperacidity, acne, wounds and ulcerations, skin cancer. Its action with stomach ulcers is both healing and protective.
Contra Indications:	In tests on cancer patients, maytansine was found to be too toxic for continuous use. Mayteine displayed little or no toxicity at suitable therapeutic doses. Toxicological studies have shown the plant to be, in most cases, safe and without side effects.
Preparation and dosage:	Decoction: 2 spoons of dry shredded leaves or 12 fresh leaves in 1 litre of water. Take throughout the day at regular intervals. External wash or compress: Prepare as for decoction.
Harvesting Information:	The tree must be at least 50 cm tall before harvest. This is generally the 2nd year of growth. Harvest annually at the beginning of spring after flowering. Only 50% of the leaves should be harvested at a time. After drying, the leaf stems should be removed manually.
Ethnobotanical Information:	The people of Graminha, the hill community above Iracambi, have used Espinheira Santa with great success in the treatment of stomach ulcer. Reputed to have been traditionally used as a contraceptive.
Propagation details:	Difficult to propagate. Can be grown from seeds or from cuttings taken from the roots or stem. The best fruits for seed collecting are dark brown. When ripe the fruit opens naturally and the seeds can be separated from the mucilage. The seed coat must be lightly filed or rasped. The seedlings must be planted in large growing bags, as the roots are deep. The soil should be well drained and rich in organic matter. For this reason, grows well when intercropped with leguminous species. When cultivated in forest conditions, compost should be applied every spring. Grows well in both full sunlight and half shade.
Additional Information:

Latin Name:	Passiflora alata, P. edulis, P. incarnata, P. quadrangularis
Brazilian Name:	Maracujá
English Name:	Passion Fruit, Passionflower
Family:	Passifloracea
Description:	A glabrous creeper that grows over other plants forming a lattice. The stem is strong, scaled and square at the base. Leaves are large, hard and alternate ovate or ovate-oblong. The flowers have a green and white calyx on the interior. The fruit is large and almost oval. It contains a gelatinous substance that is sweet and highly valued for its pleasant taste. The fruit has many sub orbital seeds.
Habitat:	Native to the American tropics, Maracujá grows best in hot, humid climates and doesn't adapt well to high altitudes. It rambles over other small plants using tendrils and hooks weaving a trellis system that blankets the lower reaches of light gaps in the forest. As such maracujá is confined to relatively rare open areas in forest or along riverbanks. As the light gap fills in the vine dies out.
Parts Used:	Root, seeds, fruit, flower, leaves.
Key Constituents:	Indolic alkaloids, cyanogenic glycosides, flavonoids.
Therapeutic Action:	Tranquilliser/hypnotic/anxiolytic, Nervine, antispasmodic, analgesic
Indications:	Insomnia, nervous headache, neuroastema (irritability), tachycardia of nervous origin, asthma, diarrhoea and dysentery, worms, haemorrhoids, menopausal anxiety, spasmodic pain.
Contra Indications:	Not to be taken if pregnant or breastfeeding, or suffering from depression. To be used with caution by patients with low blood pressure. Alcohol and anti histamines should be avoided. High doses can lead to cianidric intoxication.
Preparation and dosage:	Infusion: 2g of dried leaf or 4 - 6g fresh leaf to be infused in 100 ml of water and taken at night before sleeping. Tincture: 1:8 in 45 % alcohol, 0.5 - 2 ml TDS (3 times a day). Maceration of flowers: 100 g of flowers infused in 500 ml of 65% alcohol, left for 7-10 days and filtered.
Harvesting Information:	Harvest between January and June.
Ethnobotanical Information:	In the Iracambi area of research, maracujá is most popularly used for backache and high blood pressure.
Propagation details:	Passionflowers can be propagated from seedling or taken from cuttings. A bower should support the plant. Best to take cuttings from new growth areas, for example stem tops and new off-sprouts, as these areas contain greater concentration of growth hormones. Prefers sandy-clay or clay soil rich in organic material.
Additional Information:

Latin Name:	Pothomorphe umbellata
Brazilian Name:	Caapeba, capeba, pariparoba
English Name:
Family:	Piperaceae
Description:	Perennial green shrub, 1.5 to 2.5 m height. Has a woody stem with abundant knots, and large, aromatic, hairy, reniform leaves with pointed tips. Flowers between March and May, and, October and December and bears small fruit. Flowers are axiliar umbels, small and cylindrical.
Habitat:	Found mostly on the edge of primary forest, in virgin forest and pastures; species of sunny spots or diffuse light, selectively hygrophilous, on slopes in shady places, with sufficient humidity, on rocky sites that allow good drainage. Not a pioneer species.
Parts Used:	Stem, leaf, root
Key Constituents:	N-benzoylmescaline, 4-nerolidylcathecol
Therapeutic Action:	Anti-Helicobacter pylori infection (gastrointestinal infection & gastric ulcers), Anti-malarial, Diuretic, antipyretic, Anti-epileptic, antioxidant.
Indications:	Menstrual problems, urinary problems, malaria, liver ailments, inflamations, swellings, erysipelas, sores, gastrointestinal infection, peptic ulcers, to prevent oxidative damage to the skin
Contra Indications:
Preparation and dosage:	Decoction of root for liver and spleen diseases. Externally, a decoction mixed with almond oil is used for the same purposes.
Harvesting Information:	Collect in June. Cut stems of plants taller than 1m to half height.
Ethnobotanical Information:
Propagation details:	Take cuttings from the youngest growth areas, leaving the woody stem. Trim leaves and keep very moist. Plant root or stem cuttings out in rainy season in well-drained, preferably shady soil. Roots very quickly in October and November.
Additional Information:

Latin Name:	Solanum paniculatum
Brazilian Name:	Jurubeba, Jurebeba, Jurabeba
English Name:
Family:	Solonaceae
Description:	Erect shrub, 3m tall. The stem is spiny and wrinkled. The leaves are blue or violet, cordate, alternate and sinuate, with a smooth superior surface and a downy inferior surface. The roots are 9-50cm long, covered in a dark, rough layer. The female plant is smaller and thornier; the male plant has more leaves. The round, light green berries contain many disc-shaped seeds.
Habitat:	Barren, deforested and burned land throughout tropical America. It likes sandy soil and is considered a pioneer species in the natural regeneration following forest fires. In Brazil, it is found predominantly in the Northern regions of Céara and Pernambuco.
Parts Used:	Fruit, roots and leaves.
Key Constituents:	Alkaloids (solarina), saponins (paniculin, jurubin), glycosideos (paniculoninas A+B), resins (juribina, julubepina), bitter principle (seeds)
Therapeutic Action:	Cholagogue, hepatogogue, laxative, digestive tonic, stimulant, diuretic, cardiotonic.
Indications:	Atonic digestion, liver and spleen infarction, chronic hepatitis, jaundice, malaria, intermittent fever, abdominal and uterine tumours, dropsy, "Erispelas" (an acute, inflammatory skin disease).
Contra Indications:	Not to be used internally in pregnancy.
Preparation and dosage:	The bitter roots and berries are used internally for liver support. The leaves are applied externally for dressing ulcers.
Harvesting Information:	Fruits are collected between March and May.
Ethnobotanical Information:	Jurabeba is made into a very popular local drink in which 25 berries are soaked in a bottle of cachaça, the Brazilian spirit made from sugar cane.
Propagation details:	Collect fruits off the tree when plump and soft. Cut berries in half and scoop out small disk shaped seeds. The seeds must be rinsed well before planting.
Additional Information:	Animal studies using a root extract show high toxicity, and a depressor effect on cardio-respiratory activity.