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| JATOBA | ||
| Hymenaea courbaril | ||
| Part Used: Bark, Leaves, Fruit | ||
| Antibacterial, Antifungal, Antifatigue, Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, Anti-spasmodic, Astringent, Decongestant, Diuretic, Expectorant, Hepatoprotective, Laxative, Stimulant, Stomachic, Tonic, Vermifuge | ||
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Jatoba has a long history
of use by the Indigenous tribes of the rainforest as well as in South American
traditional medicine. The Karaja Tribe in Peru and Creole tribes in Guyana
macerate the bark for diarrhea. The bark, sap or resin, and leaves are used
medicinally in the Peruvian Amazon for cystitis, hepatitis, prostatitis, and
cough. In the Brazilian Amazon, the sap is used for coughs and bronchitis, and a
bark tea is used for stomach problems as well as athlete's foot and foot fungus.
Jatoba is still employed in traditional medicine throughout South America. It
was first recorded in use in 1930. The bark was described by Dr. J. Monteiro
Silva as being carminative, sedative, and astringent and recommended for
hematuria, diarrhea, dysentery, general fatigue, dyspepsia, constipation,
bexiga, and hemoptysis while the resin was recommended for all types of upper
respiratory and cardio-pulmonary problems. According to Dr. Silva, whoever
drinks Jatoba tea feels ". . . strong and vigorous, with a good appetite,
always ready to work." In 1965, the traditional uses of Jatoba were still
being employed much as they had been since the 1930's and a liquid extract
called Vinho de Jatoba was widely sold throughout Brazil as a tonic and
fortificant, for energy, and numerous other disorders. In Brazilian herbal
medicine today, Jatoba bark and resin is still recommended for the same
indications and problems as it has since 1930 and is documented to be tonic,
stomachic, astringent, balsamic, vermifuge, and hemostatic. Today, Jatoba bark
tea is a quite popular drink of lumberjacks working in the forests in Brazil
because it is a natural energy tonic which helps them work long hours without
fatigue.
Jatoba has also shown good results with acute and chronic cystitis and prostatitis. Many practitioners today are discovering that chronic prostatitis and cystitis problems can be fungal in natural rather than bacterial. The widespread use of antibiotics to treat these types of cases can actually kill off friendly bacteria which lives off fungi and increase the chances of a fungal problem or encourage fungal growth, even making the condition "chronic". When these types of chronic prostatitis and cystitis cases react so quickly and/or dramatically to Jatoba supplements, is it probably Jatoba's antifungal properties at work rather than it's antibacterial properties. In traditional medicine in Panama, the fruit is used to treat mouth ulcers and the leaves and wood are used for diabetes. In the United States, Jatoba is used as a natural energy tonic, respiratory ailments like asthma, laryngitis and bronchitis, as a douche for yeast infections, as a decongestant, in the treatment of hemorrhages, bursitis, bladder infections, arthritis, prostatitis, yeast and fungal infections, cystitis, as well as topically for skin fungi like athlete's foot and nail fungus. The leaves Jatoba contain a group of phytochemicals called terpenes and phenolics which are responsible for protecting the leaves of the tree from leaf fungus. These phytochemicals have been documented in several studies over the years and the anti-fungal activity of Jatoba is attributed to these chemicals found not only in the leaves but in the bark as well. Other clinical studies have been performed on the bark, leaves and resin of Jatoba since the early 1970's which have shown that it has anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, molluscicidal, and anti-yeast activities which validifies its long history of effective uses for numerous disorders. In addition, a water extract of Jatoba leaves demonstrated significant hypoglycemic activity, producing a significant reduction in plasma glucose levels. Jatoba bark also contains a flavonoid called astilbin, which was shown to provide antioxidant and liver protecting properties in a 1997 clinical study. |
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