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Of all the herbs used by the ancient
Incas, lapacho was one of the mainstays.
Also called pau d'arco, ipe roxo or
taheebo, lapacho is a rainforest medicine made from the inner bark of
the large native South American tree known as tabebuia.
"In many parts of the world,
physicians are recognizing it as an aid to patients with immune
deficiency illnesses. For ME, chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein-Barr and
Tired All The Time Syndrome, lapacho can be a great aid to recovery due
to its positive effects on the immune system." Michael van
Straten
Throughout South America, indigenous
tribes have drunk tea made from the shredded inner bark to boost the
effectiveness of the body's own immune defence mechanisms. They have
also used this traditional remedy for centuries in the treatment of
asthma, bronchitis, infections and some form of cancer.
Rainforest Indians have always valued
lapacho as a powerful medicine for strengthening immunity and to protect
them against gut parasites. Caribbean folk healers use the leaf of
this tree in addition to the bark for the treatment of backache,
toothache, sexually transmitted diseases, and as an aphrodisiac.
Ghandi took a cup of lapacho tea each
morning throughout his life. The tea has an interesting flavour, part
woody, part flowery, and is delicious hot or cold.
Active constituents: Lapachol and
beta-lapachone (known collectively as naphthaquinones) are two primary
active compounds in lapacho. According to laboratory tests, both have
antifungal properties as potent or more so than ketaconazole, a common
antifungal drug.* Although these compounds also have
anticancer properties, the effective dosage for this effect is toxic.
Therefore, lapacho cannot currently be recommended as a treatment for
cancer.
*Guiraud P, Steiman R, Campos-Takaki
GM, et al. Comparison of antibacterial and antifungal activities of
lapachol and beta-lapachone. Planta Med 1994;60:373-4.
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